In short, body language is helpful in teaching English. Therefore, teachers should understand the body language correctly, master the methods and principles of body language thoroughly and apply it appropriately to classroom English teaching.

     The whole thesis consists of six parts. The author first introduces the background of body language, and then analyzes the problems in English instruction to state the importance of using body language. By discussing the advantages of body language, a conclusion can be drawn that teachers can apply body language in English. Types of body language, principles of using body language and specific use of it in different aspects are presented respectively.文献综述

2. Literature Review

     Body language is a term for different forms of communication using body movements or gestures instead of sounds, verbal language, or other ways of communication. Body language is the process of communicating what you are feeling or thinking about by the way you place and move your body rather than by words (Sally, 2006: 266). Sometimes we may not realize it when we chat with our friends or people who we know. As a matter of fact, we make ourselves understood not only by words, but also by facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, touch, etc.      

     Body language includes all the communicative methods of human, and it is of great importance, especially in English teaching. The famous educator Ma Caren Co once pointed out that educational skills can be also reflected by facial expression and tones of teachers (Ma Caren Co, 1979: 270). So, good teachers should not only have a command of verbal language, but also attach great importance to the use of body language in teaching. The famous linguist Fen· Lafle· Angle once said that once the body language was lost, a baby cannot have grown into a normal person (Zou Meng & Xia Chuan, 2008: 126). The same thing also applies to the pupils.

     In fact, as early as 1644, John Bulwer had done research on body language and published a book Gestures: Natural Language of Hands, which was regarded as the pioneering research on body language. Until 1790, Julius Fast completed a famous book, called Body language, and it really made people be aware of the importance of body language. At the end of 1870s, it was not until Darwin carried on an investigation into the differences between human and animals’ expressions by the scientific methods that body language went into the Science Hall.

     The use of body language can be seen in a wide variety of fields. Caro Mike pointed out that body language has been applied in the process of detecting deceit through micro-expressions, both in law enforcement and even on the world poker in his book. In addition, it has been used application in classroom teaching such as second-language acquisition, mathematics (Gregersen, 2007: 51). Tai in his paper believed that body language can create an environment or atmosphere that is able to facilitate effective learning. A harmonious environment is more productive for learning and the acquisition of new knowledge (Tai Yuanyuan, 2014: 1205). Han Lijuan in her paper stated that body language in classroom teaching has auxiliary function, feedback function, replacement function and control function (Han Lijuan, 2008: 12). Therefore, teachers’ kind facial expression will greatly stimulate students’ learning enthusiasm and learning effects will be significantly improved.