NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION ELEMENTS IN INSTRUCTIONAL/LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Theorist E.T. Hall characterized nonverbal as the “hidden dimension” and “silent language” of human communication (Hall, 1966; 1973). Nonverbal communication is defined as “the transfer and exchange of messages in any and all modalities that do not involve words” (Matsumoto, Frank, & Hwang, 2013, p. 4). Further, Knapp & Hall (2010) view nonverbal as human communication behaviors that “transcend spoken or written words” (p. 24). Given these conceptualizations, nonverbal elements of human communication may be understood as behaviors that serve to extend, modify, replace, and even contradict verbal messages. Extant nonverbal research suggests that as much as 60 to 90 percent of the meaning of verbal messages, particularly those messages carrying affective information, is conveyed through nonverbal communication codes (Birdwhistle, 1970; Mehrabian, 2007). Instructional contexts are settings in which effective communication is essential. Clearly, instructors’ and students’ nonverbal communication behaviors (positive or negative) may significantly influence instructional/learning environments (Hinchcliff-Pelias, 2013). This essay explores specific nonverbal codes (i.e., proxemics, kinesics, vocalics, chronemics, immediacy) that contribute to the perceived positive or negative communication climates of instructional/learning environments. This essay posits that positive learning outcomes may be contingent on the nonverbal competencies of the instructional participants. To address this contingency, the essay introduces a metric for instructors to consider when assessing learning environments along nonverbal communication dimensions.

References:
[1] Hall, E. T. (1966). The hidden dimension. New York, NY: Doubleday.
[2] Hall, E. T. (1973). The silent language. New York, NY: Anchor.
[3] Matsumoto, D., Frank, M.G. & Hwang, H.S. (2013). Reading people. In D.
[4] Matsumoto, M.G. Frank, & H.S. Hwang (Eds.), Nonverbal communication:
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[6] Knapp, M.L., & Hall, J.A. (2010). Nonverbal communication in human interactions (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth.
[7] Birdwhistle, R. (1970). Kinesics and context. Philadelphia, PA: University of
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[9] Mehrabian, A. (2007). Nonverbal communication. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction.
[10] Hinchcliff-Pelias, M. (2013). Instructional nonverbal competence: Understanding and attending to “hidden/silent” communication dimensions in learning environments. In EDULEARN 13 Proceedings (pp. 493-496). Barcelona, Spain: International Association of Technology, Education and Development (IATED).