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Listening with Your Eyes: The Importance of Speech‐Related Gestures in the Language Classroom
Author(s) -
Harris Tony
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.2003.tb01468.x
Subject(s) - gesture , active listening , argument (complex analysis) , nonverbal communication , psychology , comprehension , linguistics , communication , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry
This article presents the argument that nonverbal communication (NVC) forms an important part of everyday speech transmission and therefore should occupy a more central position in second and foreign language (L2) teaching than it currently does. The role played by NVC in a three‐turn conversational exchange is examined and the literature supporting the notion that speech‐related gestures (i.e., illustrators) have a definite message‐carrying junction is reviewed. Two illustrative gestures from a television script excerpt are analyzed; it is demonstrated that such gestures may assist in the decoding of speech at the “while‐listening” stage of L2 listening comprehension.