2.

COMMUNICATION IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: VER-

BAL AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION. EXTRALINGUISTIC STRATE-
GIES: NON-VERBAL REACTIONS TO MESSAGES IN DIFFERENT CON-
TEXTS.

1. Introduction

2. Communication in the foreign language classroom

2.1. Communication

2.1.1. Elements and functions of the communicative act

2.1.2. Communicative competence

2.1.3. Elements that might hinder communication

2.2. Verbal communication

2.2.1. Verbal language: oral and written language

2.2.2. Oral language

2.2.3. Written language

2.3. Non verbal communication

2.3.1. Some aspects of non verbal communication

2.3.2. Areas of non verbal communication

3. Extralinguistic strategies: non-verbal reactions to messages in different con-

texts

3.1. Non-verbal communication: some categories

3.2. Non-verbal reactions to messages in the EFL classroom

3.3. Some activities based on the use of non-verbal reactions

4. Conclusions

1
2. COMMUNICATION IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: VER-
BAL AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION. EXTRALINGUISTIC STRATE-
GIES: NON-VERBAL REACTIONS TO MESSAGES IN DIFFERENT CON-
TEXTS.

‘Good communication is as stimulating

as black coffee and just as hard to
sleep after.’
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 'Gift From the Sea'

1. Introduction

According to the Organic Law 8/2013, December 9 th, speaking foreign langua-
ges is important for sociological, educational, cognitive, professional or affective
reasons. It justifies the advice of the EU to speak two foreign languages: one
used as an international means of communication and one of a nearby country.

In order to achieve this aim, different measures are being taken in the European
Union. In Andalusia, the Plurilingual Plan is being developed and the implemen-
tation of a communicative approach in the teaching learning processes that take
place in the Andalusian educational centres is being recommended.

Communication among humans is a basic need and a complex phenomenon.

However, human beings not only use linguistic signs but a non-verbal code as
well to convey meaning. That’s why we’ll have to include both the linguistic and
non-linguistic codes in our lessons.

2. Communication in the foreign language classroom

2.1. Communication

Communication is the process of exchanging information and it's something ab-

solutely basic for human beings. Language is the basic human means of com-
munication. In fact, it is so important that Crystal (1997: 402) proposed a chan-
ge in the term used to define the mankind: ‘The ...... complexity of language is
such a distinctive human trait that many scholars think the designation of homo
loquens (‘speaking man’) to be a better way of identifying the species’. Most of
human communication is oral and its command is fundamental for the acquisi-
tion of the language. However, surprisingly, a relevant percentage of all commu-
nication is non-verbal communication too.

2.1.1. Elements and functions of the communicative act

There are different models to explain / classify the essential elements of com-
munication. One of the most popular ones was proposed by Jakobson (1960):

 context: The situation in which the addresser and the addressee are;
 message: Contents or information sent to the addressee by the addresser;
 addressee: The person who decodifies or interpret the received message;
2
 addresser: It can be an instrument, an animal or a person. The message will
be codified and the convenient signals will be chosen;
 code: It is an arbitrary, limited and extensive mixture of signs and signals
combined by sender / receiver following established rules; and,
 contact: It is the means by which the signs and signals are transmitted. The
message goes through this channel;

These elements are related to the functions fulfilled by the communicative acts.

Many linguists have tried to identify these communicative functions. Malinowski

established (1923) three: cognition (relating information), expression (indicating
mood) and conation (exerting influence). Halliday (1970) considered the ideatio-
nal, interpersonal and textual functions. Britton (1970) made a difference bet-
ween the expressive, the transactional and the poetic function.

Jakobson (1960) listed six functions: expressive (conveying someone's

feelings), phatic (establishing or cutting contact), poetic (the aesthetics of the
message), conative (attracting the listener’s attention), metalinguistic (the
language being used to talk about language) and referential (a message
referred to the specific or abstract external reality).

2.1.2. Communicative competence

Language is a dynamic, social and interactive phenomenon in which meaning is

conveyed by the exchange of single sentences and other complex elements
such as the purpose of the speaker. The communicative competence is the
ability to use the language to communicate effectively in daily-life situations.

The Order of March 17th, 2015, in which the curriculum of the primary educa-
tion in Andalusia is developed, and the Royal Decree 126/2014, February 28th,
which establishes the basic curriculum of the Primary Education, explain that
the acquisition of the communicative competence is a basic aspect of the edu-
cative process. Therefore, the desired final result of the language learning pro-
cess is the pupils' achievement of the ability to communicate competently al-
though, perhaps, not with the ability a native speaker does.

The communicative process involves the application of different cognitive pro-

cesses (Skehan, 1998). It implies learning linguistic notions and functions and
how they work in a social context, how to compensate for communicative break-
downs, and how to enhance effective discourse structure recognition, activating
background knowledge or tolerating ambiguity. According to Canale and Swain
(1980) the development of the communicative competence includes different
communicative subcompetences:

 linguistic competence: Morphology and Syntax;

 sociolinguistic competence: The way grammatical forms can be used to
convey specific communicative functions;
 discourse competence: Cohesion and coherence in the text; and,

3
 strategic competence: Verbal and non-verbal communication used to com-
pensate breakdowns in communication.

The Royal Decree 1006/1992, June 14th, added the socio-cultural.

2.1.3. Elements that might hinder communication

Language is a powerful vehicle of communication. Human language is infinitely

flexible because it can create new words to describe new situations and objects.
But communication is not always successful. Some examples of the multiple
barriers that might hinder the process we are describing are these:

 anxiety. The implementation of the communicative approach might cause

anxiety unless we provide a warm, emotional classroom atmosphere;
 language. Problems due to language complexity can be avoided by studying
our students' previous knowledge and adapting their linguistic difficulties;
 time lag. The students will have to get used to face situations such as exis-
ting intervals of time between two related phenomena;
 politics. Different issues such as cultural values, government policies and
events such as political conflicts or even wars are elements to be
considered;
 physical barriers. Barriers such as a background noise or an element that
interrupts eye to eye contact might hinder the communicative process; and,
 the emotional element. The possible frustration many people feel when lear-
ning a FL might interfere in our students' learning process.

The EFL classroom is a place where students develop communicative compe-

tence. Thus, our main aim regarding the students' learning process should be
them to learn to communicate in the FL, favouring its instrumental usage. All the
elements should be controlled to overcome possible communicative obstacles.

2.2. Verbal communication

Language is the basic means by which people communicate (although not the
only one). It is one of the child’s most natural and impressive accomplishments.
Children learn by imitating, but this is not the only way. Language is a creative
process that implies producing chunks of words never heard before (LAD). The-
refore, we can state that children learn the language through interaction and
through the development of the thinking abilities. Developing these abilities is a
complex process. Children begin to produce more or less complex sentences
by the age of four. When they start attending pre-school, they can understand
basic messages and express basic ideas. We cannot predict when the develop-
ment of other aspects of language will take place.

2.2.1. Verbal language: oral and written language

4
Language has a series of properties which differentiate it from all other commu-
nicative options. According to Yule (1985):
 it fulfils two different functions: Communicative versus informative;
 it can refer to events / things not present in the environment: Displacement;
 it lacks a natural connection between linguistic form / meaning: Arbitrariness;
 it is infinitely flexible, allowing a continuous production: Productivity;
 it is learned instead of biologically inherited: Cultural transmission; and,
 it is based on the use of sounds meaningfully distinct: Discreteness.

This human resource to communicate messages is also influenced by several

psychological factors, like, for example, the desire to communicate, comprehen-
sion, expression, personality factors and limitations of expression.

Language includes an oral and a written version. They're quite different. Accor-
ding to Ferraro and Palmer (www.mtholyoke.edu) ‘Speeches are genuinely dif-
ferent from written prose, and one should not use the logic of writing as a basis
for writing a speech.’ Some of their differences:

ORAL LANGUAGE WRITTEN LANGUAGE

It is immensely ancient
It is the primary form of language
It is universal among humans
It dies without trace
Phonetic and auditory problems
Takes place quickly and automatically
It is comparatively recent
It is the secondary form of language
It is not universal among humans
It dies but leaves traces.
Handwriting and spelling problems
Time for reflection and correction

As a consequence, when we organise the foreign language teaching learning

process we have to approach the oral and the written language in different
ways. Traditionally, from the educational point of view, oral language was
considered less important than written language but nowadays there are a lot of
reasons to consider the importance of oral language and even of non-verbal
elements for a successful communicative process to take place. Teaching the
oral language is more complex than teaching the written language. In oral
language we have to treat phonic and prosodic features of speech (rhythm and
intonation) and it is produced quickly, automatically and subjective. Oral and
written interaction in-volve the use of both receptive and productive skills.
Students should learn in a balanced way the different skills together.

2.2.2. Oral language

Oral language is the most universal and natural form of communication. Human
language is mainly oral. Children learn to speak before they start attending
school. Oral language is a system with four components (Lindfors, 1987):
5
 the phonological component (rules for combining sounds);
 the semantic component (words are the combination of morphemes);
 the syntactic component (rules to combine morphemes into sentences); and,
 the pragmatic level (correct use of sentences according to the context).

Teaching the oral skills in the primary education implies learning to identify the
general meaning in short and easy oral texts in which simple structures and an
accessible vocabulary belonging to a standard language are used, and partici-
pating in short conversations about familiar topics in neutral/informal registers.
To do that, pupils will learn how to distinguish sound, accentual, rhythmic and
basic intonation patterns and recognize general communicative meanings and
intentions related to them. Besides, they will learn to recognize and use a limi-
ted repertoire of high frequency oral vocabulary related to their needs and inte-
rests. Pupils should also learn how to manage basic syntactic structures al-
though they make mistakes.

Apart from these elements, children will get familiar with a great variety of signs
(body language, musical signs, sign language, etc) that make possible the pro-
duction and comprehension of messages. Equally important are the basic, and
specific socio-cultural and sociolinguistic aspects of the language.

According to Brown and Yule (1983): ‘Spoken language production, learning to

talk in the FL is often considered to be one of the most difficult aspects of lan-
guage learning for the teacher to help student with’. There are two big groups of
techniques and activities to practise oral communication in our classroom:

 practice of monologues: exposition / explanation, description, narration and

argument.
 practise of oral interaction: conversation, dramatization and interview or sur-
vey.

When implementing all these techniques we can't forget that there are two ma-
jor types of verbal interaction within the classroom: student-to-student interac-
tion (activities based on dialogues, poetry and drama encourage students to
acquire the language) and teacher-to-student interaction.

2.2.3. Written language

Written and oral language use the same code but function in different ways.
Mastering the written language is difficult. This is what Celce-Murcia confirms
(1991, 233): ‘The ability to express one’s ideas in the written form in a second
or foreign language and to do so with reasonable accuracy and coherence is a
major achievement.’

The written language shows some specific features. The interlocutor is not pre-
sent when we write; thus, there is a lack of feedback. Writ-ten language lacks
paralinguistic features and is by far less expressive than oral language. Howe-
ver, from a logical and structural point of view written it is better organized,

6
allows continuous revision and reflection and has a much higher grammatical
complexity and lexical density.
Primary pupils should get familiar with some strategies in order to learn how to
use the FL in a communicative way: Learning to identify the general meaning,
main ideas and specific information in a simple, standard language and using a
lexicon of high frequency to refer to familiar subject matters, and constructing,
on paper or electronically, very short, simple texts, composed of simple isolated
phrases, in a neutral or informal register, using basic spelling conventions and
major punctuation. Besides, pupils should recognize the basic punctuation
marks and frequently used symbols. Pupils should also distinguish the principal
communicative functions (e.g, greeting, requesting information) included in the
most basic speech patterns (short letters, descriptions, etc).

Apart from these elements, children will have to get familiar with the basic ortho-
graphic conventions. Getting to know the basic, specific and significant socio-
cultural and sociolinguistic aspects of the FL and the most basic key communi-
cative conventions is important regarding the written skills too.

Writing cannot substitute for speech, nor speech for writing. Learning to write a
language is important because, on the one hand, it reinforces the learning of
oral communication. On the other hand, it turns out to be necessary to have a
good mastery of the language provided we need to read and write in real life.

As well as in the case of oral communication, when practising written communi-

cation we can distinguish between two big groups of techniques and activities:
The practice of monologues, which includes techniques similar to the ones to be
implemented when approaching the oral techniques, and the practice of written
interaction, which is nowadays much easier than it Communicative writing plays
a valuable part in the English class when practising activities like reading / wri-
ting instructions, short messages or letters, writing questionnaires (quizzes,
puzzles, TV programmes, etc), filling in forms (activities frequent in real life),
communicative games (find mistakes, etc.), project work.

3. Non verbal communication

3.1. Some aspects of non verbal communication

The use of non-verbal resources is a defining characteristic of the oral

language. Non-verbal communication serves 3 main functions: speakers and
hearers con-vey their mood and interpersonal feelings, supports the verbal
message and provides feedback. Non-verbal communication tends to be
relatively ambiguous and open to interpretation, but it is an essential part of the
language behaviour.

One of its most significant characteristics is that, as language itself is culturally-

dependant. Every language has its own non-verbal resources to communicate
different meanings, which vary from culture to culture and may be in the origin
of some confusions. However, some of them are universal: smiles, laughter and
sour expressions. There are also differences according to gender and age.

7
Non-verbal communication can sometimes be conscious or voluntary but invo-
luntary or unconscious too. Hearers or speakers use body language to show
they are shocked, embarrassed or amused. On the other hand, we can also use
non-verbal reaction in a more conscious manner as to reinforce a message or
to attract somebody’s attention.

As Abercrombie said: ‘… We speak with our vocal organs, but we converse with
our entire bodies … : the use of spoken language cannot be properly under-
stood unless paralinguistic elements are taken into account’ (1968: 55).

3.2. Areas of non verbal communication

Non-verbal communication includes different areas:

 kinesics. This area refers to facial expression, gestures and movements. So-
me examples are:

o personal space: This category refers to the distance which people feel
comfortable approaching others or having others approach them;
o eye contact: It is essential when establishing rapport;

o facial expressions: The face is more highly developed as an organ of

expression in humans than any other living being;
o gesture: They can be used to replace verbal communication and have
different meanings in different cultures;
 proxemics. This category refers to positioning, orientation and space and
physical contact (greetings, congratulations, insulting,…)

o position: Together with distance and the angle of eye contact;

o posture: It communicates a rich variety of messages;

o touch: People have different areas of personal intimacy. So, touching

communicates a great deal of information;
o locomotion: The style of physical movement in space;

 paralinguistics. Non-lexical vocal communication includes tone and feedback

sounds which may show agreement, impatience, annoyance or surprise:

o inflection (rising, falling, flat,…);

o pacing (rapid, slow, measured, changing,…);

o intensity (loud, soft, breathy,…);

o tone (nasal, winning,…);

o pitch (high, medium low, changes,…);

8
 o pauses (meaningful, disorganized, shy, hesitant,…); and,

 adornment: Our communication is also affected by variables, such as clo-

thes, make-up and accessories, related to context, status and individuality.
4. Extralinguistic strategies: non-verbal reactions to messages in diffe-
rent contexts

4.1. Non-verbal communication: some categories

Non-verbal and verbal communication are normally inseparable. They are also
continuous: it is possible to stop talking, but it is generally not possible to stop
non-verbal cues. Non-verbal communication is strongly related to verbal com-
munication as non-verbal cues substitute for, contradict, emphasize, or regulate
verbal messages. When human beings communicate, most of the process is
based on the use of non-verbal communication. An important part of communi-
cation comes through other non-verbal elements which include gesture,
posture, facial expression… When verbal and non-verbal contradict, we tend to
believe the non-verbal. It seems more difficult to manipulate.

Non-verbal communication may be divided into the following four categories:

 physical: This is a personal type of communication including facial expres-

sions, tone of voice, sense of touch, sense of smell and body motions;
 aesthetic: This is the type of communication that takes place through crea-
tive expressions: playing instrumental music, dancing, painting,…;
 signs: This is the mechanical type of communication, which includes the use
of signal, flags, horns and sirens, and
 symbolic: This is the type of communication that makes use of religious, sta-
tus or ego-building symbols.

4.2. Non-verbal reactions to messages in the EFL classroom

Current legislation, as we said before, refer to the importance of the students'

development of the communicative competence using all the resources availa-
ble to them, and it clearly includes the use of extra-linguistic strategies.

The use of extra-linguistic devices help speakers to cope with difficulties when
communicating. They are problem-oriented, and look for a short term answer.
Teachers and learners share non-verbal codes. Teachers usually make use of
an efficient systems of gestures to deal with aspects of classroom management.
Gestures for 'work in pairs', 'open your books' or 'listen and write' are universal,
while individual teachers have personal repertoires involving systems for ins-
tructions, correction and management.

As Darn (2005) points out, the effective use of non-verbal cues assists in a wide
range of classroom practices by adding an extra and necessary dimension to
the language:

9
 reducing unnecessary teacher talking time;
 increasing learner participation;
 stimulating confidence building;
 reducing fear of silence;
 helping to provide clear instructions;
 promoting efficient classroom management;
 enriching classroom atmosphere;
 activating listening skills;
 improving performance in pair and group activities;
 enhancing self and peer correction;
 avoiding misunderstandings; and,
 fomenting intercultural competences.

4.3. Some activities based on the use of non-verbal reactions

Most of the non-verbal strategies used by primary school EFL learners will be
compensating strategies and they will be used in oral interaction. From the ear-
liest stages of FL acquisition, learners may use non-verbal devices to express
messages and show their understanding of messages by physically responding
to orders, directions, requests, questions or words of a song, pointing to objects
and drawings, sequencing or ordering elements or drawing. In addition, EFL
learners employ non-verbal strategies when they interact to ask for repetitions
or clarification, or to show they do not agree, or they do not know an answer…
Some communicative activities based on the use of non-verbal devices and
techniques which are part of the different classroom procedures:

 one of the most extended activities in classrooms is pantomimes, acting out

a scene which is represented through body language which can be used to
elicit oral or written language;
 techniques like those from the Total Physical Response method or from the
Silent Way, such as the use of Cuisenaire rods, colours and charts, are also
quite used in many EFL lessons; and,
 other techniques which include the discussion of the meaning of gestures
and expressions after the watching of a video without sound or the acting
out of a dialogue using gesture and expression only.

5. Conclusions

We are living in a world that constantly changes. In this context new solutions
are needed continuously. The knowledge of humanity doubles every fifteen
years nowadays. It implies that most of what we teach our pupils and most of

10
what they learn will probably be useless and outdated in that period of time. It
also implies that we have to change the way we organise the teaching-learning
processes in schools to provide our pupils with all they need to continue
learning all-life long following the EU recommendations. Learning foreign lan-
guages in a communicative way is one of these needs.
Language is an important code for communication, but not the only one. The
ability to communicate in a foreign language includes the use of verbal and non-
verbal communication. That is why when learning the language we’ll have to
consider the use of kinesics, proxemics and paralinguistic elements in order to
help our pupils to achieve a communicative efficiency in the communicative pro-
cesses they get involved. The only way to achieve that purpose is to use both
the verbal and non-verbal components of the foreign language in a communica-
tive and emotionally rewarding classroom atmosphere.

11
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