Gestures are natural hand movements coordinated spontaneously with speech that help a speaker communicate their message. Everybody subconsciously uses gestures, but is unaware of the impact a visual representation may have on interpreting spoken information. While gestures are a seemingly basic prop to speech, current research confirms that their contribution must not be overlooked. Neuroscience research reveals that gestures facilitate flexible learning, memory retention, and language proficiency.
In the article, "Language Proficiency Impacts the Benefits of Co-Speech Gesture for Narrative Understanding Through a Visual Attention Mechanism", Wakefield and Zielinski explore the differences in the way gesture aids memory in bilingual children for both languages, testing whether there is a relationship between gesture's benefit and language proficiency. Children serve as useful subjects in this study because their language skills are not yet fully developed. Therefore, language competency usually varies quite heavily between their first and second language. In the study, Wakefield and Zielinski assessed gesture's utility in understanding complex messages in children's stronger and weaker languages. They observed children ages 6-8 who spoke both Polish and English. In addition, a questionnaire completed by the parents revealed that the children demonstrated a higher proficiency in English. The children were required to watch videos of women telling two stories, one in English and one in Polish, and then asked to recall as much as they could remember. Both stories were accompanied by different scripted gestures. Meanwhile, an eye tracker was placed to follow how often the gestures were tended to by the children. Results showed that across the whole sample, more points from the story narrated in English were recalled. However, it was also found that the children were notably more likely to recall a story point in Polish if it was coordinated with gestures than if there were no gestures at all. Interestingly, there was little to no difference in memory with the presence of gestures in the English version. This study proves that gesture is more beneficial in a child's weaker language, suggesting that language proficiency impacts the usefulness of gesture.
But what about the other way around? Wakefield and Zielinski hint at how gesture can improve memory retention in a weaker language, but can we go as far to say that gesture also plays a role in language proficiency? The article "How Certain Gestures Help You Learn New Words" by Gelitz describes research that proposes a connection between learning a foreign language and utilizing motor techniques to recall vocabulary. In a study conducted by neuroscientist, Mathias, German-speaking adults were presented invented words to recall over four days. While first learning the vocabulary, a video of a person making a gesture matching the meaning of the word was displayed. Subjects were also asked to make the gesture themselves as they repeated the word. Five months later, they were asked to take a multiple choice test, translating the vocabulary words into German. During the test, researchers sent interfering signals to their primary motor cortex, which is where voluntary arm movements arise. They found that the subjects had more difficulty remembering the words accompanied by gestures when the signals were active. When the signals were inactive, they were able to recall the words much faster. The participants were unaware of when the signals were being sent. This study supports the idea that the motor cortex contributes to memory and learning, further reinforcing that gesture plays a role in language proficiency.
Both articles suggest that language proficiency and gestures are not only intertwined, but also that they can help improve the other. Furthermore, both research articles indicate that gesture is especially useful for people with weaker language competency whether it be a child or an adult learning a new language. Gelitz goes on to quote Goldin-Meadow, a psychologist at UChicago, asserting the importance of gesture in education and how it can be incorporated in the classroom. A visual representation accompanying the material students are learning would increase their understanding and promote more efficient studying. Gesture's role in learning, memory, and language proficiency cannot be ignored. Rather, it should be seen as a newfound opportunity to use gesture more intentionally and effectively.
References:
Gelitz, C. (n.d.). How Certain Gestures Help You Learn New Words. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-certain-gestures-help-you-learn-new-words/
Zielinski, N., & Wakefield, E. M. (2021, July 19). Language proficiency impacts the benefits of co-speech gesture for narrative understanding through a visual attention mechanism. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/63r5d3qq
Zielinski, N., & Wakefield, E. M. (2021, July 19). Language proficiency impacts the benefits of co-speech gesture for narrative understanding through a visual attention m echanism. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/63r5d3qq
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