The Application of Body Language in English Teaching 英语专业毕业论文.doc

the application of body language in english teachingabstractsince the wide use of english, students english level must be improved. the schools at all levels should improve the english teaching method. however, with the limitation of students vocabulary in primary and middle schools, english teachers in teaching classroom, should not only use the oral language and written language to deliver the information, but also make use of the silent body language to simplify their teaching. in this paper, the author tries to give a whole introduction about the use of body language in english teaching in primary and middle schools. firstly, this paper introduces the definition of body language and theoretical bases of body language and introduces the primary and middle school students characteristics. these characteristics tell us why students at this level need body language most. secondly, it analyzes the importance of using body language in english teaching in primary and middle schools and four types of body language in english teaching, such as eyesight, gesture, posture and facial expressions. and then the paper introduces two functions of body language in english teaching: arousing the students interest in studying and enhancing the students study effect. and teachers with the help of body language can stimulate the students interest of learning english and also improve four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing and simplify the difficulty of english learning. therefore, it is important to use body language properly in teaching.key words: body language, english teaching, primary and middle school摘要：由于英语的广泛应用，英语在众多领域中变得非常重要。因此对学生的英语水平要求也越来越高，英语教学方法也需要不断地完善和提高。在中小学英语教学中，由于学生的词汇量有限，教师在英语教学环境中不仅要运用口语教学模式和板书教学模式进行教学活动，还要在英语教学中充分利用体态语（身势语）来简化英语的学习难度。本文主要分析了体态语在中小学英语教学中的运用。首先本文主要分析了体态语的定义及理论支持，介绍了中小学生的个性特点，正是这些特点告诉我们为什么这个阶段的学生学习英语时需更多地辅助于体态语；其次是在中小学英语教学中使用体态语的重要性以及英语教学中体态语主要以四个方面来传递信息：眼神交流，手势语，姿势语和面部表情；再次，本文介绍了体态语的两种功能：激发学生学习兴趣和提高学生学习效率；教师在体态语教学模式的帮助下可以激发学生的学习兴趣，从而进一步提高学生的听，说，读，写的能力，使英语学习变得简单易懂。因此，体态语的恰当使用在中小学英语教学中是十分重要的。关键词：体态语（身势语），英语教学，中小学校contents1. introduction.11.1 the definition of body language.11.2 total physical response.11.3 students characteristics.22. the necessity and importance of using body language in english teaching in primary and middle schools.23. four types of body language.33.1 eyesight.33.2 gesture.43.3 posture .43.4 facial expression.54. functions of body language in english teaching.54.1 arousing students interest in studying.54.2 enhancing the effect of study.65. application of the body language in english teaching in primary and middle schools.65.1 using body language in listening.65.2 using body language in speaking.65.3 using body language in reading.75.4 using body language in writing.86. tips for the teachers in english teaching.87. conclusion.9 references.10acknowledgements.111. introduction with the continual reform of language teaching and learning methods, english teachers are required to organize the class in english and create english-learning climate. however, because of the limitation of students vocabulary in primary and middle schools, english teachers in primary and middle schools should not only use the oral language and written language to deliver the information, but also make use of the silent body language to simplify their teaching.1.1 the definition of body languagewhat is body language? body language is an important medium that helps people communicate with each other. it is a part of nonverbal language. it includes things like stance, gestures, facial expressions, and plays an important role in communicating with each other. body language can express how one feels by the way one sits, stands, moves, etc. rather than by words. (oxford advanced learners english-chinese dictionary, 2001). it is very useful because it can help people easily understand. when people are talking with other, people are not just using words, but also using the silent body language. 1.2 total physical response total physical response is a language teaching theory which attempts to teach language through physical activities. it emphasizes comprehension and the use of physical actions to teach a foreign language at an introductory level. in teaching a foreign language, james asher (james asher, 1982), the advocate of the theory, believes that the total physical response sees successful adult second language learning as a process paralleled to child first language acquisition. he feels that adults should follow the processes by which children acquire their mother tongue in learning a second language. asher also shares with the school teachers when they are teaching foreign language and theyd better use the total physical response teaching mind to facilitate students learning. he believes that if a method does not require the foreign language learners to produce language until they are ready and if it involves body movements. the general objective of the total physical response applies to students, especially at a beginning level. teachers are typically used to elicit physical actions and activity on the part of the learners. body language is a main teaching method of total physical response, it can help students in primary and middle schools learn english much easier. 1.3 students characteristics using body language in english teaching in primary and middle schools can arouse students interest in english learning, due to the students characteristics. firstly, attention of students of primary and middle schools is unstable and impersistent. moreover, it is rather related to their interest. only when the matter is vivid, particular and novel, will students pay much attention to it. conversely, they will be absent-minded. secondly, as the main form, the concrete thinking in image increasingly changes into the abstract thinking in logic which is the fundamental characteristic of students mental development. however, the abstract thinking in logic is closely linked to perceptual experience (傅道春，2001). for example, as for “big” and “small”, the two words are distinguished by students direct sense for real objects. thirdly, students in primary and middle schools are not good at making sense of their emotion, mainly tied with their study life. lastly, students memory is unconscious, special and inflexible. as time goes, their abstract memory generally takes shape. therefore, english teachers in primary and middle schools should use body language to improve students interest in studying.2. the necessity and importance of using body language in english teaching in primary and middle schoolsenglish teaching is a key part of school education. with the reform of english teaching methods, more and more english teachers organize the class in english so that they can train the students better. in another word, teachers instruct the students and explain questions basically in english, and the students are also required to use english in class. however, most students in primary and middle schools in china cannot speak english very well, neither can they understand and master the language by listening to the teachers. their vocabulary and expressive ability are limited too. these limitations make them have difficulties in understanding the english teachers in the class when the teachers speak english all the time. according to the students level and practical situation of primary and middle schools, body language is required. for example, when a teacher gives an instruction “stand up!”, the students can easily understand it if the teacher looks at them and hands up. the students will carry out the order without obstacle even if they dont understand it clearly. the linguist mr. lu once said, “foreign language teacher should be able to perform and dance for joy, make a vivid gesture, movement and countenance as an actor, should not always be gentle and cultivated or just stand stiffly on the platform” (gu xueliang, 1998). if the teachers can use the body language properly, correctly, naturally and harmoniously, teachers can organize the teaching procedure well, motivate students to study, and improve the teaching effect. body language can help teaching more effectively than the speaking language in certain cases. as a matter of fact, teachers friendly appearance can greatly inspire the students studying enthusiasm. from the above we can learn the use of body language in english teaching is necessary and practical.3. four types of body languagethere are mainly four categories of body language in english teaching, eyesight, gesture, posture and facial expressions. body language will particularly help the teachers in primary and middle schools and hold the students interest successfully. teachers proper and graceful body language helps the students understand easily in english class. so teachers should pay more attention to the body language and make full use of it in foreign language teaching.3.1 eyesighteye contact is the most important one of all categories. as the saying goes, “the eyes are the window of the soul”. that is to say, we can read ones mind through his/her eyes. we can know what he doubts, how he loves or hates from the peoples eyes. people believe that they can read the heart world by their eyes. eyesight can express complicated feelings and attitude. therefore, the teachers should make full use of eyesight effectively. in the class the express of an eye contact could make students feel the teachers concern and encouragement and then makes students may devote themselves to the study more seriously. the foreign language educationists believe that teachers steady look at each student when having a class means love and equality to each student (he guangkeng, 1999). furthermore, teachers should try to keep eye contact with the entire class, but not just contact with the front row or only one or two students, or just look at the student who is going to be asked, because it can not let all the students think about the question. when teachers find someone is absent-minded or does something else that has nothing to do with the class, teachers can give the student a kind eyesight to concentrate his attention. in short, the loving and kind eyesight often makes students feel to be respected and trusted and stimulates students interests in learning english. otherwise the dull and indifferent eyesight can make students, especially primary and middle school students in a bad mood, and have a sense of distance. so the teachers good eye contact can influence the students deeply.3.2 gesture“gesture means we communicate and express our thoughts by the movement and manners of our hands and fingers”( liu yongfa ,liu xuanen, 1997). the gesture also plays an essential role in english teaching. people who have seen li yang crazy english will find that he pays great attention to the use of gesture. when the primary school students begin to learn english, there must be some difficulties. but using accurate and appropriate gestures, english teachers can help students master english easily. using gesture in primary and middle schools is important. for example, when the teachers are teaching a new word or sentence, they can use the gesture, like “open the book; open the door”. maybe the students cannot understand what the teachers say, but they can follow the teachers gesture. if students act correctly, teachers should applause for him and praise him with “good, very good!” to cultivate students language learning interests. even the answer is wrong the teachers should also pat his head and says to him “try your best next time”. these gestures are natural, appropriate. but teachers should not use excessive hand gestures to distract the students attention from the class. in a word, the vivid gesture together with the fluent english can create a good circumstance of learning, which will surely play an active part in improving the students ability to study.3.3 posture“posture is a matter of how people sit, walk, stand and move” ( liu yongfa ,liu xuanen, 1997). the educationists believe that posture is a moving action of a persons body and is also a kind of informative system of expressing body language. the england philosopher bacon believes that beauty of looks is higher than the color and luster one, yet the graceful and elegant beauty of action is higher than the beauty of looks (fraid dubin and elite olshtain, 2002). in english class, the teachers shouldhave the proper, elegant posture to attract the primary and middle school students attention. when teachers have a class, they should not always stand on the platform, but should take a proper stroll. teachers can also use some vivid and life-like posture to express the dull language learning and turn the material content into reality. to illustrate, the teacher puts a carton in the classroom, and says “could you help me?” and points to the box “this is a box, the box is heavy”. then he holds carton to make a very tough look “can you carry it? could you take it to the office? ”and then the teacher says to a student. this kind of posture is more practical and useful. students cannot easily forget. in short, good posture can concentrate the students attention and make the teaching much better to the primary and middle school teachers. at the same time, teachers should set a good model to students, such as the teachers statements and actions, teachers attitude of treating the students and dealing with things, which will influence the students unconsciously.3.4 facial expression“the face has been called an organ of emotion because we constantly read facial expressions to understand what others are feeling. face provides vital clues to our own feelings and those of the people around us. of all the nonverbal channels, the face is the most important broadcaster of emotions” ( liu yongfa and liu xuanen, 1997). facial expression is very straightforward, because people can see whether ones happy or not directly through his face. all the pleasure, anger, anxiety, thought, sorrow and fear of a person can be reflected on the face. our faces play a key role in expressing our thoughts, and especially our emotions and attitudes. during the class, the teachers countenance should be rich, mild, kind and natural. for example, the author has ever met two teachers who had the wholly different countenance when having their classes. for one teacher, his students like him very much. when he has his class, he is unlike a teacher but an excellent actor. when he speaks something interesting, his countenance seems to be pleased; when he speaks something sad, his countenance seems very sorrowful. in a word, the students are deeply attracted by his vivid and perfect facial expressions. on the contrary, another teacher always goes straight to the topic. no matter what kinds of contents, she just stands on the platform with stern facial expressions all the time and the students are all absent-minded and they all think english is boring. of course, the former teacher makes the class more vividly and catches the students attention successfully. 4. functions of body language in english teaching4.1 arousing students interest in studyingthe intense interest in studying is the prime motive power of learning activity，which can stimulate and arouse students interest in studying english in primary and middle schools. before each class，that teachers make good preparation and expect that the students can have the intense interest through a series of body languagefor example, when teachers teach a sentence “what are you doing?”, teachers can design the following body language to the text content：let the students follow teachers body language and do warm up in the activities to enter the study condition，then it can concentrate the students attention and stimulate the studying interest.4.2. enhancing the effect of studybody language is one of the most expressive languages in the teaching language especially in english teaching. using the suitable body language, english teachers can not only avoid using chinese to explain english，but also can promote interaction between the teachers and students，meanwhile enhance the effect of english learning. for example, in primary schools，teaching english number from 1 to 20 is frequentlyin digital teaching，if the teachers teaching way doesnt carry on expressively，the students may feel dull，then the goal of teaching can not be achieved and students interest in english studying will be reducedteachers can use the body language in the digital teaching. at first，teachers can read number1-10 showing the hands at the same timefor example，when teaching the number “three”, teachers can stretch out three fingersthen the students may think it is interesting and imitate immediatelyat the same time teachers teach students how to say the numbers and correct the individuals who shows the wrong fingers. in this way，the students will feel interesting and the studying effect will be very good5. application of the body language in english teaching in primary and middle school5.1 using b