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In:Speaking in a Second Language
Edited by Rosa Alonso Alonso
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 17] 2018
► pp. 49–67

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Chapter 3
Gesture and speaking a second language

 | National Louis University
Published online: 12 April 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.17.03sta
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
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