4.2 Analysis of Interview 19
5. Conclusion 21
5.1 Suggestions for Effective Application of Body Language 21
5.2 Conclusion 23
5.3 Limitations 23
References………... 25
1. Introduction
1.1 Background of Study
For rapid changes in education reform, many teachers, students and parents are facing great challenges and stresses. Many of us may agree its directions for changes and missions proposed, and support the alternative ways of teaching, learning and examination.
In daily life, we use both words and body language to express our thoughts and opinions and to communicate with other people. We can learn a lot about what a person is thinking by watching his or her body language. Words are important, but the way a person stands, or that he folds his arms, or moves his or her hands can give us information about his or her feelings. Body language can play a vital part in communication. As psychologist Albert Mehrabian first described the “7/38/55” rule in 1970s, showing that 7% of communication comes from the words we say, 38% from the tone of our voice, and 55% from our body language (Dou Jihui, 2005:6). Although there have been criticisms to the precision of this work, it remains an important and well-organized study highlighting the significance of nonverbal communication. It’s the same with our classroom English teaching in Primary school, which is one of the most important ways that pupils learn English. Body language, a pervasive part of all communication, also carries real meaning of teachers to the students. (John, 1979: 150-155) Furthermore, in classroom setting, it is estimated that 82% of all teachers’ communications are nonverbal. (Linda, 1999: 456-480) If we consider the basic premise of the “7/38/55 rule”, we should not only spend the majority of our effort in helping children master the thirty-five percent of the message contained in the basic verbal signals, the words. But also we should pay attention to the nonverbal component of a message includes the hand, eye, head, arm movements, and body attitude or position which we unconsciously sense but too often overlook to transfer information and exchange feelings. As all primary school teachers acknowledged, teachers have to arouse students’ interest and help them learn better. Body language used in English teaching is one of them.
Currently, there has been ample literature about the significance of body language in interpersonal interactions. Such efforts have included the utility of improvisational theater techniques and body positions to teach effective empathic communication. Business and psychology researchers have explored the use of body language in negotiations to decrease psychological stress and improve performance, and to improve leadership. (Hale et al., 2017)
However, few of the domestic studies pay attention to the relationship between body language and English teaching in primary school, let alone the systematic discussion. There is little discussion on the use of body language as a teaching tool for the English teachers in primary school. Teachers and students are giving inadequate attention to the status and role of body language in English class. However, during my internship in Hangzhou Xue Jun Primary School, I observed and found that teachers’ body language did make difference, though none of our course focus on body language. The teacher is an engineer of the human’s soul, especially for pupils, and a model for the students to learn, so we should pay more attention to the body language applied in classroom English teaching in primary school. What’s the current situation of teachers’ application of body language in English classroom teaching in primary school? What are the problems in the teachers’ application of body language? How can teachers make the body language better integrate into the classroom teaching and serve the education and teaching?