Your body tells more than your words!

Your body tells more than your words! Feliciano Navarro de HazProfessor Noelia TintilayAnlisis del Discurso Cientfico y Tcnico2014

Research DesignProblem: How can body language help teachers see through their students?Can classroom management be improved by the appropriate use of body language and nonverbal communication?Objectives: Create a tool to help teachers build positive rapport with their students.Bring awareness over the importance of body language and its underlying meanings.Enable teachers to read nonverbal expressions with a didactic purpose.Justification: Reading about body language I became aware of the connections it has with teaching theories like NLP, TPR, and CLT.

Research DesignPlausibility: I carried out interviews to 14 teachers, 2 psichologists and 1 psycho-pedagogue. In addition, I elaborated a questionaire to which 73 students responded.I consulted Paul Ekmans and Chris Caswells Works on body language, along with web pages related to that topic.Theortical background: The teachers primary responsibility is response-ability (Peter Wilberg)Body language is a voluntary movement of a part of the body in relation to an emotion, a thought or a sense.Teachers are having lessons in how to read childrens body language and modify their own to tackle bad behaviour in the classroom. (Henry, The Telegraph)I Salta,most teachers claim to have taken courses in classroom management but not in body language specifically.Methodology: After conducting a survey investigation, this work adopted the form of a Descriptive Research.

Chapter 1: What is Nonverbal Communication?Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages. It has got two dimensions; verbal (7%) and nonverbal (93 %). (Elfatihi 2006)Nonverbal Communication refers to all aspects of message exchange without the use of words. These include:

PostureGesturesEye ContactTouchFacial Expressions

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Chapter 1: What is Nonverbal Communication?

Micro-Expressions

Voice

Chapter 1: What is Nonverbal Communication?Universal Body Language: Seven facial expressions of emotion.

Chapter 1: What is Nonverbal Communication?Cross-cultural Body Language: Differences may show up in ways such as physical touch, conversational distance, interactions between genders and use of gestures.Reliability: 1- It backs up the limitations words have. 2- It reinforces the expression of feelings. 3- It is difficult to control. 4- It is more spontaneous than words.

Chapter 1: What is Nonverbal Communication?Categorization of nonverbal communication based on Zoric, Smid et al (2007):Chronemics, Vocalics, Haptics, Kinesics, Oculesics, Olfatics, Physical Appearance, Proxemics, Silence and Symbolism.

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the Classroom Why nonverbal communication for teachers?With the advent of Communicative Language Teaching, communication became the pivotal focus, which brought nonverbal communication to the surface (Elfatihi 2).Verbal communication (7%) stimulates cognitive meanings for the students, while nonverbal communication (93%) stimulates the students feelings and attitudes towards the material (McCroskey 2006).As teachers we look for confirmation that our students are grasping the concepts, and identifying students nonverbal cues will help (Brock 1).

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomNonverbal signals in the classroom and their meanings.Visual signals are in the spot light. These include:Spacing and posture (proxemics and kinesics). Interpersonal distance (personal, social, public)touch (intimate distance)and sitting arrangement.

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the Classroom.

Where do you prefer the teacher?Close 10 %Not far 75 %Far 15 %

Do you like the teacher to move around the classroom?Yes 89 %No 11 %

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the Classroom.

How often do you want the teacher to do so?Always 34 %Sometimes 62 %Never 4 %

Which desk arrangement to you prefer?Pairs 53 %Circle 32 %Single rows 15 %

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomPosture often indicates what a persons intentions are. Leaning Forward Leaning Away Leaning Over

InterestLack of InterestDominance

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomGaze (oculetics and kinesics). It is related to interpersonal spacing. People distance themselves by looking down or away to avoid eye contact (Neill and Caswell 11).Elfatihi claims that eye contact is a major requirement for classroom communication. It serves, primarily, three functions:Comprehension checking.Motivation.Class control.

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomYou look at te teacher when : You understand 11 %You want to understand 81 %You do not understand 8 %How often do you like the teacher to look at you?Always 12 %Sometimes 74 %Never 14 %

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomDo you like to provide answers when the teacher looks at you?Yes 74 %No 26 %

Eye contact establishes the background for communication.

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomHead position and facial expressions (Kinesics).The effects of head position are often the same as those of posture on a smaller scale (Neill and Caswell 11).A raised chin, like stanting over someone is dominant.A bowed head, like kneeling down is non-threatening.

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomFacial expressions are both, easy and difficult to interpret. You can tell the mood of the teacher from his/her :Speaking tone 42 %Gestures 12 %Facial expressions 45 %

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomSmiling and frowning are the most prominent classroom expressions.Facial expressions which cause confusion:

The frownEyebrow movementThe yawn

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomHand gestures (Kinesics). These can be grouped in: Speech-related gestures (two purposes)

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomRelationship-oriented gestures. These include quick movements like pointing, and holding up a hand. There are also more static gestures related to status and confidence, which may show up during transitions from one class activity to another (Neill and Caswell 90). There are three main objectives for using gestures in EFL classrooms, according to Elfatihi: Presenting language items.Providing feedback.Managing the classroom.

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the Classroom

Do the teachers gestures help you to understand?Yes 85 %No 15 %

What should the teacher use to explain?Speech 5 %Gestures 1 %Both 93 %

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomWhat should the teacher use to point at you?Finger 32 %Open palm 68 %

A finger point is downgrading and arrogant while an open palm conveys more confort and value.

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomIntonation and pace of speech. Effective teachers have animated intonation; flat, unethusiastic speech shows uncertainty (Neill and Caswell 98).The teachers interviewed for this research claim to make good use of intonation patterns to communicate ideas, get attention, command authority, etc. Most of them hardly ever resort to yelling.

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomTwo well known classroom issues are: behaviour deviancy and making confrontations.Deviancy is non-compliance with rules. Disruption represents a challenge to authority. There are two categories in behaviour deviancy. The first are defined as open challenges, the second are called closed challenges(Neill and Caswell 51).

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomOpen challenges are characterised by:A high level of control checks.Variation in gaze direction.Visual involvement of prepherial pupils.Postural changes.Low task involvement.Increased noise level.Willingness to argue with the teacher.

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomClosed challenges are characterised by:Limited gaze direction.Directed conversation.Relaxed posture.Few, or no control checks.Rapid head and arm movement.Increased smiling.Sporadic involvement in the work.

Throwing materials

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication in the ClassroomMaking confrontations.In order to deal with open challenges a teacher needs to exert calm, desicive control, using rules to depersonalise conflicts, and friendly relationships to make conformity rewarding.Two techiniques that can be effective are: showing up, and confrontation in privacy.

Chapter 3: Case StudiesIn order to obtain reliable results, different techniques were used ranging from spontaneous observation and interviews to close ended questionnaires. 10 of the respondents were teachers of English from different provinces in Argentina, and 2 of them from England.The main reason for interviewing mostly EFL teachers lies on the fact that the objectives of an EFL classroom interaction is learning a foreign language of which students have little or no command yet.

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Monica Jorgensen from Santiago del Estero (living in Salta). Teaching Experience: More than 30 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Hand gestures, silence and intonation variation.Anecdote: The invisible student.

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Melisa Villalba from Santa Fe.Teaching Experience: Approximately 6 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Eye contact, and touch.Anecdote: Relieving caress

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Analia from Buenos Aires.Teaching Experience: More tan 10 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Eye contact, silence, and hand gestures.Anecdote: Staring to confront deviancy

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Juliana from Capital FederalTeaching Experience: 6 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Hand gestures, folded arms, serious face, voice.Anecdote: The talkative boy

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Agustina from Salta.Teaching Experience: 10 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Eye contact.Anecdote: Queue up!

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Sabrina Altamiranda from Jujuy.Teaching Experience: 2 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Eye contact, and moving around.Anecdote: Getting closer

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Alec Macnaughton from London, UK.Teaching Experience: 10 years.Primary nonverbal cues: loud voice, clear and consistent expectations.Anecdote: Pack up, sit, and leave at my command.

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Mauro Romero from Salta.Teaching Experience: 3 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Loud voice, hand gestures, facial expressions.Anecdote: Asking the obvious?

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Andrea Martinez from Salta.Teaching Experience: 8 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Tone of voice.Anecdote: Creating a positive atmosphere

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Fernanda from Salta. Teaching Experience: 2 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Loud voice, hand gestures.Anecdote: Exhaust the naugthy one

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Laura Singh from Salta.Teaching Experience: 6 years.Primary nonverbal cues: Voice, hand gestures, moving around.Anecdote: Breathe in, breathe out.

Chapter 3: Case StudiesTeacher: Paula Yvette Smyth from UK.Teaching Experience: Not specified.Primary nonverbal cues: Voice, moving around, facial expressions.Anecdote: Talk to the wall.

Concluding RemarksTeachers can learn how to see through their students in order to evaluate how to assist them.Classroom management is complemented by body language.Nonverbal communication can help to improve the teaching practice and learning process.The study managed to bring some valuable contributions to the domain of teaching and learning.

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