Speaking Rate in 3-4-Year-Old Children: Its Correlation with Gesture Rate and Word Learning

Past research has shown that while speaking children before 3-year-old often use gesture to supplement speech while not using gesture as an integrated system with speech, and that the relationship between speech and gesture may relate to vocabulary development. However, such a relationship is unknown in 3-4-year-old children, a period in which we can capture key developmental changes from using gestures alone to using them along with speech. Using a new corpus of semi-naturalistic interaction between caregivers and their 3-4-year-old children (ECOLANG Corpus), this study investigates (1) the effect of age on children’s speaking and gesture rate, (2) the relationship between speaking and gesture rates and (3) their correlation with word learning. Specifically, we studied speaking and gesture rates of 32 English-speaking children while talking with their caregivers about sets of pre-selected toys. The children completed a vocabulary test at the time of the experiment and one year later. Results show that there was no effect of age on speaking and gesture rates at this age range, but we found that children with a fast speaking rate also had a higher gesture rate. Additionally, neither speaking rate nor gesture rate correlates with word. Thus, our findings show that by this age, children use gestures that are integrated with speech and their relationship is no longer a predictor of vocabulary learning. We speculate that the transition in the relationship is mainly a result of enhanced conceptual representation ability.