Use of eye contact, gesture and the voice

Eye contact
Good use of eye contact is crucial in helping to establish rapport.
How can you use eye contact?
• to ensure that the students have understood
• to show a student who is talking that you are taking notice
• to check that everyone is participating

When should you avoid eye contact?

During any activity that doesn't demand teacher-centred control, avoid eye contact unless you are
specifically asked for help or choose to join in.
 Use of gesture, facial expression and mime
Gestures and facial expressions are an integral part of any communication where people listen and
speak to each other.

You can use gesture and mime:

• to convey the meaning of language;
• to manage the class
• to add visual interest
• to cut down on the amount of verbal explanation.

Conveying meaning
The meaning of vocabulary can often be quickly and efficiently indicated through gesture or mime.
Managing the class
All language teachers develop a personal set of gestures to get a class to do what they want with the minimum
of fuss and the minimum of language.

Examples

listen: hand cupped behind the ear good: thumb up and/or smile and nod times up: cross arms

• not right: shake head or index finger and/or indicate by facial expression
• nearly right: outstretched hand rocked from side to side
• interesting idea: raise the eyebrows
 Using the voice
If your voice does not have sufficient range, variety and projection, you are going to be at a considerable
disadvantage in the classroom. However, having said that, voice quality and the ways individuals use their voices
vary enormously from one teacher to another.

How can you use your voice to gain attention?

• when students are standing around at the beginning of a lesson, talking;
• when you want to stop a group activity;
• when there’s a lot of general noise and you want to regain control.

Using students' names When should you use students' names?

Why should you learn and use students' names?
It is important to make sure you know everyone's
name and that they know both yours and each
other's as quickly as possible
You can use students' names when you want:
• to organize an activity;
• to acknowledge a query or contribution;
• to indicate who is to answer a question;
• to indicate who is to respond to an instruction;
• to get an individual student's attention.