The Impact of Non—verbal Communication on Intercultural Education

高晴晴 徐徐

【Abstract】With the fast growing economy and the expansion of world trade， intercultural education receives more attention. A good grasp of students culturally specific non-verbal behaviours can make great contribution to successful intercultural teaching. The evidence suggests that foreign teachers appear to make more non-verbal mistakes unconsciously than verbal ones. Therefore， this paper tends to discuss some non-verbal behaviours and their corresponding implications to intercultural teaching.

【Key words】non-verbal communication； intercultural teaching； familiarity

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】高晴晴（1991.08-），女，漢族，安徽阜陽(yáng)人，嘉興學(xué)院南湖學(xué)院，助教，研究方向：英語(yǔ)教學(xué)法、跨文化交際；徐徐（1987.07-），女，漢族，湖北黃梅人，嘉興學(xué)院南湖學(xué)院，助教，研究方向：語(yǔ)言學(xué)與應(yīng)用語(yǔ)言學(xué)。

1. Introduction

Nowadays， teaching students coming from different culture backgrounds is still a demanding task for educators. In this case， only a good grasp of language is far more enough to be a qualified teacher as non-verbal behaviours tend to arouse more ambiguities in classroom teaching. In the meanwhile， evidences have shown that teachers are inclined to use non-verbal communication unconsciously， about 82 percent， in their classroom practices （Kellogg & Lawson， 1993）. Bearing this in mind， the significance of unspoken messages cannot be underestimated and teachers dealing with intercultural education should actively get themselves familiar with culture-bound norms and then apply them properly in classroom setting.

This paper discusses the impact of non-verbal communication on classroom practice， aiming to show how might a familiarity with various non-verbal behaviours can help educators do better within intercultural context. It can arouse educators cultural sensitivity to enhance teaching effectiveness.

2. An overview of non-verbal communication

First of all， non-verbal communication and verbal communication supplement each other to constitute the panorama of human interaction. However， these two also differ from each other with respect to some key features. As Guerrero and Farinelli （2009） state， non-verbal communication is characterised as intrinsic， variable， spontaneous and nonreflexive， whereas verbal communication is symbolic， constant， strategic and reflexive. It reveals that non-verbal communication tends to enjoy more credibility than verbal messages when exploring a speakers inner thoughts since they convey meaning biologically.

Second， successful interpretation of non-verbal behaviours includes several abilities. Riggio （1992） has identified three basic aspects： decoding， encoding and regulation. First， decoding refers to the ability to perceive and judge approximately to the context. Then， encoding means the person should convey emotional messages accurately in return based on his previous judgement. Lastly， regulation functions as an integral monitor during the whole communication process. It is proposed that by virtue of reappraisal and suppression， participants can exert control on their emotional messages （Gross， 2001）. Overall， these three abilities are better to be used and developed spontaneously to facilitate an effective non-verbal communication.

3. Non-verbal communication and intercultural education

This part aims to analyse four non-verbal dimensions that are immensely incorporated in classroom interaction. Educators engaging in intercultural teaching might acquire some useful knowledge to enhance both learning and communication.

3.1 Gestures

The first dimension is the use of gestures. To start with， the most confusing part of gesture is emblem. An emblem elicited by a class participant would be perceived incorrectly by non-members of that culture because everyone has his underlying culture values. Axtell （1991） has found great variation in the gesture： hand push. If an American stretches out one hand with palm forward， it indicates the meaning “stop”. Conversely， a Greek treats this sign as a direct hostile disagreement， and what is worse， an insult in West Africa. Likewise， teachers should be cautious when using fingers to show numbers. It is demonstrated that by holding up the forefinger， the widely acceptable gesture to mean number “1”， especially for Americans， can contribute to perplexities in parts of Europe where a thumb up bears the same meaning （Jandt， 2013）. However， there is no shortcut to manage such unique emblems as cultural diversity brings countless gestures.

The next application of gesture lies in diversion of teachers attention to students affective states with reliable contextual information. Not all students verbal behaviours coincide with their internal thoughts when asked about their subject understanding， motivation and attitudes. Despite such intentional disguise， a gesture will provide extra hints. Take the seating posture as an example. In China， an attentive and motivated student is described as sitting upright with his hands naturally put on the desk or knees. Hence， other deviant seating postures like bow-backed in the chair， using hands to raise the head up， or placing head in the desk， can signal messages that this student is either tired， demotivated or physically uncomfortable. Consequently， after the realisation of inner emotions， a teacher might adjust the teaching procedure or add something interesting to mitigate the passive learning situation.

Observing students culture specific gestures can enlighten the practical teaching methodology. This method has priority than others in new knowledge presentation， for example， the teaching of descriptive vocabulary and dialogues. By using gestures which students are familiar with， previous schema stored in their memories are activated which simultaneously turn an abstract word into a vivid image to facilitate the comprehension.

3.2 Eye behaviours

The second dimension relates to eye behaviours. Blink， gaze， stare and eye movement all belong to this category. Being the most sensitive organ in our human face， eyes mirror the deep hearts desires and emotions of an individual. For intercultural teachers， it is nearly impossible to finish a lesson without looking at their students over this period.

Students with different cultural experiences vary considerably in specific eye acts. First， discrepancies exist in eye contact. Facing the same situation， some racial groups tend to communicate by looking directly into other persons eyes， such as Arabs， Latin Americans， and Southern Europeans， whereas Asians， Indian-Pakistanis， and Northern Europeans are typical counter-examples to adopt peripheral gaze which means looking anywhere to avoid direct eye focus （Harper， Wiens， &Matarazzo;， 1978）. These two different reactions are rooted in culture origins. Direct concentration on eyes is associated with politeness， sincerity and honesty in the former cultures， while avoidance of directness shows respect and no offence in the latter ones. Second， cultural differences have an intimate relationship with eye avoidance. This behaviour signals “either a desire not to communicate or an unreadiness to communicate” （Harper， Wiens， &Matarazzo;， 1978， p.182）. It can be said that Chinese students are good at using such act to convey indirect feelings than students of other cultures. Instead of being deemed as shy and introverted， they always evade a teachers eye contact when they do not know an answer to certain questions and wish themselves would not be called on to avoid public embarrassment. However， a foreign teacher who has no resonance with them would misinterpret this avoidance as dislike and bad cooperation.

Hence， two applications can be taken to create a smooth and harmonious learning environment. For one thing， appropriate use of teacher stare could alter students classroom misconduct. Usually， distraction， abrupt laughing and private mutual gossiping can be troublesome to interrupt normal teaching process. By throwing a culturally recognisable eye hint， for example， long-timed authoritative gaze used in Chinese culture， target students would realise their inappropriateness and do self-correction automatically. For another thing， a respect and familiarity of unique eye behaviour can shorten the psychological distance between the foreign teacher and students. It seems that efficient learning always happens when teachers show understanding and sympathy to students cultural identity.

3.3 Silence

The third dimension is silence in classroom. Silence is a type of vocal segregates which signifies no audible sounds are produced or heard over a time slot. As Oliver （1971） noted， Asians accept silence better than the West. It seems that silence can make many westerners uncomfortable as their interactions are heavily dependent on overt， direct verbal exchange rather than tacit behaviours. In United States， students are always evaluated according to their verbal performance， and a student with little expressiveness is prone to be blamed for a lack of interest， attention and progressiveness （Jandt， 2013）.

By comparison， silence is connected to various positive meanings in most eastern cultures， for example， China， Japan， and India. People from these backgrounds regard silence as a perfect medium to convey their indirectness and affiliation. Traditionally， silence is a virtue internalised in their ancestors minds and then it is passed on through generations. Students who have this cultural inclination are good at using silence to maintain rapport with their peers， teachers， and also themselves. A case in point is their silent response when teachers put forward a question. For a harmonious relationship with his or her classmates， nobody wants to stand out as this action can be interpreted as show-off. Then， for the teachers benefit， silence stands for agreement and respect in that cultures have taught them it is impolite to challenge a teachers authority in public. In addition， the last interpretation relates to self-face. To many easterners， face is an individuals image that cannot be infringed. Students may afraid of losing face if they provide an incorrect answer. Harper， Wiens and Matarazzo （1978） point out that on some occasions， silence from a lower class can continue if a superior is involved in the communication. Hence， a teacher can be the first one to break the ice by giving out cues to activate students speaking eagerness.

3.4 Personal space

The last dimension is personal space. It is reported that personal space is ranked the top stimuli in students physical conflicts， especially for younger students （Richmond， 1997）. Hall （1966） has described four distance zones that influence the behaviour of a communicator： intimate， personal， social and public distance. Generally， what type of distance is employed is highly context dependent.

The measurement of personal space varies from culture to culture. An acceptable interpersonal space between interlocutors in one culture probably causes uncomfortable feeling in another one. Watson and Graves （1966） found that Arabs and Americans are two extreme counterparts that are commonly expose to space misunderstanding： closer interactive distance in public is valued in Saudi Arabia， while Americans have no tolerance at this closeness. Arabs tend to perceive Americans as cold， unfriendly and arrogant due to their alienation， and oppositely， Americans sense a physical invasion from the close body distance. However， culture differences in space use sometimes cannot be identified easily because a dominant culture cannot tell everything about its variances in sub-cultures. For example， in the United States， the co-existence of White American， Black American and many other racial groups makes personal space more changeable than expected.

For intercultural educators， a good handle of space can benefit their classroom managements. The most obvious application is seat arrangement. Different seating positions and the placement of furniture can produce different learning effects. First， if students were placed in a culturally comfortable distance with their peers， more concentration would be focused on cognitive learning rather than physical adjustment. Given diverse cultural preferences， it would be a good attempt to have a careful observation about students behaviours initially and then classroom facilities like chairs and desks could be organised consciously to satisfy their optimal personal space. Second， the change of seating distance can specifically serve task purposes. It is demonstrated that cooperative activities receive better effect when students sit side by side， and conversely， face-to-face seating is more effective in individual and competitive tasks （Norum， 1966）. The reason lies in that reduced space is inclined to create collective spirits， whereas alienation tends to stir self-accomplishment.

4. Conclusion

In summary， culture familiarity in non-verbal behaviours can enhance both learning and communication through the innovation in teaching methods， regulation of classroom management， and exploration of an individuals inner emotions. The evidence suggests that foreign teachers appear to make more non-verbal mistakes unconsciously than verbal ones. Although reasons for this phenomenon may vary substantially， a main cause can be culturally related maxims， beliefs， and orientations. Hence， a familiarity towards cultural differences should be an essential ability equipped by intercultural teachers. Finally， this paper still has space for improvement as non-verbal categories being studied here are limited.

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