body language in teaching -07英语三班 赵璐

PAGEBodyLanguageinEnglishTeachingByZhaoLuAThesisSubmittedtoSchoolInPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsFortheDegreeofB.A.inEnglishAtHuaianUndertheSupervisionofMr.Oct2010AcknowledgementsThisthesisinvolvesmuchgenerousassistancefrommyteachers,friendsandparents.IwouldliketooffermyheartfeltthankstoMs.GuoChengyu,mysupervisor,whohasbeengivingmeconsiderableacademichelpandconstantsupportduringmythesiswriting.AndIwouldliketothankthelibrariansofHuaiyinFinally,Iwouldliketopresentsincerethankstomyparents,whohavesupportedandassistedmeallthewayinmycollegelife.AbstractBodylanguagehasbeenwidelyusedincommunicationoutofclass.Atthesametime,itplaysaveryimportantroleinenglishteaching.Itcanbevocallanguage’svitalcomplementbyintensifyingthelanguageinformationretentionandleavingthestudentsdeeperimpression.Ononehand,itcancompletelystirthestudents.Moreover,itisatooltocommunicatewithothers,anditdoesnotneedourvocalorgan,butparticipationofthepartsofbody.Inexpressingsomesubtleideas,bodylanguagecanbeaverygoodhelperinenglishteaching,soenglishstudyisnotdullanymore.Ontheotherhand,theteacherscanhaveabetterunderstandingaboutthestudents,theirthoughtsandtheirbehaviors.Theteachersneedtodevelopaskilltoreadthestudents’bodylanguage.Moreover,ithelpthestudentstoimprovelessening,speaking,readingandwritinglevel,andtheteachersandthestudentscandevelopagoodrelationship.Inmodernteaching,theteachersneedtobethestudents’friendsfirstly,andbodylanguagenarrowsthegapbetweentheteachersandthestudents.Theteachersshouldneverignoreitinenglishteaching.Becausenotonlyitisagoodtooltocommunicatewithothersandexpressoneself,butitcanhelptheteachersachieveahigherteachinggoalandfurthermutualunderstandingbetweentheteachersandthestudents.Therefore,inenglishclass,theteachersshouldpayenoughattentiontobodylanguageandproperlyuseit.

KeyWords

Bodylanguage;englishteaching;gesture;teachingtactics摘要

肢体语言,在课堂上被广泛运用。同时在英语教学中，它扮演着非常重要的角色，它可以增加语言信息输入的刺激强度，给学习者留下深刻的印象，是有声语言的重要补充。一方面，它能完全激励学生学习兴趣,也是与人交流的工具，不需要用我们的发声器官，仅需要身体的参与。在阐述一些细微的语言概念时，肢体语言能担当非常好的帮手，英语学习也不在枯燥乏味；另一方面，教师能更好的了解学生，了解他们的思想、行为。因此，教师应发展读取学生肢体语言的技巧。不仅仅如此，肢体语言能帮助学生提高听、说、读、写的水平，帮助师生之间建立起良好的关系。在现代教学中，教师首先得做学生的朋友，而肢体语言缩小了师生间的差距。教师在教学中不要忽视肢体语言，它是与他人交流和表达自己的良好工具。它能帮助教师达到一个更高的教学目标，能促进师生间的互相了解。因此，在英语教学中，教师应重视肢体语言并合理地应用它.关键词身体语言，英语教学，手势，教学策略Contents1.Introduction2.TheDefinitionofBodyLanguage3.Teachers’somemistakesinEnglishteaching4.ThenecessityandimportanceofusingbodylanguageinEnglishteaching5.AdvantagesofBodyLanguageinenglishTeaching6.TheApplicationofBodyLanguageinenglishTeaching1Introduction

Theteachersspreadknowledgemainlybyverbalcommunicationandnonverbalcommunication.Manyresearcheshavebeencarriedoutonverbalbehaviorsfrommacroscopictomicroscopic.Andtheseresearchesandachievementshavecarriedclassteachingtoanewstageandmadeteachingbemuchimproved.However,nonverbalcommunicationthatisanotherveryimportantwaytospreadinformationisoverlooked.

Nobodyknowswhennonverbalcommunicationasakindofteachingmethodtobeusedbyhumanbegan.SomebodythinkancientGreekfromB.C.400to600hadinterestsinnonverbalcommunication(Malandro,1989);butothersholdtheviewthatthetimeisconvincingargumenttime,becausepeopleatthattimeusuallyusedgesturesandbodymovementinspeech;thelastviewis1872whenDarwinexplainedrelationshipbetweenanimalmovementandhumanmovement,heshouldbethefatherofmodernnonverbalcommunication.Inmoderntimes,somescholarshavebeenstudyinghumannonverbalbehavior,specialbodylanguage.Theysetnonverbalcommunicationasanewbranch.

In1940,somescholars,suchasF.Boas,E.Sapir，W.LaBrre，D.EfronandsoonwereinAmerica,(Zhuang,2000).Theydefinitelypointedouthumanbodymovementcodecanberevealed(idib).Thentherewerefourstudyingbodylanguagepioneers:R.Birdwhistell，E.Goffman，A.E.shelfenandA.Kendon(idib).In1960s,studyingbodylanguagereachedaclimax(idib).InAmerica,hundredsofresearchersstudiedthenewbranchoflearningnonverbalbehaviorfromformerdisciplines(idib).

Whatkindofrelationshipexistsbetweenbodylanguageandenglishteaching?Middleschoolteachersfacetheadolescentstudentswhoareeasilyinfluencedbyothers.Thestudentsnotonlyabsorbthinking，knowledgethroughtheteachers’words,butgetkindsofinformationandpositiveornegativeinfluencefromtheteachers’bodylanguage.Theirbrighteyesarelikevideocameras,sotheteachers’figures，behaviorandexpressioncannotescapefromtheireyes.Theyalsoimitateandstudytheteachers’behavior.Thoughsometeachersdonothaveaclearideaabouttheinfluenceandtheyjustonlyuseverballanguagetoteachthestudents,actuallytheytransmitmuchinformationbytheirvariedbodylanguagetothestudents;moreovertheyinfluencethestudents’intelligenceandinnerworld.

Sowecansaywithoutvaried,harmoniousbodylanguage,therearenovividandmovingeffects.Iftheteacherswithoutseveralofexpressiontransmitknowledgeinclass,atthismoment,theyjustaremegaphones.Theyarenotrespectable,interestingandhumorteachers(Li.2004).

Withoutvariedandharmoniousbodylanguage,therearenointimateharmoniousrelationshipbetweentheteachersandthestudents.Anunderstandinglook,akindsmileetc.arebeyondthousandsofwords.Therebytheteacherscaneasilyinfluencethestudents.

Therefore,inenglishclass,theteachersshouldpayenoughattentiontobodylanguageandproperlyuseit.Becausebodylanguageisatooltocommunicatewithothersandexpressoneself,therebytheteachersshouldneverignoreitinenglishteaching.Intheprocessofteaching,bodylanguagecanhelptheteachersachieveahighergoal.Moreover,theteachersandthestudentshaveaclearlyunderstandingabouteachother.2.TheDefinitionofBodyLanguagewhatisBodyLanguage?ItshouldbespokenoftheNonverbalsocialintercourseandtheNonverbalbehavior.Inhumansocialintercourseprocess,speciallytheoralcommunication,peoplehavesomebodymovementwhiletalking,suchasbodyposture,countenance,gestureandsoon.Theyarealsodeliveringtheinformation,makingasetofsystemwhichisequaltothelanguagesignalone,theNonverbalsocialintercourse(YuAihong,2002).Peoplecallthebehaviorforusingthenonverbalmethodtocommunicate,NonverbalBehavior.BodyLanguageisexpressinghowonefeelsbythewayonesits,stands,moves,etcratherthanbywords(OxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary,2001)..3.Teachers’somemistakesinEnglishteachingAseveryoneknows,theclassroomteachingisoneofthemostimportantwaysthatthestudentslearnEnglish.AsfarastheEnglishteachinginmanyschoolsisconcerned,teachershavetoarousethestudents'interestsothattheymaylearnbetter.Therearemanywaystoarousethestudents'interestandhelpthemtolearnbetter,andbodylanguageusedinEnglishteachingisoneofthem.However,Englishteachersseldomrealizethattheyshoulduseproperbodylanguageduringtheirteachingprocess.Theyjustconsiderthesituationallthestudentsareattendingtothelecturewhenateacherhashisclasstobeagoodone.Actually,thefactisnotsosimpleastheythink.InEnglishteachingprocess,thereissuchaphenomenonyet:Althoughwiththesameteachingmaterials,thestudents,theteachers’knowledgeandexperience,theteachingeffectiscompletelydifferent.Someteachers’classesareveryinteresting,theclassroomatmosphereissobriskthateveryoneisactivetoanswerthequestionsandlistenstotheteachercarefully;whilesometeachers’classesaresoboringthatalmostallthestudentsare“Inoneplacephysically,butanotherplaceinmindandheart.”Whythereissuchaphenomenon?Themainreasoniswhethertheteachercouldhavehislessonvividandattractthestudents’attention;whethertheteachercanstirupthestudents’thirstforknowledge.TheeducationistofformerSovietUnionSue(Jinyule,2000)oncesaid:"Iftheteacherdoesnottrytosurgeupthestudents’motion,thentheknowledgecanonlycauseakindofapatheticattitude,andamotionlessaffectioncanonlycausethefatigue."Therefore,iftheteacherwantstohavethelessonslastingvivid,hecannotusethatkindofmodelforjustspeakinginflexiblelyontheplatform,butshouldmakeuseofthebodylanguagefittingly,accuratelyandproficiently.4.ThenecessityandimportanceofusingbodylanguageinEnglishteachingInordertoevaluatethetrueroleofEnglishintheschoolsystem,itisimportantfortheteacherswhoarenotnativespeakerstoevaluatetheirknowledgeofandabilitytouseEnglish(FraidDubinandEliteOlshtain,2002).Englishteachingisreallyakeypartoftheschooleducation.Inschooleducation,bodylanguageplaysapositiveroleincultivatingthestudents'characters.Bodylanguageisalsoanimportantmediathroughwhichpeoplecommunicatewitheachother.Brieflyspeaking,BodyLanguageisexpressingacertainmeaningofakindofsilentlanguagebygesture,mannerandcountenance,whichincludeseyesightlanguage,faciallanguage,handlanguage,bodylanguageandsoon.Accordingtoexperts,ournon-verballanguagecommunicatesabout50%ofwhatwereallymean(voicetonalitycontributes38%)whilewordsthemselvescontributeamere7%.Ourbodiessendoutmessagesconstantlyandoftenwedon'trecognizethatwe'recommunicatingalotmorethanwerealize(S.,Chen,D.,Watts,J.,1992).Thebehavioralscientiststellusthatalmostthewholebodylanguagecanbeusedasthemannersforhumancommunicationandbeservedfortheteaching.TheUnitedStatespsychologistAlbertMelabin,(ZuangJinying,LiZhencun,1995)1968,madeanexperimenttoprovethatthetotalresultoftheinformation=7%writing+38%tone+55%countenanceandmovement.ThelinguistMrLusays:"Theforeignlanguageteachershouldbeabletoperformanddanceforjoy,makeavividgesture,movementandcountenanceasanactor,shouldnotalwaysbegentleandcultivatedorjuststandstifflyontheplatform."(GuoXuehua,1999).BodyLanguagenotonlyreplenishesanddeepenstheverballanguage,butalsotakesanunsubstitutiveeffectontheverballanguage.IftheteachercanusetheBodyLanguagefittingly,accuratelyandproficientlytoassisttheteachingintheclassroom,itcannotonlydrawonthestudent'sattention,bringuptheirstudyinterest,butalsoenablethemtheaccurateunderstandingoflanguagecontents,deepentheirimpression.Fromtheabovewecanlearn,theuseofbodylanguageinEnglishteachingisnecessaryandpractical.IntheEnglishteaching,bodylanguageisfrequentlyusedtoimprovetheteachingeffectandthestudents'ability.5.AdvantagesofBodyLanguageinenglishTeachingⅡ.AdvantagesofBodyLanguageinenglishTeaching

A.StirringStudents’Interest

Asanoldsayinggoes:interestarethebestteacher.Theteachers’appliancedoesnotfocusonteachingitselfonly;andthestudentscanabsorbbetteriftheystudyattheirownwill(Cooper.1988).Itisgoingtobepainfulthattheyworkhardonacademiccoursejustbecausetheteachersexpectthemtodoso.Theteachershavetostimulatethestudents,andthewayteachersusetomotivatethemcanbeveryimportant.Iftheteachershavepassioninclass,theycanofferthestudentspositivestudyingattitude.

Ihadoneexperienceayearago,whenIwasgivingaclassforthenewrecruitedstudents,alittleboycaughtmyattention.IwasquitesurethathewassoshythathedidnotdaretoopenhismouthtosayanythingwhenIwasteachingthempronunciation.Frommyknowledgeaboutthiskindofintrovertedstudents,theycanbeeasilyhurtinside.Butiftheteacherschooseanappropriateway,theymayhelpthemdevelopabetterpersonality.Theyreadtheteachers’bodylanguagetoknowwhattheycangetinclass,whatisimportantorunimportant,andwhatiscommendedorwhatisdisallowed.Byreadingtheteachers’bodylanguage,thestudentscanknowreadtheteachers’mind.Inshortmomentanaudaciousideaoccurstome—Iwassurethatalotofsermonswerenotsuitabletohelpanintrovertedstudentgetridofhisweakness.Whynottosethiminanembarrassingsituation?Maybeitwillwork.ThenIcametothatboyquietlyandshoutedtohimwithafingerpointingtohisnose:“Areyouashygirl?”Boysdonotwanttobecalledlikethat,fortunatelyhegavemeanegativeanswerandlookedintomyeyeswithaweakvoice:“No,I’mnot.”“Sorry,Icannothearyou,youdon’twantbeashygirl,thencanyouproveit?Pleasebeloudandtellmethatagain!”Ibeatmychestcontinuouslywithmyrighthandandraisedmylefthanderectingtheindexfingerintheair,askedtheboytorepeatthewords“I’mnotshy”loudly,foralittlemoment,silencefilledinasalltheairaroundwasfrozenintocoldice.HoweagerlyIwishedhecouldresponse,ifnot,Imustgetstuckinanembarrassingsituation.Surprisinglyheturnedouttobetotallyanotherone.Maybeitisbecausehewastooembarrassedthathedidnotwanthisbehaviortobetrayhisembarrassmentbefore,allthroughtheclasstime,heperformedveryactively.

B.ExpressingThemselvesBetter

englishisasortoflanguagewhichdepictsenglishculture.Duetothis,itisdefinitelywrongforanenglishteachertoarrangetheclassnormallyastheteachersofothersubjectsdo.Agoodenglishteacherisnotjudgedbythenumberofgoodstudentsinhisclass,butaboutwhetherhecouldmakeitsurethatthestudentsunderstandthedeepmeaningwhenpeoplearetalkinginenglish(Fries,1945).englishlearnershavetointernalizetheinformationthattheyhavegotfromtheirteachers.Becauseofthelackoflanguageatmosphere,Chinesestudentscannotspeaktheirmindfreely,letaloneunderstandthedeepmeaning.Ifwedonotusetheappropriatewords,maybewewillmakethestudentsbecomepuzzleorevergivethemworryinformation.Fortunatelybodylanguagehelpsalottosolvethisproblem.Sothestudentsdonothavetosayalotofwordsaroundoneidea.Withthehelpofbodylanguage,theycaneasilyunderstandwhentheytrytostartaconversationwithothers.

C.UnderstandingStudentsClearly

Whentheteachersaregivingclass,bodylanguageisnotonlytomotivatethestudents,butalsohelptounderstandthestudents’insideworld.Thisinformativeworkshoponbodylanguageprovideseveryteacherwithanin-depthknowledgeofmicro-movement.Ifthestudentsaresubmissive,anxious,dominant,bored,lyingortellingthetruth,thewaystudentsstand,move,andsitrevealandconveytheirthought.Becausethesemovementareproducedatasubconsciousorunconsciouslevel.Iftheteachersareunawareofthestudents’meaningsthatareshownbyincongruousthroughthestudents’wordsorbehavior,theycannotcreateaninterestingstudyingatmosphere.Tobeabletoavoidthese,theteachersshouldhaveabetterunderstandingofhowtheythinkandfeel.Thiscomprehensiveworkshopwillgivethemagreatopportunitytodiscoverandunderstandthestudents’behavior.

Andalsosomestudentsmaybereticentinexpressingthemselvesinclass.Intheirmind,hastyassertionsorresponsesareseenasasignofcrudityofthought,asboastfulself-assertion,orasrude.Theymayappeartobeunresponsivetoaquestionposedbytheteacher.Infact,whentheyhaveananswertheyarewaitingforaoccasionthattheyconsidertobeanappropriatemomenttoanswer,sothattheymaybepoliteandappeartobethoughtful.Thentheteachersshouldpaymoreattentiontothesestudents.

Ifateachergoesoutforawhile,whenheorshereturn,thestudentsgiveheorshe“smilingface”andcontinuetowork.Butdotheykeepworkingafterhisorherbackisturned?Howwouldtheteacherknow?Ifthestudentsintendtocontinuetalking,theyarebetraysbytheirbodylanguage.Lookatthekneesandfeet,thestudentsfakewiththeupperbody(shoulders,eyes,hands),notthelowerbody(knee,feet).Thebodylanguageunderthedeskintendstoimpresstheteacher.Theabilitytoreadthisiscrucialforanyteacherwhotriestogetachildtodosomething.Itletstheteacherknowwhetherheorshecanaccomplishhisorherobjectsorwhetherthestudentisjustgiving“half-a-loaf”--agesturetowardscompliancewithnorealintentionofdoingtheteacher’srequests.6.TheApplicationofBodyLanguageinenglishTeachingA.SituationofenglishTeaching

1.Students’AttitudeTowardsenglish

Foronething,letusinvestigateanddrawapictureofthestudents’behavior.Whentheyhaveenglishclass,classroomsaredividedintomanycheckerscarefully,andalargenumberofthestudentscrowdintotheclassroom.Allthestudentsaredressedthesameclothes,andtheyarefacedtoremembermanynewwords,texts,todomuchhomeworkeveryday.Theyareboringwithsermonoftheirteachers.Therefore,inthisconditiontheylosttheinterestofstudying.Learningasecondlanguageneedspersistentpassion.However,inthiscondition,thestudentshavenotenoughpassiontobemotivated.Theyarelongingforfreedomtostudyinafreshway.SoIsurelybelievethatthisisagoodexplanationwhysomestudentsabsentinenglishclasssometimesandadolescentsseemtobemorerebelliousthanothers.Iftheylosttheirpassiononenglish,theydonotlikehavingenglishclassanymore.Inclass,theteachersaskthestudentstoreadtextsorwordsagainandagain.Andafterclass,theyleavemuchhomeworktothestudentstodo,andtheydonotconsideraboutthestudents’thought,sothestudentsappeartobereluctanttodowhattheirteachersrequest.

2.Teachers’TechniquesofenglishTeaching

Theteachersmayhavetousesomesparetimetorethinkaboutthismatter.Imagineiftheteachersinvitethestudents(whethertheyaretopstudentsornot)todinnerandhangouttogether,andtalkaboutthingsboththeteachersandthestudentscareabout.Graduallythestudentswillbeinvolvedintheteachers’waysofthinking,andconsidertheteacherscanteacheverywherewhentheyarewiththem,notonlyintheloathsomeclassroom.

Tocreateastress-freelearningatmosphereandtobeapopularteacherwithstudents,bodylanguageisveryimportantaspectinteaching.Theteachersshouldgetridoftheoldpattern–theypresentwhattheypreparedfortheclassonblackboard,haveallthestudentstakenotesandhopetoramtheknowledgeintothestudents’mind.Undersuchcircumstancethestudentscannotbeexpectedtostudywell,sotheyshouldnotbeblamed.Thereasonisnottheirabilityorlearningskill,butthepressurecomingoutofthewaytheteachersapplytoteaching.Bythis,theteacherscanintroducemorebodylanguageinteachingprocesstocreateenjoyablelearningatmosphere.

B.BodyLanguageInvolvedinenglishTeaching

1.TeachingofTexts

Bodylanguagecanimprovebilateralexchangeofemotionbetweentheteachersandthestudentsinordertomakeknowledgeareeasilyabortedbythestudents.Aneducationalpsychologyindicatesthattodevelopthestudents’intelligenceisaffectedbytheirmoodinclass.Thechangeoftheteachers’behaviorandexpressioncontrolthechangeofthestudents’mood.Theteachers’expression,eyesightandgestureaffectthestudents’mentalstateandstudyingattitude.Theteachers’positivebodylanguagebenefitsthestudents’intelligenceandcreatesarelaxing,naturalandhappystudyingatmosphere.Meanwhile,positivemoodandhappymentalstatebenefittoteachandstimulatethestudents’studyinginterest.Aconfidentiallook,aappreciativesmilefromtheteachersgivegreatstudyingpowertothestudents.Theteachers’humorgesturesgivethestudents’confidenceandrespectandmaintainthestudents’studyinginterest.Thereforetocreateanactiveclassatmosphereisvitalforteaching.

Forexample,whenanenglishteacherteachesACityIsDying,bodylanguagecanplaysanimportantroleinit.Atbeginning,heorsheopenshisorhereyeswidelyshowingapuzzledexpressionandraisesaquestionthatonlylifeareapttodie,butwhyacitycandie.Atthismoment,thestudentsaredeeplyattractedbytheteacher’sbehaviorandbefullofinterestandcuriositytostudy.Agoodbeginningmeansahalfofsuccess,andthetextwillbeperformedsuccessfully

Bodylanguagecannotonlymakethestudentscompletelyfocustheirattentiononclass,butbebeneficialfororganizingteaching.Inenglishclass,ifateacherconsciouslyusebodylanguage,heorshealsoneedunconsciouslyusingbodylanguageaccordingtomiddleschoolstudents’nature.

Forexample,whenateacherteachesboringgrammarsuchastense,subjunctivemood,whichcannotattractthestudents,heorsheadoptsvariableexpression,cadencetoneandkindsofgesturesoruseeyesighttocontactwiththestudents.Thereby,bodylanguageisbetterthanverballanguagetoattractthestudent’sattention.

2.TeachingofGrammarforBeginners

Tobeanenglishteachercanbeaneasyjobbutsometimesatoughone,whichdependsonhowwelltheteacherhandlesthestudents.Whenheorshestartsthefirstclass,thestudentsdonotknowanygrammar.Soheorsheteachesthemsomegreetingwords.Forexample,teachingthestudentstosay“nicetomeConclusionInfutureteachingprogram,theteachersshouldhavevisibleandaudibleteachingmateriallikecardsandtapes.Peoplecancommunicatewithoneanothernotonlythroughverbalcommunication,butalsononverbalcommunication,moreover,thelatterplaysanessentialrole.Bodylanguageisanimportantpartofnonverbalcommunication.Itisknownasnon-verbalbehavīorwhichtransmitsinformationthroughgestures,movem