ERIC Number: EJ1167286
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1307-4733
EISSN: N/A
Teachers' Perceptions of Other Teachers' Spontaneous Hand Gesturing in the EFL Classroom
Thompson, John Michael
Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), v8 n2 p119-135 2014
The evidence for gesture being a vital element in the classroom is becoming insurmountable; however, it remains to be seen how long it will take to be fully utilized in the EFL classroom. This study, using a qualitative descriptive methodology, briefly examines how a group of teachers perceive gesturing after viewing a video performance of an EFL practitioner. All of the data was collected online via a questionnaire and a recorded semi-structured interview. Volunteers were, or had been, teaching English within the past twelve months and approached the researcher to take part in the study via social media. The results of the study suggest that teachers fully acknowledge the importance of gesture and commonly attribute similar functions to specific gestures within a teaching performance. Overall, the results offer numerous pedagogical implications for gesture and SLA and support previous assertions regarding the need to make teachers fully aware of the gestures they use in the classroom. Analysis of the questionnaires also revealed that teachers seldom have the opportunity to view their own teaching and suggests that gesture needs to play a much greater role within critical reflective practice.
Descriptors: Teacher Attitudes, Nonverbal Communication, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Qualitative Research, Video Technology, Language Teachers, Questionnaires, Online Surveys, Semi Structured Interviews, Teaching Methods, Reflection, Foreign Countries
Children's Research Center-Turkey. Via Tower Is Merkezi, Bestepeler Mahallesi, Nergiz Sokak No 7-35 Sögütözü, Ankara 06530, Turkey. Tel: +90-312-2190219; Fax: +90-312-2190321; e-mail: submissions@novitasroyal.org; Web site: http://www.novitasroyal.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A