The Temporal Alignment of Gestures and Speech in First and Second Language Speakers

Kijak, Natalia (2025) The Temporal Alignment of Gestures and Speech in First and Second Language Speakers. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Gestures and speech form an integrated system of communication, closely aligned in time. But what happens to this coordination when we speak in a second language? This study examines whether speaking in your first (L1) or second (L2) language influences the temporal alignment between gestures and speech. Drawing on the Lexical Retrieval Hypothesis and the Gesture-for-Conceptualization Hypothesis, we hypothesized that L2 speakers would show a greater temporal gap between gesture onset and corresponding speech onset, as well as a stronger tendency for gestures to precede speech. An experimental study was conducted in which participants discussed prepared prompts in dyads. The discussions were recorded, and then both gestures (G-units, G-phases, types of gestures) and speech were annotated in ELAN. The measures of absolute and raw synchrony, along with a language proficiency test score, were used as dependent variables. While L1 speakers scored significantly higher on the language proficiency test, no significant differences were found between the groups in either synchrony measure. Notably, both groups displayed a consistent pattern of gestures preceding speech. These results suggest that the timing of multimodal communication may be governed by more universal processes that are robust across levels of language proficiency. Future research can build on this foundation to better understand how multimodal communication develops across languages and other contexts. Keywords: gestures, speech, gesture-speech coordination, multimodal communication, temporal alignment, language proficiency, L1 speakers, L2 speakers

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Jonge-Hoekstra, L. de
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	18 Jun 2025 14:14
Last Modified:	18 Jun 2025 14:14
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4941

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