Abstract:

The paper focuses on the construct of teacher immediacy, which has become an important component of classroom communication and has demanded a great deal of attention over the last decades. Teacher immediacy involves various communication behaviors, that make a sense of interpersonal closeness between the teacher and the pupil. Many studies have dealt with the construct of immediacy in instructional communication, especially in the context of student learning. In most research studies, the results indicate, that teacher immediacy could significantly promote affective and cognitive learning and increase student motivation.

The aim of the present study is to examine how teachers reflect their own manifestations of immediacy and how their immediacy affects pupils. The first part of the study focuses on defining the vebral and nonverbal immediacy. Results and conclusions of previous research studies are also presented.

The second part presents the results of a qualitative study. Data was gathered through interviews with primary school teachers. The results of the study indicate, that teachers actively influence interactions within the educational process through the using of verbal and nonverbal immediacy behavior. However, teachers perceive some obstacles, that decrease their degree of immediacy. This offers new questions related to the teacher's social and communication competencies.

Keywords:

Communication, education, pupil, teachers immediacy, nonverbal immediacy, verbal immediacy pupil.