On the Role of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behavior in Classroom Teaching1.doc

on the role of teachers nonverbal behavior in classroom teaching 1. introductionlanguage is used to interchange thoughts and feelings. teachers who teach the same material get different effect. some teachers can totally activate their students, and make the classroom atmosphere rather lively, but some teachers just can not get rid of depressing classroom atmosphere. one of the main reasons lies in the teachers nonverbal behavior. nonverbal behavior is a form of silent communication. in the classroom, nonverbal behavior includes teachers body language, paralanguage, proxemics and so forth. in 1872, scientific research on nonverbal communication and behavior began with the publication of charles darwins the expression of the emotions in man and animals. the silent language by dr.edward.t.hall, a field guide to human behavior by morris d manwatching and body language by jvlins fast are all translated into different languages. in china, some experts started their research on nonverbal behavior in the late 1980s. however, books or journals published at home or abroad concern more about the functions in the terms of interpersonal communication. there are just few books written for the teachers to read. there is no doubt that many teachers pay little attention to nonverbal behavior. they are more used to using verbal language to interchange their thoughts and feelings. so this thesis is written to help teachers realize the great importance and effectual functions of nonverbal behavior. this essay aims to change their view on nonverbal behavior and raise some interest in using nonverbal behavior. 2. a general overview of teachers nonverbal behavior2.1 definition of nonverbal behavior“what is nonverbal behavior?” nonverbal behavior is complex. it both includes behavior and communication. it may be shared between people or within people. it may be intentional or unintentional. nonverbal behavior is usually understood as a process of communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. nonverbal behavior can be communicated through gesture, by body language or posture, by facial expression and eye contact. nonverbal behavior can be communicated through object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture, symbols and infographics. speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. 2.2 importance of nonverbal behaviorresearch published by the national education association states that 82% of our communication as educators is nonverbal. it is well known that speech is only one part of communication, yet teachers often forget about or underestimate the importance of non-verbal communication in their own and their students performance. nonverbal behavior is very important in many aspects.firstly, nonverbal behavior can contributes classroom management. using nonverbal techniques in the classroom allows a teacher to manage from influence, not power. nonverbal behavior characterized by silence provides a safer classroom environment for student and teacher. secondly, nonverbal behavior can establish harmonious teacher-student relationships. managing students with nonverbal techniques preserves relationships. besides, by forming kind facial expression, making gentle eye contact, holding open posture, etc. teachers gets closer to their students. and gradually, it will build a broad and friendly bridge between teacher and his students.thirdly, nonverbal behavior can enhance teaching. “changeable nonverbal behavior in the classroom can receive more information and increase retention, because student brain cortex is exciting, and abstract thinking together with imaginal thinking forms a harmonious unity.”(罗树华，1991：11)forthly, nonverbal behavior can create proper atmosphere. emotions are infectious. one of the integral functions of nonverbal behavior is conveying feelings, emotions. teachers, by using nonverbal behavior, can transmit their emotions to students. when students are infectious with their teachers emotions, the expected classroom atmosphere is shaped.finally, nonverbal behavior can help teachers set a good example. traditionally, young students tend to trust and learn from their teachers. there is an old saying, “actions speak louder than words”. though nonverbal behavior is wordless, it is powerful enough to influence students. so, teachers should behave well to set a good example for his students to learn from.from the above statement, teachers should definitely do research on nonverbal behavior, and try to use it, because it is important and functional in teaching.2.3 characteristics of nonverbal behaviorteachers nonverbal behavior has the basic characteristics of nonverbal behavior. for instance, nonverbal behavior in accompany with verbal language attracts students attention and makes utterance more persuasive and infectious. nonverbal behavior gives students the picture of the inner world of their teachers. teachers nonverbal behavior has its own characteristics. here are some main characteristics. (1) character of intentionteacher is the centre of the classroom. students keep their eyes on their teacher, so whatever teacher does would be observed without any being left behind. so teachers should pay attention to how they behave, because negative nonverbal behavior is harmful to classroom atmosphere, teaching, teacher-student relationship, and so on. (2) character of choiceteachers should choose positive nonverbal behavior rather than the negative kind, as the former one has good effect on students, like creating active atmosphere. so teachers should separate positive nonverbal behavior from the opposite kind on purpose.(3) character of disciplinedifferent disciplines require different nonverbal behavior. in general, in pe or dance classes, nonverbal behavior is used more often. in language classes, nonverbal behavior tends to be more figurative. nonverbal behavior is used to help present situational dialogue. in maths or physics classes, nonverbal behavior would help teachers explain more correctly and clearly.(4) character of aestheticsteachers nonverbal behavior should be natural and graceful. if not, students would feel uncomfortable to concentrate their heart on what teacher is saying, and lose interest in keeping their eyes on their teachers. so, nonverbal behavior should be attractive enough to draw students attention. beside this, if teacher always use beautiful nonverbal behavior, students will unconsciously gain the knowledge of what is good-looking, elegant.3. functions of teachers nonverbal behavior in classroom teaching3.1 kinesicskinesics is the interpretation of body language such as facial expressions and gestures or, more formally, non-verbal behavior related to movement, either of any part of the body or the body as a whole. kinesics is an important part of non-verbal communication behavior. the movement of the body, or separate parts, conveys many specific meanings. several investigators estimate that at least 70% of the communication between people takes place through body language and tone of voice. the best known theory is that of the american psychologist mehrabian. he states that when it comes to expressing feelings: 55% of the communication consists of body language, 38% is expressed through tone of voice and only，7% is communicated through words.（罗树华，1991：10）according to this theory, we can conclude that in the classroom, teachers body language seems to convey more information than verbal words. thus, kinesics is important enough to draw teachers attention. if teachers can take advantages of kinesics, they will meet surprising effect. 3.1.1 facial expressionsa facial expression results from motions or positions of the muscles of the face. these movements convey the emotional state of the individual to observer. facial expression is an important part of kinesics. it is a form of nonverbal behavior.humans can adopt a facial expression as a voluntary action. however, because expressions are closely tied to emotion, they are more often involuntary. thus, we can conclude that as teachers are not trained to show dishonest and complicated facial expressions, their inner feeling displayed by face in class is veracious. in other words, teachers cant hide their true mood. it is very easy to find that students, most of the time in class, look at their teacher, especially the face, to learn knowledge and to show respect. besides, students by using their knowledge and experience can unconsciously tell the information on teachers face. to sum up, teachers mood or attitude truly shown on the face can be recognized and in sequence impact students. teachers should feel happy before they set foot in the classroom. for one thing, they are not as good as actors to conceal their sad or angry emotions which may be misunderstood by students and confuse them. for another thing, people in pleasant state are more capable of making various and positive faces. facial expressions has many functions than you know. firstly, it can promote the establishment of good teacher-student relationship. there is an old saying, trust your master, follow his way. a good relationship between teachers and students is a key to achieve this high level. then how to establish such relationship? natural, gentle and proper facial expression helps a lot. such facial expressions help reduce students pressure caused by the great different roles. students will gradually get rid of their fear to get close to teachers. and then the teacher-student relationship grows unconsciously. in short, facial expression is responsible for good relationship between teachers and students.secondly, facial expressions can resonate with corresponding teaching material. emotion is infectious. sometimes, teachers need the students to be active to participate in an activity, or serious to think over a difficult question. teachers own happy, serious or sad facial expression must help make his students gain such emotion. therefore, teachers facial expressions can resonate with students emotion and indirectly help teaching.thirdly, it can get feedback from students. not only the teachers facial expressions are important, but also the students. as we all know, teaching is an interaction between students and teachers, but how can teachers know what the students are thinking about? facial expression is a way, because students are not allowed to talk at any time, or the classroom would be noisy. students facial expressions may not display intricate thoughts but it can at least show they are clear or confusing.forthly, it can create harmonious studying atmosphere. learner-centered teaching is popular today in language classrooms. if a teacher wants his students to fully play their subject role, wishes to help their thinking development and makes them active in class, then the teacher should partially resort to encouraging, trusting and gentle facial expression, because studies have stated that such facial expressions help establish harmonious studying atmosphere. fifthly, it can keep students attentive and gain more information. if you are asked to look at only one unchangeable and normal face, can you keep yourself attentive for about 40 minutes? there would be only one answer:no. therefore, students can keep attentive in class with their teacher varying his facial expressions with the situation and teaching material. besides, properly changing facial expressions can help students remember knowledge.finally, it can help classroom management. when you get home from work, do you often feel hoarse from telling the kids to stop talking and exhausted from trying, in vain, to keep your kids on task? then, facial expressions are able to realize quiet-the-students-without-a-word classroom management. for example, if your class are beginning to talk freely but without knowing it, then you should wear a serious-looking and do not utter a single word for 10 seconds or more. then your facial expression will tell all the students its time to stop talking. why can it work? because your information on the face can be seen by the class, but your voice cannot, only when it is loud enough.3.1.2 eye contactlooking, staring, and blinking can also be important nonverbal behaviors. looking at another person can indicate a range of emotions, including confidence, interest, attraction and involvement. like facial expressions, kind and natural eye contact can help establish good teacher-student relationship; the change of expression in the eye in accordance with the teaching material contributes to proper resonance; eye contact conveyed by the students can tell their thought. all the above function of the eye contact is similar to facial expressions, and wont be explained in the detailed way. here are some other functions of eye contact. firstyly, eye contact would help teachers manage classroom. if a teacher tries to get his students quiet and ready for class, then he should stand in front of the classroom and sweep over all the students. make sure when you are sweeping over, all the students are looking at teacher in the eye. on this condition, students get what teacher wants and do as you wish, like the saying “silence is powerful.” eye contact as a way of silence is powerful in the classroom. further more, eye contact has great role on classroom management during a class. if a disruptive student is going to be or being mind-absent, then make an eye contact with the student. the student will know he or she should pay attention in class, because teachers eyes silently tell him to do so. by using eye contact, we can avoid interruption of the teaching process and the self-esteem loss of the disruptive student, but get a better effect. secondly, eye contact can give signals of praises. remember the eye contact you received from your teacher telling you that you are smart, excellent, creative? and are you inspired to work harder, do you feel a sense of success? i know you have such experience，and will not forget that pair of shining eyes. that pair of eye is shining because your teacher is happy, and happy peoples pupils dilate 4 times than normal. such change is prominent, unforgettable and inspiring to students, thought they cant tell. so when you decide to compliment and feel proud of your students, become really happy and show shining eyes which is warm and powerful. thirdly, eye contact can fill the need of being cared about and encouraged. “when teaching, make sure you will care about every one of your students. every student needs to be considered important, wants to be important in their teachers eyes.”(邓宏宝，1994：27-28) and when this kind of need realized, they want to live up to their teachers expectation. sweeping over all the students can create such effect that teacher is looking at him or her, and caring. therefore, eye contact is able to make your students feel a sense of importance and being cared about. by the way, teacher tends to care more about his left side because of humans advantage of left hemisphere, so as a professional teacher, he or she should care about all the students in the classroom. whats more, eye contact can change some shy students into brave and confident ones. when a shy student is asked to stand up and answer some questions, as a teacher, “firstly you should not move away your eye contact for about 60%-70% of your contact with him or her, secondly show to your student a pair of gentle eyes”（薛勇，2004：41） telling you are interested, you trust him. try this every time he or she is ready to answer your question. gradually, you will see another brave and happy student.finally, eye contact can draw students attention to class. good control of the eyes of all the listeners can constitute a successful presentation. there is a straight line between the lecturers eyes and the audiences. “a presentation giver should move his pen or pointer onto the straight line. in this way, the audiences eyes would like drops of water flows along the line directly to the spots lecturer is pointing to.”（薛涌，2004：41） make good use of eye contact, teachers can draw their students attention.3.1.3 gesturea gesture is a form of nonverbal behavior made with a part of the body, used instead of or in combination with utterance. the language of gesture is rich in ways for individuals to express a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection. gesture is, as the saying goes, our second face which specializes in drawing students attention in classroom. but it has other valuable functions. firstly, gesture can act as a tool to comment on students. there are two ways to praise to students by using fingers and hands. one way is to raise your thumb, the other way is to clap your hands. before school, students life experiences have already taught them what raised thumbs and clapping hands mean, so using such gestures in classroom would be completely understandable and greatly effective to students.secondly, gesture are helpful in classroom management. when students are so excited that they forget classroom disciplines, teacher can make good use of their hand to stop noises growing. some teachers are used to placing index finger in the middle of his closed mouth, some would like to reach out his two hands with the palm down, others prefer squeezing the forefinger and thumb to flit though tightly closed mouth，just like zipping up. anyway, as long as your student can understand your gesture, the movement of your fingers, hands or arms is arbitrary. thirdly, gesture plays a part in enhance teaching. a gesture that depicts the act of throwing may be synchronous with the utterance, he threw the ball right into