This paper concerns three two-stage experiments the aim of which was to find out whether enactment- and mime-based (E&M) instruction--a key element both of the method known as Total Physical Response and of some less codified instruction at primary level--can be employed in order to help learners: (1) better acquire English manner-of-movement verbs in their common literal senses; and (2) more accurately interpret previously unknown metaphorical expressions which include them. The results of the experiments, which involved Dutch-speaking, young-adult advanced learners, provide evidence that mnemonic benefits associated with dual coding (e.g. Paivio and Walsh 1993) may be obtained through formation of imagery that is likely to be motoric at least in part. Additionally, the results are compatible with a contention that learning manner-of-movement verbs in an E&M fashion can promote an interpretative capability subsumable under the term metaphoric competence in the sense of Pollio and Smith (1980) and Littlemore (2001).