Using gestures in everyday life supports speech development and expands active vocabulary. But how and why, exactly? Maria from talking hands explains it in this article.

How is communication learned?

In language acquisition, we distinguish between two types of vocabulary: what you understand (receptive) and what you can then say yourself (active). The more information your brain has about a word, the more securely it is stored. The word can then be retrieved and spoken more quickly and easily in the future. So, when you involve as many senses as possible while learning a word, it can shorten the learning process. This is, for example, how it works with the flipbooks from talking hands. By flipping through the booklet, you see the individual images of the sign played like a film, which gives your child a strong sense of self-efficacy and engages multiple senses. Your child can feel the flipbook in their hands, see the “film” as well as the word in written form, and finally integrate the hand movements into their own motor processes when they imitate the sign. This gives the brain the opportunity to truly “grasp” the word, regardless of whether a child can hear or not.

Advantages of using gestures

For example, it also teaches your child an understanding of symbols, since different signs have specific meanings. In addition, it supports shy children, for whom making a hand gesture can feel easier than pronouncing certain words out loud, in communicating. When learning vocabulary for foreign languages later on, gestures can also be excellent support. They can also help in conflict situations by making it easier to communicate your emotions to others and to understand the emotions of others. Needs and wishes can often be expressed much more easily with the help of gestures, which not only reduces frustration but also eases feelings of helplessness. And don’t forget the fun children have when they pair words and actions in everyday life with exciting hand movements that even friends can understand.

Gestures as part of communication

Are gestures something foreign to us? No, not at all. Gestures are innate to every person. The development of gestures is a fundamental part of communication, as you can see, for example, in how early babies move their hands—even before they can speak. In the brain, the control centers for hand movements, as well as mouth and lip movements, are located next to each other. This means multiple areas of the brain are activated when you connect speech with your hands. But could it happen that your child eventually only signs and no longer speaks? This fear is completely unfounded. The brain uses gestures as a bridge, which means speech acquisition is not impaired but, on the contrary, supported in both speed and efficiency. To support your child's communication, it’s enough to start with a few simple gestures that are easy to incorporate into everyday life. You’ll see how quickly your child adopts the gestures and how eager they are to learn more.