The Role Of Nonverbal Communication In Teaching

The study of nonverbal communication in human interaction has mushroomed in the last two decades. Researchers have extended their interest into larger categories of description. Some writers and researchers in their respective fields have made some actual research and observations about the place and value of nonverbal influences upon classroom instruction. Some research has shown that nonverbal communication most often carries as much as 65 percent of the social meaning while verbal communication only around 35. Mehrabian (1968) goes even further, estimating that 93 percent of the total impact of a message is the result of nonverbal factors. So nonverbal communication plays an important role in human interaction. Nonverbal communication is used not only to reinforce verbal messages, but also to complement verbal component. Much information is communicated nonverbally in the social context that often the verbal aspect is negligible. Throughout our discussion we have noted that nonverbal communication operates with verbal communication to produce some type of meaning. By this we mean that nonverbal communication serves several specific functions in relationship to verbal communication. It may repeat, contradict, complement, substitute for, amplify and regulate the verbal.The study of nonverbal behavior is largely concerned with three areas. First comes kinesics, as term coined by Birdwhistell (1970). It refers to non-vocal phenomena such as facial expressions, head or eye movements, and gestures, which may add support, emphasis, or particular shades of meaning to what people are saying. Next follows proxemics, a term coined by Hall (1969). It chiefly deals with the study of the ways people use space in their communicative encounters. Hall's productive research marks the beginning of more systematic and penetrating study of proxemic investigation in the realm of nonverbal communication.Third, paralanguage includes those vocal characteristics such as loudness, tone of voice, pauses expressing the speaker's attitude to what he or she is saying.Nonverbal exchanges between teacher and student abounded throughout the contexts of teaching and learning. Nonverbal behaviors take place the moment teachers step into the classroom. The manner they walk, the way they dress, the disposition they display and everything else they have around them before they speak communicate incessantly over their students. However, many student behaviors have been found to affect the impressions, expectations, and attitudes of teachers. For example, students who sit toward the front of the classroom rather than at the back are viewed by the teacher as more attentive and likable. The student who backs away when the teacher approaches or will not allow a teacher to stand or sit close to them will be perceived as uninterested in learning and hostile to the classroom environment. One study has indicated that teacher impressions of a student's cognitive skills are influenced by the latter's sensitivity to nonverbal phenomena. Also, many teachers are finding that nonverbal communication is a more effective communicative tool for improving student-teacher relationships than verbal. A teacher's nonverbal behaviors in the classroom affect the students' attitude about the subject matter.Culture has a heavy impact on the communicative potential of nonverbal behavior. We learn to behave in certain ways through our exposure to our culture. Similarly, our culture teaches us how to interpret the messages generated by other people's nonverbal behavior. There is much cultural specificity, rather than universality, in the local interpretations of various forms of nonverbal behavior. Every culture has its own unique way of communicating nonverbally. Thus, a nonverbal behavior in one culture may send a strong message in that culture but have little or no message potential in another culture. Similarly, the meanings of nonverbal messages may differ sharply from one culture to another;in some cases virtuallyopposite meanings may be stimulated by the same behavior in two different cultures. No wonder that* in Marcel Danesi (2003) words, "There is tremendous variation cross- culturally and cross-linguistically in the specific interpretation of gestures."This paper rounds out our examination of four major dimensions of nonverbal communication. (1) A perspective on verbal and nonverbal communication (2) Perception of nonverbal channels (3) Nonverbal behavior in classroom interaction (4) Cross-cultural studies. With the overwhelming importance of nonverbal behavior in mind, I also uncovered its significant role in classroom instructions on the part of teachers. Emphases are laid on creating appropriate learning environment for students and setting up close cooperation between the two. The growing investigation into multiple aspects of nonverbal communication helps become more aware of the effective use of nonverbal behaviors in teaching and improve classroom teaching.