Gale Stam | National Louis University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Gale Stam
John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks, Jun 6, 2007
Most second language acquisition research has concentrated on learners' speech. This paper argues... more Most second language acquisition research has concentrated on learners' speech. This paper argues that it is necessary to look at both learners' speech and gesture in order to better understand second language acquisition. It provides a summary of the second language acquisition process and the types of studies that have been conducted in the field. It discusses how gesture can be used to investigate learners' thinking for speaking.
Multilingual Matters eBooks, Dec 31, 2010
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jul 24, 2012
Individuals have their own unique way of gesturing; therefore, it is unlikely that different spea... more Individuals have their own unique way of gesturing; therefore, it is unlikely that different speakers saying the same sentence will gesture in the same way. However, what happens when a single person repeats the same thing to a single partner or to different partners? In an ongoing study on gestures in foreigner talk (Tellier, & Stam, 2010), we asked 10 future teachers of French to make different partners guess 12 words. They had to explain the same words to both a native and a non-native partner (a learner of French, level B1/B2 - European Framework), and we investigated how the change of partner affected their gestures. In a descriptive analysis, we have focused on self-repetitions. Participants tend to use the same sentences or expressions in both conditions (native and non-native) but with different gestures. For instance, gestures used in the non-native condition tend to be more iconic (examples 1 & 2) and/or larger, hence more helpful for the listener. Moreover, when talking to a non-native, in a conversation that fails more often, participants often use self-repetitions in the course of the same interaction. In this case, gestures sometimes evolve to become more significant and visible (examples 3, 4 & 5). However this is not a consistent pattern.
Applied Linguistics, May 30, 2012
Routledge eBooks, Aug 3, 2022
Gesture in Language, 2021
From the perspective that language and language usage consist of both speech and gesture (McNeill... more From the perspective that language and language usage consist of both speech and gesture (McNeill 1992, 2005, 2012) a number of studies have been conducted to examine gesture's role in second language (L2) acquisition over the past thirty years. These studies have demonstrated the important role that gesture plays in both second and foreign language learning and teaching 1 (for reviews,
International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching
This paper investigates the question of whether systematically organized instruction in L2 thinki... more This paper investigates the question of whether systematically organized instruction in L2 thinking for speaking (TFS) can promote a shift from verb-framed L1 (Spanish) to satellite-framed L2 (English) TFS that encompasses the ability to appropriately express in speech and in gesture Path and Manner of Motion in the new language. A pretest narration-instruction-posttest narration design was used to evaluate whether the TFS patterns of seven L1 Spanish learners of L2 English changed as a result of Concept-Based Language Instruction. Learners’ pretest narrations showed primarily L1 patterns with some intermittent L2 TFS patterns. Following instruction, learners showed a shift to more L2 TFS patterns both linguistically and crucially gesturally, including the use of manner verbs, accumulation of path components within a single clause along with multiple path gestures, and boundary crossing gestures. These findings indicate that explicit Concept-Based Language Instruction is able to pro...
John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks, Jun 6, 2007
Most second language acquisition research has concentrated on learners' speech. This paper argues... more Most second language acquisition research has concentrated on learners' speech. This paper argues that it is necessary to look at both learners' speech and gesture in order to better understand second language acquisition. It provides a summary of the second language acquisition process and the types of studies that have been conducted in the field. It discusses how gesture can be used to investigate learners' thinking for speaking.
Multilingual Matters eBooks, Dec 31, 2010
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jul 24, 2012
Individuals have their own unique way of gesturing; therefore, it is unlikely that different spea... more Individuals have their own unique way of gesturing; therefore, it is unlikely that different speakers saying the same sentence will gesture in the same way. However, what happens when a single person repeats the same thing to a single partner or to different partners? In an ongoing study on gestures in foreigner talk (Tellier, & Stam, 2010), we asked 10 future teachers of French to make different partners guess 12 words. They had to explain the same words to both a native and a non-native partner (a learner of French, level B1/B2 - European Framework), and we investigated how the change of partner affected their gestures. In a descriptive analysis, we have focused on self-repetitions. Participants tend to use the same sentences or expressions in both conditions (native and non-native) but with different gestures. For instance, gestures used in the non-native condition tend to be more iconic (examples 1 & 2) and/or larger, hence more helpful for the listener. Moreover, when talking to a non-native, in a conversation that fails more often, participants often use self-repetitions in the course of the same interaction. In this case, gestures sometimes evolve to become more significant and visible (examples 3, 4 & 5). However this is not a consistent pattern.
Applied Linguistics, May 30, 2012
Routledge eBooks, Aug 3, 2022
Gesture in Language, 2021
From the perspective that language and language usage consist of both speech and gesture (McNeill... more From the perspective that language and language usage consist of both speech and gesture (McNeill 1992, 2005, 2012) a number of studies have been conducted to examine gesture's role in second language (L2) acquisition over the past thirty years. These studies have demonstrated the important role that gesture plays in both second and foreign language learning and teaching 1 (for reviews,
International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching
This paper investigates the question of whether systematically organized instruction in L2 thinki... more This paper investigates the question of whether systematically organized instruction in L2 thinking for speaking (TFS) can promote a shift from verb-framed L1 (Spanish) to satellite-framed L2 (English) TFS that encompasses the ability to appropriately express in speech and in gesture Path and Manner of Motion in the new language. A pretest narration-instruction-posttest narration design was used to evaluate whether the TFS patterns of seven L1 Spanish learners of L2 English changed as a result of Concept-Based Language Instruction. Learners’ pretest narrations showed primarily L1 patterns with some intermittent L2 TFS patterns. Following instruction, learners showed a shift to more L2 TFS patterns both linguistically and crucially gesturally, including the use of manner verbs, accumulation of path components within a single clause along with multiple path gestures, and boundary crossing gestures. These findings indicate that explicit Concept-Based Language Instruction is able to pro...
Multimodality and multilingual interaction across epistemologies , 2024
This chapter discusses the multimodal expression of motion events in Grades 4 and 6 isiXhosa-spea... more This chapter discusses the multimodal expression of motion events in Grades 4 and 6 isiXhosa-speaking children learning English. We video-taped learners narrating two episodes of the cartoon, Canary Row, in English and isiXhosa to investigate their thinking for speaking (TFS) linguistically and gesturally about Path in their L1 isiXhosa and L2 English. Learners’ TFS patterns are affected by language and age. Both age groups produced more path gestures with verbs in isiXhosa as expected with a verb-framed language. Grade 6 children produced more path gestures with satellites in English than Grade 4 children learning English. IsiXhosa speakers express Path in gesture and speech similarly to speakers of other verb-framed languages and exhibit comparable transitional learning patterns as they acquire English.
Speaking in a Second Language, 2018
Speaking in a second language involves not just speech; it also involves gesture (Stam, 2014). To... more Speaking in a second language involves not just speech; it also involves gesture (Stam, 2014). To not consider gesture in second language speaking is to ignore an integral part of language and interaction. When we view language as only speech, we view only one aspect of language and thought, the verbal aspect. We ignore gesture, the imagistic aspect. We take only a static view of language and ignore the dynamic aspect as David McNeill (2012) has pointed out. Speaking is not a static activity; it is an action. This chapter discusses why gestures need to be taken into account when looking at speaking in a second language.
Gesture and Multimodality in Second Language Acquisition: A Research Guide, 2023
The Palgrave Handbook of Applied Linguistics Research Methodolgy, 2018
If we take the perspective that language is more than just speech, that it also includes gesture ... more If we take the perspective that language is more than just speech, that it also includes gesture (McNeill, Hand and mind, University of Chicago Press, 1992; McNeill, Gesture and thought, University of Chicago Press, 2005), then learners’ and teachers’ gestures need to be taken into account in second language teaching and learning research. This chapter provides an overview of the last several decades of research in second language acquisition, both inside and outside of the classroom, that examines the speech and gestures of second language learners and second and foreign language teachers. It discusses various research designs and methods, such as how gestures are coded to address the studies’ research questions.
The Routledge Handbook of Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Development, 2018
ORALITÉ ET GESTUALITÉ: COMMUNICATION MULTIMODALE, INTERACTION., 1998
Within a framework that views speech and gesture as a single-integrated system (McNeill 1992), th... more Within a framework that views speech and gesture as a single-integrated system (McNeill 1992), this paper discusses how patterns of thinking about motion change linguistically and gesturally for Spanish-speaking ESL learners in their process of acquiring English.
A gesture as defined in the American Heritage Dictionary: Fourth Edition is “a motion of the limb... more A gesture as defined in the American Heritage Dictionary: Fourth Edition is “a motion of the limbs or body made to express or help express thought or to emphasize speech.”Keywords:second language acquisition;classroom;gesture;research;speechsecond language acquisition;classroom;gesture;research;speech
Motion and Space across Languages: Theory and applications, 2017
Crosslinguistic research on motion events shows that Spanish and English speakers have different ... more Crosslinguistic research on motion events shows that Spanish and English speakers have different patterns of thinking for speaking about motion in speech and gesture (Stam 2015). Spanish speakers express Path linguistically and gesturally with verbs, while English speakers express Path linguistically and gesturally with satellites. This chapter investigates whether a second language learner’s thinking for speaking patterns about motion continued to change in her L1 (Spanish) and L2 (English) over a 14-year period. The results indicate that the learner’s gestural expression of Path changed in both her L1 and L2, and her gestural expression of Manner changed in her L2. This change suggests that a pattern acquired in childhood may not be resistant to change after all (Slobin 1996).
Most second language acquisition research has concentrated on learners' speech. This paper argues... more Most second language acquisition research has concentrated on learners' speech. This paper argues that it is necessary to look at both learners' speech and gesture in order to better understand second language acquisition. It provides a summary of the second language acquisition process and the types of studies that have been conducted in the field. It discusses how gesture can be used to investigate learners' thinking for speaking.
This series brings together titles dealing with a variety of aspects of language acquisition and ... more This series brings together titles dealing with a variety of aspects of language acquisition and processing in situations where a language or languages otter than the native language is involved. Second language is thus interpreted in its broadest possible sense. The volumes included in the series all offer in their different ways on the one hand, exposition and discussion of empirical findings and, on the other some degree of theoretical reflection. In this latter connection, no particular theoretical stance is privileged in the series; nor is any relevant perspective -sociolinguistic psycholmguistic, neurolinguistic, etc. -deemed out of place. The intended readership of the series includes final-year undergraduates working on second language acquisition projects, postgraduate students involved in second language* acquisition research, and researchers and teachers in general whose interests ihclude a second language acquisition component.
... As a whole, the book provides ample demonstration of the vital connection between language an... more ... As a whole, the book provides ample demonstration of the vital connection between language and gesture, and why it is critical to take into account the full spectrum of communicative phenomena as part of research on SLA. ...
... Chapter 9. Giving a nod to social cognition: Developmental constraints on the emergence of co... more ... Chapter 9. Giving a nod to social cognition: Developmental constraints on the emergence of conventional gestures and infant signs Maria Fusaro and Claire D. Vallotton. 121136. Chapter 10. Sensitivity of maternal gesture to interlocutor and context Maria Zammit and Graham ...
Languages differ typologically in how semantic domains such as motion, space, and temporality, ar... more Languages differ typologically in how semantic domains such as motion, space, and temporality, are indicated lexically and syntactically. Building on Talmy's work (1985) in cognitive linguistics, Slobin proposed that "in acquiring a native language, a child learns a particular way of thinking for speaking" (Slobin, 1991, p. 12). In other words, the grammatical constructions and lexicon that children learn provide them with a framework for the expression of thoughts, events, and feelings and guide how these are expressed as children engage in the online thinking process that is related to speaking. To test the thinking-for-speaking hypothesis, cross-linguistic research has been conducted in the domain of motion events ― movements of entities through space ― in a number of different languages. On the basis of where a language encodes path, Talmy (1985, 1991, 2000) has classified languages into two types: verb-framed and satellite-framed. In verb-framed languages (Romance...
