V. Kasyanova
Kostanay State
University named after A.Baitursynov, Kazakhstan
Non-verbal Communication in Foreign Languages Teaching
Communication plays a key role in our daily life. We communicate in different ways to express our
thoughts, ideas, feelings, knowledge and skills. It is normally assumed that
communication is identified with speech and sounds but communication is in fact
the combination of verbal and non-verbal transmission of knowledge. To express
our ideas, feelings, emotions and skills we communicate verbally and
non-verbally. Speech may be an indispensable way to communication by which we
know each other, but it is not necessarily to be the most important.
Consciously or unconsciously our body language communicates a lot about our
true feelings which are the patterns of communication.
According to psychologists up to two-thirds
of communication between people is non-verbal. Here body language is a branch
of non-verbal communication. The way you sit or stand and the gestures you make
broadcast a powerful message to the people you meet. Even when you keep silent,
you may still be telling something. It shows that you don’t want to be bothered
and wish to be left alone. Body language can to some extent replace speech
communication with the use of a gesture, expression, eye contact and so forth.
In addition our emotions are not only shown by attitude towards ourselves but
towards the people we are communicating with [1].
As to its
application, body language can be used in different kinds of activities: in
conversation, in classroom teaching, in commerce, in negotiations and other
aspects. According to J.H. Dileo “Language
comprises all forms of communication: crying, facial expression, gestures,
touching, yelling, and also speech and writing.” [2]. Actions speak louder than
words.
Teachers
like to use daily life situations and they also use non-verbal communication in
the class rooms, but if they use it purposely and as a teaching technique with
the objective to create interest amongst the students, better results can be
obtained in the form of students' learning outcomes. Non-verbal communication
creates an impact on the understanding of the students which ultimately results
in better learning and understanding of the concepts. Teachers would know more
about their students by watching their actions as well as by listening to what
they say. Body language plays a great role in having a successful communication
inside and outside the classroom.
However,
it is worth noticing that through our experience, classes with low percentage
of using body language have difficulty in communication and thus have
unsuccessful outcomes. Teachers should know about the importance of body
language and how it affects communicating with their learners. In multinational
classrooms, for example, the less you use body language in the classroom the
less successful your class is. The
implementation of the principle of communicability in the teaching of a foreign
language requires the consideration of a complex of socio-cultural components
that ensure the authenticity of the act of communication. One such component is
verbal behavior. Speech behavior
and the behavior of communicants in the act of speech are closely linked with
the notion of a national mentality. The national mentality or "image of
the world" is a special psychological way of life for the bearers of a
specific culture based on a peculiar set of intuitive laws and acting as a
totality of the system of spiritual values-representations, views,
peculiarities of feeling, thinking, speech, behavior.
The
concept of verbal behavior as it is known includes: 1) verbal reactions of
interlocutors; 2) non-verbal reactions of interlocutors; 3) speech formalizers.
The verbal reactions of the interlocutors are phrases pronounced in the
definition of socio-cultural circumstances and are "speech words", or
speech indicators expressing various aspects. Non-verbal reactions of
interlocutors are postures, gestures, facial expressions, elements of proxemics
(spatial conditions of communication), components of melody and intonation
formulation of speech and phrase accentuation.
If teachers in English teaching use some
gestures and facial expression effectively, students can better express
themselves. Teachers’ body language can set good examples for students
establishing a more harmonious studying atmosphere between teachers and students.
As a matter of fact, teachers’ friendly looks and gestures can greatly help to
encourage the students’ enthusiasm
in English learning. Furthermore English teaching requires some accessible
gestures to make the language learning vivid, specific and figurative. As a
result, the students’ interest is motivated and the acquisition
of linguistic competence will be greatly improved．
When teachers use some good qualities
students will want to be with them. Good qualities include: physical
appearance, energy, taste of speech, pitch and tone of voice gestures,
expression through the eyes, and ability to hold the interest of students. When a teacher comes in the classroom and
says “I am happy to see you”. Saying it he looks at his students smiling and
they do believe him. But if he says “I am very happy to see you”, while looking
at his shoes. Students don’t look happy. They look angry, frightened or
depressed. Students always believe what they see over what they hear. They
think, “He is telling me he is happy, but he is not, he is not being honest.” Teachers are good examples of the use of
body 1anguage in English teaching and body 1anguage is indispensable and
needful. In English teaching, in order to improve the teaching effect and the
students’ enthusiasms for English body language are encouraged to be used
frequently by teachers and students.
Teachers should give weight to the introduction of
cultural background, which may help students to understand better both verbal
and nonverbal codes. Teachers can also make use of modern equipment such as
video-CD, internet, slide, movie to help students in learning the correct use
and interpretation of non-verbal codes and at the same time avoid cultural
obstacles caused by nonverbal codes.
However, a large number of students are not willing to
speak English. Especially when some English teachers give bad marks to those
who give incorrect answers, it does not take students long to lose their
eagerness to answer questions in English. Not only do they lose their joy in
answering questions, but they also lose their desire to say anything at all in
English. They feel intimidated to speak and are afraid of making mistakes,
although for different reasons, they feel like giving up; their teacher’s body
1anguage will exert effect on the students’ spoken English and help to improve
it.
Spoken English teaching should be given weight in
English teaching. If learning some dialogues, students are encouraged to
organize the class to practice spoken English according to the characteristics
of dialogue. The situation of two students’ acting out the dialogue is as
follows: student A asks student B “what’s wrong with you?” B should press his
stomach with suffering facial expression when he answers “I have a burning
stomachache. And I feel like vomiting, too”; when A asks B “What did you eat
yesterday”, he acts out eating gestures, student B answers “I had some chicken
at lunch and then I just felt terrible”, student B advises “You should see a
doctor he looks at his students”, he uses his hands to act a cross and make a sound
of ambulance and also acts out sleeping gestures with his hands holding up his
head and his eyes closed. With the help of body language, the students are
excited and interested in speaking, under this interesting atmosphere with
these body languages; students are not nervous and worry about making mistakes.
And body language contributes to the students 'speaking ability.
We can
distinguish 4 stages in the organization of students' activity in learning
non-verbal means of communication in a foreign language: 1. Presentation of a
video with the subsequent accentuation of non-verbal communication. 2. Creation
of micro-situations using paralinguistic means of a foreign language
communication (controlled micro dialogue). 3. Creation of speech situations
using paralinguistic means of a foreign language communication (managed macro
dialog). 4. Role play.
The stages of
teaching students non-verbal means in the study of the topic "Invitation
to the birthday party" "A visit to a friend", "Home"
can be represented as follows: 1. Teacher: Watch the gestures and facial
expressions of the characters in this movie. Tell me what phrases correspond to
these gestures and describe them. Teacher: Do you use the same gestures and
facial expressions in your own culture to express the same? 2. Teacher: Think
of a dialogue for each phrase and play it using appropriate gestures and facial
expressions. 3. Play the following situations: 1. You meet your friend. Say
hello to him and invite him to your birthday party. Your friend came to visit
you. Say hello to him, invite him to enter the sitting room. 3. You are in the sitting
room. It's time for lunch. Invite your friend to go to the table, show him the
place. 4. Role-playing game. The best effect is achieved with the help of the
dramatization of dialogues, playing scenes from performances.
“Tell
me, I’ll forget; teach me, I’ll remember; involve me and I’ll learn.” was said
by the famous linguist Franklin [3]. If the students are asked to write a composition which
is not familiar to them, they would have troubles and difficulties in doing it.
However, if students have known or experienced something about the composition,
they can finish the writing job very well. Therefore, the teacher should
organize some English-related activities in class or out of class which
students are encouraged to participate in and then ask them to write it down.
After that, the students can write an essay much better because of having the
experience. The teachers can deeply impress the students with the body language
such as facial expression, eyesight, gesture, posture in the activity which can
give them the truly scene and help them to write well.
If the teachers know well how to use non-verbal actions more effectively,
the relationship between the teachers and the students will be improved, the
students’ cognitive ability and study effect alike. If the body language is applied in English classes, the students
'attention will be focused on the lessons, thus participating in class
activities vigorously. Because of this positive method, students eagerly answer
all the questions they could, never worry much about making mistakes. With the
corresponding body language English teachers should explain the theories by
using proper body language to make classes vivid and interesting to have
students’ practice ability greatly improved．
References:
1. Liu Yongfa,Liu Xuan The Practical Body Language. Hua wen Press, 1997
2. J.H. Dileo Child development: Analysis and
synthesis. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1977
3.
Cooper, Pamela. Speech Communication for the Classroom Teaching. 3rd ed. New
York: Gorsuch Scarisbrick Publishers.1988.
4. Í.È. Ñìèðíîâà. Íåâåðáàëüíûå àñïåêòû
êîììóíèêàöèè. – Ì.: Ïðîñâåùåíèå, 2002.
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