Cover not available
Part of
Speaking in a Second Language
Edited by Rosa Alonso Alonso
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 17] 2018
► pp. 49–67

Chapter 3
Gesture and speaking a second language

| National Louis University

Speaking in a second language involves not just speech; it also involves gesture (Stam, 2014). To not consider gesture in second language speaking is to ignore an integral part of language and interaction. When we view language as only speech, we view only one aspect of language and thought, the verbal aspect. We ignore gesture, the imagistic aspect. We take only a static view of language and ignore the dynamic aspect as David McNeill (2012) has pointed out. Speaking is not a static activity; it is an action. This chapter discusses why gestures need to be taken into account when looking at speaking in a second language.

Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Co-speech gestures
  • Speech-linked gestures and emblems
  • Importance of gesture for understanding and facilitating L2 speaking
    • Assessment, communicative competence, and emblems
    • Learners’ gestures and their functions
    • Summary
  • Other areas for further research
    • Beat gestures
    • Emblems
    • Head movements
  • Teaching of beat gestures, emblems, and head movements in the L2 classroom
    • Beat gestures
    • Emblems
    • Head movements
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 12 April 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.17.03sta
References
Agar, M.
(1994) Language shock: Understanding the culture of conversation. New York, NY: William Morrow & Co.Google Scholar
Antes, T. A.
(1996) Kinesics: The value of gesture in language and in the language classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 29(3), 439–448. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bavelas, J.
(2007) Face-to-face dialogue as a micro-social context. In S. D. Duncan, J. Cassell, & E. T. Levy (Eds.), Gesture and the dynamic dimension of language: Essays in honor of David McNeill (pp. 127–146). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brookes, H.
(2004) A repertoire of South African quotable gestures. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 14(2), 186–224. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brown, A., & Gullberg, M.
(2008)  Bidirectional crosslinguistic influence in L1-L2 encoding of manner in speech and gesture: A study of Japanese speakers of English. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30(2), 225–251. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cadierno, T.
(2013) Thinking for speaking in second language acquisition. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Calbris, G.
(1990) The semiotics of French gestures. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
(2011) Elements in meaning in gesture. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Choi, S., & Lantolf, J. P.
(2008) Representation and embodiment of meaning in L2 communication: Motion events in the speech and gesture of advanced L2 Korean and L2 English speakers. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30(2), 191–224. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clark, H. H.
(1992) Arenas of language use. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Clark, H. H., & Krych, M. A.
(2004) Speaking while monitoring addressees for understanding. Journal of Memory and Language, 50, 62–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Condon, W. S., & Ogston, W. D.
(1967) Segmentation of behavior. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 5(3), 221–235. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1971) Speech and body motion synchrony of the speaker-hearer. In D. L. Horton & J. J. Jenkins (Eds.), Perception of language (pp. 150–184). Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.Google Scholar
Dausendschön-Gay, U.
(2003) Producing and learning to produce utterances in social interaction. EUROSLA Yearbook, 3, 207–228. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Drijvers, L., & Özyürek, A.
(2016) Visual context enhanced: The joint contribution of iconic gestures and visible speech to degraded speech comprehension. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60, 212–222. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V.
(1969) The repertoire of nonverbal behavior: Categories, origins, usage, and coding. Semiotica, 1, 49–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Galati, A., & Brennan, S. E.
(2013) Speakers adapt gestures to addressees’ knowledge: Implications for models of co-speech gesture. Language and Cognitive Processes. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Gerwing, J., & Bavelas, J.
(2004) Linguistic influences on gesture’s form. Gesture, 4(2), 157–195. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gullberg, M.
(1998) Gesture as a communication strategy in second language discourse. A study of learners of French and Swedish. Lund: Lund University Press.Google Scholar
(2006) Handling discourse: Gestures, reference tracking, and communication strategies in early L2. Language Learning, 56(1), 155–196. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011) Thinking, speaking and gesturing about motion in more than one language. In A. Pavlenko (Ed.), Thinking and speaking in two languages (pp. 143–169). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gullberg, M., & McCafferty, S. G.
(2008) Introduction to gesture and SLA: Toward an integrated approach. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30, 133–146. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gullberg, M., de Bot, K., & Volterra, V.
(2008) Gestures and some key issues in the study of language development. Gesture, 8(2), 149–179. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gumperz, John J.
(1972) The speech community. In P. P. Giglioli (Ed.), Language and social context (pp. 219–231). Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.Google Scholar
Hadar, U., Dar, R., & Teitelman, A.
(2001) Gesture during speech in first and second language: Implications for lexical retrieval. Gesture, 1(2), 151–165. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harrison, S.
(2014)  The organization of kinesic ensembles associated with negation. Gesture, 14(2), 117–140. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hoetjes, M., Krahmer, E. & Swerts, M.
(2015) On what happens in gesture when communication is unsuccessful. Speech Communication, 72, 160–175. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Holler, J., & Stevens, R.
(2007) The effect of common ground on how speakers use gesture and speech to represent size information. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 26(1), 4–27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Holler, J., & Wilkin, K.
(2009) Communicating common ground: How mutually shared knowledge influences speech and gesture in a narrative task. Language and Cognitive Processes, 24(2), 267–289. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Holtgraves, Thomas M.
(2002) Language as social action: Social psychology and language use. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Hymes, Dell H.
(1974) Foundations of sociolinguistics: An ethnographic approach. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Iverson, J. M., & Goldin-Meadow, S.
(2005) Gesture paves the way for language development. Psychological Science, 16, 367–371. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, N., & Garnham, A.
(2007) The role of conversational hand gestures in a narrative task. Journal of Memory and Language, 56, 291–303. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, S., & Parra, I.
(2003) Multiple layers of meaning in an oral proficiency test: The complementary roles of nonverbal, paralinguistic, and verbal behaviors in assessment decisions. The Modern Language Journal, 87(1), 90–107. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jungheim, N. O.
(1995) Assessing the unsaid: The development of tests of nonverbal ability. In J. D. Brown & S. O. Yamashita (Eds.), Language testing in Japan (pp. 149–165). Tokyo: The Japan Association for Language Teaching.Google Scholar
Kellerman, E., & van Hoof, A-M.
(2003) Manual accents. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 41, 251–269. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kendon, A.
(1981) Geography of gesture. Semiotica, 37, 129–163.Google Scholar
(1997) Gesture. Annual Review of Anthropology, 26, 109–128. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2000) Language and gesture: unity or duality? In D. McNeill (Ed.), Language and gesture (pp. 47–63). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2002) Some uses of the head shake. Gesture, 2(2), 147–182. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2004) Gesture: Visible action as utterance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Levelt, W. J. M.
(1993) Speaking: From intention to articulation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lewis, T.
(2012) The effect of context on the L2 thinking for speaking development of path gestures. L2 Journal, 4, 247–268. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loehr, D. P.
(2004) Gesture and intonation. PhD dissertation. Georgetown University.Google Scholar
Loehr, D.
(2007) Aspects of rhythm in gesture and speech. Gesture, 7(2), 179–214. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marcos, L. R.
(1979) Hand movements and nondominant fluency in bilingual. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 48, 207–214. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McCafferty, S. G.
(2006) Gesture and the materialization of second language prosody. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 44, 195–207. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McClave, E.
(1994) Gestural beats: The rhythm hypothesis. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 23(1), 45–66. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1998a) Pitch and manual gestures. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 27(1), 69–89. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1998b)  Cogniive and interactional functions of head movements. In S. Santi, I. Guaïtella, C. Cavé, & G. Konopczynski (Eds.), Oralité et gestualité: Communication multimodale, interaction (pp. 365–370). Paris: L’Harmattan.Google Scholar
(2000) Linguistic functions of head movements in the contest of speech. Journal of Pragmatics, 32, 855–878. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2001) Head movements in Arabic, Bulgarian, Korean and African American English: What’s cognitive and what’s cultural? In S. Santi, I. Guaïtella, C. Cavé, & G. Konopczynski (Eds.), Oralité et gestualité: Communication multimodale, interaction (pp. 560–564). Paris, France: L’Harmattan.Google Scholar
McClave, E., Kim, H., Tamer, R., & Mileff, M.
(2007) Head movements in the context of speech in Arabic, Bulgarian, Korean, and African-American Vernacular English. Gesture, 7(3), 343–390. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McNeill, D.
(1992) Hand and mind. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
(2005) Gesture and thought. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2012) How language began: Gesture and speech in human evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McNeill, D., & Duncan, S. D.
(2000) Growth points in thinking-for-speaking. In D. McNeill (Ed.), Language and gesture (pp. 141–161). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mead, George H.
(1934) Mind, self & society. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Morris, D., Collett, P., Marsh, P., & O’Shaughnessy, M.
(1979) Gestures their origins and distribution. London: Jonathan Cape.Google Scholar
Nambiar, M. K., & Goon, C.
(1993) Assessment of oral skills: A comparison of scores obtained through audio recordings to those obtained through face-to-face evaluation. RELC Journal: A Journal of Language Teaching and Research in Southeast Asia, 24(1), 15–31. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Negueruela, E., Lantolf, J. P., Rehn Jordan, S., & Gelabert, J.
(2004) The “private function” of gesture in second language speaking activity: A study of motion verbs and gesturing in English and Spanish. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14(1), 113–147. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Neu, J.
(1990) Assessing the role of nonverbal communication in the acquisition of communicative competence in L2. In R. Scarcella, E. S. Andersen, & S. D. Krashen (Eds.), Developing communicative competence in a second language (pp. 121–138). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Özçalışkan, Ş., & Goldin-Meadow, S.
(2005) Gesture is at the cutting edge of early language development. Cognition, 96(3), B101–B113. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Özçalışkan, S., & Goldin-Meadow, S.
(2009) When gesture-speech combinations do and do not index linguistic change. Language and Cognitive Processes, 24(2), 190–217. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Özyürek, A.
(2002) Do speakers design their cospeech gestures for their addressees? The effects of addressee location on representational gestures. Journal of Memory and Language, 46, 688–704. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Payrató, L.
(1993) A pragmatic view on autonomous gestures: A first repertoire of Catalan emblems. Journal of Pragmatics, 20(3), 193–116. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pennycook, A.
(1985) Actions speak louder than words: Paralanguage, communication and education. TESOL Quarterly, 19(2), 259–282. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ricci Bitti, P. E., & Poggi, I.
(1991) Symbolic nonverbal behavior: Talking through gestures. In R. S. Feldman & B. Rimé (Eds.), Fundamentals of nonverbal behavior (pp. 433–457). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sainsbury, P., & Wood, E.
(1977)  Measuring gesture: Its cultural and clinical correlates. Psychological Medicine, 7, 63–72. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sime, D.
(2008) “Because of her gesture, it’s very easy to understand” – Learners’ perceptions of teachers’ gestures in the foreign language class. In S. G. McCafferty, & G. Stam (Eds.), Gesture: Second language acquisition and classroom research (pp. 259–279). New York NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Stam, G.
(1998) Changes in patterns of thinking about motion with L2 acquisition. In S. Santi, I. Guaïtella, C. Cavé, & G. Konopczynski (Eds.), Oralité et gestualité: Communication multimodale, interaction (pp. 615–619). Paris: L’Harmattan.Google Scholar
(2001) Lexical failure and gesture in second language development. In C. Cavé, I. Guaïtella, & S. Santi (Eds.), Oralité et gestualité: Interactions et comportements multimodaux dans la communication (pp. 271–275). Paris: L’Harmattan.Google Scholar
(2006a) Changes in patterns of thinking with second language acquisition. PhD dissertation. University of Chicago.Google Scholar
(2006b) Thinking for speaking about motion: L1 and L2 speech and gesture. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 44(2), 143–169. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2008) What gestures reveal about second language acquisition. In S. G. McCafferty & G. Stam (Eds.), Gesture: Second language acquisition and classroom research (pp. 231–255). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
(2010) Can a L2 speaker’s patterns of thinking for speaking change? In Z. Han & T. Cadierno (Eds.), Linguistic relativity in SLA: Thinking for speaking (pp. 59–83). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2012) Gestes et recherche de mots en langue seconde. In R. Vion, A. Giacomi & C. Vargas (Eds.), La corporalité du langage: Multimodalité, discours et écriture. Hommage à Claire Maury-Rouan (pp. 55–71). Aix en Provence: Publications de l’Université de Provence.Google Scholar
(2013) Second language acquisition and gesture. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Stam, G
(2014) Why gesture! AL Forum –The Newsletter of the Applied Linguistics Section, TESOL, September 2014. < [URL]>Google Scholar
Stam, G.
(2015) Changes in thinking for speaking: A longitudinal case study. The Modern Language Journal, 99, 83–99. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2016) Gesture as a window onto conceptualization in multiple tasks: Implications for second language teaching. Yearbook of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association (GCLA), 4, 289–314. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2017) Verb framed, satellite framed or in between? A L2 learner’s thinking for speaking in her L1 and L2 over 14 years. In I. Ibarretxe-Antuñano (Ed.), Motion and space across languages: Theory and applications (pp. 329–365). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stam, G., & McCafferty, S. G.
(2008) Gesture studies and second language acquisition: A review. In S. G. McCafferty, & G. Stam (Eds.), Gesture: Second language acquisition and classroom research (pp. 3–24). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Stam, G., & Tellier, M.
(2017) Gestures: The sound of silence: How gestures in pauses can enhance interaction. In R. B. Church, M. W. Alibali, & S. D. Kelly (Eds.), Why gesture? How the hands function in speaking, thinking and communicating (pp. 353–378). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tabensky, Alexis
(2008)  Expository discourse in a second language classroom: How learners use gesture. In S. G. McCafferty & G. Stam (Eds.), Gesture: Second language acquisition and classroom research (pp. 298–320). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Tellier, M., & Stam, G.
(2012) Stratégies verbales et gestuelles dans l’explication lexical d’un verbe d’action. In V. Rivière (Ed.), Spécificités et diversité des interactions didactiques (pp. 357–374). Paris: Riveneuve éditions.Google Scholar
Tellier, M., Stam, G., & Bigi, B.
(2013) Gesturing while pausing in conversation: Self-oriented or partner-oriented? Proceedings from TiGeR 2013, Tilburg Gesture Research Meeting, 19–21 June.Google Scholar
von Humboldt, W.
(1836/1999) On language: On the diversity of human language construction and its influence on the mental development of the human species, Edited by M. Losonsky, Translated by P. Heath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
von Raffler-Engel, W.
(1980) Kinesics and paralinguistics: A neglected factor in second language research. Canadian Modern Language Review, 36(2), 225–237. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vygotsky, L. S.
(1986) Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Wilkin, K. & Holler, J.
(2011) Speakers’ use of ‘action’ and ‘entity’ gestures with definite and indefinite references. In G. Stam & M. Ishino, (Eds.), Integrating gestures: The interdisciplinary nature of gesture (pp. 293–307). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wylie, L.
(1985) Language learning and communication. The French Review, 58(6), 777–785.Google Scholar
Yoshioka, K.
(2008) Linguistic and gesture introduction of ground reference in L1 and L2 narrative. In S. G. McCafferty & G. Stam (Eds.), Gesture: Second language acquisition and classroom research (pp. 211–230). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Yoshioka, K., & Kellerman, E.
(2006) Gestural introduction of ground reference in L2 narrative discourse. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 44, 173–195. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 3 other publications

Lin, Yen-Liang
2021. Gestures as scaffolding for L2 narrative recall: The role of gesture type, task complexity, and working memory. Language Teaching Research ► pp. 136216882110445 ff. DOI logo
Lopez-Ozieblo, Renia
2020. A multimodal cognitive approach to aid the conceptualization of Spanish utterances with ‘se’. Cognitive Linguistics 31:4 ► pp. 677 ff. DOI logo
Lopez-Ozieblo, Renia
2022. Cut-offs and co-occurring gestures: Similarities between speakers’ first and second languages . International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 60:3 ► pp. 647 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 20 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.