NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
IN THE CLASSROOM
IN THE CLASSROOM
by
MICHAEL HUPPATZ
&
ANASTASIA BUBBS
MICHAEL HUPPATZ
&
ANASTASIA BUBBS
MASTER OF TEACHING
UOW 2015
UOW 2015
Verbal and nonverbal communication skills are an essential part in every
aspect of our lives. This report will focus on the area of nonverbal
communication in the classroom setting, with a concentration on how the teacher
is to both use, and interpret messages that are not sent vocally. This paper
will categorise the different types of nonverbal communication, and describe
their practical qualities and usage within the school environment. Nonverbal communication can be thought of as any
form of communication that is neither spoken nor written. “It is more than just
body language, since it includes use of time, space, furniture and clothing.” (Archee
et al, 2013, p. 91) The most recognisable form of nonverbal communication is kinesics,
which consists of forms such as hand gestures, eye contact, facial expressions
and posture (see figure 1). Other, less obvious categories that will be
discussed include proxemics, chronemics and haptics.
Through various studies, it
has emerged that the content of a perceived message is 7% tone of the verbal
communication, 38% quality, and a massive 55% is conveyed via body language.
(Benzer, 2012, p. 467; Pease, 1988, p. 9-13; Bailey, 2001, p. 44; Kasikci,
2003, p. 19-20; Kuhnke, 2007, p. 12) It can therefore be argued our use of
nonverbal communication is more important what we talk about, or at the very
least, should be as carefully considered as what we say. Nonverbal
communication has a major role in the classroom, the eye contact, body
language, tone of voice, and physical appearance, and tone of voice offer significant
information, and if used purposely by the teacher, it creates an impact on the
comprehension of the students, which will ultimately result in improved
learning outcomes. (Haneef et al, 2014, p. 513)
Facial expressions are a big
part of the messages we send and how our messages are received. Simonds and
Cooper (2014, p. 130) state that an educator can use facial expressions to
manage interactions in a classroom. For example a teacher can give a
misbehaving student a ‘stern look’, to discipline the child and to make it
clear that their behaviour is unacceptable. Facial expression can be a helpful
tool to “regulate communication, signal approval or disapproval, and to reinforce
and not reinforce.” (Simonds & Cooper, 2014) An important skill to learn
relating to nonverbal communication is control. Teachers must be aware of the
messages they are communicating, or indeed, the messages they are not
communicating, such as a lack of enthusiasm for a subject. An educator who has
positive facial affect and who smiles will be perceived as approachable, and
friendly. Whereas a teacher who displays dull facial expressions could be
perceived as disinterested in either the students or the subject matter or
both. (Simonds & Cooper, 2014, p. 130)
Nonverbal communication is often
influenced by cultural background. Many of our “nonverbal actions are touched and
altered by culture.” (Samovar & Porter, 2009, p. 164) Cultural differences
are vast and varied from one country to the next, and this will be touched upon
while discussing the various communication types.
KINESICS
KINESICS is most commonly referred to as body language, this denotes any movements of the body that
communicate meaning. This nonverbal classification covers the widest range of
modes including eye contact, facial expression, gestures, posture, and body
movement. “Our eyes and face convey a wide range of meanings in interpersonal
meetings.” (Archee et al, 2013, p. 92) Facial and body actions frequently
indicate a sense of self-confidence, energy or fatigue in the message sender. Children,
who are able to understand nonverbal more than verbal communication and have a
greater capability to understand nonverbal signals than adults, can read any body
messages the teacher may be sending. These students will be picking up any
indication of enthusiasm or boredom the teacher may be displaying about the
lesson content. (Haneef, 2014, pp. 513-514) Teachers must be especially careful
not to send messages that they do not wish to be sent, especially in regard to
posture and facial expression.
For optimum experience and
benefit to the students, a teacher should be able to effectively use kinesics.
Through using these non-verbal communication techniques, a teacher should be
able to communicate and receive messages. Through reading facial expression and
body language, an observant teacher should be able to determine if the student understands
the content presented and the work being discussed. A slouching student sends a
clearly different message from one that is sitting up with good posture, or
sitting forward, expectantly. (Haneef et al, 2014, p. 514; Simonds &
Cooper, 2014, p. 67) That being said, it is important to recognise that no
teacher, however much experience they have, can judge the students’
understanding of the material based on kinesics alone.
The study of kinesics, due to
its scope, can be further broken into 5 sub-categories:
EMBLEMS
are
nonverbal motions, or movements that directly translate words or phrases, for
example, the commonly used ‘good’ (thumbs up) sign, and ‘stop’ (flat palm, with
fingers raised, facing recipient) sign. Other well-known emblems include the
‘peace’, ‘come here’, ‘I’m cold’, and ‘who me?’ signs. It must be noted that
emblems are, usually, extremely culture specific; the ‘okay’ symbol can mean
‘money’ in Japan, ‘zero’ in France, and, in some southern European cultures, it
can have sexual connotations. (DeVito, 2004, pp. 181-182)
ILLUSTRATORS
are
gestures that accompany and support verbal messages. These movements assist
what you are saying by making the meaning more vivid. An example of this would
be when stating that an object was big, you may gesture widely with your hands.
Another instance would be if you were saying ‘up’, you would most likely tilt
your chin in an upward direction, and perhaps point your index finger to the
sky. Illustrators are more universal than emblems (DeVito, 2004, p. 182) and as
such are a solid tool to have in your teaching repertoire, especially when
teaching English as a second language students.
AFFECT
DISPLAYS are the use of facial
expressions that show emotion such as fear, happiness, anger and fatigue.
These are often subconscious, however, they can be used intentionally; a frown
towards a student can communicate that you are displeased with their behaviour.
(Simonds & Cooper, 2014, p. 129) “Although teachers are not actors, there
is a lot they can learn from the field of dramatics.” (Borich, 2011, p. 118) Teachers
that have command of these facial cues, and can influence their students
without speaking, and with few body movement demonstrate expert class control
handling skills.
REGULATORS “monitor,
maintain, or control the speaking of another individual.” (DeVito, 2004, p.
182) These nonverbal behaviours demonstrate to a speaker that you, as a
listener, are actively engaging in the conversation. Examples of this are
shaking your head and twisting your eyebrows to display disbelief, and leaning
forward and nodding as if to say ‘yes, keep going.’
ADAPTORS
satisfy
a physical or emotional need, and are generally subconscious movements.
Adaptors are identified in 3 categories based on their focus.
Self-adaptors generally fulfil a physical need for comfort, such as scratching an itch, flicking hair out of your eyes, or moistening dry lips. (DeVito, 2004, p. 183)
Alter-adaptors are physical displays made in direct response to a situation. Examples of this would be moving closer to someone with whom you are intimate, or folding your arms when talking to someone you disagree with. (DeVito, 2004, p. 183)
Object-adaptors are movements that involve manipulation of an external object. For instance, the chewing of pencils, peeling of bottle labels, and clicking of pens demonstrate this. Object-adaptors are generally a sign of negative feelings such as anxiety, hostility or boredom. (DeVito, 2004, p. 183)
Self-adaptors generally fulfil a physical need for comfort, such as scratching an itch, flicking hair out of your eyes, or moistening dry lips. (DeVito, 2004, p. 183)
Alter-adaptors are physical displays made in direct response to a situation. Examples of this would be moving closer to someone with whom you are intimate, or folding your arms when talking to someone you disagree with. (DeVito, 2004, p. 183)
Object-adaptors are movements that involve manipulation of an external object. For instance, the chewing of pencils, peeling of bottle labels, and clicking of pens demonstrate this. Object-adaptors are generally a sign of negative feelings such as anxiety, hostility or boredom. (DeVito, 2004, p. 183)
PROXEMICS
PROXEMICS “studies the use of
space: both interpersonal space and the space within rooms, buildings,
precincts and cities.” (Archee et al, 2013, p. 92) Proxemics reflects the way
we use space to convey a persona or to support our use of kinesics. Our own concept
of ‘personal space’ relies greatly upon our cultural influences, for example,
native residents of Japan and India have a much reduced sense of personal space
when compared with Australians. If someone with whom we are not intimate with
moves into our personal space, we feel uncomfortable, or threatened. If someone
remains overly distant, they may seem untrustworthy.
The study of proxemics can
also be applied to the way furniture is arranged in a classroom. (Shapiro, 1976,
p. 15; Archee et al, 2013, p. 93) This effects our perceptions and attitudes to
our surroundings, as the aesthetics of a room greatly influences the learning
environment. So too, the positioning of desks in the classroom will dictate the
engagement of the students in the lesson, depending on desk location (see
figure 2).
The ideal distance to keep
between teacher and student is approximately 1-4 metres. It will be necessary,
of course, to have closer interaction with individuals often, however, this
distance is a space whereby most people feel comfortable in social interactions
(see figure 3).
CHRONEMICS
CHRONEMICS is the study of the
use of time. In relation to the school environment, lesson blocks and classes
are scheduled to start and finish at specific times, and students are often
cautioned not to waste time. (Simonds & Cooper, 2014, p. 127) Time is often
said to be the ‘enemy’ of teachers, simply meaning that they are under pressure
to meet the standards of teaching and requirements of the curriculum. (BOSTES,
2015) Time management is another essential skill of a good teacher.
Other aspects of chronemics in
the classroom are the amount of time a teacher spends with each student, and
the time given towards specific subjects, lessons, or tasks. All of these
things communicate to the students the importance allocated to each. Teachers
must also be aware of ‘wait time’ when asking the class questions. Teachers seldom
wait more than 5 seconds for student responses. (Simonds & Cooper, 2014, p.
127) So by allowing a generous wait time to allow for students to formulate and
express an answer, or by pausing the lesson, silently requesting a disruptive
class to remain on task, a teacher is actively incorporating chronemics in the
lesson.
VOCALICS
VOCALICS, “also called
paralanguage or paralinguistics, is the study of how we use tonal variations of
our voices to emphasise certain words or phrases. Paralinguistic behaviour is
always concurrent with language usage and includes vocalisations such as…
(volume), rhythm, pronunciation, use of pauses, and vocal accent or timbre.” (Archee
et al, 2013, p. 94) Actions such as varying the tone of voice can be a good
tool used by teachers to emphasise a point, or to gain the attention of the
class (either by raising or lowering the tone).
HAPTICS
HAPTICS are communication via
touching, or our perception of a situation through bodily contact. (Tsiorvas,
2015) The use of haptics between close friends or intimate partners are
obvious, however, considering the use of touch in an educational setting, one
must be more cautious. Teachers, especially male educators, must use strict
judgement to be aware of when, where and with whom haptics are employed.
Touch can be used to
communicate support, care, and encouragement, and this is particularly
effective with early and stage 1 students. “The amount of touching between student
and teacher declines steadily from kindergarten through sixth grade, but is
still greater than most adults engage in.” (Simonds & Cooper, 2014, p. 130)
ARTIFACTS
ARTIFACTS are the things that,
as teachers, we bring with us into the classroom. These include teaching aids,
resources, our persona, clothes, and general appearance. Our appearance conveys
a message to our students. More casually dressed teachers tend to be perceived
as more friendly, fair, sympathetic, and enthusiastic, while more professionally
clothed teachers are seen as more organised, better prepared and knowledgeable.
(Simonds & Cooper, 2014, p. 128) The persona we bring into the class
environment will impact on the learning potential of the students. A teacher
who lacks friendliness, is non-attentive or is not animated has been shown to
be an ineffective educator. (Norton, 1983; Simonds & Cooper, 2014, pp.
68-69)
Using nonverbal communication well in the classroom has great potential
in improving the learning outcomes of the students. An ‘immediate’ teacher is
one who is viewed, through their use of communication, as approachable, open
and responsive to the needs of their students. Research has shown that teacher
immediacy (using gestures, eye contact, movement, and positive facial expressions)
has a correlation with cognitive, and effective learning, recall of
information, and student motivation. (Simonds & Cooper, 2014, p.66; Haneef
et al, 2014, p. 516) A motivated student, who is engaged in the learning
process has ‘presence;’ “a state of alert awareness, receptivity and
connectedness to the mental, emotional and physical workings of… their learning
environments and the ability to respond with a considered and compassionate
best next step.” (Rodgers & Raider-Roth, 2006, p. 266) When a student is
engaged, and motivated, it can be said that half of the teacher’s work is done.
The variety, and complexities of nonverbal communication discussed in
this paper is apparent. Also apparent is that the meticulous understanding and
proper implementation of nonverbal communication is as important, in the
classroom, as the verbal component. With a complete comprehension of all the
different categories of nonverbal communication, a teacher will have better
class control, student respect, more motivated students, and greater student
happiness, and learning outcomes.