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An Investigation of Students’ Attitudes on Teachers' Nonverbal Interaction in Iranian EFL Classrooms

Received: 28 August 2014     Accepted: 4 September 2014     Published: 18 November 2014
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Abstract

The aim of present research was to investigate the importance of nonverbal communication in EFL students’ language learning. Communication is a means of sharing ideas, feelings, and attitudes. It is separated into two types: verbal and nonverbal. In verbal communication, we use the language while nonverbal communication is the behavior that can be perceived indirectly from physical language. The nonverbal aspect of communication, which plays an extremely important role in human social interaction, has been known for a long time, but it has hardly been investigated. Ignorance of nonverbal communication will result in problems in education such as incompleteness and inefficiency of classroom teaching. This study was conducted in Shariyar, Iran. The participants were 70 Iranian students at Shahriyar Islamic Azad University. They were selected from among B.A. students majoring in English teaching. The data were gathered through a questionnaire. The results showed high positive attitudes towards teachers’ facial expressions and eye contact as two forms of nonverbal communication in Iranian students’ L2 learning.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 2, Issue 6-1)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Foreign Language Teaching

DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13
Page(s) 13-18
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Foreign Language Teaching, Nonverbal Communication, Students’ Attitude

References
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[2] Antes, T. A. (1996). Kinesics: The value of gesture in language and in the language classroom. Foreign Language Annuals, 29(3).
[3] Argyle, M. (1979). New developments in the analysis of social skills. In A. Wolfgang (Ed.), Nonverbal behavior: Applications and cultural implications (pp. 139-158). New York: Academic Press.
[4] Brown, H.D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed.). White Plains, NewYork: Longman.
[5] Davis,L. (1990). Where do we stand. In P. S. Gardner (eds.). New direction: Reading, writing and critical thinking. New York: CUP.
[6] Devito, A. J. (2009). Human communication. Boston, USA: Pearson Education.
[7] Dunn, L.J. (1999). Non-verbal communication: Information conveyed through the use of body language. Missouri: Missouri Western State University.
[8] Fiksdal, S. (1990). The right time and pace: A microanalysis of crosscultural-cultural gatekeeping interviews. Norwood, NewJersey: Ablex.
[9] Grant, B., & Hennings, D. (1971).The teacher moves: An anaylsis of nonverbalactivity. New York: Teachers College Press .
[10] Gregersen, T.S. (2007). Language learning beyond words: Incorporating body language into classroomactivities. Journal of Reflections on English languageteaching, 6, 51-64.
[11] Harris, T.E. (2002). Applied organizational communication: Principles and pragmatics for future practice. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate Publishers.
[12] Hickson,M . & Stacks, D. (1993). Non-verbal communication: Studies and application. Dublin: BrownPublications.
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[15] Knapp, M. (1972). Non-verbal communication in human interaction. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
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[17] Kroehnert, G. (2006). Basic training for trainers (3rd ed.). New Delhi, India.
[18] Kusanagi, Y. (2003). How teacher gesture is accommodated in different level foreign language classes: A case study of teacher gesture. Journal of Yokohama Linguistics Circle, 4, 81-95.
[19] Lazzari,G., & Turk, M. (Eds.) (2008). Nonverbal communication. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Multimodal Interfaces. Pennsylvania: State College.
[20] Locker, O. K. (2004). Business and administrative communication. (7th ed.).New York, USA: McGraw-Hill Companies.
[21] Manning, M., & Baruth, L. (1996). Multicultural education of children andadolescents. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
[22] McCaffert, S. G. (1998). Nonverbal expression and L2 private speech. Applied Linguistics, 19(1), 73-96.
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[24] Mehrabian, A. (1971). Silent messages. Belmont: CA; Wadsworth.
[25] Miller, P. W. (1988). Nonverbal communication: What a researcher says to the teachers (3rd ed.). USA: Nea.
[26] Neuliep, J. (2003). Intercultural communication, a contextual approach (2nd edition). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Fatemeh Behjat, Samaneh Bayat, Ali Asghar Kargar. (2014). An Investigation of Students’ Attitudes on Teachers' Nonverbal Interaction in Iranian EFL Classrooms. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2(6-1), 13-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13

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    ACS Style

    Fatemeh Behjat; Samaneh Bayat; Ali Asghar Kargar. An Investigation of Students’ Attitudes on Teachers' Nonverbal Interaction in Iranian EFL Classrooms. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2014, 2(6-1), 13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13

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    AMA Style

    Fatemeh Behjat, Samaneh Bayat, Ali Asghar Kargar. An Investigation of Students’ Attitudes on Teachers' Nonverbal Interaction in Iranian EFL Classrooms. Int J Lang Linguist. 2014;2(6-1):13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13,
      author = {Fatemeh Behjat and Samaneh Bayat and Ali Asghar Kargar},
      title = {An Investigation of Students’ Attitudes on Teachers' Nonverbal Interaction in Iranian EFL Classrooms},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {2},
      number = {6-1},
      pages = {13-18},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.s.2014020601.13},
      abstract = {The aim of present research was to investigate the importance of nonverbal communication in EFL students’ language learning. Communication is a means of sharing ideas, feelings, and attitudes. It is separated into two types: verbal and nonverbal. In verbal communication, we use the language while nonverbal communication is the behavior that can be perceived indirectly from physical language. The nonverbal aspect of communication, which plays an extremely important role in human social interaction, has been known for a long time, but it has hardly been investigated. Ignorance of nonverbal communication will result in problems in education such as incompleteness and inefficiency of classroom teaching. This study was conducted in Shariyar, Iran. The participants were 70 Iranian students at Shahriyar Islamic Azad University. They were selected from among B.A. students majoring in English teaching. The data were gathered through a questionnaire. The results showed high positive attitudes towards teachers’ facial expressions and eye contact as two forms of nonverbal communication in Iranian students’ L2 learning.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - An Investigation of Students’ Attitudes on Teachers' Nonverbal Interaction in Iranian EFL Classrooms
    AU  - Fatemeh Behjat
    AU  - Samaneh Bayat
    AU  - Ali Asghar Kargar
    Y1  - 2014/11/18
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13
    T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-0221
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13
    AB  - The aim of present research was to investigate the importance of nonverbal communication in EFL students’ language learning. Communication is a means of sharing ideas, feelings, and attitudes. It is separated into two types: verbal and nonverbal. In verbal communication, we use the language while nonverbal communication is the behavior that can be perceived indirectly from physical language. The nonverbal aspect of communication, which plays an extremely important role in human social interaction, has been known for a long time, but it has hardly been investigated. Ignorance of nonverbal communication will result in problems in education such as incompleteness and inefficiency of classroom teaching. This study was conducted in Shariyar, Iran. The participants were 70 Iranian students at Shahriyar Islamic Azad University. They were selected from among B.A. students majoring in English teaching. The data were gathered through a questionnaire. The results showed high positive attitudes towards teachers’ facial expressions and eye contact as two forms of nonverbal communication in Iranian students’ L2 learning.
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • English Department, Abadeh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadeh, Iran

  • English Department, Abadeh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadeh, Iran

  • English Department, Abadeh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadeh, Iran

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