Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
Published on: January 26, 2024
Gesture and language in narratives and explanations: the effects of age and communicative activity on late multimodal
Asela Reig Alamillo1, Jean-Marc Colletta, Michèle Guidetti
1Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Mexico. asselareig@gmail.com
Abstract:
This article addresses the effect of communicative activity on the use of language and gesture by school-age children. The present study examined oral narratives and explanations produced by children aged six and ten years on the basis of several linguistic and gestural measures. Results showed that age affects both gestural and linguistic behaviour, supporting previous findings that multimodal discourse continues to develop during the school-age years. The task (narration vs. explanation) also had clear effects on the use of language and gesture: gestures and subordinate markers were more frequent in explanations than in narratives, whereas cohesion markers were more often used in narratives. Altogether, these results show partly distinctive developmental patterns between narrative monologic discourse behaviour and explanatory behaviour in the context of dialogue and question-answer exchanges.
Related Concept Videos
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Language and Cognition
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Components of Language
Social Foundations of Self IV: Self in Digital Communication

