Reflections on Body Languagein Vocational college English Teaching

任晨

I. Introduction

In China， classroom oral instruction is the chief or indeed the only source of English learning， which is quite different from the natural ways of language learning. Teachers usually put much attention to their language in teaching. However， in fact language is not just composed of verbal or vocal form. Instead， “language is a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs， sounds， gestures， or marks”. Body language occupies a significant position in the teaching， which merits much attention from both researchers and teachers.

II. Body Language in English Class Teaching

2.1 Facial body language

The facial body language is the embodiment of emotions， from which peoples moods can often be reflected. In class， since the teacher always stands on the platform in front of the whole class， the change of his facial body language will be clearly viewed by all the students and directly affect their learning psychology. Cheerful teacher， often smiling to students and has brisk tone will leave a deep impression on the student， and give them a feeling of kindness and trust， which can quickly shorten the distance between teachers and students. In order to achieve the desired teaching effect， teachers should pay attention to using more facial body language to attract the students attention， strengthen the emotional exchanges with students.

2.2 Eye contact

As is known to all of us， eyes are the windows of the soul. Therefore， eye contact is the most important and most expressive communication tool. By using eye contact， we can open， continue or terminate a conversation easily. Since eyes have special communicative functions， it is necessary for the teacher to use eye contact in the class. The frequent eye contact between teachers and students can extend the communication channels as well as enlarge the volume of the information exchange. On the contrary， eyes can also expose the teacher's disgust， worries other negative information， cause students to behave badly.

2.3 Gestures

Gestures often match up with verbal and facial body language; it is an important kind of silent teaching language. When the students answer questions correctly， the teacher can thumb up and praise them. Such kinds of encouraging gestures can give students more confidence， inspiring them to participate in the class more actively. Therefore， proper use of body language in the class is very necessary， which could shorten the distance between students and teachers， giving them lots of encouragement and causing them to play a more active role in the class.endprint