ABSTRACT
Gestural practices can reveal the state and acquisition of a second language in learners and can help them understand and learn new vocabulary knowledge. Using videographic data documenting language acquisition in German L2 classes, we analyze classroom interaction between teachers and learners in vocabulary teaching sessions. Our qualitative analyses reveal that gestures may be a means of communicating, understanding, and acquiring embodied conceptualizations and a source of misunderstanding. Our results highlight that gestures make meaning graspable due to their sensorimotor experiences. Concluding, we discuss some (practical) consequences for instructing German as a foreign and/or second language.
