Iranian EFL Learners’ Attitudes toward the Impact of Nonverbal Parameters upon their Learning Process
محورهای موضوعی : Research in English Language Pedagogy
1 - Department of English, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Gonabad, Gonabad, Iran.
کلید واژه: Attitude, Paralinguistic Cues, EFL learners, Communication, Learning,
چکیده مقاله :
Nonverbal cues include communicative markers like gestures, eye contact, nodding, tone of voice, and intonation among others which are associated and concomitant with language either consciously or unconsciously while playing significant roles in communication. The related literature demonstrates that nonverbal cues have great potential in foreign language learning. In this regard, it was predicted that EFL learners' attitudes toward nonverbal cues could affect their learning process significantly. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted to investigate students' attitudes toward their instructors' use of nonverbal cues in their communication and the extent to which using these elements could facilitate students' learning process. Utilizing a questionnaire as our instrument, we collected data from 50 undergraduate senior students of Linguistics at the University of Gonabad. Our rationale for choosing senior college students was to identify their attitudes toward their instructors' use of nonlinguistic cues since the beginning of their academic career at the university. Our findings revealed that our students had positive attitudes toward teachers' recruitment of nonlinguistic cues in their communication. Moreover, the parameter of gender was not found to affect students' attitudes with both males and females having positive attitudes toward the significance of nonverbal clues in communication. However, the parameter of learners' background experience of utilizing nonverbal clues in their native language was strongly related to their attitude toward EFL learning. Considering the predominant role of nonverbal communication in Iranian EFL settings, it was recommended that their recruitment in English teaching be taken more seriously.
Adli, N. (2020). Exploring English as a foreign language teachers’ use of paralinguistic features to facilitate pupils’ vocabulary acquisition: A case study of first-year middle school EFL pupils in Biskra [Master’s thesis, The University of Biskara]. https://archives.univ-biskra.dz/bitstream/123456789/16024/1/Adl.
Allen, D. (1992). Oxford Placement Test 1: Marking Kit with User's Guide and Diagnostic Key. Oxford University Press.
Allen, L. Q. (2000). Nonverbal accommodations in foreign language teacher talk. Applied Language Learning, 11(1), 155-76.
Ardila, M. A. C. (2013). Exploring factors affecting listening skills and their implications for the development of communicative competence: A case study. Opening Writing Doors Journal, 10(2), 54-92.
Arifani, Y., & Suryanti, S. (2019). The influence of male and female ESP teachers' creativity toward learners' involvement. International Journal of Instruction, 12(1), 237-250.
Birdwhistell, R. L. (1974). The language of the body: The natural environment of words. Human Communication: Theoretical Explorations, 27-52.
Brown, G. (2017). Listening to Spoken English. Routledge.
Chiêm, M. H. (2018). A study on how non-verbal communication should be used for success in English-speaking classes at HPU [Doctoral dissertation, Đại học Dân lập Hải Phòng].
Choudhury, M. H. (2013). Teaching culture in EFL: Implications, challenges, and strategies. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 13(1), 20-24.
Cooper, T., Tsukada, A., Naruse, Y., & Yamaguchi, A. (2013). What about Non-verbal Communication? Teaching Total Communication in EFL Lessons. In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 2054-2058). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Esposito, A. (2007). Nonverbal communication as a factor in linguistic and cultural miscommunication. Fundamentals of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication and the Biometric Issue, 18, 82.
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2003). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference. 11.0 update (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Gregersen, T. (2011). Suprasegmentals: Tools for increased language teacher effectiveness. In J. A. Arabski & A. W. Wojtaszek (Eds.), The Acquisition of L2 Phonology (pp. 159-164). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847693761-013
Jaramillo, Y. P. (2013). Haptics and proxemics: Important paralinguistic features to empower teacher-student interaction (Doctoral dissertation, Universidad Austral de Chile).
Khalifa, E. M., & Faddal, H. (2017). Impacts of using paralanguage on teaching and learning the English language to convey effective meaning. Studies in English Language Teaching, 5(2), 295-306.
Langat, A. C. (2015). Students’ attitudes and their effects on learning and achievement in Mathematics: A Case study of public secondary schools in Kiambu County, Kenya. Unpublished a Research Project, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education of Kenyatta University. Available online also at: https://ir-library. ku. ac. ke/bitstream/handle/123456789/10911/Students.
Manusov, V. (2017). 11. A cultured look at nonverbal cues. In Intercultural communication (pp. 239-260). De Gruyter Mouton.
Mensah, J. K., Okyere, M., & Kuranchie, A. (2013). Student attitude towards mathematics and performance: Does the teacher's attitude matter. Journal of Education and Practice, 4(3), 132-139.
Mraoui, R. (2020). The Contribution of Paralinguistic Features in Improving EFL Learners’ Conversational Skills during Oral Expression Sessions: Case Study of Second Year Students of English in Mohamed Khider University of Biskra.
Mustafa, F., & Robillos, R. J. (2020). Propersamplesizesfor English language testing: A simple statistical analysis. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 8(4), 442-452. https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2020.8443
Pennycook, A. (1985). Actions speak louder than words: Paralanguage, communication, and education. Tesol Quarterly, 19(2), 259-282.
Prastiwi, A. I. (2018). The role of students’ attitude toward EFL learning processes in their achievements. English Language Teaching Journal, 7(4), 265-274.
Quinlisk, C. C. (2008). Nonverbal communication, gesture, and second language classrooms: A review. Second Language Acquisition and Classroom Research, 25(2), 56-72.
Renandya, W. A. (2013). Essential factors affecting EFL learning outcomes. English Teaching, 68(4), 23-41
Teng, F. (2020). The role of meta-cognitive knowledge and regulation in mediating university EFL learners’ writing performance. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 14(5), 436-450.
Uştuk, Ö., & Aydın, S. (2018). The effects of the use of paralinguistic cues on foreign language anxiety among English as a foreign language speaker. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 12(3), 289-302.
Wang, N. (2009). Inquiry into cultivating intercultural nonverbal communicative competence in college English teaching. US-China Foreign Language, 7(4), 57-63
Yang, P. (2015). Intercultural nonverbal communication competence: Meeting body language challenges in facilitating and working with students from culturally diverse backgrounds in the Australian higher education context. Journal of Communications Research, 7(1).
