Non-verbal Communication as a Cultural Phenomenon and the Necessity of Its Introduction in the Process of Chinese Language Teaching Cover Image

Невербалната комуникация като културен феномен и необходимостта от въвеждането й в процеса на преподаване на китайски език
Non-verbal Communication as a Cultural Phenomenon and the Necessity of Its Introduction in the Process of Chinese Language Teaching

Author(s): Polina Tsoncheva
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Foreign languages learning, Communication studies
Published by: Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий”
Keywords: non-verbal communication; foreign language learning; Chinese non-verbal cues; intercultural communication; methods of communication; cultural differences

Summary/Abstract: The act of communication extends far beyond the limits of speech and in a direct dialogue along with the words consciously or subconsciously we send a vast amount of information to our interlocutor using a number of non-verbal elements. Our gestures, mimics, postures, clothing, hairstyle, strength and timbre of the voice, intonation, rhythm, etc. reveals more than words. Moreover, this set of communication signals is what could cause our interlocutor to decide to trust or to refuse to accept our words, to show willingness for follow-up contacts or to try to avoid them in future. And since these signals are culturally predetermined, they need to be particularly studied by the foreign language learners (in this case – Chinese language learners) and properly applied in communication with native speakers in order to achieve effective communication.