THE UTILIZATION OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN DIFFERENT

LEARNING ASPECTS

A SOCIOLINGUISTICS PAPER

Members of the Group:

Mahardika Sri Chanda D. S (K2220050)

Mahira Afanin (K2220051)
Marcelinus Galang K. P. (K2220052)

PROGRAM STUDI PENDIDIKAN BAHASA INGGRIS

UNIVERSITAS SEBELAS MARET
2022
A. Introduction

Communication is a multifaceted process, touching and affecting every area of human

existence. It is by means of communication that human beings are integrated into society and
social life (Lemon, 2007). In other words, communication is a way for humans to share
something for what’s on their mind. It is well known that speech is only one part of
communication, yet teachers often forget about or underestimate the importance of
non-verbal communication in their own and their students’ performance (Ledbury et al.
2004).
Non-verbal communication represents a considerable part of everyday interpersonal
communication (Tarr, 2000). And there are two aspects of non-verbal communication, they
are the use of eyes and facial expressions; both of which are powerful tools to convey
messages (Zeki, 2009). In this paper we are going to report our discussion about some areas
that use non-verbal communication to support their fluency of communication or activities in
the learning process.
First thing to be discussed is the use of verbal communication in the classroom
management and what are the importance that might be brought out from it. Most sources
believe the employment of eyes and facial expressions to have a disciplinary purpose, and
they are reported to have a variety of related functions that aid teachers in classroom
management (Zeki, 2009). Second thing is the use of non-verbal communication on students’
English achievement and how it might affect their capability. One of the requirements for
successful communication of the teaching learning process in a foreign language classroom is
compliance between verbal and nonverbal signals. (Sutiyatno, 2018)

B. Discussion

1. Previous method

1.1. Class management

Similar methods have been done several times by numerous experts. One
of them to which the qualitative data gathered from the reports was analyzed
using content analysis by coding, categorizing, and labeling the primary
patterns/occurring themes in the data (Miles and Huberman, 1994; Patton, 2002,
as cited by Zeki, 2009). The researcher focused on the following research
question: "What do classroom management students report on the meaning of eye
contact, mimics, and gestures?" According to the findings, nonverbal
communication can be an important source of motivation and concentration for
 students' learning, as well as a tool for capturing and maintaining attention.
According to research, teachers can save time and effort by sending certain
messages through their eyes and faces, such as praise, encouragement, and
disapproval.

1.2. Students’ English achievement

As for the English achievement aspect that is coming from students,
non-verbal communication research has primarily focused on classroom teaching
strategies that can be utilized to teach any subject. The odd scenario in English
class has received little notice from students. Teachers of foreign languages who
deliberately control their motions and posture have a subtle but potent power.
During pattern drills, they can noticeably raise the class tempo while
simultaneously lowering teacher chatter. Throughout a class time spanning
diverse activities such as dialogue and choral repetition, language teachers can
employ body language such as gestures to signal and initiate changes in the
classroom mood and therefore promote their teaching aims (Qi Pan, 2014, as cited
by Sutiyatno, 2018, p. 431).

2. Methods
The methods themselves are being independently parted into two
following particular outlooks being discussed in this paper.

2.1. Class management

Evidently in the class management aspect, the qualitative research method
was used in this study and the data was gathered by the researcher in two of her
classroom management classes. As participants in the study, 67 third-year
university students from these two groups were chosen. Students were assigned to
write a "critical moments reflection" report (Amulya, 2004, as cited by Zeki,
2009, p. 1445) once a week, right after their classes, for two months at the start of
the academic year 2008-09. They were only given an electronic 'Significant
Moments Log' to report the events and email them to the course instructor within
two days of the class time. The topic of eye contact, facial expressions (mimics),
and gestures (body language) arose naturally from the critical moments reflection
reports emailed to the course instructor by students in the course. Documents
 would be used as a source of data, which is an appropriate instrument for
qualitative research.

2.2. Students’ English achievement

As for students’ English achievement aspect, with survey research, the
study took a quantitative method. The participants of this study consisted of 76
second-year students from STMIK Bina Patria Magelang's Informatics
department, and all members of the population were employed as research
respondents. The data for verbal and nonverbal communication was obtained
using a questionnaire, and the data for English achievement was calculated using
the English test's final score. Regression was used to analyze the data. We fit a
predictive model to our data and use it to predict values of the dependent variable
(DV) from one or more independent variables in regression analysis (IVs)
(Sutiyatno, 2018, as cited in Field, 2000, p. 103).

3. Results
The results are both brought together from the two aspects which are the
points being examined in the paper.

3.1. Class Management

The research came to a conclusion on some findings that are generated into two
major categories as shown by Table 1 for the first category and Table 2 for the
second category being discussed in this paper.

- Category 1: Students’ perceptions in regards to the context of eye contact in the

classroom.

Reports Quantity of Students

The teacher's eye contact motivates and concentrates 15

them on the lesson.

Students perceive the teacher's eye contact as a source of 10

capturing and maintaining their attention.

The teacher's eye contact helps them understand the 8

topic better.
 They consider the teacher's eye contact to be a form of 6
emphasis.

The teacher's eye contact reflects the teacher's mood. 5

A teacher's eye contact can reveal a teacher's confidence. 4

The teacher's eye contact can be a tool for assessing 2

students' comprehension of the topic.
Table 1. Students’ perceptions on eye contact

- Category 2: Students’ perceptions in regards to the context of facial expression

(mimics) and gestures (body language) in the classroom.

Reports Quantity of Students

The teacher's mimics and gestures provide motivation, 10

enthusiasm, and confidence in learning.

Students perceive the teacher's mimics and gestures as a 5

source of capturing and maintaining their attention.

Students perceive the teacher's mimicry and gestures as a 4

form of emphasis.

The teacher's mimics and gestures reflect the teacher's 4

mood.

The teacher's mimicking and gesticulating helps them 2

understand the topic better.
Table 1. Students’ perceptions on body language and mimics

3.2. Students’ English achievement

The non-verbal communication measurements through the questionnaire
implied that most students are having the tendency to use non-verbal language in
communicating. This results in high correlation between their English language
achievement in terms of personal mastery level and the utilization of non-verbal
language in communicating itself.
Nonverbal communication has been shown to have a considerable impact
on second-year Informatics students at STMIK Bina Patria Magelang's English
learning achievement. Nonverbal communication has a value of 0.574 in the
 regression function with verbal communication, indicating that nonverbal
communication can influence English. A positive score shows that increasing
nonverbal communication can improve English accomplishment, whereas a
negative score indicates that decreasing nonverbal communication has an impact
on English achievement.
Body language, often known as nonverbal communication, has a long
history of being linked to communication. The importance of body acting
becomes much more vital in the profession of education, when communication
skills are more important. Teachers think that communicating with the class is
impossible without effective body language (Haneef, et al., as cited by Sutiyatno,
2018, p. 436). This also indicates that the use of nonverbal communication in
learning a second language gains a positive attitude from students.

C. Conclusion

In the context of better classroom management, research findings and their implications
have been presented and discussed. The importance of active participation and feedback in
the education process has also been considered in regard to non-verbal skills. This means that
we must emphasize the importance of effective communication skills in classroom
management and students’ achievement in their English language once again. Non-verbal
communication skills are essential, as we have seen, to this end. The majority of students
expressed how inspired they feel as a result of the teacher's eye contact, imitation, and
gestures, which make them feel at ease, confident, and significant. The nonverbal
communication of the teacher creates a comfortable and relaxed environment for the
students, allowing them to develop self-confidence, which leads to increased engagement and
contributions to the class. Students are more inclined to ask questions when they engage in
the session, which increases their grasp of the material. Teachers should be aware of the
importance of nonverbal communication and use it to their students' advantage in order to
establish a more motivating, comfortable, and confident classroom atmosphere which is
conducive classroom management. When it comes to second-year students, it is also found
that their English achievement is significantly boosted by nonverbal communication as well.
 REFERENCES

Dobrescu, Tatiana. "The Role Of Non-Verbal Communication In The Coach-Athlete

Relationship". Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences, vol 149, 2014, pp. 286-291.
Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.08.231.

Kilmukhametova, Elena Y., and Alexandra S. Bub. "Specificity Of Conveying Emotions

Using Non-Verbal Means And Their Descriptions In A Literary Text (A Case Study Of
The French Language Materials)". Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences, vol 200,
2015, pp. 230-235. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.08.057.

Sutiyatno, Sukris. "The Effect Of Teacher’S Verbal Communication And Non-Verbal

Communication On Students’ English Achievement". Journal Of Language Teaching
And Research, vol 9, no. 2, 2018, p. 430. Academy Publication,
doi:10.17507/jltr.0902.28.

Wyman, Emily et al. "Non-Verbal Communication Enables Children’S Coordination In A

“Stag Hunt” Game". European Journal Of Developmental Psychology, vol 10, no. 5,
2013, pp. 597-610. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/17405629.2012.726469.

Zeki, Canan P. "The Importance Of Non-Verbal Communication In Classroom Management".

Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences, vol 1, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1443-1449. Elsevier
BV, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2009.01.254.

Šerić, Maja. "The Relationship Between Teacher Non-Verbal Communication And Student
Behavior: A Cross-National Perspective". Journal Of Communication Inquiry, vol 45, no.
4, 2020, pp. 383-410. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/0196859920977125.