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Gestures in language acquisition

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The impact of gestures on language acquisition is significant, in that they create a bridge from pre-verbal communication to speech. Everyone uses gestures throughout the process of development and a strong correlation has been observed between gestures and the development of language. Gestures are a way for individuals to communicate prior to using speech and in fact, they help facilitate the advancement of natural speech. Once speech is present, gestures spontaneously accompany these verbalizations. Since the use of gestures is a widespread commonality, research has supported the notion of stimulating gestural communication in individuals who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) modes. Through this, it is thought that gestures can help an AAC user “access and activate the spoken word” (Loncke, 2013).[1]

Gestures are present early in development, and are used to communicate before a child has the ability to vocalize. There is appealing logic in the assumption that comprehension of language must precede production of language, and many linguistics have held that view (Hulit, Howard, & Fahey, 2010).[2] It is important to remember that for all children, there is a period in their development when they can express symbols through gesture but not yet through speech (Loncke, 2013). In fact, in the 1990’s, Acredelo & Goodwyn, 1996 developed a system called Baby Signs, specifically designed for children during this time in their linguistic development. These signs provide a development scaffolding that allow natural speech to develop, and for the baby to avoid frustration and misunderstanding (Loncke, 2013).

Once the child has the ability to speak, gestures are used to express thoughts that are not expressed vocally; eventually, gestures complement vocalized ideas. Being encouraged to use gestures early on causes a rapid onset of vocal language and a larger vocabulary.[3][4] Gestures not only complement language development but also enhance the child’s ability to communicate. Communication usually consists of a blend of verbal and non-verbal transmission of information. Language development has been used to refer exclusively to the development of verbal language.[5][6][7] When telling a story, along with streams of sounds, there is a variety of spontaneous hand gestures. Gestures allow the speaker to convey a message or thought that is not easily expressed through verbal language.

The use of gestures paves the way for learning speech.[8] Before a child can vocalize, they have the ability to understand language and communicate through deictic and iconic gestures. Early on, children use deictic gestures, which are seen around ten months old, and consist of pointing to or holding things up. Iconic gestures are used by children at eleven to twelve months old, and capture the features of their referents.[9] Iconic gestures convey predicate information, like punching the air to refer to fighting. According to Ozcaliskan & Goldin-Meadow (2004), at fourteen months old, children use a vast majority of gestures that are usually produced along with verbal communication. At eighteen months, half of an average child’s speech is accompanied by gestures. The ways in which gestures are used are an indication of the developmental or conceptual ability of children.[10]

Deictic and iconic gestures are effective means of conveying information in AAC users. In particular, a deictic gesture of pointing is known to develop in the early years from reaching and grasping, and is an established strategy used with high-tech and low-tech devices. AAC users not only point to various objects and people, but they “also point to graphic symbols to express an idea” (Loncke, 2013 p. 6). Additionally, iconic gestures display clear and obvious distinctions and come into play as exploited communicative signals with AAC users. Language-like gestures are both iconic and metaphoric and the “meaning depends on the message being displayed through speech” (Blackstone, 2000).[11] In all, these gestures assist the AAC user in conveying knowledge and information more effectively, reflecting upon the thought processes that underlie verbal communication.

Symbolic gesturing yields positive rather than negative effects on learning to talk. In the absence of language, encouraging the use of gestures will not delay the verbal ability of children; the experience of gesturing has a facilitative effect on early syntactical development. Gesturing facilitates and enriches the relationship between parent and child. Between nine and eighteen months, the child, lacking full vocal abilities, will want to communicate with the parent, who must determine what message the child is trying to convey.[12] It is during this time that gesturing becomes important.

For example, a mother bathing her eighteen month old daughter might be unaware that the water is too hot, but the child could indicate this through a gesture, rather than try to formulate a time-consuming verbal explanation. In fact, those children whose parents actively promoted the use of gesture vocabulary developed a broader verbal vocabulary at the onset of verbal communication than those parents that push their children to communicate verbally. Gestures are also seen as setting the stage for joint attention, when a child uses a gesture to refer to or point to something the parent usually gives the child the name for the object and the conversation is focused on the object of interest to the child, causing the child to retain the information. According to Vgot (2001), nonverbal communication generates a greater amount of words and promotes fast learning. It is dependent on the parents’ ability to understand the gestures and give a positive response to the use of gestures.


See Also

Citations

  1. ^ Loncke, F. (2013). Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Models and applications for educators, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, caregivers, and users. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing Inc.
  2. ^ Hulit, L.M., Howard, M.R., Fahey, K.R. (2010). Born to talk: An introduction to speech and language development (5th edition).Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
  3. ^ Goodwyn 2000
  4. ^ Ozacaliskan 2005
  5. ^ Acredolo 1988
  6. ^ Goodwyn 2000
  7. ^ Ozacaliskan 2005
  8. ^ Namy 1988
  9. ^ Ozacaliskan 2005
  10. ^ Iverson 2005
  11. ^ Blackstone, S. (2000). Gestures in AAC. Augmentative Communication News (ACN), 13(1). Retrieved from http://www.augcominc.com/newsletters/index.cfm/newsletter_26.pdf
  12. ^ Goodwyn 2000

References

  • ‹See TfM›Acredolo, L. P., & Goodwyn, S. W. (1988). Symbolic gesturing in normal infant. Child Development, 59, 450 – 466.
  • ‹See TfM›Goodwyn, S. W., Acredolo, L. P., & Brown. (2000). Impact of symbolic gesturing on early language development. Journal of Normal Behavior, 24(2), 81 – 102.
  • ‹See TfM›Iverson, J. M., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2005) Gesture paves the way for language development. Research Report: Psychological Science, 16(5), 367 – 371.
  • ‹See TfM›Namy, L. L., & Waxman, S. R. (1998). Words and gestures: Infants’ interpretation of different forms of symbolic reference. Child Development, 69(2), 295 – 308.
  • ‹See TfM›Ozcliskan, S., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2005). Gesture is at the cutting edge of early language development. Cognition, 96, 101 – 113.
  • ‹See TfM›Ozcliskan, S., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2004). When mothers do not lead their children by the hand. In A. Brugos, L. Micciulla & C. E. Smith (Eds.). Proceedings of the 28th annual boston university conference of language development (pp. 424 – 435). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
  • ‹See TfM›Vogt, P. (2001). The impact of non-verbal communication on lexicon formation. In Proceedings of Belgian/Netherlands Artificial Intelligence Conference.
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