When we study a new language, we usually think about using correct grammar, memorizing vocabulary, and learning how to pronounce words correctly. But there is a very important aspect to mastering a foreign language that has been a little neglected – body language.
I remember once talking to an American guy; actually he was talking and I was listening. It was in the beginning when I came to the US and my English was still rusty. This man kept talking to me about something I don’t even remember now. However, what I remember is that I was actively listening. I was nodding, looking at him, smiling, humming and aha-ing (I think I just invented some words 😅) in a way that local people do. This let the person know that I was listening to him. At the end of our conversation (which was more of a monologue), he looked at me and said: “Wow, your English is so good.” I almost laughed because I had barely opened my mouth, but his perception of how good my English was was because of my native-like body language.
When we study a foreign language, we shouldn’t focus only on what we can hear, say, write, or read. We need to pay attention to body language as well – hand gestures, facial expressions, sounds that don’t mean anything, but local people make them anyway. These “small” details are the ones that will make a tremendous difference when it comes to how people perceive us.
But body language is often harder to acquire than verbal communication because it is ingrained in us.
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Now tell me about you. What do you think about body language? Have you ever had any communication challenges because of body language differences? What are some other cultural differences that are still confusing to you?
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Hello Dear Teacher, Hello Dear Community,
I feel really connected to this topic because I remember that when I joined for the first time a few conversation groups, I was so focused on being able to convey my message clearly. I was scared of the fact of making too many pauses while I was speaking that, I didn’t pay attention to my body language.
All along my learning journey, I’ve been getting through a lot of conversation groups, participating as a member of many communities of native and non-native speakers, and after a while I realized the importance of expressing myself at many different levels.
One step at a time, I started to use my gestures, facial expressions and so on to develop new skills as a passionate English speaker.
Now, I’m focusing on how native and non-native speakers use their body language and I’m becoming more aware of the fact that this aspect plays a key role if you want to be more versatile in any kind of contexts.
Lastly, I believe that learning how to master your body language is going to help me/us in terms of getting used to the rhythm and melody of any language which we would like to learn.
Thanks for this huge opportunity to relate us to lots of specific and captivating topics within this wonderful blog and passionate community learners as well.
Have a nice day!!.
Alessandro.
Hey Alessandro, thank you for sharing. This is such a good example how we sometimes focus on one thing and forget about the rest. This is normal when we start learning new things because remembering about everything in the beginning is overwhelming. And look at your now – you are so fluent. Thank you for being a part of this community.