Week 4: Defeated Jet Lag

This week, I am out of the country, and therefore, I was unable to volunteer at the two centers. However, I didn’t let the jet lag and limited wifi stop me from continuing my project; instead, I focused on online research. While searching up on hand movements, I found an article about gestures and the effect they can have on talking. Body language expert, Dr. Kinsey Goman writes, "Gesture is really linked to speech, and gesturing while you talk can really power up your thinking. Gesturing can help people form clearer thoughts, speak in tighter sentences and use more declarative language." In a way, gestures are a less structured form of sign language. According to Goman, a region of the brain called Broca’s area controls speech production, but is also active with hand movement. This logic can be applied to sign language and its positive effects on speaking. Additionally, relating to child development, children who used hand gestures when communicating improve in structured speaking more than those who didn’t. Especially for children with cochlear implants, who might not have access to perfect hearing or all language yet, hand movements and signing can act as a filler for the words/phrases they don’t know. Later, words can replace those hand movements.