The development of critical skills, such as learning abilities and language, can be facilitated through the use of gestures. Gestures are commonly integrated with verbally spoken language, demonstrations of the execution of an action, as well as instruction to better communicate and understand what we're being told. Gestures have the capability of being flexible, as some gestures are directional or procedural, while others are more informative. Research has supported the notion that the utilization of gestures while communicating can actually aid individuals in their comprehension of the subject. In children, researchers have discussed that when teachers use gestures while teaching them, the children can perform better on given tasks due to an added component that directed, as well as kept their attention. This brings into question the magnitude of significance that gestures hold while communicating, because they could be used to understand areas of development that could be accompanied by gestures to encourage learning.
Gestures have proven to be useful while teaching children because they better direct their visual attention. In a study conducted by Wakefield and colleagues, children learned the mathematical concept of equivalence either with only verbal instruction, or verbal instruction accompanied by gestures. Children that learned the material with gestured instruction not only performed well when assessing the material, but better directed their visual attention, looked more at the problem than their instructor, and could integrate speech with what their attention was being directed to (Wakefield et al., 2017). This demonstrates that gestures aided in the communication of an idea, as well its comprehension. Gestures are widely used in classrooms, however, their role in communication and language development should also be considered. By exploring the relationship between gestures and verbally spoken language, individuals would have the opportunity to expose children to gestures while they're undergoing development; this raises the idea that children might be able to communicate and learn language more efficiently because they had an added boost of emphasis on the subject of communication.
Because gestures are motor movements, research has highlighted the connections that exist with processing language and the sensorimotor system. According to embodied approaches to language, the sensorimotor system is activated when individuals are learning semantic information. Mirror neurons aid in what is referred to as motor comprehension, which illustrates that when individuals are observing an action, the same frontoparietal networks are activated as if they were to physically perform the action (De Stefani and De Marco, 2019) . This information could be useful in the development of children because language that is associated with an action is communicated to them by adults; children are guided, follow directions, and observe how to physically accomplish tasks, not just verbalize them. For action based words, their meaning is generated by the sensorimotor experience that they call for. This implies that verbally spoken language is linked to the motor system in the body, and when words that require action are said, parts of the brain that would let individuals physically complete the action are activated. Therefore, gestures might be able to serve as the mediator between the execution of action and language in children as well, allowing them to form sensorimotor association with words. The researchers also pointed out that the FOXP2 gene, critical for language production, was observed with coordinating limb movements, exemplifying the relationship that exists between gestures and language (De Stefani and De Marco, 2019).
Another component of gestures that was examined was that gestures can also aid in expressing emotion. Connections between mirror neurons for the mouth and the limbic system prove that when emotion is expressed through gestures, there is communication between the motor control of the mouth and language and emotion processing ( De Stefani and De Marco, 2019). This knowledge can be applied to the development of children as well, because we can infer that children would be able to articulate their emotions better if they were exposed to facial expressions and gestures both while developing.
Although children have the opportunity to learn through the use of gestures in the classroom, it may be advantageous to expose them to gestures early on. Gestures have proven to guide visual attention, communicate language, encourage motor movement, and facilitate the recognition of emotion in others. If children make sensorimotor connections with verbally spoken words, then a degree of association is made, allowing us to question if they can understand language more efficiently. This in turn, has the potential to ease their ability to learn concepts throughout their education because they would have already been familiar with gestures in communicating. The magnitude of gestures shouldn't be underestimated, as they aid us in tasks we engage in daily. Children can benefit from gestures in their classrooms, but they might benefit even more simply through talking.
References
Wakefield, E., Novack, M. A., Congdon, E. L., Franconeri, S., & Goldin‐Meadow, S. (2018). Gesture helps learners learn, but not merely by guiding their visual attention. Developmental Science, 21(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12664
De Stefani, E., & De Marco, D. (2019). Language, gesture, and emotional communication: An embodied view of social interaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02063
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