Lingua cultural

The kazakh university of international relation and world languages by Ablaikhana

THEME :  Body language in different cultures.

Almaty-2014

CONCRETE APPLICATION OF BODY LANGUAGE IN DIFFERENT ASPECTS IN ENGLISH TEACHING.

Application of Using Body Language in Listening As we all know, listening constitutes a significant part in our daily communication. To understand others and be understood is a basic purpose in English learning. In this process of training students‟ listening ability, if teachers use the body language properly, they can achieve better effect. For instance , a teacher can extend his or her arms slowly when he or she says “She lives in a very large house” and open his or her eyes widely with mouth opened when he or she says “She is such a beautiful lady”. As a result, the students will have deep impressions that the room is very big and the lady is beautiful.

Application of Using Body Language in Speaking . The spoken language is one of the important ways to communicate with others. Chinese students are very shy. They usually can write and read English very well but cannot speak English, so we should try to develop the students‟ ability of speaking. How can teachers help students overcome their passive attitudes? Body language can arouse and sustain the students‟ interests of using and learning English. In fact, they are helped to reach the aim in a certain degree by their teacher‟s body language. In the English classes, the teachers should not only use body languages themselves, but also ask the students to use them according to different situations. For example, a text about when the new students meet for the first time, and they don‟t know each other. So teachers can introduce themselves first. During the introduction process, the teachers should use the new words and sentences together with a vivid expression and proper gestures as possible as they can. They smile when they say hello to the class, they shake hands with some students saying “Glad to meet you”. When they express their interests, they imitate the actions of dribbling and shooting at the basketball, turning pages to indicate reading. After the teachers‟ introductions, they can create an environment for the students to practice. Indeed, the application of body language in different situations will help to create an interesting and successful lesson.

Application of Using Body Language in Reading . Body language is helpful in improving students‟ reading ability. Here we mainly discuss the usefulness of reading aloud. It can help students to achieve good pronunciation and intonation of English. What‟s more, it can help them to fully and deeply understand the beauty of the language. As a famous saying goes, a poem is not a poem until it is read. Teachers should tell students to use proper body language whiling reading loudly. For example, pay attention to where to raise or lower our tone, when to speak softly. To achieve better result, we can adapt the strong or soft parts that are used in music teaching. For instance, we use falling tones in declarative sentences, use rising tones and then falling tones in the selective question sentences. At first the students might feel confused as they are not accustomed to it yet. However, with the help of body language, they can master it more easily. For example, when they read a selective question sentence, they put up their hands in rising tone and put down hands in falling tones. After training for some times, whenever they read the sentences, they will use this body language unconsciously. In a word, fluent English with vivid gestures helps to can create a good learning environment, which will surely motivate students‟ reading ability.

Body Language and other non-verbal cues vary as widely as spoken language among different cultures.

HEAD

• Nodding the head.

• “ Yes” in most societies. “ No” in some parts of Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
• “ Yes” in most societies.
• “ No” in some parts of Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
• Tossing the head backward “ yes” in Thailand, the Philippines, India, Laos.
• “ yes” in Thailand, the Philippines, India, Laos.
• Rocking head slowly, back and forth “ yes, I’m listening” in most Asian cultures.
• “ yes, I’m listening” in most Asian cultures.

LEGS AND FEET

• In most Asian countries, a solid and balanced sitting posture is the prevailing custom. Sitting cross-legged shows the sign of disrespect.
• In the Middle East and most parts of Asia, resting the ankle over the other knee risks pointing the sole of your shoe at another person, which is considered a rude gesture.

Becoming sensitive to the clues of body language can help us communicate more effectively with each other.

Eye Contact:  In the United States and Canada, INTERMITTENT eye contact is extremely important in conveying interest and attention. In many Middle Eastern cultures, INTENSE eye contact between the same genders is often a symbol of trust and sincerity however, between opposite genders, especially in Muslim cultures, anything more than BRIEF eye contact is considered inappropriate. Additionally, in Asian, African, and Latin American cultures, extended eye contact is considered a “challenge.” The Japanese tend to consider even brief eye contact uncomfortable. And, in some cultures, a woman should look down when talking to a man.

• Handshakes: Western cultures, however, there are differences that could throw you off! For example, in parts of Northern Europe a quick firm “one-pump” handshake is the norm. In parts of Southern Europe, Central and South America, a handshake is longer and warmer – meaning the left hand usually touches the clasped hands, the elbow, or even the lapel of the shakee.Beware that in Turkey, a firm handshake is considered rude and aggressive. In certain African countries, a limp handshake is the standard. Men in Islamic countries never shake the hands of women outside the family.

  In America, we have the standard greeting: “Hello, my name is..” with a handshake. At a networking event, chances are persons from a different culture will probably assimilate into everyone else’s style, however, there are other greetings out there of which you should be aware.

In Italy, people kiss cheeks. 

In Japan, people bow.

HANDS

• The Italian “good-bye” wave can be interpreted by Americans as the gesture of “come here.” The American “good-bye” wave can be interpreted in many parts of Europe and Latin America as the signal for “no.”
• The Italian “good-bye” wave can be interpreted by Americans as the gesture of “come here.”
• The American “good-bye” wave can be interpreted in many parts of Europe and Latin America as the signal for “no.”

Gestures.

They mean different things everywhere. Seriously, keep your gestures to yourself. If you want to flip off the business card warrior, it might not have any effect at all if he/she is from a different culture. In fact, in some cultures, it’s used as a pointer. The thumbs-up has all different meanings too. At the peril of destroying my reputation, I am not even going to write about them. Also be careful with the American “A-Ok” sign and putting your hands on your hips.

Finally, we can learn to be more sensitive to our own bodies – to see how they express our feelings and to see ourselves as others see us.

Thank you for your attention!