Gesture Production Selectively Predicts Language Outcomes in Spanish-English Bilingual Children

Abstract

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; SDage=1.02) and later language skills (Mage=36.87 months; SDage=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.