I Can Hear You With My Eyes: Nonverbal Communications and English Classrooms

Nonverbal behavior plays a highly important role in different aspects of human life (Anderson, 2004;Johnson, 2008). Whereas practical tangible teaching techniques driven from nonverbal behaviors canhelp English language teachers incorporate this essential element into their classrooms, little attentionhas been given to this area. This article tries to shed light on the often neglected, unexplored area of research concerning nonverbal communication. It begins by the indispensible role of NVC in the communicative process, and then considers the interplay of body language especially gestures, facialexpressions, and eye contact among interlocutors. Explaining different forms and functions of these NVBs, the authors try to incorporate them into language classes and give some practical techniques to be considered in the classrooms, in order for the learners to be as Pennycook (1985) puts it not only bilingual but also bi-kinesic (cited in Gregersen,2007, p. 62).