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Article published In: Gesture
Vol. 20:3 (2021) ► pp.376–416

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Representational gestures correlated with meaning-associated aspects of L2 speech performance

 | Capital Normal University
 | University of International Business and Economics
 | University of Auckland
Published online: 30 August 2022
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https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.19017.ma
Abstract
Gesture and speech are closely associated channels involved in conveying meaning. Previous studies have reported the relationship between gesture use and speech performance for highly proficient speakers. This study extends the investigation of this relationship by correlating the representational gesture rate and complexity, accuracy, and fluency measures for L2 speech produced by lower-intermediate-level EFL learners with Chinese as their L1. Three speech tasks were adopted with two activating concrete concepts and one abstract concepts. The results showed that the representational gesture rate was correlated with meaning-associated but not form-associated speech measures for L2 learners, and that the task type did not influence the relationship between gesture and speech. This study suggests that representational gesture use has a close relationship with meaning-related speech measures for lower proficiency L2 speakers when they talk about both concrete and abstract concepts.
Article outline
  • Background
    • The facilitating effect of representational gestures on speech production
    • Representational gestures and speech performance
    • Complexity, accuracy, and fluency in L2
    • Representational gestures and speech content
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Instruments
    • Procedures
    • Transcription
    • Calculation and coding of speech measures
    • Coding and calculation of gesture measures
  • Results
    • Research question 1: Correlations of the representational gesture rate and speech performance
    • Research question 2: Interaction effects of the representational gesture rate and the task type on speech performance
  • Discussion
    • Correlations of the representational gesture rate and speech performance measures for L2 learners
    • Interaction effects of the representational gesture rate and the task type on L2 speech performance
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (66)
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