Gestures in Language Teaching and Learning: How German Learners of Italian Recognise Emblems

Gestures always combine with verbal expressions in an inseparable way during speakers interactions, thus being an essential component of daily communication. But in some cases, they are culturally determined (i.e. emblems) and can also hinder communication when the interlocutors do not share the same cultural background, as it happens in intercultural communication. That is why the effects of their usage by foreign language learners and the role of the teacher in managing this topic should be deeply investigated in language pedagogy to identify the factors that promote their acquisition and enhance learners communicative competence. This study aims to investigate the role of non-verbal language, especially that of emblematic gestures, in intercultural communication. More specifically, I examine the extent to which learners gestural competence depends on factors related to the context in which the target language is studied and the usage of gestures in the teacher s practice. This research objective was pursued through a questionnaire about the identification and definition of 20 emblematic Italian gestures. It was administered to 40 adult German learners of Italian as Second Language (SL) and Foreign Language (FL), all with a B1 proficiency level1. The questionnaire also included questions about learners usage of gestures and the number of gestures produced by the teachers in the classroom.