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    Paralinguistic Communication: Gestures

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    Simran Sahani
    Paralinguistics refers to non-verbal communication cues like gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, body language, and personal space. [1] These cues can easily be misinterpreted across cultures. [2] For example, a waving gesture means "come here" in Mexico but "hello" in the US, and the OK sign means approval in the US but the evil eye in Brazil. [3] Teachers must be aware of cultural differences in paralinguistics to avoid misunderstandings with ESOL students.

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    Paralinguistic Communication: Gestures

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    Simran Sahani
    80 views3 pages
    Paralinguistics refers to non-verbal communication cues like gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, body language, and personal space. [1] These cues can easily be misinterpreted across cultures. [2] For example, a waving gesture means "come here" in Mexico but "hello" in the US, and the OK sign means approval in the US but the evil eye in Brazil. [3] Teachers must be aware of cultural differences in paralinguistics to avoid misunderstandings with ESOL students.

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    Paralinguistics refers to non-verbal communication cues like gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, body language, and personal space. [1] These cues can easily be misinterpreted across cultures. [2] For example, a waving gesture means "come here" in Mexico but "hello" in the US, and the OK sign means approval in the US but the evil eye in Brazil. [3] Teachers must be aware of cultural differences in paralinguistics to avoid misunderstandings with ESOL students.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    80 views3 pages

    Paralinguistic Communication: Gestures

    Uploaded by

    Simran Sahani
    Paralinguistics refers to non-verbal communication cues like gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, body language, and personal space. [1] These cues can easily be misinterpreted across cultures. [2] For example, a waving gesture means "come here" in Mexico but "hello" in the US, and the OK sign means approval in the US but the evil eye in Brazil. [3] Teachers must be aware of cultural differences in paralinguistics to avoid misunderstandings with ESOL students.

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    EB 60 Teaching the ESOL Student in the Mainstream Classroom Module 2 –

    Paralinguistics

    Paralinguistic Communication
    Paralinguistics is the part of communication outside of the words
    themselves – the volume, speed, intonation of a voice along with gestures
    and other non-verbal cues.

    Whenever there is confusion or stereotyping in cross-cultural


    communication, paralinguistics is most often responsible.

    Paralinguistics can be broken down into categories. The following are he


    most important for the classroom.

    • Gestures
    • Facial expressions
    • Eye contact
    • Kinesics or body language
    • Proxemics

    Gestures:

    Gestures are commonly used in the classroom to help convey a message


    to second language learners. Be careful! Gestures have different
    meanings in different cultures.

    Let’s look at a few examples. Here we have someone waving. In the


    United States, waving means a simple hello or goodbye. But in Mexico,
    this simple wave means “come here”. Imagine how confusing that could
    be for students.

    In our next scenario, we are watching a Brazilian woman (on the left)
    talking with an American woman (on the right). The women are
    discussing plans for the evening, and the American woman agrees to the
    plans by showing the OK sign (creating a circle with the thumb and fore
    finger). In the United States, this gesture signals approval, that you agree.
    In Brazil though, it’s the same as giving someone the evil eye.

    (video clips with music showing children in class, different types of


    gestures)

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    EB 60 Teaching the ESOL Student in the Mainstream Classroom Module 2 –
    Paralinguistics

    Facial Expresssions:

    Many facial expressions are universal, such as happiness, sadness, and


    surprise. Others though, are not. When reading a child’s facial
    expressions, a teacher must be careful not to jump to conclusions. How
    cultures use facial expressions differ. For example, Japanese children
    often refrain from showing emotion through facial expression – especially
    negative emotions. Along the same lines, reading eyebrow movement is
    very telling in many cultures. What do your facial expressions
    communicate?

    (video clips with music showing children in class, different types of facial
    expressions)

    Eye Contact:

    Eye contact provides necessary feedback for conversations to take place


    such as turn taking, as well as beginning and ending conversations. The
    amount of eye contact deemed appropriate is very culturally based – too
    much or too little can show boredom, intimidation, or disrespect.

    (video clips with music showing children in class, different types of eye
    contact)

    Kinesics – Body Language:

    Postures give quite a bit of information. Is the listener open or closed to


    the speaker? Is the speaker showing dominance by being at a higher
    level? Are other objects used as a comfort?

    (video clips with music showing children in class, different types of body
    language)

    paraling
    EB 60 Teaching the ESOL Student in the Mainstream Classroom Module 2 –
    Paralinguistics

    Proxemics:

    Each person in each culture has a need for personal space that can vary
    greatly. How far apart do you sit or stand when you talk to a person?
    How do you feel when someone enters your personal space?

    (video clips with music showing children in class, different types of


    proxemic examples)

    What are some common paralinguistic miscues?


    • Talking too loudly is often an American trait seen as a sign of
    aggression or tactless behavior.
    • The British norm of speaking softly can be seen as secretive
    • There is a Japanese proverb that says “Those who know do not
    speak – those who speak do not know.” What would this look like in
    the classroom?
    • In American and Arabic cultures, silence is avoided.

    What effect does this have on your classroom?

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