March 22nd Akita Jalt Speaker- Kate Armstrong: The Impact of Gestures on Enhancing Student Learning
Gestures play a vital yet often overlooked role in language teaching. This session will explore how teachers use hand and arm movements during their lessons and the impact these gestures can have on enhancing student learning.
Building on McNeill’s (2005) model of gesture analysis, the study transcribed, annotated, and color-coded teacher gestures to categorize them into types—iconic, metaphoric, deictic, and emblematic—and examined their functions. The findings reveal that gestures do much more than accompany speech.
This talk aims to highlight the pedagogical power of gestures and inspire teachers to reflect on their own non-verbal communication strategies, encouraging a rethinking of the role of body language in teaching.
Bio:
Kate Armstrong is an exam writer and lecturer at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS) in Salalah, Oman. She holds an MA in TESOL from the University of Birmingham, UK, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Maine, Farmington, USA. Her work explores the role of teacher gestures in English language classrooms, blending her interests in psychology, learning, and communication. Through her work, she hopes to inspire more thoughtful, engaging teaching practices that go beyond words.
If anyone outside of Akita Jalt is interested in joining, please email us for the ZOOM information at: akita@jalt.org
All Akita Jalt members will be emailed the information at the beginning of March.
