The gap. Gestured learning has been somewhat explored from the following viewpoints. A laboratory point of view.

view. With artificial language. From a cognitive, possible cold physiological point of view. Its impacts have not been studied over a long period of time. It has not really been looked at in relation to learning theories.

Question. From a classroom, or teaching point of view, with real language, in relation to non-cognitive theory over a long period of time how does co-speech gestured grammar learning effect L2 language acquisition? Methodology. Idea one. Take one or two very young Korean learners, named Anny (three years) and Betty(seven years) BeBe (seven years) and teach them using a pre-determined English grammar program using co speech gesturing for one or two years. Record and code everything, make a report. There is a new technology coming out which is a Kinect for PCs and this device can map human movement. http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/232600166 and http://cs229.stanford.edu/proj2011/HuangHuang-InterpretingAmericanSignLanguageWithKinect.pdf It will be placed in front of the subject to map movement changes over time and this will be analyzed, against formal voice and language mapping, as well as the more gentle observations including mood and the subjects opinions of their learning experience. But importantly as it will be in their home, I will hope to gain their parents opinion of what is happening. I am hoping to show that gestures aid grammar learning, and that once the item is acquired the gestures are used less and less. Idea two. Gain consent from a group of class of school learners for a part of their class to involve gestured teaching, and record by video what happens. I like idea one, and have two perfect candidates, one age three, and one or two aged seven.

Literature. Part one, I already have extensive evidence to suggest the co-speech gesturing aids memory (MA literature review). Most all this literature does not look at the teacher student interaction, nor does it record anything of the learning process, or the feeling and thinking of the students. I have a suggestion

from my Dr. Jean Conteh that I could explore this point from the point of view of learning theory. I want to suggest here that I have found a way to teach young children English in a way which pushes what is thought possible, similar to the ideas of Margret Donaldson when she suggested young learners are far more able than Piaget suggested at an early age, just they need the right tools. I think for young Korean EFL learners grammar teaching until now relied on the students being able to read, but my co-speech gesturing methodology doesnt need reading to show grammar morphology. The second part of the main part of literature will be me relating my coded recordings and observations to a range of learning theories to evaluate what happens the subjects language learning over an extended period of time. Why do this study? Because I want to develop a new type of teaching, and one which pushes the limits of what is thought possible for young EFL learners. I believe this methodology shapes young minds in a positive way.

Why do I think you would be the best supervisor? 1: Because perhaps you are cynical about this way of teaching language, meaning that I will have to be pushed to hedge and be meticulous about my methodology and data collection. 2: Because I believe you have enough experience of young learners and their teachers to guide me in keeping track of what I am doing. 3: Because you know where my weaknesses in writing are. 4: But most of all because in our last experience I found that you gave me the freedom to produce my own piece of work. Schedule. ASAP Give me access to the wonderful Leeds university library. Sep 2012. Data collection begins. Sep 2012. Having already worked out the basic gestures for simple grammar morphology I will use these to begin with, writing them down and adding to them as the subject(s) progress. Sep 2012 Sep 2013 Begin research on the learning theory in earnest, and experiment more with using the video coding and Kinect, as a method of recording changes in gesture and speech over time. Sep 2012- Sep 2014 code and analyze data. Sep 2014-Sep 2015 Finish writing up.

Oh and along the way I hope to produce and finish writing a training book about the methodology and how to use it. But, more importantly, Im excited with the idea of also developing the Kinect device to produce a language learning program where Children can interact physically and verbally with their computer. Not just using it as a way of operating the computer, but using it to increase confidence and a fun way to move about and learning English at the same time.