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Gesturing as you talk may help you speak a new language like a local

Talking with your hands may help you stress the correct parts of words as you learn a new language

By Conor Feehly

6 December 2023

Hand gestures may help you stress syllables that should be emphasised as you learn a new language

Fiordaliso/Getty Images

If you’re learning a new language, making pronounced hand gestures could help you emphasise the correct parts of words.

In some languages, certain syllables within words are pronounced with markedly more weight than others, known as lexical stress. Previous research suggests that gestures can help people learn a new language and now Xing Tian at New York University in Shanghai, China, and his colleagues have found that making hand movements also assists us…

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