Gesture as a facilitator and precursor of language development

Language development studies have typically focused on speech analysis. However, there are other communicative elements that are a fundamental piece in human communication and cognition: gestures. These visual elements are intimately integrated with speech from a temporal point of view and from a semanticopragmatic point of view, and make it possible to speak of language and communication as multimodal facts. In this article we provide readers with a summary of the most recent studies on language acquisition from a multimodal perspective, although emphasizing the role of gestures as facilitators and precursors of language not only in the earliest stages but also in later stages of pragmatic development. Studies show that gesture is a central component of language acquisition and that it acts as a precursor and predictor of vocabulary learning, syntax, pragmatic and discursive development. Finally, we point out the most current and innovative areas of research and the possible impact of this research in the field of language rehabilitation.