Body language in english communication

INDEX
1. FOREWORD 
1.1. The reason to choosing the theme:
As globalization trends and it is very important when Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), foreign languages, especially English have special importance in our country. Using English fluently is particularly important because our country is striving to have a science, engineering, advanced technology, an industry development and modernization in order to integrate effectively and safety. Although not an explicit assertion, English almost be regarded as the international language. Therefore requires our country to have a moderate human resources professionals are trained in a way that all the systems, quality, moderately meet the delivery requirements of international communication. Due to such requirements recent years the Ministry of Education and Training has taken English courses at all levels of education: elementary school, junior high, high schools to colleges, the Universities...  English is one of the subject that students will have to take exam when they want to enter some Universities or colleges, especially English exams on the internet has been responded by students and their parents. That was partly proved the importance of English for the country's modernization and international integration. Learning body language in English communication is an important part for English learners.
Body Language is a significant aspect of modern communications and relationships.
Body Language is therefore very relevant to management and leadership, and to all aspects of work and business where communications can be seen and physically observed among people.
Body language is also very relevant to relationships outside of work, for example in dating and mating, and in families and parenting.
Communication includes listening. In terms of observable body language, non-verbal (non-spoken) signals are being exchanged whether these signals are accompanied by spoken words or not.
Body language goes both ways:
Your own body language reveals your feelings and meanings to others.
Other people's body language reveals their feelings and meanings to you.
The sending and receiving of body language signals happens on conscious and unconscious levels.
Body language, and more technically the study of body language, is also known as kinesics (pronounced 'kineesicks'), which is derived from the Greek word kinesis, meaning motion.
Body language is an effective and important way of communicating. It directly supports expressing the attitude and emotions of the speakers. However, if you do not know the body language – it can cause misunderstands. For these reasons, I choose the theme “BODY LANGUAGE IN ENGLISH COMMUNICATION” as my experience.
1.2. The purposes of the reseach:
Body language is an effective and important way of communicating. It directly supports expressing the attitude and feelings of the speaker. Students may good at English in four skills: speaking, reading, listening and writing; they may very good at communication as well. However, body language seem to be strange to them. Learning English without knowledge about body language can cause misunderstand . This lead to unconfident to speak English. With the desire to help my students become more confident in communicating with natives speaker, I have initiated “body language” as a experience. In addition, understanding the body language also helps students understand more about the culture of English people.
1.3. Subject of the reseach:
This experience initiative studies the body language in English communication, mainly about the common way of communication. This topic explores the age of students of continuing education.
1.4. Reseaching methods:
- Summarizing experience through the teaching process.
- Reading book for more information.	
- Reseaching methodology to construct the theory.
2. CONTENDS:
2.1. Theoretical basis:
A good reason for broadening the scope of body language is to avoid missing important signals which might not be considered within a narrow definition of body language.
Nevertheless confusion easily arises if definitions and context are not properly established, for example:
It is commonly and carelessly quoted that 'non-verbal communications' and/or 'body language' account for up to 93% of the meaning that people take from any human communication. This statistic is actually a distortion based on Albert Mehrabian's research theory, which while itself is something of a cornerstone of body language research, certainly did not make such a sweeping claim.
Mehrabian's research findings in fact focused on communications with a strong emotional or 'feelings' element. Moreover the 93% non-verbal proportion included vocal intonation (paralinguistics), which are regarded by many as falling outside of the body language definition.
Care must therefore be exercised when stating specific figures relating to percentages of meaning conveyed, or in making any firm claims in relation to body language and non-verbal communications.
It is safe to say that body language represents a very significant proportion of meaning that is conveyed and interpreted between people. Many body language experts and sources seem to agree that that between 50-80% of all human communications are non-verbal. So while body language statistics vary according to situation, it is generally accepted that non-verbal communications are very important in how we understand each other (or fail to), especially in face-to-face and one-to-one communications, and most definitely when the communications involve an emotional or attitudinal element.
In his renowned research on nonverbal communication, UCLA Professor Albert Mehrabian concluded that communication consists of three separate elements: words, tone of voice and body language.
He researched how people communicate feelings and attitudes, and found that only seven percent of that communication comes from words. Meanwhile, 38 percent of messages are communicated by tone of voice, and 55 percent of messages are communicated by body language.
Body language is especially crucial when we meet someone for the first time.
We form our opinions of someone we meet for the first time in just a few seconds, and this initial instinctual assessment is based far more on what we see and feel about the other person than on the words they speak. On many occasions we form a strong view about a new person before they speak a single word.
Consequently body language is very influential in forming impressions on first meeting someone.
The effect happens both ways - to and from:
When we meet someone for the first time, their body language, on conscious and unconscious levels, largely determines our initial impression of them.
In turn when someone meets us for the first time, they form their initial impression of us largely from our body language and non-verbal signals.
And this two-way effect of body language continues throughout communications and relationships between people.
Body language is constantly being exchanged and interpreted between people, even though much of the time this is happening on an unconscious level.
Remember - while you are interpreting (consciously or unconsciously) the body language of other people, so other people are constantly interpreting yours.
The people with the most conscious awareness of, and capabilities to read, body language tend to have an advantage over those whose appreciation is limited largely to the unconscious.
You will shift your own awareness of body language from the unconscious into the conscious by learning about the subject, and then by practising your reading of non-verbal communications in your dealings with others.
It is no wonder that so many people are fascinated by body language. We are all "people watchers" and amateur psychologists, partly because we have to be. In every aspect of communication at work - the selection interview, the annual appraisal, the board meeting - we need to observe others carefully to try to understand better what they are feeling as well as (really) saying.
Being adults, we are all skillful deceivers; we have learnt, for myriad reasons, to present ourselves in a particular way; to manage the impression we leave; not always to say directly what we mean (perhaps to protect others' feelings); to sell products or ideas; and to explain away some undesirable behaviour.
Politicians and CEOs are often trained by actors to present themselves in a particular way. They know that whilst they may have very clever speech writers, it is as much about how the speech is delivered as what is said. This is all more the case in a television age where the camera can focus in on small beads of sweat, finger nail biting, or occasional scowls of important speakers.
Experts now record speeches and analyze frame-by-frame the minute changes in facial expressions and body movements, usually to explore evidence that the speaker is being insincere. All actors know the importance of body language when portraying a character, as do comedians who mimic or "take off" famous people. Often a very simple mannerism, if exaggerated, can immediately signal who it is they are attempting to "impersonate".
As a result, many people believe messages conveyed by different body signals, particularly emotional states and attitudes to oneself and others, are somehow more real, more fundamental. We send and "leak" nonverbal signals, which may or may not be "picked up" in the communication process. The sender of the message may be aware or unaware of the signals he or she sends. Indeed, receivers may not always be aware of the messages they are actually picking up. For instance, most people are not aware of their pupil dilations; nor are observers aware that they can on specific occasions respond positively to dilated pupils (when people are sexually aroused).
2.2. The reality of the problem before applying experience:
English is more and more become a popular language and an effective mean of study, research and integration. However, learning English is not enough. Students in general as well as students in vocational - continuing educational centre in particular need to know more about the body language to be more confident in communication. Further more, during the teaching process, I realized that the students did not know about the body language but and they are trained the four main skills mainly. Not knowing body language will lead to misunderstandings when comunicating. Beacause students do not know about this topic, so in this experience I mention some theories and situations to help students understand what is body language in communication is.
2.3. The solutions to solve the problems:
2.3.1. What is body language?
Body language is a language in which physical behavior, as opposed to words, is used to express feelings. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Body language exists in both animals and humans, but this article focuses on interpretations of human body language. It is also known as kinesics.
Body language must not be confused with sign language, as sign languages are full languages like spoken languages and have their own complex grammar systems, as well as being able to exhibit the fundamental properties that exist in all languages. Body language, on the other hand, does not have a grammar and must be interpreted broadly, instead of having an absolute meaning corresponding with a certain movement, so it is not a language like sign language, and is simply termed as a "language" due to popular culture.
Body language is communication without words. It is anything someone does to which someone else assigns meaning. Not all of the "signals" a person sends are intentional and often they are "not picked up" or misinterpreted. Nonverbal behavior is complex, subtle, and multichannel. It may be structured (following certain rules) but is more likely to be unstructured; it may be continuous, unlike language, which comes in disconnected units; it may be learnt but some functions seem innate; and it may be "right-" as opposed to "left-brained."
Body language can be subtle or blatant; it can be consciously sent and unconsciously received; it can be carefully practiced and displayed but also physiologically uncontrollable; it can let you down by revealing your true beliefs and behaviours; but also (when learnt) help enormously to put across a message. Facial expressions, gestures, head and gaze movements, body contact and orientation, sheer physical proximity as well as tone of voice, clothes and body adornments send clear messages - some even intended!
Body Language is also referred to as 'non-verbal communications', and less commonly 'non-vocal communications'.
The term 'non-verbal communications' tends to be used in a wider sense, and all these terms are somewhat vague.
For the purposes of this experience, the terms 'body language' and 'non-verbal communications' are broadly interchangeable. This guide also takes the view that body language/non-verbal communications is the study of how people communicate face-to-face aside from the spoken words themselves, and in this respect the treatment of the subject here is broader than typical body language guides limited merely to body positions and gestures.
Nonverbal communication is a rather misleading term. "Nonverbal" excludes vocal or paralinguistic cues and signals like emotional tone of speech, which is clearly very important. Communication suggests furthermore that giver and sender (encoder and decoder) are conscious speakers of the same body language! Intentional messages may or may not be intentionally received Body language also excludes vocal cues. nonverbally. Equally, unintentional messages may be unintentionally sent and received.
What is body language? We can define it as the way people demonstrate their emotions through body movements such as facial expressions, eye contact, and hand gestures. It can even include personal space and the way one dresses. The thumbs up example above illustrates that not all cultures have the same norms when it comes to body language
2.3.2. The importance of body language:
 Have you ever been in the situation when you really didn't believe what someone was saying? Did you have a sense that something didn't ring true or a gut feeling that all was not right? Perhaps they were saying "Yes" yet their heads were shaking "No"?
The difference between the words people speak and our understanding of what they are saying comes from non-verbal communication, otherwise known as "body language." By developing your awareness of the signs and signals of body language, you can more easily understand other people, and more effectively communicate with them.
There are sometimes subtle – and sometimes not so subtle – movements, gestures, facial expressions and even shifts in our whole bodies that indicate something is going on. The way we talk, walk, sit and stand all say something about us, and whatever is happening on the inside can be reflected on the outside.
By becoming more aware of this body language and understanding what it might mean, you can learn to read people more easily. This puts you in a better position to communicate effectively with them. What's more, by increasing your understanding of others, you can also become more aware of the messages that you convey to them.
There are times when we send mixed messages - we say one thing yet our body language reveals something different. This non-verbal language will affect how we act and react to others, and how they react to us.
Body language is a part of communication that very few actually study yet it makes up most of what we use to communicate and is generally much more accurate a judge of meaning than are the words we use.  I’m going to share some reasons why body language is so important and then give you a very short quiz to take to see how well you understand its meaning.
They say actions speak louder than words and sometimes we can communicate things even without the aid of a single word.  We can shrug our shoulders and, without a word, we’ve just said, “I don’t know.”  We can raise our eyebrows and we’ve just said, “Excuse me? Did I hear you right?”   We can turn our hands over palms up in front of us to say, “I don’t know what else to say.  That’s all I’ve got.”   And we can point to our nose to indicate that the other person’s “got it right!”
Some of the things we say with our bodies can help us reinforce why we are saying it.  Simply saying “I don’t know” has got nothing on adding the following gestures.  We can turn our hands over face up in front of us as we raise our eyebrows and invert our smile while we stick our bottom lip slightly out and look to the side.  Now we’ve also made someone laugh and perhaps taken a bit of the pressure off ourselves or the other person who was a bit nervous about not knowing whatever it was we didn’t know.
Further, paying attention to someone’s body language can help us discern when someone is not telling us the whole truth and nothin’ but the truth. (An important communication skill with your kids, right?)  Here are a few signs that someone might be lying.  Often a person who is not telling the truth or all of the truth will not want to make eye contact for fear the eyes are the windows to their lying souls.  However, there are also other signs of lying.  A person who isn’t telling the whole truth may clear their throat, stammer or change their pitch as if to try and sway your attention away from their lie or in order to stall so they may have time to think up a valid answer or plausible explanation.   Additionally, foot tapping or bouncing, blushing, putting their hand to their face, turning away or raising their shoulders may all be indicators that they are uncomfortable with the conversation because they are not telling the truth. These are just a few things that are important for every day communication.
Another important function of body language is to express our feelings about what we are discussing.  Body language can help us determine how someone feels about what they are saying.  For example, a person may tell her boss that she would be happy to take the account but her body language might indicate that she is actually not at all happy about it.  This can be an important tidbit that can help a manager, and others in a leadership position, determine who is the best person to handle this assignment.  If her heart isn’t in it, she may do an adequate job when another employee might turn this small job into a lifelong client.
Body language may be the determining factor in a job interview.  If the applicant’s body language conveys that he is at ease with the subject matter and conveys confidence, he has a higher probability of getting the job, especially in this tough job market.  We talked earlier about the fact that some body language is interpreted as being uncomfortable and out of control.  These are some of the same traits that make a job applicant appear less than confident and comfortable as well.
In a friendship, one’s body language can indicate that someone is paying attention or doesn’t really care about what the other person is saying.  Leaning forward into the conversation indicates that this person is interested in hearing what the other person is saying.  Leaning back would indicate that he was disinterested or felt himself superior.  Leaning forward and standing close while talking may indicate that someone is aggressively trying to persuade the other person or trying to dominate the conversation.  Listening to someone while not making eye contact indicates that you are not really paying attention, but are waiting for your chance to speak.  This gives your friend the feeling that you don’t really care about them and what they hav