Psychological Development and Education ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (3): 379-390.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.08

Previous Articles    

The Effect of Adult’s Gesture in Picture Book Shared-reading on Story Retelling of 4- to 6-year-olds

ZHANG Wenjie1,2,3,4, YANG Li1, WANG Yaqin1, ZHANG Xinyue1, FAN Wei1,2,3   

  1. 1. School of Education Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081;
    2. Cognition and Human Behavior Key Laboratory of Hunan Province, Changsha 410081;
    3. Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081;
    4. Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101
  • Published:2026-05-15

PDF (PC)

Abstract: The present study examined the effects of adults’ gestures in picture book shared-reading videos on story retelling among children aged 4 to 6 years.In Experiment 1, 166 children aged 4 to 6 years were randomly assigned to either a natural gestures group or a non-gestures group. The results showed that children who viewed the shared-reading videos with natural gestures performed better in story retelling than those in the non-gestures group.Building on these findings,Experiment 2 randomly assigned 266 children aged 4 to 6 years to four groups: iconic gestures, deictic gestures, beat gestures, and no gestures. The results showed that children who viewed the shared-reading videos with iconic gestures performed better in story retelling than those exposed to deictic gestures, beat gestures, or non-gestures. Moreover, the facilitative effect of gestures, especially iconic gestures, on story retelling became more pronounced as the children grew older. These results indicate that adults’ gestures in picture book shared-reading videos are beneficial for enhancing story retelling in 4- to 6-year-old children, with iconic gestures showing the most significant positive impact.

Key words: story retelling, adult’s gestures, picture book shared-reading, young children

CLC Number: 

  • G442
Aussems,S.,& Kita,S.(2019).Seeingionic gestures while encoding events facilitates children’s memory of these events.Child Development,90(4),1123-1137.
Bara,F.(2014).Exploratoryprocedures employed by visually impaired children during joint book reading.Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities,26(2),151-170.
Bharadwaj,A.,Dargue,N.,& Sweller,N.(2022).Ahands-on approach to learning:Gesture production during encoding and its effect on narrative recall.Cognitive Science-A Multidisciplinary Journal,46(12),e13214.https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13214
Curenton,S.M.,& Justice,L.M.(2004).African American and Caucasian preschoolers' use of decontextualized language:Literate language features in oral narratives.Language,Speech,and Hearing Services in Schools,35(3),240-253.
Dargue,N.,& Sweller,N.(2020).Learningstories through gesture:Gesture’s effects on child and adult narrative comprehension.Educational Psychology Review,32(1),249-276.
Faul,F.,Erdfelder,E.,Buchner,A.,& Lang,A.-G.(2009).Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1:Tests for correlation and regression analyses.Behavior Research Methods,41(4),1149-1160.
Flack,Z.M.,Field,A.P.,& Horst,J.S.(2018).The effects of shared storybook reading on word learning:A meta-analysis.Development Psychology,54(7),1334-1346.
Freed,J.,& Cain,K.(2021).Assessment of inference-making in children using comprehension questions and story retelling:Effect of text modality and a story presentation format.International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders,56(3),637-652.
Gathercole,S.E.,& Alloway,T,P.(Eds).(2008).Working memory and learning:A practical guide for teachers.SAGE Publications Ltd.
Gillam,R.A.,& Pearson,N.(Eds.).(2004).Test of Narrative Language (TNL).Pro-Ed,Austin,Texas,USA.
Goldin-Meadow,S.& Alibali,M.W.(2013).Gesture’s role in speaking,learning,and creating language.Annual Review of Psychology,64(1),257-283.
Heath,S.B.(Ed.).(1983).Ways with words:Language,life,and work in communities and classrooms.Cambridge University Press.
Holler,J.,& Levinson,S.C.(2019).Multimodal language processing in Human Communication.Trends in Cognitive Sciences,23(8),639-652.
Igualada,A.,Esteve-Gibert,N.,& Prieto,P.(2017).Beat gestures improve word recall in 3-to 5-year-old children.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,156(11),99-112.
Justice,L.M.,Bowles,R.P.,Pence,K.,& Gosse,C.(2010).A scalable tool for assessing children’s language abilities within a narrative context:The NAP (Narrative Assessment Protocol).Early Childhood Research Quarterly,25(2),218-234.
Kartalkanat,H.,& Göksun,T.(2020).The effects of observing different gestures during storytelling on the recall of path and event information in 5-year-olds and adults.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,189(1),104725.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104725
Koning,B.B.D.,Tabbers,H.K.,& Paas,R.F.(2009).Towards aframework for attention cueing in instructional animations:Guidelines for research and design.Educational Psychology Review,21(2),113-140.
Kushch,O.H.,Igualada,A.,& Prieto,P.(2018).Prominence in speech and gesture favour second language novel word learning.Language,Cognition and Neuroscience,33(8),1004-1992.
Lever,R.,& Sénéchal,M.(2011).Discussing stories:On how adialog reading intervention improves kindergartners’ oral narrative construction.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,108(1),1-24.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2010.07.002
Llanes-Coromina,J.,Vilà-Giménez,I.,Kushch,O.,Borràs-Comes,J.,& Prieto,P.(2018).Beat gestures help preschoolers recall and comprehend discourse information.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,172(8),168-188.
Macoun,A.,& Sweller,N.(2016).Listening and watching:The effects of observing gesture on preschoolers’ narrative comprehension.Cognitive Development,40(4),68-81.
Mayer,R.,& Moreno,R.(2003).Nineways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia learning.Educational Psychologist,38(1),43-52.
Mcneill,D.(Ed.).(1992).Hand and mind:What gestures reveal about thought.University of Chicago Press.
Murphy,C.M.,& Messer,D.F.(1977).Mother,infants and pointing:A study of a gesture.In H.R.Schaffer (Ed.),Studies of mother-infant interaction (pp.325-354).Academic Press.
Nicoladis,E.,Pika,S.,Yin,H.,& Marentette,P.(2007).Gesture use in story recall by Chinese-English bilinguals.Applied Psycholinguistics,28(4),721-735.
Paivio,A.(Ed.).(1986).Mental representations:A dual coding approach.Oxford University Press.
Reese,E.,Suggate,S.,Long,J.,& Schaughency,E.(2010).Children's oral narrative and reading skills in the first 3 years of reading instruction.Reading and Writing,23(6),627-644.
Rochanavibhata,S.,& Marian,V.(2020).Maternal scaffolding styles and children's developing narrative skills:A cross-cultural comparison of autobiographical conversations in the US and Thailand.Learning,Culture and Social Interaction,26(5),100413.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2020.100413
Rohrer,P.L.,Florit-Pons,J.,Vilà-Giménez,I.,& Prieto,P.(2022).Childrenuse non-referential gestures in narrative speech to mark discourse elements which update common ground.Frontiers in Psychology,12(1),661339.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661339
Rowe,M.L.,& Goldin-Meadow,S.(2009).Differences in early gesture explain SES disparities in child vocabulary size at school entry.Science,323(5916),951-953.
Sénéchal,M.,& LeFevre,J.A.(2002).Parental involvement in the development of children's reading skill:A five-year longitudinal study.Child Development,73(2),445-460.
Stein,N.,& Glenn,C.(Eds.).(1979).An analysis of story comprehension in elementary children (Vol.2).Norwood.
Sweller,J.,van Merriënboer,J.J.G.,& Paas,F.(2019).Cognitivearchitecture and instructional design:20 years later.Educational Psychology Review,31(2),261-292.
Tolar,T.D.,Lederberg,A.R.,Gokhale,S.,& Tomasello,M.(2008).The development of the ability to recognize the meaning of iconic signs.The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education,13(2),225-240.
Vilà-Giménez,I.,Dowling,N.,Demir-Lira,E.,Prieto,P.,& Goldin-Meadow,S.(2021).Thepredictive value of non-referential beat gestures:Early use in Parent-Child interactions predicts narrative abilities at 5 years of age.Child Development,92(6),2335-2355.
Wakefield,E.,Novack,M.A.,Congdon,E.L.,Franconeri,S.,& Goldin-Meadow,S.(2018).Gesture helps learners learn,but not merely by guiding their visual attention.Developmental Science,21(6),e12664.https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12664
Zicat,E.L.(2018).Stories and gesture:Redundant and non-redundant gesture use in narrative comprehension (Master’s Thesis).Macquarie University:Sydney.https://doi.org/10.25949/19427516.v1
陈颖.(2020).3-7岁听力障碍儿童故事复述能力研究 (硕士学位论文).重庆师范大学.
刘玉娟,Skibbe,L.E.,Bowles,R.P.(2017).3-5岁汉语儿童叙事能力发展的实验研究.中国特殊教育,22(11),92-96.
潘晓平,倪宗瓒.(1999).组内相关系数在信度评价中的应用.华西医科大学学报,30(1),62-63,67.
王娟,李梅,王斌,沈秋苹,刘鑫.(2019).母亲语言支架对聋童故事叙事的影响.中国临床心理学杂志,27(5),869-873,899.
王娟,李维,王维宇.(2016).故事诱发方式对4- 6岁儿童故事复述的影响.学前教育研究,30(10),47-56.
王嵩,李甦.(2020).幼儿复述能力的发展及其与言语工作记忆的关系.心理与行为研究,18(5),596-602.
郑璇,陈颖.(2021).基于无字绘本阅读的3-7岁听障儿童故事复述能力研究.教育与教学研究,35(6),102-111.
[1] TAN Ruifeng, CHEN Suiqing, GUO Xinying, LI Mengna. Social Mindfulness Preference of Preschool Young Children in Peer Selection from the Perspective of Traits [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2026, 42(3): 305-314.
[2] ZHU Jingjing, ZHANG Zhenzhen, LI Yan. The Relation between Maternal Depression and Children’s Social Adjustment: The Mediating Roles of Maternal Distress Reaction and Parent-child Conflict [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(5): 675-686.
[3] LIU Shuang, LI Mei, FENG Xiaohang, ZHANG Xiangkui. A Longitudinal Study of Mastery Motivation and Competence in Early Childhood: The Moderating Effects of Types of Task and Temperament [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(2): 161-172.
[4] LIU Tiantian, LI Yan, LI Youjia, JIANG Xinmiao. Co-parenting and Preschool Children's Social Behavior: The Chain Mediating Effects of Parent-child Relationship and Sibling Relationship Quality [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(5): 638-647.
[5] LIU Yan, WANG Jing, ZHANG Xiaoyan. The Impact of Self-Projection on Episodic Foresight in Young Children: Evidence from Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2017, 33(6): 649-657.
[6] SONG Xiaolei, LI Yangyang, ZHANG Shiyi, ZHANG Junting. The Influence Mechanism of Interpersonal Situations on the Joint Simon Effect of Young Children [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2017, 33(3): 273-281.
[7] YANG Lizhu, LI Miao, CHEN Jinghan, SHEN Yue. The Influence of Teacher Expectations on Young Children's Personality: Mediating Effect of Teacher-Children Relationship [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2016, 32(6): 641-648.
[8] LIU Shuang, SUN Yang, ZHANG Xiangkui. The Relationships between Mastery Motivation,Temperament and Competence of Young Children [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2016, 32(3): 265-275.
[9] HUANG Wei, YANG Ze. Goal Orientation, Self-efficacy, and Self-control among 3~6 Years Old Children [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2015, 31(5): 547-554.
[10] XU Fen, GUO Xiao-lin, ZHANG Jia. The Characteristics of 3-4-year-old Children’s Conceptual Knowledge of Lying：the Role of Theory of Mind and Parenting Style [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2013, 29(5): 449-456.
[11] LU Jing, HU Qing-fen. Geometric Cues and its Development and Application in Preschooler’s Ability to Solve Mapping Tasks [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2013, 29(4): 434-440.
[12] JIANG Qin, LI Hong, ZHANG Shu-yue, ZHANG Ting, FENG Ting-yong, LONG Chang-quan. The Role of Perspective-taking in Preschool Children’s Decision-making in Delay of Gratification [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2012, 28(2): 131-139.
[13] DONG Cun-mei. The Cross-Cultural Comparison of Development of Self-Regulation between Japanese and Chinese Young Children [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2012, 28(1): 16-23.
[14] LIU Yan, YANG Li-zhu, DENG Chen-xi. The Development of Foresight and Its Relationship with Inhibitory Control and Theory of Mind [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2012, 28(1): 1-8.
[15] DONG Cun-mei. The Comparison of Development of Self-Regulation between Japanese and Chinese Young Children: The Relationship between Behavioral Responses and Emotional Responses [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2011, 27(2): 133-139.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited
  Shared   
  Discussed   
No Suggested Reading articles found!
Copyright 2018 © Editorial office of Psychological Development and Education
Supported by Beijing Magtech Co.Ltd