Methodological reflections on gesture analysis in second language acquisition and bilingualism research

Abstract

Gestures, i.e. the symbolic movements that speakers perform while they speak, form a closely interconnected system with speech, where gestures serve both addressee-directed (‘communicative’) and speaker-directed (‘internal’) functions. This article aims (1) to show that a combined analysis of gesture and speech offers new ways to address theoretical issues in second language acquisition (SLA) and bilingualism studies, probing SLA and bilingualism as product and process; and (2) to outline some methodological concerns and desiderata to facilitate the inclusion of gesture in SLA and bilingualism research.