Here's what I would have said...

In a subject like ESOL, communication is the be-all and end-all of what we are about. If our students are not able to communicate, in English, more successfully and correctly than they were able to before they came to us, we have, quite simply, failed. However, it is important for teachers of ESOL (or any language, particularly where you are teaching learners in a country that speaks the language they are learning) to remember that communication is not solely about what somebody says.

Equally, we have to be very aware of what we are communicating, and how we communicate, because our students will learn not only from information we give about, (for instance) correct grammar in the classroom, but from our example in a much broader and deeper way. They look to us as someone who can show them what is and isn't good English, both linguistically AND culturally to an extent.

Non-verbal communication makes up 93% of how we communicate with others, and how they understand us. It can be broken down into 13 categories (links to where I got all this from at the end):

Kinesics (body language) Body motions such as shrugs, foot tapping, drumming fingers, eye movements such as winking, facial expressions, and gestures
Proxemics (proximity)- where you are in relation to the physical environment, and other people.
Haptics: Touch
Oculesics: Eye contact
Chronemics: Use of time, waiting, pausing
Olfactics: Smell
Vocalics: Tone of voice, timbre, volume, speed
Sound symbols: Grunting, mmm, er, ah, uh-huh, mumbling
Silence: Pausing, waiting, secrecy
Posture: Position of the body, stance- this can be how you hold yourself naturally, or assumed postures.
Adornment: Clothing, jewellery, hairstyle
Locomotion: Walking, running, staggering, limping.

What makes every one of these things important in ESOL- even more than might be obvious- is the fact that non-verbal communication, just like spoken language, is linked very strongly to culture. This means that our students need to be aware of it, and we need to teach them about a lot of it, to help them break down the barriers to communication that face them as people whose first language is not English, living in an English-speaking country.

Kinesics:
Gestures are one of the most obvious culturally-based forms of non-verbal communication, and one that students do benefit from having explained to them, for the simple reason that just as a word that looks (and may even be pronounced) the same in two languages may have totally different meanings in each, so gestures do not necessarily translate across cultures. Any teacher who has flinched when a student gives them a reverse V-sign in order to give the answer 'two' will know exactly what I mean. However, gestures that have different meanings in other languages are something teachers should make themselves aware of. I do not only mean avoiding accidentally insulting a Nigerian student by giving them a 'thumbs up', I mean gestures that can cause considerably more confusion on both sides if a teacher isn't aware that the movement does not mean the same for the student who they are addressing as it does for themselves. Iranian and Albanian students nod their heads to say 'no'- if you ask the question you shouldn't ask, ie 'Do you understand', without knowing this, you could end up with some very lost students.

Of course, in a class of students with very low levels of English, universal gestures 'big', 'small', 'on', 'in', 'under', can be used to great effect- the gesture gives the students a 'hook' to connect their own language with the gesture, and the gesture with the English word. Correctly used, gestures are an invaluable tool.

Facial expressions can also be a minefield. In countries where politeness and hospitality are deemed important (such as Japan and Bangladesh), people learn to smile no matter how annoyed or angry they are- if their rancour worsens, the smile gets wider. A teacher cannot assume that their room of smiling faces means happy students who are having a good lesson. Equally, everyone has a 'screensaver' expression- the one you wear when you aren't communicating with other people. Quite often it can be mistaken for a bad mood. So grimaces aren't always the dead giveaway you would expect- the student may not be stuck, they may be going at just the right pace and find you slowing down to be deeply irritating.

Proxemics
Personal space is such a huge issue for the British that it is featured in citizenship coursebooks. Students need to be aware of how much space to give people they are speaking to- as do teachers- since invading a person's personal space will produce a danger reaction on the part of the person being spoken to, and that person will be so busy reacting to the perceived threat that they won't actually listen to anything being said to them. I am speaking from experience as someone who's retreated round classrooms before, backing away from someone asking about their exams.

However, just as with gestures, proxemics can be used to help modify the learning environment and make it positive. When helping someone in IT, I sit next to them to help them feel more relaxed than if I were standing over them. I do the same in group discussions, making sure I am on a chair that is the same height as the others- higher and I would still have more formal 'control', lower- well, let's not mention what could happen if I was sitting in a subservient position to the students. Equally, in classes where poor behaviour is rife, a teacher may seek to enhance the idea of their being in charge by standing up when the students are sitting down- a way of asserting dominance over the room. Being able to move easily around the classroom is another way to use proxemics to your advantage- if you are never obstructed by students or furniture, you will seem (and feel) much more 'in control' of the classroom, and your students will feed off this energy. I think it's important to move amongst them, even if you don't do it often, to assert your control over the whole room, not just the space in front of the whiteboard. It helps the students feel that you are not isolated from them, too.

We will assume that, as professionals who care about their CRB disclosures, haptics (touch) doesn't figure in your teaching, and move on to oculesics tomorrow- right now I'm out of time on the computer. Tune in again for the next exciting instalment of 'Non Verbal Communication and ESOL- a cultural perspective'.