DRAMA - 3

This week, firstly we talked about facial expression, eye contact, gestures,
posture and overall movement. Facial expression, a form of nonverbal
communication, is a motion or position of the face that conveys some message to
our listeners. Therefore, as teachers, we should be aware of what our message
might be and should convey the right message to our students. Smiles are an
important facial expression, because they show interest, excitement, empathy,
concern; and they create a positive environment. We shouldn’t forget that
smiling in the class is a significant contributor to teacher immediacy and to
student attention. If we want to be considered friendly and likable, we should put
on a smile  Eye contact is another major aspect of facial communication. Eye
contact serves a variety of purposes. It regulates conversations between the
teacher and students, provides encouragement to students, shows interest or
involvement, manifests warmth and establishes a connection with the teacher
and students. Moreover, eye contact has a positive impact on the retention and
recall of information; so when we become teachers, taking these purposes into
consideration, we should make eye contact with our students to promote more
efficient learning. A gesture is also a form of nonverbal communication and
includes movement of the hands, arms or other parts of the body to show what
we mean or how we feel. As teachers, we should use natural, purposeful,
nondistracting and positively communicative gestures that reinforce, emphasize,
encourage and clarify. Posture is the way we position our body when sitting or
standing. In order to establish particular teacher-student power relationships and
control the class, we should use postures and overall movement.
Secondly, we listened to our friends’
speeches and commented on their using body language, voice and teaching
space. Then we decided that we should use body language and teaching space
effectively. We shouldn’t get stuck on the stage. Moreover, we should use some
variations in our voice not to make our students feel sleepy or bore them. When
we are on the stage, we should be comfortable in front of the students by
thinking that we are better than them but of course, without humiliating them
(only to feel comfortable). When we ask questions to our learners, sometimes
there is a hush fell over which is a period of silence; that’s to say, we are
expecting them to answer our questions right away but they don’t. In this
situation, we should give them time to think and wait for them to answer and
then we should listen to them. Finally, what we
should do in the class is to use enthusiasm and humor. If we use them, there will
be an enjoyable atmosphere in the class and then there will be real learning.

Munise ÖZTÜRK