肢体语言在小学英语教学中的应用(一)(3)
2014-08-11 01:05
导读：communication among people is often carried out with variations of eye contact. Therefore “eye-to-eye” communication can set up the conditions for really getting to know each other’s viewpoints
communication among people is often carried out with variations of eye contact. Therefore “eye-to-eye” communication can set up the conditions for really getting to know each other’s viewpoints better.The motion of the eyes can be classified as follows: the action of the eye ball; the movement of eyelids and the dilation of the pupil. It is often said, “The eyes of human beings can speak.” Thus, teachers can understand better what the students are thinking through the various movements of the eyes. Firstly, teachers could get to know the effect of their lesson and this would help them analyze the situation of the students. Secondly, teachers could know whether the students fully focus on the lesson through their eyes.2.3 Body DistanceAs the term suggests, body distance refers to the physical distance between people when they are communicating with each other. In other words, it is the distance between any two participants in a communication process. Everyone has his own space which others could not violate without producing discomfort. In fact, unconsciously, we all carry with us what have been called “body bubbles”. These bubbles are like invisible walls which define our personal space. The amount of space changes depending on the interpersonal relationship and culture. According to Hall (1959), there are four major types of distances in social and business circumstances: intimate, personal, social and public. (胡超，2006: 99) The distance between teachers and students is part of the message teachers give to students. While teachers cannot be too close to their students, it would also be improper for them to stand at a great distance. (鲁道夫 海德尔曼, 2004: 73). The first would signal an intimacy that could make students feel uncomfortable in a formal learning context. The second, however, would also give the adverse message of being too aloof. Teachers have to maintain a distance somewhere in between.How close teachers stand to the students affects what the latter hear, attend to and retain. Generally speaking, distance from four to ten feet is the most appropriate for effective teaching and learning. (Gallahue, David L., 1993: 127) But there are variations to this. For instance, when teachers lead reading, they can walk down to the platform and go into the students’ “space”, so that they can control the class, finding and correcting the students’ pronunciation, intonation and so on.2.4 Facial ExpressionLiterally facial expression refers to a way of communicating information and feelings through changes in facial demeanor. It also serves to move the emotions of others. While the normal facial expression is affected by a person’s physiological make-up and environment, changes in one’s facial expression are readable reflections of one’s thoughts and feelings. Physical condition could account for the muscle tone, the skin color and wrinkles, but a person’s thoughts and responses to his communication partner show clearly on his facial expression. Facial expression is the most revealing component of body language. It is also the one hardest to bring under conscious control. Even if one tries to hide his feelings, e.g. anger, observers often could still guess what his real feelings are. Many dimensions of meaning can be communicated by facial expression since the face can clearly convey several specific emotions, such as happiness, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, contempt and interest, all at the same time. Just like in Troilus and Cressida William Shakespeare says, “There’s language in her eye, her cheek, her lip”. Thus, teachers need to exert efforts to discipline themselves in this regard. Because when they freely show their thoughts and emotions, their students could be adversely affected, except that the thoughts and emotions that would be helpful to the students.Facial expression is more than just the motion of eyes, lips, nose, eyebrows and various other muscles of theface. It is a strong manifestation of people’s character. It is the “label” of people. Teachers could give their students a lasting impression of themselves through their expression. On the other hand, teachers could also freely use facial expression according to the different situations in class. For instance, when teachers ask questions, they could make use of facial expression to adopt a certain attitude towards the answer of the students. If the students give a right answer, the teacher could feel happy and smile at the students. And this kind of smile could be a sort of approval and praise for the students. But if the students give a wrong answer, the teacher could also smile at them and this could be an encouragement for the students. It will make them feel confident and encourage them to make greater efforts to learn better.3. The function of body language in Elementary School English teachingThe specialist on body language research, Fen. Lafle Angles said, “Once it [body language] was lost, a baby could not have grown into a normal person.” In elementary English teaching, body language plays a positive role in cultivating the students’ characters because teachers are usually respected and seen to be knowledgeable. Besides, the cognitive ability of the pupils being limited, teachers need to use body language to help and reinforce their teaching so that they can easily arouse the students’ interest in learning English. At the same time, they can thus improve the effects of their lesson. With the rapid development of our society, more and more English teachers realize the importance of communicating in English, so teachers pay more attention to the problems of English language teaching. Teachers often find that their pupils cannot speak English, neither can they understand why they should use different tones in different times or situations nor can they depend on an adequate vocabulary. Therefore, according to the pupils’ level and practical situation, teachers find that body language is required in the mean time.The following are the main functions of body language in elementary school English teaching. 3.1 Enlivening the classroom and improving the students’ interest in learning EnglishClassroom teaching is the major method for students to obtain knowledge. The application of body language is a good way for elementary school English teaching and it can directly influence the teaching effect.（沈敏仙，1999: 54） At the beginning of learning English, pupils are keen on the language since it is new and totally different from Chinese; they are happy to take part in English learning activities. But as time goes on, they lose their interest, especially for the usual, unchanging teaching and learning methods. Within these limitations, when teachers give lessons with the help of body language, they can arouse students’ participation, filling the classroom with newness despite the old methods being used. For example, whenteachers teach the words of body parts, they can let the students touch their own body parts. Teachers and students swing their arms, move their mouths, and flutter their eyes and so on. Students would feel immense pleasure in such a class.The students’ interest in learning English gains through cheerful class teaching. Such teaching also enhances the students’ confidence, stimulating the class atmosphere. Teachers add to this cheerfulness by expressing their meanings incisively and vividly through rich and varied expressions and gestures. The classroom would feel just like a stage during a performance. Because of the lively classroom, the students’ enthusiasm for learning is mobilized. Besides, when students meet a new word they don’t know, they can guess its meaning from the teachers’ gestures or expressions. This kind of teaching allows teachers to draw the students’ attention firmly, and let the students be filled with expectation for English learning.3.2 Simplifying the knowledge and creating English environment Any language can be a tool for communication and a means for learning. The aim of learning English is to obtain the ability with which to communicate with others in English fluently and use it to learn further. With the development of our society and with the increasing need to cater to the demands of this development, a language environment for English learning has become very important. So teachers should adopt teaching methods that use English to teach students during their teaching process. Students need to use English in class in order to better learn the language. Pupils can learn through sensory experience. Besides catering to pupils’ capacity to learn English through perception, body language holds the attention of pupils readily and prolongs the learning experience. Unlike other means of learning through perception, e.g. pictures, the learning situation using body language can be readily reproduced by the pupils at any time, thus reinforcing the learning. For instance, when teachers teach the word “rabbit” and the related concepts, in order to create the language environment and simplify the knowledge, the teacher can use her two hands to make the shape of “V” and then put them on the side of head so as to picture the ears of a rabbit. Her body could crouch to imitate the jumping of a rabbit. At the same time, the teacher can ask “what can you see?” After all these body language movements, there would be no need to explain, the students can readily get the meaning of the teacher’s action. In the end, the students can accept the new knowledge in a happy atmosphere.3.3 Promoting students’ memory effectivelyElementary students’ ability to mimic is very strong. They also like playing, singing, jumping and moving. But they are not willing to sit for a long time. They have good memory and they are good at thinking in images. Meanwhile, they are short of rational thinking and their logic thinking ability is not strong. Thus, the students can clearly remember words and expressions according to their teachers’ movements. By making students imitate movements the teachers allow students to use their own bodies and movements as aids to remembering. Therefore, when teachers add body language to their teaching they are also giving their students a mnemonic device that is readily accessible. This helps improve the students’ overall memory.4. Some points when using body language in Elementary School English teaching 4.1 Combining body language with different nations’ cultureEnglish stems from Europe and it carry with it a cultural tradition, the development of history and customs. (潘敏，2005: 32) The same body language movement may have different meanings in different countries. For example, for most of nations, a nod stands for “yes”; shake one’s head denotes “no”; but in some cultures the understanding for the two actions is the exact opposite. Therefore, when teachers use body language, they should respect the different countries’ cultural connotations and explain the different cultural connotations to students with the help of body language.4.2 Using body language under appropriate occasionsThe whole class for an English teacher should not be exclusively devoted to speaking nor should it be a continuous acting session. It should be action and speaking blended together. So in the class, teachers should know when and where to use body language. Because if they use unsuitable body language, it will give the students a bad impression of their teachers. And they will feel disappointed.4.3 Accuracy and frequencyTeachers’ body language is used as a help for students to understand what the teachers say. But if teachers overuse body language, it will not be good for the students. On the contrary, it will divert the students’ attention. After some time, students will become accustomed to the overused body language. And all such body language will lose its function. If teachers act all the time in class, what they do could dazzle students in that confuses them rather than helping their understanding. So the teachers should pay attention to the frequency of using body language in class. Moreover, teachers should take note of the accuracy of the body language they use when they give lessons. If teachers give to the students an unsuitable or wrong body language, students will be easily misled because pupils’ ability to imitate is very strong. Thus, the body language can not give full play to its positive function and instead it will play a negative role. For example, when teachers are giving lessons, some teachers like to scratch their heads or twirl the chalk all the time. All these actions not only spoil the image of the teacher, but also draw away the attention of students from the lesson at hand. So teachers should use accurate and appropriate body language when giving lessons.4.4 Sense of “art”For the same content, different teachers could come up with different understandings. And they could use different body language to express such various understandings. In this sense teachers have an “artistic” freedom in interpreting their material. Nevertheless, beauty always attracts and ugliness always repels. Thus, teachers cannot use negative body language in class. Teachers should discard body language such as scratching the ears from time to time or insulting gestures. (庄锦英，李振村, 1998: 138). Teachers should make sure that all their body language movements are beautiful and smooth.5. Conclusion All in all, body language plays an important role in English teaching, especially in elementary schools. It can strengthen the interaction, improve and foster students’ ability of communication and language application. Besides, it also improves the teachers’ English teaching effectiveness. The use of body language can not only attract the students’ attention, but also deepen their impression and imagination. Body language always accentuates the teachers’ intention and serves as a device that stimulates constructive reaction. Sometimes they are even more powerful and expressive than verbal interactions; for they can convey such subtle feelings and fine emotions that are beyond verbal means. In a word, body language often speaks louder than words. So teachers should try to teach in English together with the corresponding body language. In the end, the students’ English ability will be certainly and greatly improved.
