Students’ proficiency level is closely related to the gesture rates accompanying speech in English (Gullberg, 1998). This hypothesis was tested in the present study through a comparative analysis between 10 upper intermediate and 10 intermediate level students. The similarities and differences between these two groups of students in terms of their use of gestures (i.e., deictic gesture as well as iconic gesture), were investigated. The participants in the two groups were asked to describe a photograph and to engage in a 10-minute conversation with the researcher. The results showed that students of intermediate level made use of gestures, both deictic and iconic gesture, at a higher rate as compared to students of upper intermediate level. The results also suggest that the proficiency level of foreign and second language learners of English determines the degree to which they use communicative strategies especially with respect to gesture rates accompanying speech in English. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.

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