Compiling teaching supplementary materials for cross – cultural communication course for english major students at vietnam maritime university

definitions, culture shock, cross-culture communication, and many other aspects of this field, can be Politeness of Brown and Levinson; Intercultural communication of R Scollon, SW Scol

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÀNG HẢI VIỆT NAM

AT VIETNAM MARITIME UNIVERSITY

(Xây dựng tài liệu giảng dạy bổ trợ môn Giao tiếp giao văn hóa cho sinh viên chuyên ngữ trường Đại học Hàng Hải Việt

Nam)

Chủ nhiệm đề tài: Ths Nguyễn Thị Thúy Thu

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 1

3 Significance of the study 1

4 Methodology of the study 2

5 Scope of the study 3

6 Design of the study 3

DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING CROSS – CULTURAL COMMUNICATION 4

1.1 Definition of culture 4

1.1.1 Language 4

1.1.2 Culture 4

1.1.3 The components of culture 6

1.2 Definition of Communication 7

1.3 Communication competence (CC) 8

1.4 The definition of cross-cultural communication 9

1.5 Culture shock and how to avoid culture shock? 10

1.5.1 Culture schock? Why culture shock? 10

1.5.2 Main factors creating culture shock 12

1.5.3 How culture - shock: From honey moon to Culture shock to integration 12

1.5.4 How to cope with culture shock? 14

1.6 Practice 15

CHAPTER 2: CULTURE IMPACTS ON NON – VERBAL COMMUNICATION 20

2.1 Understanding non-verbal communication 20

2.2 The importance of nonverbal communication 21

2.3 Types of nonverbal communication 22

2.3.1 Gestures 22

2.3.2 Postures 29

2.4 Cross-cultural nonverbal communication and culture shock 31

CHAPTER 3:CULTURE IMPACTS ON VERBAL COMMUNICATION 33 3.1 Addressing forms in Vietnamese language and culture 33

3.1.1 Circular Relationship 34

3.1.2 Horizontal Relationship- Type 1 34

3.1.4 Dynamic Relationships 36

3.1.5 The dynamic relationship-type II 38

3.1.6.The variant of circular relationship 39

3.2 Addressing forms in English - American language and culture 40

3.2.1 Addressing forms in English - American 40

3.2.2 Terms of affection 42

3.3 Objectiveness and Subjectiveness 43

3.3.1 Definition of objectiveness and subjective 43

3.3.2 Objectiveness and Subjectiveness in defining the space 43

3.3.3 Subjective and objective in pragmatics 44

3.4 Directness and indirectness 45

3.4.1 Directness 45

3.4.2 Indirectness 46

3.5 Politeness 49

3.5.1.What is politeness? 49

3.5.2.What is FTA? 50

3.5.3 Speech atcs 51

3.5.4 Politeness principles 52

3.5.6 Bald on record – without redressive action 54

3.5.7 Positive politeness strategies 55

3.5.8 Negative politeness strategies 57

CONCLUSION 61

1 Major findings 61

2 Implications for English language teaching 61

3 Limitations 64

4 Further study 64

REFERENCES 65

In English 65

In Vietnamese 66

Website 67

LIST OF FIGURES IN THE STUDY

Figure 1: Levine and adalman’s iceburg of culture 7

Figure 2: Classification of Communication 8

Figure 3: W-shaped diagram of culture shock 13

Figure 4: Circular Relationship 34

Figure 5: Horizontal Relationship- Type 2 Nguyen

Quang (1999:165)

36

Figure 6: Dynamic relationship type-I 37

Figure 7: Dynamic relationship type-II 38

Figure 8: Dynamic relationship type-II cited in Nguyen

Quang (1999:175)

39

Figure 9: Variant of circular relationship 40

Figure 10: Possible strategies for doing FTAs (Brown

INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

As stated by Nguyen Quang (1998)“ in communication, only language is not enough, behind and deep under it, following many tacit rules, are culture, belief, attitude, norms, values, etc Each country has its own culture”

Cross- cultural communication (CCC) is not a new subject in most universities nationwide; and it is an interesting and challenging subject Materials for this subject are various; however, choosing one course book seems to be not enough for students to understand well many differences and similarities between the two cultures and two countries Therefore, the author decided to do a research on compiling teaching supplementary materials for Cross-cultural communication course for English major students at Vietnam Maritime University (VMU)

2 Aims of the study

The aims of this study are to:

- Research and summarize the information from many cross- cultural communication books to compile teaching supplementary materials for English major students at VMU

- Collect and arrange some cross- cultural communication exercises to help students deal with the new theory actively

3 Significance of the study

It is impossible to separate language from culture when communicating and teaching a foreign language especially at higher level as well That is the reason why culture learning should always go hand in hand with language learning In the world, studying about cross culture communication is varied and abundant Many books written about cross-cultural studies, each of these supplies huge knowledge about culture

definitions, culture shock, cross-culture communication, and many other

aspects of this field, can be Politeness of Brown and Levinson;

Intercultural communication of R Scollon, SW Scollon, 1; or Languages and Gestures of McNeill, David; Gestures: the do's and taboos of body language around the world of Axtell, Roger E In Vietnam, cross-cultural

studies are recognized well enough with a lot of books such as

Intercultural communication and Cross –culture communication for ELT

written by Nguyen Quang, Doing business in Vietnam: a cultural guide

by Esmond D Smith Jr and Cuong Pham

The cross- cultural communication course book for English major

students at VMU is Beyond Language Intercultural Communication for

English as a Second Language written by Deena R Levine & Mara B

Adelman, Prentice Hall Regents (1982) This book indicates the main aspects of cross – cultural communication but it does not include the comparing and contrasting analysis between English culture and Vietnamese culture Moreover, according to the syllabus of Cross-cultural communication subject (see the appendix), students have to do self-study

at home to deeply understand what they have learnt in class Therefore, the author would like to compile teaching supplementary materials to give more information about culture differences and similarities between English and Vietnamese to help students master the language they are learning and be aware of its cultural background

4 Methodology of the study

The method of this study is:

- The main method of this study is the contrastive methodology

- Researching relevant materials

- Consulting with Professors of cross-cultural studies

- Discussing with English and Vietnamese colleagues

5 Scope of the study

The author will investigate a number of references materials to build teaching supplementary materials for cross cultural communication course for English major students at Vietnam Maritime University

6 Design of the study

The study is divided into 3 parts:

Part I - Introduction includes rationale, aims of the study, methodology of the study, the significant and the organization of the study

Part II – Development is the main and covers the following aspects: Chapter 1: Understanding cross-cultural communication;

Chapter 2: Non-Verbal communication in the light of cross-cultural communication;

Chapter 3: Verbal communication in the light of cross-cultural communication

Part III- Conclusion is the summary of the study, and the suggestions for further research

to communicate, to pass their achievements from generation to generation, language is a tool by which people are most frequently judged, and through which they may make or lose friends It is "the vehicle par-excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of business" (M Bygate, 1987: 3)

1.1.2 Culture

Unlike language, culture does not contain fixed rules It is different from

society to society and even from individual to individual What is right in one culture may not be right in another culture

Culture, in Moore’s words (1985:4), is “the whole of the knowledge, ideas and habits of society that are transmitted from one generation to the next.” It is more powerful than instinct Apte (1994), writing in the ten volume Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistic, propose the following definition: “Culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioral conventions, and basic assumptions and values that are shared by a group

of people, and that influence each member’s behavior and his/her interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of the other people’s behavior.” Moore (1985:4) also claims the following components of culture, which are

“beliefs, values, norms, roles, role conflict, and status.” R.A.Hudson (1982:81) regards culture as “the kind of knowledge” involving cultural knowledge, shared-non-cultural knowledge, and non-shared-knowledge

“which we learn from other people, either by direct instruction or by watching their behavior.” In other words, culture is the set of values and ways of acting that mark a particular society

Culture, as stated by Nguyen Quang (1998: 3), is “a share background (for example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, custom, beliefs, attitudes, and values Culture in this text does not refer to art, music, literature, food, clothing styles, and so on It refers to the informal and often hidden patterns of human interactions, expressions, and viewpoints that people in one culture share The hidden nature of culture has been compared to an iceberg, most of which is hidden underwater! Like the iceberg most of the influence of culture on an individual cannot be seen The part of culture that is exposed is not always that which creates cross-cultural difficulties; the hidden aspects of culture have significant effects on behavior and on interactions with others” No culture is good or bad, cultures are equal but different There is a famous quote of Mahatma Gandhi that goes “no culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.” Culture does not belong to any single person but to all people Nguyen Quang in his “Lectures-notes

on cross-cultural communication” (2004: 31) also describes culture as “a complex whole of tangible and intangle expressions that are created and adapted by a society or a social group as well as that ways it functions and reacts in given situations.”

What can be seen from these points of view is that the language of a community is a part or a manifestation of its culture as Goodenogh’s word “the relationship of language to culture is that of part to whole.” Language and communication modality (verbal, gesture, written) are

examples of elements that form and shape a culture Kramch-Troike (1998:3) clarifies the corelation between language and culture by emphasizing three functions of language related to culture They are

“expressing cultural reality, embodying cultural reality and symbolizing cultural reality” What we can see that culture and language are closely

interrelated and interwoven R.A.Hudson (1982: 81) argues“As for the

relation between language and culture, most of language is contained within culture” Obviousely, the close relationship between language and culture plays a very important part in communication It is impossible to separate language from culture when communicating

1.1.3 The components of culture

According to Stephen Moore (1985:4), the components of culture can be defined as the followings:

Belief: These are general, vague opinions held about the world and about

the nature of society

Values: These are vague beliefs about what is right and correct in the

world

Norms: These are socially expected patterns of behavior

Roles: Social roles are patterns of behavior expected of certain people

according to the occupation or position they hold in society

Role conflict: These are innumerable social roles: father, mother, child,

and shopkeeper All of us occupy a number of roles, which are generally complementary, but sometimes they may conflict

Status: this refers to the position of a person or social role in society

according to the amount of prestige received from others

According to Nguyen Quang (1998:4), the iceburg of culture includes visible part of culture and invisible part of culture:

+ Visible part of culture: Appearance, food, language, etc

+ Invisible part of culture: values, beliefs, perceptions, communication styles

Figure 1: Levine and adalman’s iceburg of culture(Nguyen Quang, 1998)

“Communication is any process in which people share information, ideas, and feelings That process involves not only the spoken and written word, but also body language, personal mannerism and style” (Hybels, 1992:5)

COM M UNICATION

 - Eye contact - Facial expression

Together with these ideas, Wardhaugh (1989:213) suggests: “When we teach a language like English to speakers who already know another language, we must aware that we have to teach more than new sounds, words, and grammatical structures, etc”

CC involves the understanding of cultural, social knowledge and other skills of interaction CC includes:

- “Knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of the language

- Knowledge of rules of speaking (e.g: knowing how to begin and end conversation, knowing what topics may be talked about in different types

of speech events, knowing address forms should be used with different people and in different situations)

- Knowing how to use and respond to different types of speech acts, such

as requests, apologizes, thanks, and invitations

- Knowing how to use English appropriately”

(J Richards et al- 1985:49)

In J.Richards’ opinion, he also adds: “When someone wishes to communicate with others, they must recognize the social setting, their relationship to the other person, and the types of language can be used for

a particular occasion They must also be able to interpret written or spoken sentences within the total context in which they are used”(J.Richard, 49) CC is essential in cross-cultural communication It includes notion of language, culture, and thought

1.4 Definitions of cross-cultural communication

According to Nguyen Quang (1998:3): “Communication (verbal or nonverbal) between people from different cultures; communication that is influenced and cultural values, attitudes and behavior: the influence of culture on people’ reactions and responses to each other.”

Cross-cultural communication can be defined as “an awareness that specific cultural and/or social and/or linguistic and/or economic and/or

historical and/or gender-based differences matter in cross-cultural

interaction, demonstrated through appropriately shaping one’s discourse with individuals of different backgrounds from one’s own”

(www.global-workforce.globalization.org)

“The phrase cross-cultural communication describes the ability to successfully form, foster, and improve relationships with members of a culture different from one's own It is based on knowledge of many factors, such as the other culture's values, perceptions, manners, social structure, and decision-making practices, and an understanding of how members of the group communicate verbally, non-verbally, in person, in writing, and in various business and social contexts, to name but a few Like speaking a foreign language or riding a bicycle, cross-cultural communication involves a skill component that may best be learned and mastered through instruction and practice: simply reading about it is not enough”(www.ewbs.com)

Or cross-cultural communication can be understood in a more simple way: “Cross-cultural communication (also frequently referred to

as intercultural communication, which is also used in a different sense, though) is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they endeavour to communicate across cultures” (en.wikipedia.org)

1.5 Culture shock and how to avoid culture shock?

1.5.1 Culture shock? Why culture shock?

Culture shock or communication breakdown may happen when a person learns a second language in a second culture or s/he moves to live in another cultural environment Culture shock in H.Douglas Brown’s opinion, refers “to a phenomena ranging from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis” when entering a new culture And George M.Foster (1962:87) uses more terms to describe culture shock:

“Culture- shock is a mental illness, and as it is true of much mental illness, the victim usually does not know he is affected He finds that he is

irritable, depressed, and probably annoyed by the lack of attention shown him.”

Culture shock in H.Douglas Brown’s opinion, refers “to a phenomena ranging from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis” when entering a new culture Culture shock results from different values, perceptions, norms that lead to the different inference as well as misinterpretation in both verbal and non-verbal communication

However, how about culture shock happening between native and native speakers of a language, and of Vietnamese in particular, because of unawareness of cultural differences “Communication breakdown” between them is unavoidable Culture shock results from different values, perceptions, norms that lead to the different inference as well as misinterpretation in both verbal and non-verbal communication For example in the way of using address forms:

non-Vietnamese students often call: “teacher, blah, blah, blah” But the word “teacher” is just a job, and there is more to that person than just his/her job So it sounds impolite, and the teacher may tell the student “my name is not Teacher, you can call me Mrs Mary…”

Moreover, in the Vietnamese culture, when asking such questions as “Are

you married?”, “how old are you?”, “How much do you earn a month?”

people simply want to show their concern to the others, to make the distance between interactants closer and friendlier; thus, to enhance solidarity In contrast, in English, people do not always do so Those questions can be considered too acquisitive, since they respect interactant’s privacy So concerning questions about other’s age, earning, marital status etc are not appropriate in the English initial conversation

Or in the other word, unawareness of different roles the speaker and hearer might play namely age, social distance, work power, and

relationship, marital status, education as well Using wrong language in

wrong circumstances can cause culture shock

1.5.2 Main factors creating culture shock

Unawareness of cross-cultural differences, i.e different cultures may have difference values, perceptions, cultural thought patterns, belief, etc Unawareness of different roles the speaker and hearer might play namely age, social distance, work power, and relationship, marital status, education as well Moreover, it should be noted that the length of time knowing each other can determine the language used in communication Using wrong language in wrong circumstances can cause culture shock 1.5.3 How culture - shock: From honey moon to Culture shock to integration

H.Douglas Brown (1986:33) suggests the term “acculturation” which is defined as the process of becoming adapted to a new culture It is common knowledge that entering a new culture for a length of time involves a period and in a number of stages Levin and Adelman in their book Beyond Language: Intercultural Communication for English as a

Second Language (1982) present a W-shaped diagram that illustrates

periods of adjustment in a second culture:

Figure 3: W-shaped diagram of culture shock (Nguyen Quang,1998b)

“Honey moon stage: When you first arrive in a new culture, differences

are intriguing and you may feel excited, stimulated and curious At this stage you are still protected by the close memory of your home culture This is a period of excitement, fascination, bewilderment, of discovery and inquisitiveness, curiosity and amazement

Culture-shock: A little later, differences create an impact and you may

feel confused, isolated or inadequate as cultural differences intrude and familiar supports (eg family or friends) are not immediately available Those initially exciting cultural differences may now cause you to feel insecure or confused, as you struggle to understand the rules of the new culture you find yourself in At this stage, the reality of day-to-day living begins to sink-in The individual is totally immersed in new sets of problems You are confronted by the daily problems of living in a different culture and trying to communicate in a foreign language You became mentally tired from all the effort involved in understanding and copying

Initial adjustment: You may consciously or unconsciously also be

assessing your own cultural values and trying to make sense of them in your new cultural context You are reconnecting with what you value about yourself and your own culture You are starting to feel less alien and more at home

Mental isolation: After being away from your family, friends, and

familiar environment, you begin to feel lonely You miss the music, the native places of attraction, or even your spouse, and you long for news from home You begin to suffer from nostalgia, especially if the social status you had in your original culture is not realized in the new country Even though you are able to live in the new culture without any problem, you still feel inadequate and have lost self-confidence

Acceptance and integration or abandonment: You have accepted the

habits, customs, foods and behaviors of the people in this new culture”

(Levine, D.et al – cited from Nguyen Quang – 1998b) 1.5.4 How to cope with culture shock?

B.Tomalin and Stempleski suggested on the following encompassed qualities, which would be useful in cross-cultural interaction:

+ Awareness of one’s own culturally induced behavior

+ Awareness of the culturally induced behavior of others

+ Ablity to explain one’s cultural standpoint

In order to avoid culture shock or communication breakdown, awareness

of cross-culture differences as well as of our own culture should be promoted and enhanced This does not mean our culture identities are lost but more cultural influences are regconized within ourselves and others

1.6 Practice

Practice 1: In My Culture It’s Normal

In my country it is normal/polite/impolite/rude/strange:

1 To shake hands when we meet someone for the first time

2 To kiss on both cheeks when we greet or say goodbye to a friend

3 To take someone out to dinner (pay for dinner) for his birthday or when he gets a promotion

4 To be a little late to meet friends

5 To be a little minutes late to work or to business meetings

6 To spit in public

7 To call most people by their first names

8 To ask people their ethnicity or nationality when you meet them for the first time

9 To sing in public

10 For women in the family to make important decisions like which school to send children to, how to spend money, etc…

11 For men to cook, clean or do other household work

12 To interrupt people when talking

13 To give gifts to teachers, doctors, government officials, bosses for students to wear suits or dresses or formal clothing

14 To invite people to your home

15 To ask guests to leave when it gets late or if you are busy

16 To serve guests only drinks and chips or small snacks

17 To disagree with older people or people who are more powerful than you

18 To give up your seat for older people or women

19 To get promoted to a much higher position than your family or friends

Practice 2 Culture Shock: Timed Skimming Exercise

(http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/490/wchild/wchild21.htm)

Part 5: Culture Shock

You have read about Romulus and Remus

whose culture shock came when they went

back to the world of human beings after

being raised by a wolf Tarzan's culture

shock came when he discovered that he

was not a "white ape" but a human being

Emily Carr preferred the culture of the First

Nations people and the life she led on her

explorations to the dresses and polite

conversations of her own culture You now

know that First Nations culture did not

include school or even business activity,

people spent most of their time in nature or

around the fire of their home talking, telling

stories and making the things they needed

Psychologists tell us that there are four

basic stages that human beings pass

through when they enter and live in a new

culture This process, which helps us to

deal with culture shock, is the way our

brain and our personality reacts to the

strange new things we encounter when we

move from one culture to another If our

1 When does culture shock happen?

A when you reach your teens

B when you move to a big city

C when you meet foreign people for the first time

D when you go to live

in a foreign culture

2 How do you feel during the first stage of culture shock?

A lonely and depressed

B bored and homesick

C happy and excited

D angry and frustrated

3 How do you feel during the second stage?

A homesick and afraid

B interested and

culture involves bowing when we greet

someone, we may feel very uncomfortable

in a culture that does not involve bowing If

the language we use when talking to

someone in our own culture is influenced

by levels of formality based on the other

person's age and status, it may be difficult

for us to feel comfortable communicating

with people in the new culture

Culture begins with the "honeymoon

stage" This is the period of time when we

first arrive in which everything about the

new culture is strange and exciting We

may be suffering from "jet lag" but we are

thrilled to be in the new environment,

seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and

language, eating new kinds of food This

honeymoon stage can last for quite a long

time because we feel we are involved in

some kind of great adventure

Unfortunately, the second stage of culture

shock can be more difficult After we have

settled down into our new life, working or

studying, buying groceries, doing laundry,

or living with a home-stay family, we can

become very tired and begin to miss our

homeland and our family,

girlfriend/boyfriend, pets All the little

amused

C stressed, but positive

D you have no particular feelings

4 How could the third stage

A tense, but positive

B relaxed

C negative and stressed

D afraid

6 Why might reverse culture shock be a problem?

A It hardly ever happens

B It is extremely stressful

C Most people do not expect it

D It only happens to

problems that everybody in life has seem to

be much bigger and more disturbing when

you face them in a foreign culture This

period of cultural adjustment can be very

difficult and lead to the new arrival

rejecting or pulling away from the new

culture This "rejection stage" can be quite

dangerous because the visitor may develop

unhealthy habits (smoking and drinking too

much, being too concerned over food or

contact with people from the new culture)

This can, unfortunately lead to the person

getting sick or developing skin infections or

rashes which then makes the person feel

even more scared and confused and

helpless This stage is considered a crisis in

the process of cultural adjustment and

many people choose to go back to their

homeland or spend all their time with

people from their own culture speaking

The third stage of culture shock is called

the "adjustment stage" This is when you

begin to realize that things are not so bad in

the host culture Your sense of humour

usually becomes stronger and you realize

that you are becoming stronger by learning

to take care of yourself in the new place

young people

4 The four basic stages of culture shock are:

a honeymoon, rehearsal, memorization, return

b honeymoon, rejection, adjustment, at ease

at last

c honeymoon, rejection, reverse, at ease at last

d honeymoon, rehearsal, rejection,

at ease at last

5 Why would people in the second stage of culture shock choose to spend all their time with people from their homeland?

a They are afraid to risk being

uncomfortable with strangers and it is easier to stay with people from their

Things are still difficult, but you are now a

survivor!

The fourth stage can be called "at ease at

last" Now you feel quite comfortable in

your new surroundings You can cope with

most problems that occur You may still

have problems with the language, but you

know you are strong enough to deal with

them If you meet someone from your

country who has just arrived, you can be

the expert on life in the new culture and

help them to deal with their culture shock

There is a fifth stage of culture shock which

many people don't know about This is

called "reverse culture shock"

Surprisingly, this occurs when you go back

to your native culture and find that you

have changed and that things there have

changed while you have been away Now

you feel a little uncomfortable back home

Life is a struggle!

own culture

b They are afraid of skin diseases and want to hide from contact with foreigners

c They feel that they can learn the new language by themselves and don't need contact with people from the new culture

d They are only interested in going home

CHAPTER 2: CULTURE IMPACTS ON NON – VERBAL

COMMUNICATION

2.1 Understanding non-verbal communication

Lustig (1996:187-188) defines “nonverbal communication is a multichanneled process that is usually performed simultaneously; it typically involves a subtle set of nonlinguistic behaviors that are often enacted subconsciously Nonverbal behaviors can become part of the communication process when someone intentionally tries to convey a message or when someone attributes meaning to the nonverbal behavior

of another, whether or not the person intend to communicate a particular meaning”

Hybel (1992, 104) states “without saying a word you could be communicating by your clothing, your facial expressions, your posture, or any other number of nonverbal signals”

According to Nguyen Quang (2004, 226), nonverbal communication refers to “all the components of the message that, when taken together, constitute the communication which is not verbally coded but both vocally and nonvocally channeled Nonverbal communication is composed of paralinguistic factors (nonverbal-vocal channel), such as rate, volume, etc., and extralinguistic factors (nonverbal-nonvocal channel), such as body language (gestures, postures, facial expression, etc), object language, environment language”

2.2 The importance of nonverbal communication

Hybels (1992, 104) states “nonverbal communication is extremely important in human interaction”

Hall (cited in Nguyen Quang, 2004) claims that 60 percent of all communication is nonverbal

Mehrabian has determined from his research that as much as 93 percent

of communication is nonverbal (Hybels, 1992:104)

Birdwhistell estimates that the average American speaks for only ten to eleven minutes a day, and that more than 65 percent of the social meaning

of a typical two-person exchange is carried by nonverbal cues (Valdes, 1992:65)

2.3 Types of nonverbal communication

Peace (1984:7) claims “The fascinating thing is that human animal is rarely aware of his postures, movements and gestures that can tell one

story while his voice may be telling another”

2.3.1 Gestures

Gestures, which have been called “silent language”, is a form of nonverbal communication made with part of body or the body as a whole, and used instead or in combination with verbal communication (Roger E.Axtell, 1998) Gestures vary from culture to culture People from different cultures tend to use and read gestures in a different way

2.3.1.a Facial expressions

As stated by Nguyen Quang (1996:64): “Our faces reveal emotions and attitudes, but we should not attempt to “read” people from aother culture

as we would “read” someone from our own culture”

Facial expressions are also among the most universal forms of body language The expressions used to convey fear, anger, sadness, and happiness are similar throughout the world Researcher Paul Ekman has

found support for the universality of a variety of facial expressions tied to particular emotions including joy, anger, fear, surprise, and sadness

Sadness Anger Surprise Disgust Fear

Happiness Confusion Excitement Desire Contempt

2.3.1.b Eye contact:

The eyes are sometimes called the "windows to the soul" because they can reveal so much about what a person is thinking or feeling

Eye-gaze: “When a person looks directly into your eyes when having a

conversion, it indicates that they are interested and paying attention

However, prolonged eye contact can feel threatening On the other hand, breaking eye contact and frequently looking away may indicate that the person is distracted, uncomfortable, or trying to conceal his or her real feelings”

(www.capitaleap.org/body-language-what-were-really-saying)

Blinking: “Blinking is natural, but you should also pay attention to

whether a person is blinking too much or too little People often blink more rapidly when they are feeling distressed or uncomfortable Infrequent blinking may indicate that a person is intentionally trying to control his or her eye movements For example, a poker player might blink less frequently because he is purposely trying to appear unexcited about the hand he was dealt”



Pupil-size: “One of the most subtle cues that eyes provide is through the

size of the pupils While light levels in the environment control pupil dilation, sometimes emotions can also cause small changes in pupil size For example, you may have heard the phase "bedroom eyes" used to describe the look someone gives when they are attracted to another person”

(www.capitaleap.org/body-language-what-were-really-saying)

2.3.1.c The mouth:

The mouth and lips can convey a great deal of nonverbal information

Pursed lips: Pursed lips might be an indicator of distaste, disapproval, or

Covering the mouth: When people want to hide an emotional reaction,

they might cover their mouths in order to avoid displaying a smile or smirk

Turned up or down: Slight changes in the mouth can also be subtle

indicators of what a person is feeling When the mouth is slightly turned

up, it might mean that the person is feeling happy or optimistic On the other hand, a slightly downturned mouth can be an indicator of sadness, disapproval, or even an outright grimace

2.3.1.d Hand gestures:

Hand gestures in different cultures may imply different meanings It is really important to understand the meaning of different gestures when you are about to travel to other countries, or when you learn another language as well “Many times we tend to use our hands to explain our needs and thoughts The same hand gesture may mean something quite nasty and offensive to a person from a different cultural background Hand gestures are a very important part of the body language gestures Hand gestures are a way of communicating with others and conveying

your feelings These gestures are most helpful when one is speaking to someone with no language in common The meanings of hand gestures in different cultures may translate into different things Before you communicate with people in different cultures, you need to understand the meaning of gestures Those considered as a good gestures in one country may be termed as an offensive gesture in some countries

Thumb up: The thumb up sign in most American

and European cultures meaning things are going according to your plans or something you approve

of However, the going good sign translates into a rude and offensive gesture in Islamic and Asian countries In Australia, it means OK, but if you move it up and down, it is considered as a grave

insult

Thumb down: The thums down sign obviously

means the opposite of a thumbs up sign It is an indicate of something that is bad or something that you do not approve of It also indicates that something or someone has failed The thumbs down sign is not used as often as the thumbs up sign This is a rude hand gesture and an arrogant way to indicate failure”

(www.buzzle.com/articles/hand-gestures-in-different-cultures.html)

Hand shaking: According to Nguyen Quang (1999:22), “when Anglicist

shake hands, they usually only shake hands for a seconds When shaking

hands, they shake hands firmly not loosely “He shakes hand like a dead

fish” refers to someone whose handshake is not firm enough In the

Vietnam, people shake hands differently They may take the other’s hand

a bit loosely and may tightly”

2.3.2 Postures

There is a tendency to see gestures as dynamic and postures as static Postures, the way we hold ourselves, give important information Interested people always pay attention and lean forward, folding arms across one’s chest is protective and will give the impression of a closed, guarded and defensive character

As can be found in Language, posture can tell a lot about how a person might be feeling: