The Functions of Body Languagein English Teaching Practice.doc

形体语言在英语教学实践中的作用摘要: 本文主要介绍了形体语言在英语教学中的分类、作用及其在实际英语教学中的重要性和必要性, 提出了形体教学语言在教学实践中的应用原则和建议, 明确了在教学过程中教师应当更多地深入了解和使用形体语言，为英语学习者创造更好的学习氛围。关键词：形体语言，作用，英语教学实践the functions of body languagein english teaching practiceabstract: this paper focuses on the functions of body language and aims to explain the importance and necessity of body language in english teaching practice. the emphasis is placed on introducing the nature, main classification and principles of body language in teaching to english teachers so that they can create a better atmosphere for learners in the process of english learning.key words： body language, function, english teaching practice 1. introductionbody language is an important media through which people communicate with each other. it refers to the patterns of facial expressions, body movements and gestures that people use to express their meanings and feelings in communication. body language, which has been used frequently and widely in all kinds of areas of education, is the movements, gestures and expressions that teachers often use in teaching activities. it directly affects a teachers teaching efficiency, as it is known that what or how the teachers say or do will be possibly imitated by the students, sometimes subconsciously. a teachers proper body language in teaching not only helps to improve the students artistic appreciation and moral character but also to motivate them to study the subject the teacher teaches, and to form an active and optimistic learning desire.the affection of teachers body language on the students can shorten the teacher-student estrangement, by which a more harmonious studying atmosphere is created. as a matter of fact, teachers friendly appearance of body language can greatly encourage the students studying enthusiasm，especially for the young learners. furthermore, the characteristics of theory and abstraction of knowledge also require the vivid, dramatic and accessible gesture to make it specific and figurative. as a result, the students interest is motivated and the effect of teaching is greatly improved.the direct teaching method in foreign language teaching system particularly emphasizes that we should avoid using mother tongue and translationinstead, we should use such direct ways as movements，expression setting，and substances to replace the function of using mother language and translation. by doing that we can establish a direct bridge between meaning and language form itself.2. the classifications of body languagethere are various forms in body language and much content is in it. so teachers are required to analyze and classify it, to put its various forms in order and to master it skillfully and scientifically. thus we can make it more systematic, standard and operational.first, by bodys expressing parts and ways the body language can be divided into:l) facial expression：that is to express emotions, feelings, attitudes, etc. by facial expressing;2) limb movements：that is to describe things，or to express thoughts, ideas and feelings through the movements of limbs;3) body postures: that is, setting moving bodys posture to express feelings or to explain thingsthen, as to the functions, we can roughly classify body language into:1) conductive languageit means an order or a command, e.g.: to put the index finger between two lips is to say：be quiet，please!, one hands index finger in the center of the other hand to say:“stop!”, etc.2) emotional languagefacial expressions, which can be used to express emotions like happiness，anger or sadness.3) demonstrative languageduring the change in movements and expressions and the development in demonstration, the teacher will guide students to express in english more effectively. also we can demonstrate object，conception and so on through gestures, actions and postures in order to make it clear and audio-visual. take the movements of hands for example: shake hands transversely means friendship；close hands up means pray；clap hands means welcome and encourage, etc.4) evaluating languagewe can show our agreement or disagreement, encouragement, disappointment，enjoyment and complaint toward students actions by body language. for example，to nod head means consent，encourage and praise, while to shake head means discontent or disappointment5) explaining languagewe can use body language to explain the pronunciation，the grammar and the words of english in order to make it simple and clear. lets take teaching some prepositions as an example, we can, in：put something inside one hand; on: put one hand on the other palm; around: move one hand around the other arm; along: move one forefinger of one hand along the other arm; to: move one hand toward the other hand; under: put one hand under the other hand ;over: put one hand over the other hand, etc.6) implying languageuse body language to imply teaching intention: give the students some hints by asking some indirect questions to help them get the point by themselves. teachers can imply the teaching intension by imitating actions, example as in teaching the lesson charlie chaplin, the teacher just imitates some typical actions or expression of chaplin in the class, then the students will understand the teaching intention, and also it can increase the interest of students to study and make the class lively and active7) inspiring languagethe most important feature of body language is to inspire and motivate students to learn. teachers can imply, demonstrate, evaluate or explain by using body language；moreover, all of above contain the feature of inspiring and motivation, and because of this feature，every feature of body language may infiltrate to form a whole system.3. the necessity and importance of body language in english teaching3.1 it is necessary and important for teaching young learners englishnow more and more young learners start to learn english. it is popular for them to learn english when they are still very young. they have no or little vocabulary. so if a teacher wants to teach them well，body language will play an important and necessary part in the teachingobviously, if the teacher can use body language well in teaching, it will be likely to lead the children to success in language learning and it will make the lessons a pleasant experience for them. for instance, when we are teaching the children how to say hello when they meet their friends，we can teach them to say hello directly. meanwhile，with the words we may shake their hands and smile to them. by observing these gestures, they will soon know how to greet when they meet their friends. we can make some gestures by using body movement to teach some actions to the children, too. we may sit down and stand up to explain “sit” and “stand”, and point out our fingers to explain “up” and “down”. so we can also use the gesture like a picture to show the action to the children.because the children are very young，they all like playing games. if teachers make some activities for the children and use body language as much as possible, for sure, the children will get a deep impression，and they may remember what is taught to them very well. 3.2 it is necessary and important for classroom english teaching body language in teaching is an effective way in terms of language teaching method, which can be proved either in language teaching or language theory or in practice. so by enforcing the study of body language and making it scientific and systematic, the body language will play a more important role in real classroom teaching and in teaching method research.with the reform of the english teaching methods, more and more english teachers organize their teaching in english, so that they may realize the communicative english in class. the communicative english also means that teachers instruct and explain basically in english, and the students are also required to use english in class contemporarily. however, the students in schools cant speak english very well, neither can they understand why they should use different tones in different time or situations. besides, their vocabulary and expressive ability are limited, too. these limitations have made it difficult to realize the communicative english in classes.according to the students present level and practical situation, body language should be required to develop classes to be more communicative, for example, when a teacher gives an instruction: “you two, please come to the blackboard. the students can easily understand it if the teacher looks at or points to some two students and then points to the blackboard. furthermore, teachers usually have to explain some language points, and at this time, they can also carry out their teaching task easily with the help of body language in the teaching process. based on the analysis above, we can learn that the use of body language in classroom english teaching is quite necessary and practical. in the actual english teaching, body language is frequently used to improve the teaching effect and the students language ability.4. the principles of using body language4.l use body language in proper sequence to advance it step by stepwhen using body language, teachers should observe the basic teaching principle and the internal principle in foreign language teaching, especially for novice teachers. we should develop our ability in using body language step by step, and we may use some easy body language that students can easily understand at the beginning. after we get some more experience and after the students know more about the language, we can use some more abstract body language to teach something more abstract, such as pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.4.2 pay attention to the differences of language and culture background when using bodylanguagewe should be aware of the difference of body language for different culture background because not all body language means the same thing in different countries or areas. take nodding the head for example, in some asian countries it means not yes but no, etc.4.3 combine personal body language and common body languageto teach english effectively and efficiently, it is necessary for us to form a series of personal body language, which may be of a special feature of our own. as we know, different teachers may have different styles of body language in class. that is personal body language. meanwhile, we use common body language in our daily life, and all people understand each other when using it, just like nodding head means “yes”, while shaking head means “no”. when we use these gestures the students can understand us easily. moreover, different teachers should combine personal body language with common body language perfectly. for example, some teachers raise two fingers to the students, saying: pair work, while some teachers show one forefinger of both hands, and the others clap hands to mean it. so all personal body language will get its own effect. then it will be much more help