How doesateacherfeelwhenhe/sheseesastudentwavinghis/herhandenthusiasti c-ally in responseto a question?Usually it'sa good feeling sincetheteacherviewsitas confirmationastudentisengagedinthelesson.From astudent・sperspective,receivi ngnon-verbalsignsandgesturesalsoisbeneficialsinceitassistsin getting abetterreadon the teacher.Theinstructor・suseofimprovisationalbody languageforconveying meaning can be crucialin the language acquisition process ofstudents.In brief,the following will describetheimportanceofnon-verbalcommunication forEnglish asa Foreign Language students,andafew examplesofthetechniqueinpractice.
Not many people realize the significance of non-verbalcommunication in everyday interaction.Somefeelit・sjustascrucialtogiveofftherightbody languageasitisto communicateclearlyorally.Intheclassroom,andinparticular,theEFL class,thesameis true.AccordingtoSusanGoldin-Meadow inherarticle,・Thefew experimentalstudiesthat havebeen donesuggestthatalesson accompanied by gestureismoreeffectivethan that samelesson notaccompaniedby gesture.・Furthermore,in astudy by CarlL.Garrot,the useofpositivebody languagepromotesstudentreceptivity toward thesubjectmatterby makingtheteacherappearmoreapproachable,warm andcaring.
In addition,facilitating communication and vocabulary building are the results of effectivenon-verbalcues.Someexamplesincludesimplyusingcountingfingersfornumbers, orcuppinganeartogetastudenttospeaklouder,ortwirlingofthearmstogetastudent toexplain morein acompletesentence.In addition,theacquisition ofvocabulary through gesturesallowsforstudentstointernalizemeaning morerapidly.Forexample,agameof classroom charades,in which studentsareplaced in groupstomimicactionscentered on certain topicssuch astravelorsportsorschool,can beboth enjoyableandeducationally valuable.Acting outthemeaning ofwordsmakesthelanguageacquisition processmore comprehensibleaswell.
Using improvisationalbody languageaddsanothervisualcomponentto thelearning process.Thisisabenefittostudentswithstrongvisualintelligence,butteachersneedtobe aware that not all students are strong visual learners. Furthermore, non-verbal communication differs sometimes largely in different cultures.For example,giving the symboltocomecloserinU.S.culturebybendingones・fingerquicklywouldbeconsidered rudeinsomeAsiancultures,whichprefertosignalsuchmeaningwiththepalm down.
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Finally,canteachersbemadeawareofeffectivenon-verbalcuesforcommunication,and improve their rate and clarity ofgestures? To answer in simple terms― Why not? If business managers and sales representatives can receive training in non-verbal communication,socanlanguageteachers.
References
Garrott,CarlL.2005.TheRelationshipbetween Nonverbal/VerbalImmediacy,Learning,andCaring by theTeacherin theL2Spanish Classroom.Papersubmitted on-linetoEducationalResources InformationCenter.RetrievedJune17,2006,from
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERI CExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED490540&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED490540
Goldin-Meadow,Susan.2004.Gesture・sRoleintheLearningProcessinTheoryIntoPractice,Autumn 2004,Volume43,Number4,pp.314321,OhioStateUniversityCollegeofEducation.
JosephMontagnaisoriginallyfrom Massachusetts, USA. He is a graduate of the University of MassachusettsatAmherstand Boston Collegein Boston.Hetaughtfor 4 yearsatKansaiGaidai University in Osakaand1yearatUniversity Del Marin Oaxaca,Mexico.Hehasbeen teaching at ShowaBostonsince2007.
