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Review Article
language or silent language, include all behaviors performed in the Nasrin Shokrpour,
presence of others or perceived either consciously or unconsciously. English Department,
The main aim of this review article was to determine the effect Paramedical Sciences Faculty,
Shiraz University of Medical
of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching
Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
using the findings of the studies conducted on the relationship Tel: +98-71-32270238,
between quality of teaching and the teachers’ use of non-verbal Email: shokrpourn@gmail.
communication and also its impact on success in teaching. com
Methods: Considering the research method, i.e. a review article, Please cite this paper as:
we searched for all articles in this field using key words such Bambaeeroo F, Shokrpour N.
as success in teaching, verbal communication and non-verbal The impact of the teachers’
communication. In this study, we did not encode the articles. non-verbal communication on
Results: The results of this revealed that there was a strong success in teaching. J Adv Med
relationship among the quality, amount and the method of using Educ Prof. 2017;5(2):51-59.
non-verbal communication by teachers while teaching. Based on Received: 15 October 2016
the findings of the studies reviewed, it was found that the more Accepted: 5 January 2017
the teachers used verbal and non-verbal communication, the more
efficacious their education and the students’ academic progress
were. Under non-verbal communication, some other patterns were
used. For example, emotive, team work, supportive, imaginative,
purposive, and balanced communication using speech, body, and
pictures all have been effective in students’ learning and academic
success. The teachers’ attention to the students’ non-verbal
reactions and arranging the syllabus considering the students’
mood and readiness have been emphasized in the studies reviewed.
Conclusion: It was concluded that if this skill is practiced
by teachers, it will have a positive and profound effect on the
students’ mood. Non-verbal communication is highly reliable in
the communication process, so if the recipient of a message is
between two contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages, logic
dictates that we push him toward the non-verbal message and ask
him to pay more attention to non-verbal than verbal messages
because non-verbal cues frequently reveal the intention of the
sender of the information and reflect his/her emotional reactions.
Based on the obtained results of this study, it is recommended
that attention to non-verbal communication skills can make a
positive change in the future of a student’s life. It seems necessary
for the teachers to practice and learn effective communication
skills, especially for those who always interact with a large
group of students. One of the factors contributing to the success
Introduction Results
tazavi (5) stated various effective communica- different definitions of teaching have been
tions in the educational fields including pictorial provided by different researchers, all of which
communication, the Internet and computer re- have two characteristics in common:
lations, relationship with the learning environ- Interaction or relationship between
ment attention, etc., among which the latter and teachers and learners
verbal and non-verbal communication are the objectivity of this activity on behalf of
most effective on both teacher and learner. the teacher
• Synthesis of findings : The synthe- Thus, teaching can be defined as teacher’s
sis of the results of the studies reviewed can be planned activities to create an ever-lasting change
summarized as follows: in the learners’ behavior which is done in the
form of a mutual relationship. The stronger this
1. The concept of communication relationship and the communication skills are,
Man needs to communicate with others in his the deeper the outcome of this interaction will
daily life. Daily activities show that many activities be, i.e. the stable and effective learning. Only
cannot be performed without communicating with in this way the teacher can develop and emerge
others. Many researchers and experts have defined the students’ potentials. Therefore, before any
communication. For example, Aristotle defined action for teaching, the teacher’s relationship
communication as the use of available resources with the students should be strengthened at the
to find a way to encourage others express their beginning.
ideas and opinions. The aim of communication is
to develop motivation in the addressee. 3. Importance of non-verbal communication
Communication means social development Non-verbal communication is often more subtle
and the source of culture and spiritual and more effective than verbal communication
development so that lack of communication and can convey meaning better than words. For
leads to a relative static state in human life, example, perhaps a smile conveys our feeling
which prevents any kind of social development much easier than words. Silent speech is of great
(6). One of the characteristics of professional importance in human’s daily interactions and it
teachers is their ability to engage in effective, influences one’s chances of failure or success in
meaningful and purposeful relationship with personal and professional social encounters.
educators. In case a teacher is scientifically Also, the Holy Quran in several cases refers
competent but is not able to communicate to this point, for example for the tolerant and
effectively with the learners, he/she is not able to poor people, it is stated: “You would know
teach satisfactorily; thus, the teaching-learning them by their appearance” and says about the
process has not been fully implemented. hypocrites: “and you will know them by the tone
To this end, for more teachers’ familiarity, of their speech”. Also, Imam Ali (AS) believed
scholars of the field of education should firstly that one’s appearance is the indicator of his/
acquire the information and skills which are her internal state. Whenever a person conceals
required to communicate well with students. something in his/her heart, it manifests itself in
Various methods of communication suggest the expressions of his face. “No one can hide
these skills as those of the relationship between anything in the unseen since it is evident in his/
voluntary and involuntary, formal and informal, her thoughtless words and his/her face”.
one-sided and two-way, and verbal and non- According to the studies conducted, at each
verbal communication. conversation only seven percent of the concepts
As this study aimed to evaluate the effect are expressed in the form of spoken words. Most
of educators’ non-verbal communication on of the information is transferred through the
success in teaching, among the various methods, complex combination of appearance, posture,
the authors were prompted to examine non- limb movement, sight, and facial expressions. On
verbal communication method in teaching from the other hand, the effect of most body language
different perspectives. acts lower than the addressee’s awareness, i.e.
the addressee receives the profound effects of
2. The concept of teaching the issue without being aware of it. So, the people
Safavi (7) points out in his research that who have the ability to use these skills have the
potential to guide others in a particular direction the students, i.e. such words as “I can’t, it’s
to achieve their goals, and precisely for this impossible, is not possible, never, etc...”.
reason most of the human interactions involve A successful educator in the field of teaching
non-verbal communication. Body language has should be aware of the power of words and its
the power to transfer the attitudes and feelings impact on the audience and avoid using words
of people to others and in many cases can be habitually without thinking. Also, ordering is
even more effective than verbal messages (8). one of the conflicts which leads to failure in
In this regard, numerous studies have been human interaction. The teacher should express
conducted by Oskouhi et al. (1) on the role of his opinion with proper words and within
non-verbal communication on educational the defined framework for his comments to
performance of faculty members of Agricultural be effective and penetrating. Therefore, the
Sciences and Natural Resource University teacher, as the sender of the message, should
in Sari; the results of the study showed a first determine the framework of his message
significant positive correlation between non- and then express his expectations of the students
verbal communication skills and educational frankly with appropriate tone and words (3).
performance of Sari faculty members of Expression of words clearly and eloquently
Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources by the educator causes the students to listen
University. with dignity and willingness, sum up the facts,
and think to solve the problem and supply the
4. Variety of communication skills in teaching teacher’s comment without any tension or
As mentioned above, proper communication boredom. But using biased phrases often raises
between the teacher and students is the most a sense of stubbornness and humiliation in the
important skills in teaching. If this relationship trainee, puts him out of the cycle of learning
is well established, educational goals will be and deep understanding of scientific content
more easily realized with a high quality. completely, and leaves irreparable psychological
In the process of communicating, three main effects on the student.
factors play a role, including signaling (teacher), In the selection of words, the intended
messages (instructional), receiver (student) (9). concept must be exactly in the words of the
Accordingly, first of all, the teacher himself/ educator. It is appropriate to use clear, concise,
herself or by teaching aids sends a message to accurate, polite, correct and rich expression
the students as the receiver of the message. In in oral communication with the audience to
the next step, the students respond to teacher’s transmit the speaker’s intentions to the audience
messages and send a new message to the teacher properly (4).
who is the receiver of the message this time. An Verbal skills are generally divided into four
important point in communication process is that parts: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
the teacher-students relationship in the classroom Among these skills, speaking has the higher
is one of the complex human relationships, and degree of importance and usefulness and has
certainly different ways are involved in how to more decisive impact on oral communication
establish this communication, e.g. two types of with the audience (10).
verbal and non-verbal communication. It is worth noting that speaking skill requires
non-verbal communication, or body language
Verbal communication in teaching to complete its impact on the audience. In
Such communication can be defined as interactive communication which is based only
total relationships that can be achieved through on words and phrases, and the message sender
speaking and conversation. Teachers should use does not use any non-verbal communication
the words carefully to be successful in teaching. methods such as facial expressions, eye
Each word provokes a feeling in people, specific contact, and overall condition of the body and
emotions, and distinct function. If the words hands movement, we cannot not expect proper
are applied in their proper place, it would affect understanding of the message from the audience.
the soul and body of the audience immediately.
Therefore, it is appropriate that the teacher Non-verbal communication during teaching
avoids using negative words in dealing with More than half of our face to face
conversations are non-verbal and sign language, communication more prominent and specific,
and gestures express our feelings and attitudes or completes the verbal communication. Human
without saying a word. There was a significant beings use non-verbal behavior in order to
correlation between the teacher’s appropriate complete their interpersonal interaction; they
and timely verbal and non-verbal behaviors rely on non-verbal behavior to recognize when
and students’ achievement and good behavior to speak, when to let others to speak, and how
(2). The results of the present study indicated to speak.
that there was a correlation between the Non-verbal communication often makes
teachers’ verbal and non-verbal communication interactional concepts since communication
skills and students’ learning and motivation. always has two literal and conceptual levels of
Ambiguity in the teacher’s speech is known as meaning, and this type of communication is
the main obstacle in the teachers and students’ associated with semantic level. It reflects cultural
relationship, and in total, according to the values. This claim implicitly indicates that most
teachers, most of the communication barriers in of the non-verbal behaviors are acquired during
schools are related to human. socialization and are totally variable, depending
If the teacher has an encouraging manner on culture and traditions (11).
tailored to the students’ status, he/she can achieve An important point in non-verbal
effective results with his communication with communication is the use of this relationship,
students. Also, if the teacher uses humiliating especially when teaching correctly and timely
speech, his relationship with the students will (12). Teachers who had used non-verbal
deteriorate (3). communication techniques in interacting with
Facial expression, eye contact, physical students with physical and motor impairment in
appearance, etc. … express a message. Facial Tehran province had played an effective role in
expression is more effective than other modes of increasing the students’ self-esteem and reducing
non-verbal cues and gives us a lot of information their shyness (13). An appropriate method of
about the emotional status of others to the extent using non-verbal communication is that the
that some theorists believe that facial expression teacher gives problem solving assignment to the
is the most important source of information student according to their intellectual ability.
after language. He shows them that he is aware of their abilities
In the field of teaching, certainly one of the and creates motivation in them. Thus, he is
main characteristics of good teachers is good willing to solve the problem; on the other hand,
communication skill in classroom, and most if the teacher indirectly tells the students that
of the observed stress in the classroom arises he doesn’t think he is able to solve the problem,
from the lack of proper communication (4). the student will be afraid as well. These mutual
The classroom administration and constructive reactions are not important in school; rather,
conflict resolution in the classroom require good they are important in all human relationships,
communication skills, the most important of especially between parents and children (14).
which is non-verbal skills. By using this skill, The teacher’s timely use of non-verbal
teachers can play a major role in the success of communication can be done through a simple
their students. Through the use of non-verbal greeting with students which is the best way
language, teachers draw the student’s attention to start the class, and is of course impossible
to more understanding and motivate the students without non-verbal language (5). An experienced
and even bring excitement to the bored students. speaker begins his speech by talking directly to
The students unconsciously receive non-verbal one of the listeners, tries to look at each student
signals sent from the teacher; they immediately throughout the speech one by one, and changes
notice that the one standing before them is the tone of his voice during a speech so that the
teaching by all his/her will or is constantly students do not get tired.
waiting for the class to be ended. Teachers’ non-verbal language can be effective
Therefore, it should be mentioned that if students can see the teacher rather than the
non-verbal communication can supplement teacher was being hidden behind a desk or board
or replace verbal communication; it is either a or teaching while turning his back to students.
repetition of verbal messages, making verbal The best place for the teacher in class is standing
near his/her table and all students see him. The beings automatically listen to the favorite
teacher should not put his hands in his pockets, as sounds at first, and then they block their sense of
this limits his activeness. It is best for the teacher hearing on inappropriate content. To resolve this
to keep his/her hands free; this indicates the problem, a variety of teaching methods, ways of
readiness of teachers to communicate with the communicating, etc. can be useful.
students. The teacher must sometimes change his 3- Boring message: When the educational
place, but if he/she always changes his/her place activities in the classroom are not interesting
physically in class, the focus of learners will to the students, they pay less attention to it,
reduce and learning process will not proceed. so good communication will not take place
Another important point is that the teacher during learning. To generate interest and
must look at individual students. Otherwise, the motivate the students, teachers can use different
students will have the impression that the teacher communication methods.
is ignoring them, so the effect of looking at the 4- Dreaming: Another factor impacting
audience is undeniable. effective communication is the student’s
The right way for addressing the student is daydreaming during teaching, which makes
that the teacher should not point to the student them temporarily out of the classroom and
by his/her finger when asking question because into their personal experience and their dream.
the student feels fearful and anxious in this case. According to the principles of psychology,
The best method is that the teacher assumes a personal experiences can be more attractive for
space with the student looks at him/her directly individuals and they can replace and set aside
and points to him/her with full hand (8). materials which are less attractive for students.
Conscious use of non-verbal language is Experienced and knowledgeable teachers
not a show, but rather it makes the effects of can identify such students, and use more
individual words better; the more natural the interesting methods to communicate with them.
non-verbal language is, the more acceptable it Of course, in such cases the use of non-verbal
is to the audience. Teachers who use non-verbal communication methods will be very effective.
language properly have a better relationship 5- Inappropriate physical factors:
with their students. Inappropriate physical condition can disconnect
Often some barriers to effective the learners from their teachers. So, the
communication, both verbal and non-verbal, suitability of light and color in the class setting,
arise in the classroom. In order to communicate comfortable seats, etc. … can be effective to
properly, especially in the case of non-verbal prevent the occurrence of these factors.
communication, it is necessary that the educator
identifies the factors detrimental to effective Differences and similarities between verbal and
communication and resolve them. non-verbal skills
The main obstacles are as follows (9): Verbal and non-verbal communications have
1- Teachers’ lack of awareness of student’s differences and similarities (14):
level of understanding: Experience has shown In these cases, the following differences can
that if educational activities are not in the be noted:
domain of the students’ knowledge and level 1- Non-verbal communication is more
of understanding, learning and achieving reliable: One of the main differences in the
educational goals are little or they do not two kinds of communication is that non-verbal
happen at all. To prevent these problems, first communication is more reliable for the audience,
of all educational message should be presented especially when verbal and non-verbal messages
according to the students’ level of understanding are inconsistent.
and then different methods should be used, 2- Non-verbal communication is multi-
especially non-verbal communication, for better faceted: The second difference between the
understanding. two systems of communication is that non-
2- Long oral arguments: When teachers verbal communication is often established
teach just orally for a long time, students simultaneously in two or more channels.
gradually get discouraged from pursuing the 3- Non-verbal communication is continuous:
teacher’s discussions. This indicates that human Compared to verbal communication that is less
Conflict of Interest: None declared. Teaching. 9th ed. Tehran: Nashr-e-Moaser; 2001.
Persian.
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