大学英语教师的非言语行为对学生课堂参与度的影响

论文总字数：67231字

摘 要

人类交际是言语交际和非言语交际的结合，这一点同样适用于课堂教学中，教师的课堂教学既包括用言语行为传授知识，还包括通过非言语行为与学生进行互动交流，从而激发学生的学习兴趣并提高他们的学习效率。

长期以来在大学英语教学过程中，教师往往主要以语言和文字来传授教学内容，并未充分意识到自身的非言语行为在教学中的作用，与学生的交流也十分有限，以至于对课堂的整体气氛和学生的课堂参与度都产生了消极的影响。

本论文在前人研究成果的基础上，通过问卷调查、课堂观察和访谈等方式，探究了当前高校学生和英语教师对非言语行为的认识和大学英语教师课堂非言语行为的使用情况及其可能对学生课堂活动参与度产生的影响，旨在激发大学英语教师对教学中自身非言语行为的意识，以期提高教师的课堂交际能力和学生的课堂参与积极性。

关键词：非言语行为；英语教学；学生参与度

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements I

Abstract II

摘要 III

Table of Contents 1

1.1 Background of the Study 2

1.2 Purpose of the Study 3

1.3 Significance of the Study 3

1.4 Layout of the Thesis 4

Chapter Two Literature Review 5

2.1 Definitions of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors 5

2.2 Classification of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors 6

2.3 Function of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors 7

2.4 Previous Studies at Home and Abroad 9

2.4.1Studies on Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors 9

2.4.2 Studies on Factors that Influence Student’s Participation in the Class 11

Chapter Three Research Methodology 13

3.1 Research Questions 13

3.2 Subjects 13

3.3 Instruments 14

3.3.1 Classroom Observation 14

3.3.2 Questionnaire 14

3.3.3 Interview 15

Chapter Four Results and Discussion 16

4.1 Awareness of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors in College English Classroom 16

4.1.1 Students’ Awareness of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors 16

4.1.2 Teacher’s Awareness of Their Own Nonverbal Behaviors 18

4.2 The Application of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors in College English Classroom 20

4.3 The Effects of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors on Students’ Participation in College English Classroom 23

Chapter Five Conclusion 26

References 27

Appendix I 29

Appendix II 30

Appendix III 32

Chapter One Introduction

• 1. Background of the Study

It is generally believed that verbal channel constitutes a great portion to the achievement of human communication. People take it for granted that the words we used while communicating with others carry the majority of the meaning of the message. However, in most cases, it is the often overlooked nonverbal channel that carries more weight than the verbal content. Nonverbal behaviors and verbal behaviors are both indispensable in the process of communication of human beings and only the perfect combination of both can contribute to the success of communication.

This notion also applies to the real teaching situation. Grant and Hennings(1972) estimated that 82% of the effect of classroom teaching is realized by the teacher’s nonverbal behavior, such as gestures and facial expressions, and only 18% of it is gained verbally. Cooper(1988) also mentioned in his study that if teachers can effectively use nonverbal behaviors to organize and manage classroom teaching, subtle emotions conveyed by nonverbal means can inspire students’ interest in learning and improve their learning efficiency as well as their cognitive ability. Therefore, it is confirmed that teachers’ nonverbal behaviors play an essential role in classroom teaching.

For years, reforms which are aimed at improving college English teaching have never stopped. Teachers have made continuous efforts to deepen their knowledge in teaching theories and methodology with an attempt to enhance their teaching effectiveness. Admittedly, though some progress has been made, the result was still far from satisfying. A general lack of awareness of the functions of their nonverbal behaviors in the teaching process became a real problem for most college English teachers in China. Therefore, more attention should be directed to the investigation of teacher’s nonverbal behaviors in classroom interaction so as to help college English teachers improve their teaching skills and techniques.

1.2 Purpose of the Study

In recent years, though some experts and scholars have begun to divert their attention to nonverbal communication in the field of English teaching and related studies have been done to testify the importance of teachers’ nonverbal behaviors in achieving teaching effectiveness, the idea of nonverbal behaviors has still not received adequate attention from most college English teachers.

In this study, the author manages to gain a general knowledge about college English teachers’ and students’ awareness of nonverbal behaviors being used in the classroom teaching. Moreover, by analyzing the data collected from observation in real teaching situation, the author intends to explore the major types of nonverbal behaviors being used by teachers in their teaching and the potential correlation between teacher’s nonverbal behaviors and students’ participation in college English classroom. Hopefully, this thesis can help college English teachers identify their advantages and weaknesses in the use of nonverbal behaviors in their teaching, and therefore promote the development of college English teachers’ professional skills.

1.3 Significance of the Study

Studies on teachers’ nonverbal behavior in English teaching have become increasingly popular in recent years, and the reason of this lies in its great significance in teachers’ professional development and the improvement of students’ communicative competence. The importance of researches on teachers’ nonverbal behavior is also backed up by Cooper(1988) in his book Speech Communication for Classroom Teacher, "The area of nonverbal communication is an important one for teachers. Our communication affects perceptions of the classroom, which, in turn, affects how students view the educational environment, the people in it, and how much they desire to communicate."

Teaching is a two-way interaction under a special situation, which requires not only knowledge imparting from teachers, but also response and feedback from students. In this way, when giving a lecture in the classroom, teachers should attach equal importance to both their verbal messages and nonverbal ones.

But the reality in most college English classroom is that quite a number of teachers do not have the awareness of the importance of their nonverbal behaviors on their teaching, verbal instruction still plays a dominant role in the classroom, which may, to some extent, affect students’ participation in the class. Therefore, the study on teacher’s nonverbal behaviors in the classroom is of great significance to enhance teaching effectiveness in college English classroom.

1.4 Layout of the Thesis

The whole thesis is divided into five parts.

Chapter One is a general introduction of this thesis. It presents the research background, the purpose and significance of the study and the overall structure of this thesis.

Chapter Two describes the current situation of researches on teachers’ nonverbal behaviors home and abroad. In this chapter, the theoretical framework of the study is also provided, a detailed illustration of the definition, classification and functions of teachers’ nonverbal behaviors in the classroom is given based on previous related studies.

Chapter Three presents an overview of the research methodology, including the research questions, subjects and instruments adopted during the research.

Chapter Four depicts the subjects’ awareness of nonverbal behaviors in the classroom, the application of teacher’s nonverbal behaviors in the actual classroom teaching and its effects on student’s participation in the class.

Chapter Five concludes this study by summarizing the major research findings and pointing out some limitations.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 Definitions of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors

People tend to understand the meaning of nonverbal behaviors in the process of communication, so before defining the specific meaning of nonverbal behaviors displayed in the classroom teaching, the definition of nonverbal communication should be taken into consideration. For years, researchers who have conducted a study concerning nonverbal communication have defined the term from different angles.

According to Miller(1988), the term nonverbal communication has been defined as “communication without words”, which includes overt behaviors such as facial expressions, eyes, touching and tone of voice, as well as less obvious messages such as dress, posture, and spatial distance between two or more people. He further indicates that nonverbal communication equals the words spoken through body language or the behaviors of speakers. Burgoon and Saine (1989) refer to nonverbal communication as “the qualities or behaviors known to all in a community without the use of words and such qualities or behaviors are intentionally given by the speaker and consciously received and responded by the listeners.” The two definitions both emphasized the wordless characteristic of nonverbal communication. Samovar and Porter's (2004) definition of nonverbal communication presents more specific meaning, they claims that “nonverbal communication involves all nonverbal stimuli in a communication setting that is generated by both the sources and his or her use of the environment and that has potential message value for the source or receiver.”

From the definitions given by different scholars, we can find that though the specific content of their definitions varies, they all share similarities in a broad sense, and the same idea conveyed through their different interpretations that nonverbal communication refers to the process by which the communicator uses the physical characteristics and instincts of the body to deliver information to others sets a solid foundation for relevant studies.

As to the specific meaning of teachers’ nonverbal behaviors in the classroom teaching, Zhou Pengsheng(2003) points out that the characteristic of teaching profession and the connection between teacher’s nonverbal behaviors and verbal behaviors as well as the context of teacher’s nonverbal behaviors being used should be taken into account in defining the term.

Based on previous studies, this thesis should like to define teacher’s nonverbal behaviors as the specific nonverbal acts of teachers during the process of their communication with the students.

2.2 Classification of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors

When it comes to the classification of nonverbal behaviors, similarly, there is no general agreement about how it should be classified.

According to Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen(1969), nonverbal behaviors can be divided into five major categories: emblems, illustrators, affect displays, regulators and adaptors. They introduced the five types of nonverbal behaviors according to their different functions. In some sense, Ekman and Friesen’s classification laid the conceptual foundation for subsequent research on nonverbal behavior.

The seven categories of nonverbal behaviors then listed by M. Knapp(1978) was also considered as a valid reference in the classification of nonverbal behaviors. In Knapp’s opinion, nonverbal behaviors can be classified as: body motion and kinesics behavior, physical characteristics, touching behavior, paralanguage, proxemics, artifacts and environmental factors. Knapp’s classification includes almost all aspects of nonverbal research in the future, and provides a general theoretical framework for nonverbal research. The subsequent research also confirmed and enriched the theory of Knapp's nonverbal behavior system in a certain degree.

Domestic scholars also put forward their understandings with regard to how to categorize nonverbal behaviors. Bi Jiwan(1999) summarized the four major categories of nonverbal behaviors from the perspective of intercultural communication and foreign language teaching:(1) Body language, including posture, gesture and any body movements; (2) Paralanguage, including silence, turn-taking and any nonverbal sounds; (3) Object language, including complexion, smell, clothing, cosmetics etc; (4) Environmental language, including message of time and space etc.

On the basis of a general review on how previous studies have classified nonverbal behaviors, this thesis would divide teacher’s nonverbal behaviors in college English classroom into three main categories: (1) Kinesics, which typically refers to the teacher’s body position, head movement, facial expression, eye contact and gesture; (2) Paralinguistic features, including the teacher’s speech rate, tone, pitch, volume and temporary pause when giving the lecture; (3)Proxemics, namely the physical distance between the teacher and students.

2.3 Function of Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors

When analyzing the function of teacher’s nonverbal behaviors in the teaching, the relationship between nonverbal acts and verbal content is always the first thing to be considered. M.A. Bany(1986) once expressed the idea in his book Educational Social Psychology that in the classroom teaching, teacher’s nonverbal behavior such as body movement, posture, facial expression etc is an effective and economical aid in substituting verbal message. Bi Jiwan(1999) also mentioned the six auxiliary functions of nonverbal behavior in relation to verbal communication in his book Intercultural Nonverbal Communication: repeating, contradicting, substituting, complementing, accenting and regulating the delivery of verbal message. Generally speaking, the role of teacher’s nonverbal behaviors in classroom teaching can be briefly summarized as follows:

1. Teacher’s nonverbal behaviors can assist their lecturing to a large extent. To be specific, the occasional nonverbal cues given by the teacher can enhance the vividness of the teaching content, which is beneficial for students’ comprehension. Compared with mere oral instruction, students are more sensitive to images and specific nonverbal behaviors. Especially for certain teaching content that can only be perceived rather than expressed, nonverbal behaviors then can perfectly complement or express the implicit meaning that are not fully conveyed verbally.
2. Teacher’s nonverbal behaviors can build a bridge of emotional communication with students, arousing students’ initiative to participate in the class. Students’ enthusiasm in engaging in the classroom interaction is often greatly affected by positive emotions. An encouraging gaze, a gentle smile and a nod of approval from the teacher are all great incentives for students. Especially when the teacher walks off the podium and comes to the middle of the students, the students tend to look at and listen to the teacher more attentively, taking notes conscientiously and responding to the teacher actively.
3. Teacher’s nonverbal behaviors can act as a mediator to help relieve students’ learning fatigue and potentially improve their learning efficiency. It is natural for students to feel bored and tired if the teacher is giving the lecture monotonously, without any facial expressions and body movements. On the contrary, if teachers are good at using nonverbal behaviors in their teaching, they can stimulate students’ visual and auditory senses comprehensively, enhancing their knowledge digestion and assimilation, thereby effectively improving the overall learning efficiency.

In summary, teacher’s nonverbal behaviors in the classroom teaching play an indispensable role in the delivery of instruction and in the management of teacher-student interaction. It is true that being nonverbally expressive can not only contribute directly to the quality of teacher’s verbal instruction through illustration and emphasis, but also contribute to teaching effectiveness by maintaining student’s interest and preventing boredom.

2.4 Previous Studies at Home and Abroad

2.4.1Studies on Teacher’s Nonverbal Behaviors

The result of Allen’s study(2000) shows that there are plenty of nonverbal behaviors displayed by second language teachers in the classroom, including emblems, regulators, affect displays, haptics and proxemics. Allen believes that to fully understand the teaching activities of second language teachers, more related research need to be conducted. Lazaraton’s research(2004) also proposes the idea that nonverbal behavior is one of the basic teaching strategies of teachers, and it is also an indispensable part of the field of second language acquisition.

Besides, the effect of teacher’s nonverbal behaviors on students’ learning is another topic that scholars are concerned about. Over the past few decades, scholars in western countries have conducted numerous studies on teacher’s nonverbal behaviors in the classroom. Most of them reach a similar conclusion that teacher’s positive expressive nonverbal behaviors are the main contributor to teaching effectiveness. In the study on teacher’s nonverbal immediacy conducted by McCroskey and Richmond (1992), they confirm the idea that almost all the effective behaviors of teacher are nonverbal, such as gesturing when talking to the class, moving around in the classroom, smiling at the class etc. Some studies(Witt Wheeless amp; Allen,2004; Harris amp; Rosenthal’s,2005) also mention that teacher’s nonverbal behavior is strongly related to many positive student outcomes, for example, interest in the course, willingness to take more classes with the teacher and students’ perceptions that they have learned a lot in the class. Faraco and Kida(2008) also did some research about the effects of teacher’s nonverbal behaviors on classroom teaching. Their finding reveals that nonverbal behaviors of teachers in the class can have both positive and negative impacts on students’ learning. Therefore, teachers should pay attention to the proper use of their nonverbal signals.

At home, it was until the 1980s that some published works about nonverbal behaviors drew people’s attention to this field. Representative works include Nonverbal Communication, translated by Meng Xiaoping (1991), An Introduction to Body Language, written by Geng Erling(1988) and Intercultural Nonverbal Communication, written by Bi Jiwan(1999). However, domestic quantitative research findings of teacher’s nonverbal behaviors are still relatively few.

Zuo Bin(2002) conducted experimental research on the effects of nonverbal behaviors on the classroom interaction between students and teachers. The result of the experiment shows that teacher’s nonverbal behavior plays an important role in the teacher-student interaction in the classroom. Proper and expressive nonverbal behaviors of teachers can make students feel like they are given attention by teachers, and thus increase their intimacy with teachers as well as lay a strong psychological foundation for the positive relationship between teachers and students. Tu Guoyuan and Ding Hui (2003) also conducted a study on how teacher’s nonverbal behaviors affect the classroom atmosphere from the perspective of learning motivation, interpersonal communication and emotional interaction. The research shows that teacher’s nonverbal behavior is positively correlated with classroom atmosphere. And they believe that teacher can perfect their use of nonverbal behaviors through the feedback from the videotape and students, thus to improve classroom atmosphere and promote classroom teaching.

Zhou Pengsheng(2003) conducted quantitative research on teacher’s nonverbal behaviors. In his dissertation, Zhou suggests that teacher’s nonverbal behaviors can be observed and decomposed. He also designed the observation form to analyze teacher’s nonverbal behaviors in the class, which provides a practical quantitative research tool for the subsequent research. Wang Xiaojun(2007) reveals the significance of psychological implications to teacher’s nonverbal behaviors. He mentions that teachers can use nonverbal behaviors to have a better control of the class. Wang Weiqing and Tang Weiling(2015) explore the nonverbal behaviors displayed by ESL teacher when giving corrective feedback to the students and analyze the effects of those nonverbal behaviors on students’ knowledge absorption. The result of their experiment indicates that teacher’s nonverbal behaviors contribute to students’ perceptions and understandings of the feedback given by the teacher.

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