Kinetics: a forgotten “language” to facilitate comprehension and intake of narratives in beginning secondary English classrooms

Abstract

Language learners must attach meaning to foreign language expressions. Teachers must make new material accessible to learners. Kinetics, understood as use of gestures associated to content words, can be an effective tool to foster comprehension. For this purpose a definition and subsequent classification of gestures is introduced. This classification is then related to the narrative discourse within the context of the L2 classroom. The analysis of gestures for this classroom experience provides a rationale for making a systematic use of kinetics. The last part of the paper offers some pedagogical conclusions, particularly in connection with the benefits gestures provide for guaranteeing comprehension.