Strategies to improve teacher—students communication in L2 classroom： the use of body language

【Abstract】Body language， to some extent， can be regarded as a quick and efficient way to express ideas and emotion. This report， based on a classroom research， will investigate the functions of body language in L2 classes.

【Key words】Body Language； L2 Classroom； Action Research

It is generally known that speech is typically enriched by various gestures and body language in face-to-face communication. As early as 1970s， Albert Mehrabian had basically come to the conclusion that communication， on a face-to-face basis， is thought to consist of three separate elements. Besides words spoken and intonation， body language which posture， facial expressions and gestures someone uses is also essential in communicating process （Mehrabian， 1972）. Body language is actually a kind of non-verbal visual aid for the words and can convey useful information about a speakers intent and meaning as well. For instance， the speakers eye-gaze direction can inform us about where the attention of he or she is （Senju and Johnson， 2009）， and his or her body movement can give us important information regarding the emotional state of the speaker （Wallbott， 1998）. Sometimes， even seemingly irrelevant hand-movements， such as rubbing the nose or tapping fingers on the desk， can also disclose important information of the speaker （Obermeier， Kelly & Gunter， 2015）. In addition， the idea that gesture can be recognized as a form of external support for spoken language comprehension has also been proved by another two experiments. In both experiments， young children were asked to choose blocks according to a set of videotaped instructions， which were given using no gesture， gestures that reinforced speech， and gestures that conflicted with speech. And finally， experimenters found when the spoken messages were complex for preschool children； those reinforcing gestures could facilitate speech comprehension for them （McNeil， Alibali & Evans， 2000）.

In order to exam the functions of body language in L2 classroom， I have conducted an action research project including a peer-teaching lesson with six of my colleagues， six interviews with two peer-students， two real pupils and two experienced English teachers. It is worth mentioning that experienced teacher A is from Britain with more than 30 years of teaching experience and had ever taught English in Asian countries like Indonesia， and Teacher B is a Chinese who has taught English in China for more than 20 years. Based on the analysis of self-reflections， peer feedback， peer-teaching video and lesson transcript， classroom observation as well as interviews， some insights I have got are discussed below.

A good teacher is usually a good actor.

When I was complaining about my funny and stupid body language in the peer teaching video， one of my colleagues said the above sentence that made me suddenly feel refreshed. She told me I did not need to worry about my dramatic body language because students， especially young learners， like them. In fact， when I interviewed two real pupils， I got the same answer. They thought their English teachers body language was exaggerated but really interesting and could help them comprehend the language well. Jeremy Harmer had ever asked a number of teachers Are you a different person in the classroom than you are out of the classroom？， the answers he got all indicated that most of the teachers thought of themselves as more humorous， energetic and creative in class. They were willing to describe themselves as ‘actors （Harmer， 1995）.

In a language classroom， body language （&gestures） can be recognized as a specific way in which we can help our students both hear and understand language （Harmer， 2007）. Students， especially beginners and elementary students， often need to rely on the body language we use. Almost all language teachers have a personal set of gestures even though most of time they are not conscious about them （Gower & Walters， 1983）. It is easy to pretend to be drunk or to pull an excited face. The meaning of some words can often be quickly and efficiently explained by gestures. Demonstrating words like stagger or giggle is fairly easy for many teachers. Shrugging the shoulders can be used to indicate indifference （Harmer， 2007）. If a student cannot understand the word short the proper hand gesture is not difficult to make. In the peer teaching， I used some of these simple gestures accompanied with words. For example， when I wanted students to speak loudly， I used the gesture palms up. Besides， we can also use special gestures to suggest concepts such as past time （hitch-hiking gesture over the shoulder） or future time （pointing into the distance in front） （Gower & Walters， 1983）.

It is crucial for teachers to use eye contact to establish good classroom rapport. A teacher who usually looks students in the eye seems to full of confidence and gives the students a sense of security. Eye contact itself can signal such messages as I want to speak to you or I know what you are doing. Eye contact between teachers and students can help teachers to notice their students reactions and to be in touch with the mood of the class （Gower & Walters， 1983）. Do they understand？ Are they bored？ Should I finish this question？ Does someone have a question？

Gower and Walter （1983， p.9） point out， ‘ the more direct eye contact the teacher maintains with all those in the class the more teacher-controlled the lesson. However， there are some class activities that do not demand teacher-centred control. In these circumstances， eye contact should be avoided unless you are particularly asked for help. Actually， I used eye contact many times in the role-play activity of my peer teaching. In Extract 1， I looked at S6 to indicate she is to speak instead of calling her name. She immediately understood me and checked with ‘me？. In Extract 2， I kept eye contact with S6 to ensure that watermelon was the fruit she wanted.

Extract 1

131 T： what about you. （keeps eye-contact with S6）

132 S6： me？

133 T： [yeah （laughs）]

134 Ss： [（laughter）]

135 T： what would you like？

136 S6： one cherry.

Extract 2

140 S6： one watermelon.

141 T： watermelon？ （keeps eye contact with S6 to make sure if she wants watermelon）

142 S6： banana.

In addition， I also found teachers body language can help to make class atmosphere easy and lively. In extract 3， it is obvious that my non-verbal action made all students feel interesting. I think it was a good class beginning and I enjoyed the students laugher very much. Besides， both extract 4 and extract 5 show that when I （the teacher） was laughing， all students joined in the laughter， which means teachers body language can influence their learners mood and a positive body language of the teacher can have a good effect on the class atmosphere.

Extract 3

1 T： [（moves towards the front of the classroom with funny gestures）]

2 Ss： [（laugher）]

3 T： ok， firstly， Ill show you a picture. （shows an animation picture of the following video on the screen）

4 Ss： （laugher）

Extract 4

25 S1： strawberry？

26 T： yes↓ Its strawberry. [（Laughs）]

27 Ss： [（laugher）]

Extract 5

80 S5： [four strawberries]

81 T： four strawberries （laughs）， yes， four strawberries （.） and？

82 Ss： [cherry]（laugh）

Furthermore， I was also curious about what should teachers do during the period when they ask their students to read， write or watch something individually in classes. Teacher A advised that in these circumstances the teacher could perhaps get out of the students sight， go to the back or sit down， be quiet and try to establish a concentrated atmosphere. But the teacher needs to be available in case there is any particular problem or something. Besides， I think D. H. Lawrences poem The Best of school has given me a good answer. ‘As I sit on the shores of the class， alone/Watch the boys in the summer blouses/As they write， their round heads busily bowed/And one after another rouses/His face to look at me/To ponder very quietly/As seeing， he does not see… The teacher is sitting ‘on the shores of the class， alone. What actually is he doing？ Apparently nothing， yet he establishes the peaceful isolation in which thought is nurtured. Through these words， I can feel how happy the teacher is when he is sitting at the back of the classroom and the children are silently working and getting their ideas. And the atmosphere only comes through the silence.

To conclude， body language （gesture， eye contact， mime and expression etc.） is really helpful in improving teacher-students communication， but we， as teachers， need to avoid using unclear and ambiguous expressions and never use gestures that are rude or obscene to the students （Gower & Walters， 1983）.

References：

[1]Gower，R.，& Walters，S.（1983）.Teaching Practice Handbook.London[u.a.]：Heinemann.

[2]Harmer，J.（1995）.Taming the big ‘I：teacher performance and student satisfaction.ELT journal，49（4），337-345.

[3]Harmer，J.（2007）.The practice of English language teaching.Harlow，England：Pearson Longman.

[4]McNeil，N.M.，Alibali，M.W.，& Evans，J.L.（2000）.The role of gesture in children's comprehension of spoken language：Now they need it，now they don't.Journal of Nonverbal Behavior，24（2），131-150.

[5]Mehrabian，A.（1972）.Nonverbal communication.Transaction Publishers.

[6]Obermeier，C.，Kelly，S.D.，& Gunter，T.C.（2015）.A speaker's gesture style can affect language comprehension：ERP evidence from gesture-speech integration.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience，nsv011.

[7]Senju，A.，& Johnson，M.H.（2009）.The eye contact effect：mechanisms and development.Trends in cognitive sciences，13（3），127-134.

[8]Wallbott，H.G.（1998）.Bodily expression of emotion.European journal of social psychology，28（6），879-896.

作者簡介：申健（1992-），女，山东日照人，华威大学英语教育学硕士，现任山东外国语职业学院英语专业教师。