ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Movement Science
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1672418
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Motor Imagery Across the Lifespan – Gaps Between Practical Applications and Theoretical Frameworks - Volume IIView all articles
Enhancing English Language Acquisition Through Physical Education and Motor Imagery: Assessing Enjoyment, English Retention, and Skill Accuracy in Adolescent Learners
Provisionally accepted
- 1Geely University of China, Chengdu, China
- 2Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
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Emerging evidence highlights the benefits of integrating physical activity and cognitive strategies, such as motor imagery (MI), into educational contexts to support language acquisition and skill development. However, the interactive effects of physical education (PE) and MI on second language learning remain underexplored. This study investigated the combined impact of PE, MI, and English instruction on vocabulary retention, motor performance, and student enjoyment in junior secondary students. Using a crossover repeated-measures design, 92 students (aged 12–13) participated in seven randomized class sessions incorporating different combinations of PE, MI, and English (alone, in pairs, or all together) over a two-week period. Vocabulary retention was assessed through pre-and post-class English quizzes, while motor skill performance was measured using basketball passing accuracy. Enjoyment was evaluated through post-session surveys. All combinations led to significant post-session improvements in English quiz scores (p<.001), with the highest improvements observed in the PE + MI + English condition. Similar patterns were found for passing accuracy, where PE-containing sessions produced the greatest improvements, particularly when combined with MI and English (p<0.001). Enjoyment scores were also significantly higher in integrated conditions, especially PE + MI + English, suggesting increased engagement. A significant interaction between class type and time was found for both vocabulary and motor skill performance (p<.001), with very large effect sizes (ηp² = .772 and .699, respectively). These findings suggest that integrating physical, cognitive, and linguistic activities may positively impact both learning outcomes and student experience, supporting a multidisciplinary, multimodal approach to education. However, longitudinal studies are needed to identify potential long-term effects on consolidated learning.
Keywords: physical exercise, second language learning, skill development, sportseducation, Youth
Received: 24 Jul 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Dang, Qiao, Li, Zhang and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hongbo Zhang, Geely University of China, Chengdu, China
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