Abstract
Through providing an external support to speech, gesture observation may benefit a student’s learning in a variety of areas, including narrative comprehension. Across two studies, we investigated factors that could moderate when gestures are most beneficial to narrative comprehension, including gesture type, task difficulty, and age, in order to help determine when gestures benefit narrative comprehension most. Crucially, observing typical gestures significantly benefited narrative comprehension (measured by specific questions relating to gesture points) compared with atypical or no gestures, which did not differ significantly. When measured through free recall and specific questions, these effects were not moderated by total task difficulty or age. This finding suggests that how beneficial a gesture is for narrative comprehension may depend more on the kind of gesture observed rather than on age or the difficulty of the task. It may be that typical gestures benefit narrative comprehension more than atypical gestures due to the typical gestures being more semantically related to accompanying speech. In a second study, typical gestures were rated as more semantically related to the speech than were atypical gestures. We argue that educators’ use of typical, frequently produced iconic gestures that are adequately semantically related to speech may enhance student understanding.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agostinho, S., Tindall-Ford, S., Ginns, P., Howard, S. J., Leahy, W., & Paas, F. (2015). Giving learning a helping hand: Finger tracing of temperature graphs on an iPad. Educational Psychology Review, 27(3), 427–443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9315-5.
Alibali, M. W., & Nathan, M. J. (2012). Embodiment in mathematics teaching and learning: evidence from learners’ and teachers’ gestures. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 21(2), 247–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2011.611446.
Alloway, T. P., Gathercole, S. E., & Pickering, S. J. (2006). Verbal and visuospatial short-term and working memory in children: are they separable? Child Development, 77(6), 1698–1716. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00968.x.
Austin, E. E., & Sweller, N. (2014). Presentation and production: the role of gesture in spatial communication. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 122(1), 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2013.12.008.
Austin, E. E., & Sweller, N. (2017). Getting to the elephants: gesture and preschoolers’ comprehension of route direction information. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 163, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.05.016.
Austin, E. E., Sweller, N., & Van Bergen, P. (2018). Pointing the way forward: gesture and adults’ recall of route direction information. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000168
Beattie, G., & Shovelton, H. (1999). Do iconic hand gestures really contribute anything to the semantic information conveyed by speech? An experimental investigation. Semiotica, 123(1-2), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.1999.123.1-2.1.
Berger, K. W., & Popelka, G. R. (1971). Extra-facial gestures in relation to speechreading. Journal of Communication Disorders, 3(4), 302–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9924(71)90036-0.
Biau, E., & Soto-Faraco, S. (2013). Beat gestures modulate auditory integration in speech perception. Brain and Language, 124(2), 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2012.10.008.
Bull, R., Espy, K. A., & Wiebe, S. A. (2008). Short-term memory, working memory, and executive functioning in preschoolers. Developmental Neuropsychology, 33(3), 205–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/87565640801982312.Short-Term.
Cherng, R. J., Liang, L. Y., Hwang, I. S., & Chen, J. Y. (2007). The effect of a concurrent task on the walking performance of preschool children. Gait and Posture, 26(2), 231–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2006.09.004.
Christoffels, I. K. (2006). Listening while talking: the retention of prose under articulatory suppression in relation to simultaneous interpreting. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 18(2), 206–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/09541440500162073.
Cook, S. W. (2018). Enhancing learning with hand gestures: potential mechanisms. In Psychology of learning and motivation - advances in research and theory (pp. 107–133). Amsterdam, NL: Elsevier Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.plm.2018.10.001.
Cook, S. W., Duffy, R. G., & Fenn, K. M. (2013). Consolidation and transfer of learning after observing hand gesture. Child Development, 84(6), 1863–1871. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12097.
Craik, F. I. M., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: a framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 671–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(72)80001-X.
Craik, F. I., & Tulving, E. (1975). Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 104(3), 268–294. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.104.3.268.
Dahl, T. I., & Ludvigsen, S. (2014). How I see what you’re saying: the role of gestures in native and foreign language listening comprehension. Modern Language Journal, 98(3), 813–833. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12124.
Dargue, N., & Sweller, N. (2018a). Donald Duck’s garden: the effects of observing iconic reinforcing and contradictory gestures on narrative comprehension. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 175, 96–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2018.06.004.
Dargue, N., & Sweller, N. (2018b). Not all gestures are created equal: the effects of typical and atypical iconic gestures on narrative comprehension. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 42(3), 327–345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-018-0278-3.
Dargue, N., Sweller, N., & Jones, M. P. (2019). When our hands help us understand: a meta-analysis into the effects of gesture on comprehension. Psychological Bulletin. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000202
de Nooijer, J. A., van Gog, T., Paas, F., & Zwaan, R. A. (2014). Words in action: using gestures to improve verb learning in primary school children. Gesture, 14(1), 46–69. https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.14.1.03noo.
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(1), 212–222. https://doi.org/10.1044/2016_jslhr-h-16-0101.
Driskell, J. E., & Radtke, P. H. (2003). The effect of gesture on speech production and comprehension. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 45(3), 445–454. https://doi.org/10.1518/hfes.45.3.445.27258.
Flevares, L. M., & Perry, M. (2001). How many do you see? The use of nonspoken representations in first-grade mathematics lessons. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(2), 330–345. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.93.2.330.
Gordon, A. C. L., & Olson, D. R. (1998). The relation between acquisition of a theory of mind and the capacity to hold in mind. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 68(1), 70–83. https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1997.2423.
Holle, H., Obermeier, C., Schmidt-Kassow, M., Friederici, A. D., Ward, J., & Gunter, T. C. (2012). Gesture facilitates the syntactic analysis of speech. Frontiers in Psychology, 3(MAR), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00074.
Hostetter, A. B. (2011). When do gestures communicate? A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 137(2), 297–315. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022128.
Hostetter, A. B., & Alibali, M. W. (2008). Visible embodiment: gestures as simulated action. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 15(3), 495–514. https://doi.org/10.3758/PBR.15.3.495.
Hostetter, A. B., & Alibali, M. W. (2010). Language, gesture, action! A test of the gesture as simulated action framework. Journal of Memory and Language, 63(2), 245–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2010.04.003.
Hough, M. S. (1990). Narrative comprehension in adults with right and left hemisphere brain-damage: theme organization. Brain and Language, 38(2), 253–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(90)90114-V.
Hupp, J. M., & Gingras, M. C. (2016). The role of gesture meaningfulness in word learning. Gesture, 15(3), 340–356. https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.15.3.04hup.
Igualada, A., Esteve-Gibert, N., & Prieto, P. (2017). Beat gestures improve word recall in 3- to 5-year-old children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 156, 99–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2016.11.017.
Joshi, R. (2005). Vocabulary: a critical component of comprehension. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 21(3), 209–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573560590949278.
Kelly, S. D. (2001). Broadening the units of analysis in communication: speech and nonverbal behaviours in pragmatic comprehension. Journal of Child Language, 28(2), 325–349. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000901004664.
Kelly, S. D., Barr, D. J., Church, R. B., & Lynch, K. (1999). Offering a hand to pragmatic understanding: the role of speech and gesture in comprehension and memory. Journal of Memory and Language, 40(4), 577–592. https://doi.org/10.1006/jmla.1999.2634.
Kelly, S. D., & Church, R. B. (1998). A comparison between children’s and adults’ ability to detect conceptual information conveyed through representational gestures. Child Development, 69(1), 85–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06135.x.
Kelly, S. D., & Lee, A. L. (2011). Language and cognitive processes when actions speak too much louder than words: hand gestures disrupt word learning when phonetic demands are high demands are high. Language and Cognitive Processes, 27(6), 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/01690965.2011.581125.
Krahmer, E., & Swerts, M. (2007). The effects of visual beats on prosodic prominence: acoustic analyses, auditory perception and visual perception. Journal of Memory and Language, 57(3), 396–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2007.06.005.
Lyle, S. (2000). Narrative understanding: developing a theoretical context for understanding how children make meaning in classroom settings. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 32(1), 45–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/002202700182844.
Macoun, A., & Sweller, N. (2016). Listening and watching: the effects of observing gesture on preschoolers’ narrative comprehension. Cognitive Development, 40, 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2016.08.005.
McNeil, N., Alibali, M., & Evans, J. (2000). The role of gesture in children’s comprehension of spoken language: now they need it, now they don’t. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 24(2), 131–150. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006657929803.
McNeill, D. (1992). Hand and mind: what gestures reveal about thought. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
McNeill, D. (2000). Language and gesture. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Namy, L. L. (2008). Recognition of iconicity doesn’t come for free. Developmental Science, 11(6), 841–846. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00732.x.
Namy, L. L., Campbell, A. L., & Tomasello, M. (2004). The changing role of iconicity in non-verbal symbol learning: a U-shaped trajectory in the acquisition of arbitrary gestures. Journal of Cognition and Development, 5(1), 37–57. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327647jcd0501_3.
Novack, M., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2015). Learning from gesture: how our hands change our minds. Educational Psychology Review, 27(3), 405–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9325-3.
Paivio, A. (2014). Intelligence, dual coding theory, and the brain. Intelligence, 47, 141–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2014.09.002.
Parrill, F. (2009). Dual viewpoint gestures. Gesture, 9(3), 271–289. https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.9.3.01par.
Passolunghi, M. C., & Costa, H. M. (2016). Working memory and early numeracy training in preschool children. Child Neuropsychology, 22(1), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2014.971726.
Pi, Z., Hong, J., & Yang, J. (2017). Effects of the instructor’s pointing gestures on learning performance in video lectures. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(4), 1020–1029. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12471.
Pickering, S., & Gathercole, S. (2001). Working memory test battery for children (WMTB-C) manual. London, UK: The Psychological Corporation.
Repetto, C., Pedroli, E., & Macedonia, M. (2017). Enrichment effects of gestures and pictures on abstract words in a second language. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(DEC), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02136.
Riseborough, M. G. (1981). Physiographic gestures as decoding facilitators: three experiments exploring a neglected facet of communication. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 5(3), 172–183. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00986134.
Rowe, M. L., Silverman, R. D., & Mullan, B. E. (2013). The role of pictures and gestures as nonverbal aids in preschoolers’ word learning in a novel language. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 38(2), 109–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2012.12.001.
Sadoski, M. (2018). Reading comprehension is embodied: theoretical and practical considerations. Educational Psychology Review, 30(2), 331–349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-017-9412-8.
Schmithorst, V. J., Holland, S. K., & Plante, E. (2006). Cognitive modules utilized for narrative comprehension in children: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. NeuroImage, 29(1), 254–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.07.020.
Solari, E. J., Grimm, R. P., McIntyre, N. S., & Denton, C. A. (2018). Reading comprehension development in at-risk vs. not at-risk first grade readers: the differential roles of listening comprehension, decoding, and fluency. Learning and Individual Differences, 65, 195–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2018.06.005.
Stanfield, C., Williamson, R., & Özçalişkan, Ş. (2014). How early do children understand gesture-speech combinations with iconic gestures? Journal of Child Language, 41(2), 462–471. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000913000019.
Straube, B., Green, A., Weis, S., Chatterjee, A., & Kircher, T. (2008). Memory effects of speech and gesture binding: cortical and hippocampal activation in relation to subsequent memory performance. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(4), 821–836 Retrieved from http://repository.upenn.edu/neuroethics_pubs/56.
Swanson, H. L. (2013). Abbreviated test of working memory. In American Psychological Association. Washington D.C.: PsycTESTS.
Valenzeno, L., Alibali, M. W., & Klatzky, R. (2003). Teachers’ gestures facilitate students’ learning: a lesson in symmetry. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 28(2), 187–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-476X(02)00007-3.
Wakefield, E., Novack, M. A., Congdon, E. L., Franconeri, S., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2018). Gesture helps learners learn, but not merely by guiding their visual attention. Developmental Science, 21(6), e12664. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12664.
Wechsler, D. (2012). Wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence (4th ed.). Bloomington, MN: Pearson.
Woodall, W. G., & Folger, J. P. (1981). Encoding specificity and nonverbal cue context: an expansion of episodic memory research. Communication Monographs, 48(1), 39–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637758109376046.
Woodall, W. G., & Folger, J. P. (1985). Nonverbal cue context and episodic memory: on the availability and endurance of nonverbal behaviors as retrieval cues. Communication Monographs, 52(4), 319–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637758509376115.
Xenidou-Dervou, I., van Lieshout, E. C. D. M., & van der Schoot, M. (2014). Working memory in nonsymbolic approximate arithmetic processing: a dual-task study with preschoolers. Cognitive Science, 38(1), 101–127. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12053.
Acknowledgments
Warmest thanks to Tamara Paulin for the narration of the task and to Nicola McKern and Elyssa Hannan for double-coding the data. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dargue, N., Sweller, N. Learning Stories Through Gesture: Gesture’s Effects on Child and Adult Narrative Comprehension. Educ Psychol Rev 32, 249–276 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09505-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09505-0