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ERIC Number: EJ1475460
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jul
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: EISSN-1467-8624
Available Date: 2025-05-10
Gesture Production Selectively Predicts Language Outcomes in Spanish-English Bilingual Children
Perla B. Gámez1; Ö. Ece Demir-Lira2; Paola Pinzón-Henao1
Child Development, v96 n4 p1443-1457 2025
This longitudinal study (data collected from 2019 to 2023) examines the relation between Spanish-English bilingual Latino toddlers' (n=46; F=22; M=24) early gesture production (Mage=18.67 months; SD[subscript age]=1.02) and later language skills (M[subscript age]=36.87 months; SD[subscript age]=0.81). Video recordings at child-age 18-months yielded counts of children's speech and gesture production; the latter included gesture words (different meanings) and gesture sentences (gestures-plus-speech combinations). Multiple regression analyses revealed that gesture words and sentences at 18 months of age positively predicted word- and sentence-level skills at 36 months of age, respectively, but only in English. These relations held despite controlling for children's speech production. These findings, that early gesture production selectively predicts language outcomes in bilingual children, suggest that gesture production may facilitate language-specific learning rather than reflecting a global communicative skill.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1R15HD097589
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; 2Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA