Creativity-Induced Forms of Non-Verbal Communication in the Process of Vocabulary Internalization in Case of Young Learners

Krzysztof Polok

Akademia Techniczno-Humanistyczna w Bielsku-Białej

Olga Stankiewicz

Royal Academy of English in Rybnik

Eva Stradiotova

Fakulta aplikovaných jazykov EU v Bratislave


Abstract

The study is aimed to answer whether the use of iconic nonverbal gestures positively
influences the acquisition of selected vocabulary by young learners. The research entailed
20 young private language school students split into Experimental (G1) group, where
students were taught by the use of the gestural method; and Control (G2) group taught
the same material using the traditional way of acquiring vocabulary. In both cases,
the treatment lasted 4 weeks with two 50 minute-long lessons weekly. To measure the
data from the treatment time, the pre-test and the post-test were employed. The t-tests
were applied for statistical calculations. The basic measurement instruments, such as
mean, mode, median, variance, and standard devotion were analysed. Additionally, the
observation sessions were conducted in each group during the third week of the study.
The gathered information allowed us to prove the hypothesis that gestures have a positive
influence on retention of acquired vocabulary among six-year-old learners.




Allen L. (1995): The effects of emblematic gestures on the development and access of mental representations of French expressions. “The Modern Language Journal” 79(4), pp. 521–529.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Allen L. (2000): Nonverbal accommodations in foreign language teacher talk. “Applied Language Learning” 11, pp. 155–176.   Google Scholar

Carels P.E. (1981): Pantomime in the Foreign Language Classroom. “Foreign Language Annals” 14(5), pp. 407–411.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Craft A. (2005): Creativity in Schools: Tensions and Dilemmas. London.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Cristilli C. (2014): How gestures help children to track reference in narrative. [In:] From gesture in conversation to visible action as utterance. M. Seyfeddinipur & M. Gullberg (eds.). Amsterdam, pp. 331–349.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Davidheiser J. (2002): Teaching German with TPRS (total physical response storytelling). “Teaching German” 35(1), pp. 25–35.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Flevares L.M. & Perry M. (2001): How many do you see? The use of non-spoken representations in first-grade mathematics lessons. “Journal of Educational Psychology” 93, pp. 330–345.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Goldin-Meadow S., Kim S., & Singer M. (1999): What the teacher’s hands tell the student’s mind about math. “Journal of Educational Psychology” 91(4), pp. 720.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Goldin-Meadow S., Nusbaum H., Kelly S., Wagner S. (2001): Explaining math: gesturing lightens the load. “Psychological Science” 12, 516–522.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Gregersen T.S. (2007): Language learning beyond words: Incorporating body language into classroom activities. “Journal of Reflections on English Language Teaching” 6, pp. 51–64.   Google Scholar

Kendon A. (1986): Approaches to gesture. Amsterdam.   Google Scholar

Marlsen-Wilson W.D., Levy, E.T. & Tyler L. (1982): Producing Interpretable Discourse: The Establishment and Maintenance of Reference. [In:]: Speech, Place and Action. R.J. Jarvella & W. Klein (eds.). London.   Google Scholar

McNeill D. (1991): Hand and mind: What gestures reveal about thought. Chicago.   Google Scholar

McNeill D. & Levy E. (1982): Conceptual representations in language activity and gesture. [In:] Speech, place, and action: Studies in deixis and related topics. R. Jarvella & W. Klein (eds.). Chichester, pp. 271–290.   Google Scholar

Seaver P.W. (1992): Pantomime as an L2 Classroom Strategy. “Foreign Language Annals” 25(1), pp. 21–31.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Sooriya P. (2017): Non Verbal Communication. Solapur.   Google Scholar

Tellier M. (2008): The effect of gestures on second language memorisation by young children. “Gesture, John Benjamins Publishing” 8(2), pp. 219–235.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Thornbury S. (2013, May 26): G is for Gesture [Web log post], accessed: 14.06.2017.   Google Scholar

Wertheim E.G. (2008): The Importance of Effective Communication, , accessed: 14.06.2017.   Google Scholar

Zeqiri L. (2013): Examining the Effectiveness of Some Creative Teaching Techniques Used at the Language Center, South East European University. “Journal of Education and Practice” 4(19), pp. 1–10.   Google Scholar

Download


Published
2022-09-30

Cited by

Polok, K., Stankiewicz, O., & Stradiotova, E. (2022). Creativity-Induced Forms of Non-Verbal Communication in the Process of Vocabulary Internalization in Case of Young Learners. Prace Językoznawcze, 24(3), 161–171. https://doi.org/10.31648/pj.7933

Krzysztof Polok 
Akademia Techniczno-Humanistyczna w Bielsku-Białej
Olga Stankiewicz 
Royal Academy of English in Rybnik
Eva Stradiotova 
Fakulta aplikovaných jazykov EU v Bratislave



License

Copyright (c) 2022 Prace Językoznawcze

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Access to the electronic edition of the journal is open (open access). It does not require any fees, logging in or providing personal data. Every person, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality, faith or political opinion, may read articles published in "Prace Językoznawcze", download versions of texts in PDF file format, identical to the printed version, and submit for publication texts of their authorship, concerning linguistic issues and meeting editorial substantive and editorial requirements and academic ethical standards binding in science.

Authors of texts may place PDF files with their texts or the entire issue of a journal on scientific Internet portals, indicating the source of the text. The number of PDF files to be used is unlimited. It is forbidden to use the texts commercially or to derive material benefits from them. The Editorial Board has the right to publish the received texts in printed and electronic editions and to disseminate their entirety as well as abstracts and keywords on the website of the journal, the publishing platform of the University of Warmia and Mazury, in printed editions and in Internet scientific databases.