nghiên cứu giao văn hóa việt mỹ về hành vi phi ngôn từ của giáo viên dạy tiếng anh khi tương tác với sinh viên việt nam

Therefore, Vietnamese - Anglophone cross – cultural studies of English language teachers nonverbal behaviour in interacting with their Vietnamese students appear vital’and useful in this

Part I - INTRODUCTION

I Rationale

Since 1986, when the open - door policy and doi moi began to be applied in

Vietnam, the country and its people have witnessed significant changes in many aspects oflife People from other countries have started to come in with investments The presence ofmultinationals in Vietnam, in particular, has created an appetite for learning English andcommunicating in the language In the light of globalization, language and communicationcannot be separated from our daily lives (Marley, 2001)

It is omnipresent that, in communication, we express our emotions and attitudes morenonverbally than verbally One study in Anglophone countries showed that in thecommunication of attitude, 93 percent of the message was transmitted by the tone of thevoice and by facial expressions, whereas only seven percent of the speaker’s attitude wastransmitted by words Birdwhistell (1997), who deserves most credit for awakening interest

in serious nonverbal studies, has also estimated that at most only about 30 percent of what iscommunicated in a conversation is verbal People observe us to see HOW we are sayingthings and what we are DOING, more than they actually LISTEN to the WORDS used If wesmile, they relax and smile; if we scowl at them, they tense up and become defensive.Likewise, if we stand rigidly behind, tether ourselves to the lectern and scarcely move, theybecome rigid – physically and mentally

Hence it is safe to assume that non - verbal behaviour is undeniably important in communication, within a culture and across cultures.

Considering the facts given above, we can see that in English languageclassrooms, teachers frequently conduct direct communication, which serves as afundamental skill not only in university teaching but in real life as well Among the manydirect communication forms, making presentations, delivering speeches and explanations,giving lectures, reports and briefings in class have become a compulsory part of teachers'tasks Nonverbal behaviour including gesture, posture, facial expression, gaze, anddistance is tightly weaved in all these skills There are various chances or occasions whenVietnamese learners of English are taught by native teachers, and Vietnamese teachersattend or observe their classes It is for this reason that both Vietnamese learners andteachers of English should develop a thorough understanding of non – verbal behaviourperformed by native teachers of English While a case may be made that they will graspthe meaning and the use of native speakers’ nonverbal behaviour after extensive andprolonged exposure to the target culture, perhaps through immersion in the host culture,this is a luxury enjoyed by only a small minority of language learners and teachers MostVietnamese foreign language learners and teachers may never have the chance to observeand absorb the subtle nuances of non - verbal communication at first hand

Therefore, Vietnamese - Anglophone cross – cultural studies of English language teachers nonverbal behaviour in interacting with their Vietnamese students appear vital’

and useful in this way.

Furthermore, the relationship between the Social Republic of Vietnam and theUnited States has been enhanced with the expansion of mutual concern whereas failure incommunication due to culture shock, cultural conflicts, communication breakdown, etc.has been reported in recent research works

For those reasons stated, ‘a Vietnamese – American cross – cultural American cross – American cross – cultural cultural study of English language teachers’ nonverbal behaviour in INTERACTING WITH THEIR Vietnamese STUDENTS ’ is deemed academically and practically worthwhile.

ii Objectives of the study

The research is conducted with the objectives of

a Investigating the frequency of nonverbal behaviour performance of American andVietnamese teachers of English and specific situations in which teachers use thenonverbal cues in interacting with their Vietnamese students

b Comparing and contrasting nonverbal behaviour in the two cultures in order toclarify the similarities and differences in the way Vietnamese and Americanteachers of English perform nonverbal behaviour in interacting with theirVietnamese students, setting forth a number of underlying cultural factors that ruleover these similarities and differences as well as the way they affect the Englishlanguage teaching process in Vietnam in the view of the thesis writer herself

c Contributing to raising cross – cultural awareness of Vietnamese students andteachers of English of potential areas of culture shock and cross –culturalcommunication breakdown in interacting with American teachers of English inparticular and American communicating partners as a whole

iii scope of the study

The study of the nonverbal behaviour of American and Vietnamese teachers ofEnglish is merely confined to classroom interaction with Vietnamese students Americanteachers surveyed are those who have been teaching English in Vietnam for a certainamount of time Vietnamese teachers are all from Division I – English Department -College of Foreign Languages – Vietnam National University They are equivalentlyteaching pre – intermediate leveled students

The paper is intended to cover three factors of non – verbal behaviour namely eyecontact, posture and distance

The situations to be discussed are the most common and typical ones in classroomsetting and they are generalized into the four following situations:

 You are lecturing on a topic or giving instructions

 When organizing group - work or pair work for students, you are sitting down

with one group or one pair and joining the activity they are doing

 Students do not understand your points and raise questions

 Students are doing their presentations

iv methodology

The major method to be employed is quantitative Additionally, contrastive analysis is used All the considerations, comments and conclusions in the thesis are

therefore largely based on the following methods:

 Reference to relevant home and foreign publications in both primary andsecondary research,

 Survey questionnaires,

 Statistics, descriptions, and analysis of the collected and selected data,

 Personal observations and experience,

 Consultations with supervisor,

 Discussions with Vietnamese and foreign colleagues

v Design of the study

This study consists of three major parts

Part I: Introduction

I Rationale

II Aims of the study

III Scope of the study

IV Methodology

V Design of the study

Part II: Development

Chapter I: Theoretical Preliminaries

Chapter II: Nonverbal Behaviour in Focus

Chapter III: Research Design

Chapter IV: Data Analysis and Findings

Part III: CONCLUSION

I Summary of main findings

II Implications for the avoidance of culture shock and cross – cultural

communication breakdown

III Suggestions for further research

Part II - Development

CHAPTER 1 - THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES

1.1 Culture

1.1.1 What Culture?

In considering the term Culture, scholars and linguists have based their conclusions on

many different criteria and arrived at different definitions which can be classified into onegroup or more

To a language teacher and in this thesis also, theories and definitions of culture whichidentify culture on grounds of establishing and emphasizing on one or more constitutingfactors of culture itself are believed to be the fittest working definitions because theyillustrate the relationship among social members or social groups, their communication andbehaviour

In the first place, UNESCO (1996:108) launches the formal definition focusing on the

character of culture as follows ‘Culture is a set of symbolic systems which regulate the behaviour and enable the mutual communication of a plurality of people, establishing them into particular and instinct community.’

Ferrando (1996:18) considers Culture according to the nature of human beings’

possession, perception and action: Culture is everything that one has, thinks, and does as a member of a society

Figure 1 - 1 Ferrando s definition of culture’

Levine and Adelman (1993:58), on the other hand, look at the visible and invisible

nature of constituting factors of culture The definition they put forth may be the most

imaginative definition of all In their view, as for an iceberg, we can hardly see most of the influence of culture on an individual The risen part of culture is not always which that causes difficulties in cross – culture; the hidden aspects of culture exert meaningful influences on one s behaviour and interaction with others ’

Realizatio n

Perceptio n

CULTURE Possessio

n

Figure 1 - 2 Levine and Adelman’s definition of culture

As a matter of fact, various definitions of culture reflect different theoretical concepts ofwhat culture is It is, however, necessary for the researcher to adopt one that best guide her

study Therefore, the thesis author finds the definition offered by Sikkema and Niyekawa

(1987: 27) useful because of its influence on communication Culture is defined as the sum

of total ways of living, including values, beliefs, esthetic standards, linguistic expressions, patterns of thinking, behaviour norm and style of communication which a group of people has developed to assure its survival in a particular physical and human environment

A number of researchers, for example, Robinson (1985: 9) and Samovar, Porter and

Stefani (1997: 36) also share their view when they hold that culture is a concept referring

to ways of acting, believing, valuing and thinking which are shared by members of acommunity (social group) and which are transmitted to the next generation When people

of a community communicate with people of other cultures, their culture will shape thecommunication

It can be seen from the definition that culture is viewed as a process of transactionrather than as a body of facts, which puts forth a convincing argument for introducingculture into second, or foreign language learning The writer is personally interested in thisdefinition as among different cultural descriptions, those factors clearly shown to affectintercultural and cross - cultural communication are absolutely the main concerns ofclassroom practices in second and foreign language

1.1.2 Characteristics of Culture

It is undoubted that there are various ways in identifying the characteristics of culture

However, most researchers including Nguyen Quang (forthcoming: 19) generally agree on

the six - characteristics paradigm as follows

Language

Food Appearance Values Beliefs

Attitudes Perceptions

Communication style Taboos

Customs

Traditions

 Culture is not innate, but a product of the process of acquisition

 Culture is able to be propagated widely

 Culture is dynamic

 Culture is optional

 Culture is a perfect whole with intertwined and related factors

 Culture is ethnocentric

1.1.3 Place of Culture in English Language Teaching in Vietnam

As mentioned from the very beginning of the research, English has regained itsposition of importance from Russian and French after suffering years of neglect Englishschools and centres have been mushrooming all over the country, especially in Ho ChiMinh City and Hanoi, the two most populous cities in Vietnam

In the light of globalisation, language and culture cannot be separated from our daily

lives (Marley, 1996:17) It is also undeniable that language plays an essential role in the perpetuation of culture (Kramsch, 2000:52) Therefore, an overview of how cultural

factors affect the learning and teaching of English in Vietnam should undoubtedly be

included in this research Towards this end, the influence of Confucianism and more modern philosophies needs to be investigated to get a picture of the classroom culture in which the target language is taught and learnt, as language needs to be understood within

the particular context in which it is used (Pennycook, 1997:35)

To elaborate on the current situation of learning and teaching English, the thesis authorwill address two issues concerning the effects of Confucianism: the traditional method ofteaching and the implementation of communicative language teaching (CLT)

 The Vietnamese people have a long tradition of appreciation of educational

achievements However, Tong (2000:46) points out that the remaining traditions do not

always represent the most beautiful aspects of the people but may contain elements to hinder progress and create inappropriate attitudes toward improvement One aspect of this

tradition is reflected in the hierarchy of both the society and education systems

The highest institute of education is the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET),which decides all the activities of the whole education system School authorities, teachersand students have almost no power at all Their success is usually assessed by the results ofexams and passing exams shows their mastery of knowledge Respect paid to teachers isanother piece of evidence of how Confucianism has left its stamp on classroom culture

Phuoc (1975, cited in Ellis, 1995:10) notes that ‘the Confucian model is teacher –

centered, closed, suspicious of creativity, and predicated on an unquestioning obedience from the students.’ The compulsory book recitation in the old days accounts for the

popularity of the translation and grammar method in learning and teaching English today

Ellis (1995:58) writes that teaching and learning styles are mainly decided by the

value orientations of a particular society He believes that communicative activities,

unfamiliar to Vietnamese learners, may not be welcome Other researchers, such as Le

(1999:69), report that Vietnam is where English is taught as a decontextualised subject.

These researchers point out that choral repetition is a common practice and learners avoidinterrupting, asking for clarification, or challenging each other

 So far it seems that Vietnam is not a hospitable environment for thecommunicative approach Nevertheless, a closer look at the situation presents a differentview While it is true that the grammar translation method is considered the basis forEnglish teaching and learning, C.L.T, since first implemented in the early of 1990s, hasgained certain favourable approval

Although Jones (1995:102) observes that the culture of traditional Vietnamese

education insists on quiet and subservient students, in another article, he points out that

East Asian students are willing to take part in discussions within groups (Jones, 1995,

cited in Littlewood, 1999:55) Pair and group work creates enough confidence for even

weak students to join in following class discussion This conforms with the concept of

individualism and collectivism in the findings of Hofstede (1991:24) Working in groups to

achieve their goal gives Vietnamese learners a supportive relationship while striving for thetarget language competence

The shift toward a new way of learning with more opportunity to use the targetlanguage, not only in the classroom but also in reality has brought a livelier atmosphere

to learning and teaching English in Vietnam More language centres inside big cities

now cater to more and more students living in the suburbs One of the reasons these students go such a long distance for their English studies is because they believe these

centres can provide them with more communicative courses (Le Tran Hong Phuc,

interview, 2001- an extract from the Internet)

The need to use English in actual communicative contexts is beginning to emerge

as learners realize that the traditional learning and teaching styles do not help them

communicate with foreigners, both native and nonnative speakers of English ‘ The way English was learned and taught at high school did not help me to speak and understand

English at work’ (Phuc, interview, 2001- an extract from the Internet)

Development in the society brings forth the demand of using English in the workplace, especially in the field of computer and research sciences Another factor thaturges learners to alter their traditional aversion to communicative learning is the annualavailability of scholarships This altogether means the need for the application andenhancement of C.L.T in English teaching and learning

Generally speaking, due to the culture influenced by the Confucian ideology,Vietnamese education still heavily centers around the traditional, grammar- translation

centred methods Although there have signals of CLT approval, it is not adequate toconfirm that CLT is so far the most successful method in Vietnam However, knowing thatthere is still a long way to go, it is justifiable to take an optimistic view of learning andteaching English in Vietnam

1.2 Communication

1.2.1 What Communication?

There have been a great number of studies by scholars and linguists on communicationwho agree on one point that communication is an interactive or transactive process.However, they hold different points of view so they give out various ways of classifyingand defining the term Their definitions therefore have different emphases and factors The definition may focus on the meaning of the conveyed message According to

Rudolph, F Verderber (1989:4) , ‘communication may be defined as the transactional process of creating meaning A transactional process is one in which those persons communicating are mutually responsible for what occurs.’

In Saville – Troike ’s words (1986:9), ‘communication is also considered the process

of sharing or exchanging information between people both verbally and non – verbally.’

It can easily be seen from this definition that the writers concentrate more on theinformation sent rather than anything else

Saundra Hybels and Richard L Weaver H (1992:5) have a different identification of

communication, which says ‘Communication is any process in which people share information, ideas, and feelings that involve not only the spoken and written words but also body language, personal mannerisms and style, the surrounding and things that add meaning to a message.’ This is perhaps the most comprehensive out of the three definitions

because it focuses altogether on the information, concept, attitude and emotion of themessage sent

In terms of communication categories, Toth (1997: 6) argues that ‘communication can

take place in many different ways Generally speaking, two categories of communication can be defined The first is verbal communication; that is communication using language and speech to share or exchange information The second is non – verbal communication: that is communication without the use of language but depending rather

on other channels such as body language, eye contact, physical appearance, attitude distance and physical contact.’

Sharing the same perspective, Nguyen Quang (2004: 292) stresses upon the

components of verbal communication and non – verbal communication The followingdiagram can be highly regarded as a scientific and generalised source of approach tocommunication in its crucial interrelationship with language and culture (figure 1 - 3).

Environmental language Object language

Lexicon

Rules of grammar

Rules of phonetics

Rules of language use

and interaction skills

Vocal characteristics+ Pitch

+ Volume+ RateTypes of vocal qualityVocal interferencesSilence

Gifts

SettingConversational distances/ ProxemicsTime/ ChronemicsLighting systemColour

Heat

Figure 1 – 3: Nguyen Quang’s diagram of communication components (2004)

1.2.2 Elements of Communication

Many researchers like Rudolph F Verderber (1989:5), Saundra Hybels and Richard

L Weaver II (1992: 6) meet at one point that the communication process is made up of

various elements These elements are known as senders and receivers, messages, channels,feedback, setting and noise

Sender - Receivers

Senders form messages and attempt to communicate them to others through verbal andnon – verbal symbols Receivers process the messages sent to them and react to them bothverbally and nonverbally

Messages

A message is made up of the ideas and feelings that a sender – receiver wants toshare Messages include the elements of meanings, symbols, encoding and decoding, andform or organization

Channels

The channel is both the route traveled by the message and the means of transportation

In face – to – face communication, the primary channels are sound and sight: we listenand look at each other

Feedback

Feedback is the response of the receiver – senders to each other Whether receiversdecode the meaning of messages properly or not, they are likely to give some kind ofverbal or nonverbal response to the messages; this feedback tells the person sending amessage whether that message has been heard, seen, or understood

In a nutshell, all communication is made up of senders and receivers, messages,

channels, feedback, setting and noise Every time people communicate, these elements aresomewhat different

Figure 1 - 4 shows how all these elements work together The amoeba – like shape of

the sender – receiver indicates how this person changes – depending on what he or she ishearing or reacting to

Figure 1 – 4: Hybels and Weaver II s diagram of communication elements’

1.3 Cross - cultural communication

1.3.1 What Cross – cultural Communication?

Cross – cultural communication has drawn attention of linguistic researchers Thisnotion is normally interpreted as the exchange of ideas, information, messages, etc amongpeople from different communities and cultural backgrounds In fact, it is clarified by

Levine and Adelman (1993: XVII) as ‘ communication verbal or nonverbal between

people from different cultures; communication that is influenced by cultural values, attitudes, and behaviour; the influence of culture on people s reactions and responses to’

each other.’

1.3.2 Cross – cultural value dimensions

Culture is community specific and has its own sets of values that help distinguish onecommunity from another This modulates the effects of intercultural communicative

competence Hofstede (1997: 5) refers to four dimensions of cultures: individualism/

collectivism, and masculinity/ femininity These dimensions reflect the pattern of thinking,feeling and acting which greatly influence the ways people prefer to communicate Peoplenormally know how to behave properly within their own culture and community but whenthey move to another, this social etiquette changes It is realised that there are often moreproblems in cross – cultural communication than in communication between people of thesame cultural background Each participant may interpret the other’s speech or behaviouraccording to his or her own cultural conventions and expectations Thus if the culturalconventions of the participants are widely different, misinterpretations andmisunderstandings can easily arise, even result in a total communication breakdown

1.4 Non - verbal communication

1.4.1 What Non – verbal Communication ?

When most people think about communication, they think of speaking with words;when they think about speech class, they envision students trying to improve their verbalabilities Although the verbal message continues to be the focus of courses in speechcommunication, we must recognize that we are constantly sending and receiving manymessages that are not expressed in words These messages are nonverbal They prompt us

to develop significant meanings and responses for our perception of the behaviour of theenvironment around us

Words interact with nonverbal messages so intricately that we really cannot understandthe communication process without also knowing one of the crucial components of that

process – the message that is truly ‘beyond words’.

In Lustig’s words (1996: 187), nonverbal communication is a multichanneled‘

process that is usually performed simultaneously; it typically involves a subtle set of nonlinguistic behaviours that are often enacted subconsciously Nonverbal behaviour can become part of the communication process when someone intentionally tries to convey a message or when someone attributes meaning to the nonverbal behaviour of another, whether or not the person intend to communicate a particular meaning ’ Levine and

Adelman (1993: 100) also share the view when stating that ‘nonverbal communication is

silent language, including the use of gestures, facial expressions, eye contact and conversational distances’ By giving these definitions, the three researchers have focused

on the characteristics of nonverbal communication, its multi - channeled process and itsboth subconscious and intentional occurrences However, they see it as an umbrella termcovering merely nonlinguistic behaviours, which is insufficient to depict a comprehensivepicture of nonverbal communication This is precisely because contemporary researchers

on this field have insisted on the existence of linguistic aspects of nonverbalcommunication namely paralanguage

Robert N Bostrom (1988: 160) has a more general view with higher consciousness of

the presence of paralanguage: ‘direct, face – to – face communication has a large channel capacity – you can send more than you can with a written message This additional message capacity stems from the things that people do while they are speaking: adopt various positions, take different actions, make different movements, and produce

subtle variations with their voices.’ Robert, nevertheless, only points out the existence of

paralanguage and body language factors not object language and environmental languagewhich has been proved theoretically and practically to be indispensable in nonverbalcommunication

Most comprehensive of all may be the idea of Rudolph, F Verderber (1989: 82) stating

that ‘Nonverbal communication may cover any aspect of communication that is not purely

verbal More precisely, nonverbal communication can be viewed from two different perspectives From one perspective, nonverbal communication refers to people s actions or’

attributes other than words From another perspective, however, nonverbal communication also refers to elements that neither come from nor are part of people but that communicate through people s use of them Thus, such artifacts as clothes and such environmental factors’

as furniture, lighting, temperature, and colour also fall within the realm of nonverbal

communication.’ With the same viewpoint, Nguyen Quang (forthcoming: 44) has also

given his own opinion which seems to cover most important dimensions of nonverbal

communication According to him, it refers to ‘all the components of the message that when taken together constitute the communication which is not verbally coded but both vocally and nonvocally channeled Nonverbal communication is composed of paralinguistic factors (nonverbal vocal channel), such as rate, volume, etc and extralinguistic factors (nonverbal – non vocal channel), such as body language (gestures, postures, facial expressions ), object language (including clothing, jewellery ), and environmental language (proxemics, setting ).’

Nguyen Quang (forthcoming: 45) also gives the following diagram locating verbal andnonverbal communications with reference to codes and channels:

CODES

Table 1 – 1 Nguyen Quang s nonverbal communication locating diagram’

1.4.2 Importance of Non – verbal Communication

It can not be denied that nonverbal communication is of great importance in generalcommunication However, though researches on verbal communication have been carriedout for thousands of years, nonverbal communication has just been systematically studiedfrom late 50’s of the twentieth century Up to now, there have been numerous quantitativeresearch works completed on communication as a whole and nonverbal communication in

particular to assert that ‘nonverbal communication, the information we communicate

without using words, is extremely important in human interactions’ (Hybels & Weaver II,

expression, gesture, and posture), clothing, body appearance, space, touch, and time is anessential part of every message that he or she needs.

Goleman (1995: 37) believes that 90 percent of people’s emotion is expressed by

means of nonverbal cues

Birdwhistell estimates that the average American speaks for only ten to eleven minutes

a day, and that more than 65 percent of the social meaning of a typical two – person

exchange is carried by nonverbal cues (Valdes, 1992: 65).

These all persuasive evidences have clearly shown the undeniably important role ofnonverbal communication A number of researchers put forth three reasons for this First,people remember what they see more easily than what they hear Second, nonverbalcommunication accounts for more time than verbal communication in communication.Besides, people can easily cheat others by verbal communication but not nonverbalcommunication

1.4.3 Functions and Principles of Non – verbal Communication

Functions of Nonverbal Communication

According to Nguyen Quang (forthcoming: 49) and Rudolph F Verderber (1989:

85), nonverbal communication has four functions as follows.

 Nonverbal cues may complement a verbal message when they add to its meaning.When you meet someone for the first time you might say “I am really glad to meetyou I’ve heard a lot about you.” If you say this with a warm smile and shake his orher hand, your nonverbal behaviour complements your verbal message

 Nonverbal cues may regulate verbal communication If you are talking to your boss

or one of your teachers, how does she tell you that it is time for the conversation toend? She might get up out of her chair, or she might look pointedly at the clock onthe wall – two ways to indicate that the conversation is over

 Nonverbal messages may also substitute for verbal messages The secretary wavesyou into the boss’s office without telling you to go in We raise a hand in greetinginstead of saying hello, or we give someone a hug – a wordless way of saying welike that person

 Nonverbal behaviour may contradict your words For instance, when you slam thedoor behind you but say you don’t care, when you perspire profusely but claimyou are not nervous, when you shout and say you are not angry, your verbal andnonverbal messages are contradictory Which is to be believed? In thesecircumstances, the nonverbal messages are likely to override the verbal meaning.Observers are more inclined to believe what is expressed nonverbally because it is

less subject to conscious control Hybels and Weaver II (1992: 107) give another

function nonverbal communication rather than this one, which is altogetherreasonable and persuasive They believe that often nonverbal messages accentwhat we are saying The politician pounds the lectern to make sure everyonerealizes that his or her message is important A mother tells a child he is a bad boyand shakes a finger at him to emphasize the point Whenever people arecommunicating something they consider important, they are likely to accent itwith a nonverbal message.

Principles of Non – verbal Communication

There are four fundamental principles underlying the workings of nonverbal

communication (Hybels & Weaver II, 1992: 108)

 Nonverbal Communication is culturally determined

 Nonverbal Messages may conflict with verbal messages

 Nonverbal Messages are largely unconscious

 Nonverbal Communication shows our feelings and attitudes

1.4.4 Differences between Verbal Communication and Non – verbal Communication

Verbal communication starts when utterances are made by means of organized sounds,and it ends when those sounds come to a stop As for nonverbal communication, it occurs

right at the point two communicating partners appear (Nguyen Quang, forthcoming: 55).

Rudolph F Verderber (1989: 83), Saundra Hybels and Richard L Weaver II (1992: 105) and many other researchers share the same view that verbal and nonverbal

communication differ in seven important ways namely environment, feedback, continuity,channel, control, structure, and acquisition

Environment

In nonverbal communication, unlike much of verbal communication, there are timeswhen you do not have to be around at all for people to get an impression of you Forexample, when someone enters your room without your presence, she can learn quite a bitabout your music taste through the tapes or CDs you have, the kind of person you arethrough your closet, etc

Feedback

When reacting nonverbally to others, we do not use words or sounds, but so much byour facial expressions and the positioning of our bodies For example, we show our interest

with our smile or nodded head whereas a lack of interest is expressed by fidgeting orsneaking a look at the watch.

Continuity

Verbal communication begins and ends with words, whereas nonverbalcommunication is continuous Imagine you are at a train station Although some peoplemight occasionally talk to each other, they are all engaged in continuous nonverbalcommunication Several are looking at magazines, and occasionally at their watches.Others sit for a few minutes, then get out of their chairs and pace a few steps before they sitagain All these people, then, are continuously sending out nonverbal messages about howthey are feeling in the situation

Channel

Verbal communication requires a single channel that is words whereas nonverbalcommunication uses several channels This means nonverbal communication is

multichanneled (Verderber, 1989: 84) For example, we watch an interviewee waiting

outside the interview room for her turn She is communicating her state of mind throughseveral channels: her posture is tense, her facial expression is worried, she may also holdhands together She is at the same time communicating information to us Her clothing tells

us something about her socioeconomic status, her hairdo might indicate that she hasrecently been to a hairdresser, and if she speaks, one might get an impression of howeducated she is

Verbal communication is undoubtedly under our control because we can choose ourown words, but nonverbal communication is controlled part of the time We have controlwhen we can choose the clothes to wear, the hairstyle to make, or decide whether weshould smile meeting someone However, many of our nonverbal signals are spontaneouswhen we give emotional responses like anger, surprise or happiness

Structure

Verbal communication is structured and follows formal rules of grammar As fornonverbal communication, so much of which occurs unconsciously, there is no plannedsequence If you are sitting and talking to someone, you do not plan in advance whetheryou will cross your arms, your legs, or frown your eyebrows, etc These nonverbal actionsoccur in response to what is happening during the conversation The only rules that governnonverbal communication are those related to politeness They determine whether thebehaviour is appropriate or permissible, for example staring at people or pointing at them isconsidered rude

Acquisition

Many of the formal rules for verbal communication such as grammar are taught in astructured formal environment, such as a school We also learn what style is appropriate toparticular situations – that formal English is required for essays, while informal English ismore suitable for speech In contrast, much of nonverbal communication is not formallytaught; we pick it up through imitating others Young children commonly imitate thenonverbal communication of their parents, siblings or peers

1.4.5 Types of Non – verbal Communication

Researchers have different classifications of nonverbal communication, which mainlyrest on different specifications of paralanguage and extralanguage

Nonverbal communication, in the view of Hybels and Weaver II (1992: 111), is

divided into eight categories namely paralanguage, body movement, body type,attractiveness, clothing, space and distance, touch, and time Each class consists of somesub – classes To begin with, paralanguage comprises of rate, pitch, volume, vocal fillers,and quality Body movement includes emblems, illustrators, regulators, displays of feelingsand adaptors Clothing covers uniforms, occupational dress, leisure clothing, and costumes.Space and distance encompass intimate distance, personal distance, social distance andpublic distance

In Rudolph F Verderber’s words (1989: 86), Nonverbal Communication comprises

four categories which are body motions (eye contact, facial expression, gesture),

paralanguage (pitch, volume, rate, quality), self – presentation (clothing, touch,chronemics) and environment language (space, temperature, lighting, and color).

Beisler et al (1997:59) believes that nonverbal communication covers the following

They also state that silence can be classified as one type of nonverbal communication

Ekman and Fiesen (1967:44) pay more attention to object language in extralanguage

area Their classification is expressed as follows

 Paralanguage

 Body motions (facial expressions, movements, gestures, postures)

 Object language (clothes and jewelleries)

 Touch (handshake, rub one s head )’

 Space (conversational distance)

 Time

 Silence

However, if we take into account the whole communicating situation with the centralcommunicating channel is the intralanguage, and the communicating boundary is allsituational factors indirectly involved in the process of communication, we can look at the

thorough and reasonable classification by Nguyen Quang (forthcoming: 66) as illustrated

in the diagram given below

Figure 1 – : Nguyen Quang s diagram of nonverbal classification 5 ’

Nonverbal communication

Body language/Kinesics

Object language/Artifacts

Environmental language

- Physical characteristics

- Gestures

- Postures

- Body movements

- Touch/Haptics/

Tactile-…

- Gift

- Flowers-…

- Setting

- Conversation distance/Proxemics

CHAPTER 2

NONVERBAL BEHAVIOUR IN FOCUS

As discussed in the previous chapter, there are different types and subtypes ofnonverbal communication However, in this thesis, the writer merely wishes to get aninsight into those factors which, in her belief, first and foremost influence the interactionprocess between English language teachers and their students She is therefore going topresent here a literature review of three factors namely eye contact, posture and distance

2.1 Eye contact

2.1.1 Nature and importance of Eye Contact

When people look directly at each other’s eyes while talking, eye contact occurs

(Rudolph F Verderber, 1989: 86)

As with eyebrow movement, eye contact or gaze plays an important role in enablingconversation management, providing vital feedback when engaged in face to face floorholding, turn taking and yielding, and in closing sequences Paralleling to this function isthe importance of eye contact and gaze in affection displays (jealousy, nervousness, fear);

in establishing status (dominance or deference); intimacy and so on These are likely tovary considerably across cultures, and learning appropriateness of duration, timing anddirection is no easy matter

In Verderber’s point of view, the amount of eye contact used differs from person to

person, from situation to situation Studies show that people are likely to look at each other

50 to 60 percent of the time as they talk For the talker the average amount of eye contact isabout 40 percent; for the listener the average is nearer 70 percent

Eye contact is no doubt important because insufficient or excessive eye contact maycreate communication barriers It is important in relationships because it serves to showintimacy, attention and influence There are no specific rules governing eye behaviourexcept that it is, in many cultures, considered rude to stare, especially at strangers

After your voice, your eyes may be your most powerful tool for communicating Youreyes either bind you to, or separate you from, your audience Every listener wants to feelyou are talking to him or her Eye contact accomplishes this In most cultures, direct eyecontact signals sincerity; lack of eye contact signals insincerity, disinterest, or lack of

confidence all message killers Robert N Bostrom (1988: 162) believes that breaking or

avoiding eye contact is almost a sure signal of a relationship that lacks intimacy and

intensity Your eye contact directly influences the attentiveness and concentration of theaudience If you do not look at them, they probably will not look at you or listen to you Therefore, eye contact helps regulate the flow of the presentation It signals interest inothers and increases the speaker's credibility Speakers who make eye contact open the flow

of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility

2.1.2 Classification of Eye Contact

There are different ways to classify eye contact The thesis author would like to

discuss here two main classification modes set forth by Nguyen Quang in his forthcoming book on Nonverbal communication across cultures.

Mode 1

Eye contact is divided into two types namely direct eye contact and indirect eyecontact

Direct eye contact includes three categories as follows

 Soft, warm eye – contact: this type of

eye contact elicits trust, truthfulness,

sincerity, interest, passion, etc

 Staring: this type of eye contact conveys

coldness, anger, conceit, etc

 Wide eyes: this type of eye contact often

shows uncertainty, surprise, fear, etc

http://rds.yahoo.com

http://rds.yahoo.com http://rds.yahoo.com

Indirect eye contact consists of three categories as follows

 Looking upward: this type of eye contact

shows conceit, couldn’t – care – less

attitude, uncertainty, etc

 Looking downward: this type of eye contact

shows embarrassment, lack of confidence,

shame, lie, untruthfulness, etc

 Looking sideway: this type of eye contact

elicits insincerity, in coordination, couldn’t

-– give -– a -– damn attitude, indifference,

etc

This mode can be diagrammatized in the following chart:

Figure 2 – 1 Nguyen Quang s classification of eye contact ’ – mode 1

Mode 2

Eye contact is divided into four types as follows

Type 1- Intimate gaze

The eye contact covers a large area of the

communicating partner’s body The speaker’s

eyes move from the communicating partner’s

eyes down to lower part of his or her body

Type 2 – Business gaze

When performing this type of eye contact,

the speaker directs his or her eyes to the centre

Nguyen Quang (forthcoming:: 113)

Nguyen Quang (forthcoming: 113)

of the communicating partner’s forehead and

eyes

Type 3 – Social gaze

The speaker focuses on the area of the

communicating partner’s eyes and mouth

Type 4 – Public gaze

The speaker does not concentrate on any

part but the whole body of the communicating

partner This type is also called infinite gaze

2.1.3 Eye Contact in focus

In this thesis, the writer would like to explore the ways English language teachersmaintain their eye contact from the first perspective She is going to ask the respondents to

take into account whether they maintain any types of direct (soft, warm eye contact,

staring, wide eyes) or indirect (upward, downward, sideway) eye contact in classroom

situations, and how often they perform these gazes in their interaction with students

2.2 Posture

2.2.1 Nature and importance of Posture

Postures refer to the body positions and stances, which are the ways we sit or stand, theway we arrange into different kinds as relaxed, formal, defensive, aggressive stance, etc.The way we stand indicates clearly what we think of the audience, the subject, and perhapsmost importantly, ourselves A physical slouch can also be a mental slouch in the minds ofmany audiences Good posture is extremely important if we wish to take control of the

situation (Bostrom, 1989: 164).

When we talk about gesture, we think of the movements of body parts, especially thehands; when it comes to posture, much attention is paid to the state and position of body

parts, especially the legs and the hands Hayes (1960:92) has discovered around 1, 000

different postures accompanied by relevant gestures

In terms of the importance of posture in communication, Beisler et al (1995: 195)

states that ‘You can perform consciously one posture or another, but normally it happensnaturally Just as for most cultural behaviours, disconformity with unwritten rules willtangle everything and can be considered a bad habit Some other writers assert that ifnonverbal behaviour makes up 93 percent of the social meaning of communication, thenposture accounts for one third of this rate

Nguyen Quang (forthcoming: 113)

Nguyen Quang (forthcoming: 113)

2.2.2 Classification of Posture

Posture is divided into two groups namely conscious postures and unconsciouspostures The conscious postures are those which we are completely conscious whenperforming, hence we can control them These postures can be used in both formal andrelaxed situations as a communicative channel The unconscious postures are thoseperformed without our recognition thus can not be controlled They often occur in relaxedsituations and do not carry the meaning of a communicative signal

Different humanists and ethnologists on communication and nonverbal communicationagree on six typical categories of posture

Formal posture

This type of posture is performed in accordance with rules and conventions insituations considered formal such as meetings, conferences, weddings, funerals, etc, withcommunicating partners who have higher power like the boss, teachers, professors,grandparents, etc and/ or those who do not have close relations with us (strangers, newcolleagues, etc.) There are different formal postures, two popular of which are

 Sitting neatly, two legs close, body

leaning forward a little, two hands placed on

the desk, face turned toward the audience

 Standing upright, two arms straight and

close to the body

Photo credits: author

Photo credits: author

Relaxed posture

This type of posture occurs in situations considered as informal, close (gossips withfriends at home, in a private office, etc.) It is used for the communicating partners havingequal or lower relational power (friends, students, staff, etc.) and/ or having close socialdistance (relatives, old colleagues, etc.) Following are main types of relaxed posture

 Leaning back in a chair if seated is one of the

popular relaxed postures In the posture, the

performer leans his back against the chair In real

life, this posture is often combined with another

relaxed or defensive posture for example

stretching legs forward or crossing one’s arms

together

 Putting hands in pocket: This posture can be

performed either when the speaker is standing or

sitting However, the second situation seems to be

more popular The expressions carried with the

posture are confidence, relaxation, superior

attitude or a light defiance

 Feet on desk is a controversial stance across

cultures In many Euro – Asian communities,

setting one’s feet on the desk while seated with

the exposure of the soles of the feet (or towards

others) is seen as a very impolite act; however, as

for Americans, it is a popular one

 Hands joined behind your back: Two hands

joining together behind one’s back seem to be a

very relaxing posture, which conveys a similar

message to ‘putting hands in pocket’ –

confidence, superior attitude or light defiance

 Hands on hips: This posture is considered normal

and it is actually very popular in Western culture

The message sent here is similar to that of ‘hands

joined behind your back.’

 Leaning against the wall is one of the postures

showing highest level of relaxation The posture is

usually performed in combination with other

relaxed or defensive postures like putting hands in

pocket, crossing legs, ankle lock, etc

This type of posture can appear in both formal and informal situations It can be used incommunication among power – unequals or those who have different social distances.Defensive postures are conscious and occur in face – to – face communication They can be

realized by means of arm or leg barriers Following are main arm and leg barriers Illustration pictures are taken from Nguyen Quang s forthcoming book from page 165 to 175.’

 Standard arm – cross: this posture can be

observed in both sitting and standing This is the

most typical and popular arm – related posture

across cultural communities When performing

this posture, the performer often folds his arms

with the lower part of the right arm placing above

that of the left one (or vice versa) The left hand

touches the biceps of the right one and the right

one places beneath the left armpit (or vice versa)

 Reinforced arm – cross: this posture appears

both in standing and sitting This arm barrier is

realized by folding the two arms together, the

lower part of the right arm is placed on that of the

left one (or vice versa) Two hands clench and

place beneath the other arm’s armpit This posture

expresses defense or hostile attitude

 Disguised arm – cross: it often occurs in

standing posture This is a complicated stance The

nature of this posture is that the performer feels

embarrassed and lacks confidence and does not

want to be recognized by communicating partners

This can be performed by raising one arm up,

instead of folding two arms together, using the hand

turn the watch, touch the bracelet, correct the

button, etc

 Arm – gripping: this posture is

performed both in standing and sitting The

user fold his arms together, the fingers stretch

out, the left hand touches the biceps of the

right arm and the right hand touches the biceps

of the left arm This show the fact that the user

is pressing his own and does not easily change

his viewpoint

 Hand – on arm: this posture normally

appears in standing It is realized by using a

hand to touch the central part of the other arm

This is a preference of females, an expression

of the user’s lack of confidence

 Finger – hiding: this occurs in bothstanding and sitting postures The user foldshis arms, the fingers of this hand (excludingthe thumb) hide beneath the armpit of theother arm The two thumbs expose and curve

to the outside

 Hand – on – hand: this normallyappears in standing posture In performingthis, the user touches one hand by the other onthe stomach It is used when he or she stands

in front of a crowd

 Standard leg – cross: this appears whenthe user sits on a chair It is also calledEuropean leg – cross When performing this,the user places one thigh on the other tightly,normally from the right to the left

 Oriental leg – cross: this postureappears in sitting on a floor, a carpet, a pillow,etc It is realized by folding two legs and thenplacing one on the other

 Leg – lock: this appears in sitting on achair, which is so popular among Americanmales, thus it is called American position Onleg is placed on the other, the touching point isnormally the ankle and its upper part

 Leg – clamp: this appears in sittingposture It is similar to leg – lock However,the user uses one hand or two to touch the legplaced on the other

 Standing leg – cross: this appears instanding posture It is realized by leaning theback or the shoulders against the wall Thereare two ways to cross legs In the first one, theright leg is the mainstay, the left drops a littlebit in the knee and cross the right Thetouching point is the middle of the two legs In

the other way, both legs are the mainstay andcross each other.

 Foot – lock: this appears in bothstanding and sitting postures In these twoposture, the back leans against the wall or thechair In standing, one leg is the mainstay, theother is raised with the knee heading towards,this leg is hidden behind the mainstay legabove its calf In sitting, one leg is folded, theother is raised with the foot hidden behind thefolded one, below its calf

 Ankle – lock: this appears in sittingposture Two legs cross at the two ankles withtwo knees set apart (for male) and shut (forfemale)

Sexy posture

This type of posture conveys one’s sexual desire to attract a potential lover It isconscious and includes such popular stances as tilting the head, touching one’s hair, settingone’s legs apart, throwing out one’s chest, shaking one’s hips, etc

Aggressive posture

This type is used to control the conversation and the communicating partner.According to researchers, this posture is the natural seal of animals in human beings Slouching posture

This type of posture includes all expressions of tiredness and other psy –physiological states They are often unconscious for example, dangled arms and legs orhung down head and shoulders These postures are separated from relaxed ones by means

of facial expressions

2.2.3 Postures in focus

In this thesis, the researcher would like to take a close look at and discuss some mainpostures from the three first categories, a review of which have just been presented in theearlier part:

 Putting your hands in your pockets

 Leaning back in a chair, if seated

 Leg – cross

 Arm – cross

 Sitting neatly, two legs close, body leaning forward a little, two hands placed on

the desk, face turned toward the audience

 Standing upright, two arms straight and close to the body

2.3 Proxemics

2.3.1 Nature and importance of Proxemics

Proxemics is probably one of the most important areas of nonverbal communicationstudy This is precisely because in different cultures the patterns used prove to bedifferent; hence the interpretations of a message are subsequently different

The American humanist E.T Hall can be considered one of the leading

researchers in studying the usage of space in social interaction interculturally and

crossculturally In early ‘60s, he created the term proxemics which derived from the word proximity He also put forth a series of definitions of proxemics The notable thing

is that as years passed by, together with his accumulation of experience and study

results, these definitions became more and more comprehensive According to Hall

(1963: 1003), proxemics is the study of the way people structure unconsciously the

distance between this person and another in carrying out daily interactions, organizing

the space in their houses, their buildings, and finally arranging their own cities Hall

(1966: 1) also believes that proxemics includes correlated observations and theories of

the way human beings use space as specialized and painstaking work of culture Thefinest definition may be that issued in 1972, in which he says that proxemics is thestudy of human interactions when they feel and use intimate, personal, social andpublic distances in different places while complying conscious orders of cultural

paradigms (Hall, 1974: 2)

Hybels and Weaver (1992: 118) also give a clear overview of proxemics: The

study of space and distance, called proxemics concerns the way we use the space around us as well as the distance we stand or sit from others

After Hall, a series of researchers on proxemics like Scott, Nydel, Vargars, etc.

have set forth their study results although there have left many controversies over theusage of space in communication in different areas of the world (Europe, Asia,America, etc.) on grounds of determining high - touch and low - touch cultures ininterpersonal communication in those areas

2.3.2 Classification of Proxemics

2.3.2.1 Space

Hall (1959) defines three types of space namely fixed – feature space, semifixed– feature space and informal space

Fixed – feature space

This is one of the ways people organize their activities Houses, gardens, cities, etc.are often arranged in this space Objects arranged in this space in accordance withactivities organized there For example, a bedroom is organized differently from aliving room

Semifixed – feature space

According to Hall (1959), this space plays the leading role in interpersonal

communication because it can be used in many ways to convey meanings There aretwo semifixed – feature spaces namely socio – petal space and socio – fugal space.The former makes people feel closer to one another and stimulates the participationwhile the latter give people feelings of distance and elicit reservation

Informal space

This type of space is used in communication among people It is dynamic and has

important role in studying croscultural nonverbal communication In Hall s words’

(1959: 112), informal space patterns have such clear boundaries and deep meanings,

probably unspoken that they can make up a basic component of culture.Misunderstanding of this meaning may cause disasters

2.3.2.2 Distance

The conversational distance is defined by Leather (1978: 87) as ‘a comparative

concept, measured according to the distance between this person and another.’

Beisler et al (1997: 199) divides distance into four categories which are specified

in the table below

Public distance 3.5 – 7.5 m This is a comfortable distance for both the speaker

and the hearer in public meetings It does not createany social relation It is often used to gain superiorstance

Social distance 1 – 3.5 m This is used when talking to strangers We often

notice a table placed between two communicatingpartners to ensure this distance

Personal distance 0.5 – 1 m This is used when talking with friends If we allow

the partner to keep this distance, it means that twopersons are equal and close This distance show most

clearly the differences among cultures.

Intimate distance 0 – 0.5 m This is the distance in which there may occur

touching and closeness, often performed betweenlovers, spouses, parents and children It is a verysensitive distance and easy to cause culture shocks

Table 2 -1: Beisler s four types of distance’Although agreeing on the four types of distance, from his observations and interviews,

Hall (1959:60) gives a more detailed classification of each type into two subtypes of close

phase and far phase as follows

Figure 2 – 2: Hall s diagram of distance’Public distance

Far phase 15 – 25 feet (4.6 – 7.7 m) or

farther

A person talking in front of a crowd

Close phase 12 – 15 feet (3.7 – 4.6 m) Strangers talking together

Social distance

Far phase 7 – 12 feet (2.16 – 3.7 m) Strangers talking together

Close phase 4 – 7 feet (1 23 – 2.16 m) Acquaintances talking togetherPersonal distance

Far phase 2.5 – 4 feet

Close relationships talking together orcommunicating partners showing negative attitudes

Far phase

Close phase

Far phase

Close phase

Far phase

Intimate distance

Minor distance Length Communicating partners

Far phase 6 inches –

1.5 feet (15– 46 cm)

Spouses, lovers, parents and children, close friends,etc showing intimate emotion or communicatingpartners showing highly negative attitudes

Close phase 0 – 6

inches (0– 15 cm)

Spouses, lovers, parents and children, close friends,etc showing intimate emotion or communicatingpartners showing high defiant attitude, probablyresulting in physical conflicts

2.3.3 Proxemics in focus

Due to the limitation of time and of an MA thesis, the thesis author would merely like

to focus her study on the distances as discussed above rather than both space and distance– two constituting components of proxemics Her survey is therefore going to cover four

types of distance namely intimate distance, personal distance, social distance and public distance

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH DESIGN

As having been stated in chapter two, the nonverbal cues considered for analysis areeye contact, posture and distance They are going to be discussed according to two criterianamely the frequency of the nonverbal behaviours performance and the situations in whichthey are performed Arising from these factors, a number of hypotheses are put forth forinvestigation These hypotheses are also raised on grounds of common beliefs aboutAmerican and Vietnamese cultural patterns and the writer’s own experience as a nativespeaker of Vietnamese and non native speaker of English

3.1 Hypotheses

The situations I have chosen to investigate are:

 You are lecturing on a topic or giving instructions

 When organizing group - work or pair - work for students, you are sitting down

with one group or one pair and joining the activity they are doing

 Students do not understand your points and raise questions

 Students are doing their presentations

1 American teachers of English generally maintain types of direct eye contact withhigher levels of frequency and they perform these types more in all classroom situationsgiven whereas Vietnamese teachers of English generally maintain types of indirect eyecontact with higher levels of frequency and they perform these types more in all classroomsituations given.

2 American teachers of English generally perform relaxed postures with higher levels

of frequency and they perform the postures more in all classroom situations given whereasVietnamese teachers of English perform formal and defensive postures with higher levels

of frequency and they keep these postures more in all the classroom situations given

3 American teachers of English maintain intimate and personal distances with higherlevels of frequency and they keep these distances more in all classroom situations given;Vietnamese teachers of English reversely maintain social and public distances with higherlevels of frequency and they keep these distances more in all classroom situations given

3.2 Data collection

Surveys and questionnaires offer an alternative form of data collection to interviews.Questionnaires have the advantage of being easier and less time – consuming toadminister than interviews, and the responses of larger numbers of informants can be

gathered (Anne Burns, 1999: 129) David Nunan himself (1993: 143) also finds that

among graduate students, the questionnaire is a relatively popular means of collecting data

It enables the researcher to collect data in field settings, and the data themselves are moreamenable to quantification than discursive data such as free – form fieldnotes, participantobservers’ journals and transcripts of oral language It is for this reason that the writerdecided to use questionnaires in her preliminary cross – cultural study of nonverbalbehaviour of English language teachers as to reach a wider group of informants On thebasis of the hypotheses and anticipations, the writer designed two survey questionnaires:one for American respondents and the other for Vietnamese respondents Thesequestionnaires were carefully piloted by the researcher herself and a number of pre –informants – some of the writer’s colleagues at College of Foreign Languages – VietnamNational University, then reconstructed to achieve the needed objectivities before handingout to real respondents

Though fully aware of the necessity to certify the validity of the study through othernon – observational techniques like interviews or observational ones such as notes anddiaries, audio and video recording, the researcher failed to conduct these due to thelimitation of time and the scope of the study However, the questionnaires were delivered tothe informants at hand and directly collected by the writer The informants filled out thesurvey in ink so there is no doubt about the reliability of the questionnaires This isespecially important as regards American teacher respondents, who are admittedlyextremely difficult to be found in Vietnam In fact, almost all foreign teachers of English in

Vietnam are either from Australia or Britain What should be noted is that the informantsare given much time to think of the questions over, so their responses are relativelytrustworthy to the analyses and findings of the study.

3.3 COMMENTS On THE Questionnaires

This research is deemed to investigate the nonverbal behaviour of American andVietnamese teachers of English in interacting with their Vietnamese students So as tocollect sufficient data for contrastive analysis, two questionnaires were thoroughlydesigned and delivered to two groups of informants: American and Vietnamese

Each questionnaire contains two parts:

- Questions on the informants’ parameters, which may serve as the underlyingfactors that determine the choice of nonverbal cues

- Questions on the frequency of nonverbal behaviour performance and the use ofnonverbal cues in specific situations

The informants were asked to give all three types of response namely closed, scale andopen – ended items:

- For scale responses, the informants were asked to identify the frequency theyperform three nonverbal cues: eye contact, posture and distance

- For closed responses, the informants were asked to identify the situations in whichthey perform the nonverbal cues The situations given are typical and general inwhich more specific activities can be developed They have been thoroughlyselected by the writer, hence there should be no doubt about the validity of thequestions

- For open – ended responses, the informants were asked to write down any othernonverbal behaviour (belonging to three types given) that they often performed inthe classroom

3.4 COMMENTS ON THE informants

In this study, the survey questionnaires were administered to two groups of informants.The first group is Vietnamese teachers of English who are living in Northern Vietnam 40questionnaires were delivered to these informants and 40 completed questionnaires werereceived from them The second group is American teachers of English who are now living

in Vietnam 40 questionnaires were delivered to them and 40 completed questionnaireswere received

It is way beyond doubt that the analyses of the informants’ parameters are useful infinding the underlying factors affecting the choice of nonverbal behaviour of English

language teachers Therefore informants from both groups were requested to provideinformation about their:

 Age

 Sex

 Area where they have spent most of their time in the past five years

 Acquisition and retention of languages other than mother tongue

 Levels of students

To have a comprehensive view of the American informants, the researcher designed

two more items about the time duration they have been in Vietnam and the degree they feel acclimated to Vietnamese culture

However, due to the limitation of the research, the writer merely wishes to analyze

three most important factors which are age, sex and living area.

The informants were assured that they would not be identified in any discussion of thedata, so done with the hope of obtaining authentic responses

3.5 Limitations of the study

This study certainly has a number of limitations

In the first place, the investigation could not reach a wider group of informants because

of the availability of time and distance of possible informants All Vietnamese informants

in the study are teachers from Division I of English Department – College of ForeignLanguages – Vietnam National University, who are mostly female They can hardlyrepresent teachers of English for pre – intermediate leveled students in general Datacollected from an unvaried population are, to a certain extent, limited in representation Forfurther and more thorough research on the same issue, a much larger and more variedsample of informants is required

Together with this, American informants have been in Vietnam for certain amount oftime, so there is a likelihood that they have been acclimated and even assimilated toVietnamese culture to a certain degree In a new context, not in their own culture, theseinformants may therefore consciously or unconsciously try to adapt themselves toVietnamese cultural patterns in performing nonverbal behaviour to interact with theirstudents

Furthermore, nonverbal behaviour is an umbrella term which encompasses differentnonverbal cues Due to the limitation of time and the framework of an MA thesis, thewriter is only able to cover eye contact, posture and distance – three among manyprominent aspects in English language teaching in particular and in the teaching course as awhole

Besides, the situations given, due to the limit in number, can not be sufficientrepresentatives of all classroom situations; however, in the boundary of a common hand –out survey questionnaire, it is impossible for the writer to include more useful situations Last but not least, the distance that the teacher keeps from his students depends greatly

on the class size However, the writer can not cover different sizes of language classrooms.Therefore, she has to unwillingly give general questions as regards the nonverbal cue

‘distance’ with the hope that the informants will generalize almost all their teachingsituations and give relatively accurate responses

In view of these limitations, the project can merely be regarded as a preliminary studyand any conclusions drawn are tentative The next chapter presents the data analysis andfindings resulted

CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

4.1 Analyses of informants’ nonverbal behaviour

The data of nonverbal behaviour of American and Vietnamese teachers of English aregoing to be analyzed in two aspects namely the frequency of performing the nonverbalbehaviours and the situations in which they are performed The data of the frequency areillustrated by pie charts and the data of the behaviour performance in classroom situationsare presented in graph charts It should be noted right at the beginning that only scale andclosed responses are taken into consideration because open – ended responses from theinformants are not sufficient enough to be quantified

4.1.1 eye contact

4.1.1.1 Data analysis

(i) Direct eye contact

Soft warm

Frequency of performing soft warm eye contact

American: As can be seen from the pie chart, the highest rate of 50 percent of the

American informants frequently keep soft warm eye contact, the runner – up belongs to

‘always’ group with a percentage of 30 So up to 80 percent of the American informants always or frequently maintain soft and warm eye contact with their Vietnamese students; coming next is 20 percent of ‘sometimes’ group, with none rarely or never performs this

type of direct gaze

Vietnamese: In contrast to American informants, merely 25 percent of the Vietnamese

informants always (10%) or frequently (15%) keep soft, warm eyes in interaction with students The rest of 75 percent goes to two categories namely sometimes (50%) and rarely

(25%) None of the Vietnamese informants never maintain this gaze in their classrooms

performance of soft, warm eye contact in classroom situations

american

always frequently sometimes rarely never

Vietnamese

always frequently sometimes rarely never