Gestures in language acquisition are a form of non-verbal communication involving movements of the hands, arms, and/or other parts of the body. Children can use gesture to communicate before they have the ability to use spoken words and phrases. In this way gestures can prepare children to learn a spoken language, creating a bridge from pre-verbal communication to speech.[1][2] The onset of gesture has also been shown to predict and facilitate children's spoken language acquisition.[3][4] Once children begin to use spoken words their gestures can be used in conjunction with these words to form phrases and eventually to express thoughts and complement vocalized ideas.[4]
Gestures not only complement language development but also enhance the child’s ability to communicate. Gestures allow the child to convey a message or thought that they would not be able to easily express using their limited vocabulary. Children's gestures are classified into different categories occurring in different stages of development. The categories of children's gesture include deictic and representational gestures.[5]
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