Abstract:

Gestures are a natural and quintessential part of everyday life communication, yet their profound role in understanding and being understood remains largely under-explored. The use of gestures during speech has been connected to cognitive processes such as lexical retrieval, information conceptualization, memory and comprehension. This study examines the significance of gestures in comprehension, focusing on how adult students in higher education perceive and produce gestures to enhance understanding in English, which is not their native language. For this reason, the study examines class anxiety associated with learning in a foreign language, which could potentially impact comprehension. Furthermore, the relationship between class anxiety and gestures was explored within the context of higher education learning in a foreign language. This study involved a hundred participants between eighteen and thirty-five years old. Gesture perception and production were measured using the Brief self-rating scale for the Assessment of individual differences in Gesture perception and production (BAG), a tool comprising of twelve questions that explore dimensions such as the social production and empathic properties of gestures. To assess classroom anxiety, the short form of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) scale was used, featuring eight items with dimensions such as communication apprehension and fear of negative evaluation. Both scales were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. These instruments were combined into an anonymous online survey that was employed for data collection. The qualitative analyses revealed that participants gesture a lot and rely on gestures to aid comprehension and communication, particularly in challenging environments, where they may have difficulty understanding others; that is, not only when they attend classes, but also in noisy settings or when travelling to foreign countries. Regarding anxiety, although participants are worried about making mistakes in class, they reported that they do not experience anxiety related to the use of the foreign language. This may be attributed to participants' proficiency in English, which mitigates their anxiety about comprehending the language. Additionally, no correlation was found between gestures and classroom anxiety. These results underscore the potential of gestures as a powerful tool for enhancing comprehension, particularly in challenging contexts, such as educational settings. They also highlight the broader applicability of gestures in contexts where verbal communication is hindered, offering a pathway to more effective interaction and understanding.

Keywords:

Gestures, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, comprehension.