Gesture reflects or body language language development: Evidence from bilingual children

Using hand gestures to help you in expressing yourself was seen as a sign of weak verbal or language development.  A substitution for verbal fluency.  However, the work on Elena Nicoladis Department of Psychology University of Alberta indicates the contrary. Children who used more hand gestures and expressive body language had significantly stronger verbal and language skills than those who used less expressive body language. Children were asked to tell stories and those who used their hands illustrate or dramatizes their stories were more developed in terms of languages. Elena Nicholadis thinks there is a connection between language, memory and fluency of hand gestures.

Girls used more hand gestures than boys

Elena Nicholadis’ research showed girls used hand gestures more than boys when trying to express themselves, which corresponded with the notion that girls  have superior language abilities and faster development.

Techniques to learn a language, body language

If you want to learn a second language, use hand gestures, use body language. When you are at a sticking point with expressing yourself start gesturing, this will help to get the language out believes Nicholadis.  Nicholadis focused her research on bilingual children and although she is not studying learning a second languages directly, her idea of using body language to enhance verbal language is grounded in a very plausible idea.

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Tags: bilingual, body-language, children, hand gestures, How to learn a language, language, techniques to learn a language, verbal