THE POWER OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION IN LANGUAGE TEACHING: EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS’ SMILES ON STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Language is humans’ first means of communication. Although words and sentences are people’s approach to interconnection, it is not the only way to transfer discourse. People, more often than not, use their body gestures and facial expressions to transmit information to interlocutors. This signifies that each gesture can mean different things. Since smile is one of the most commonly used facial expressions, it has been selected as the core of the current investigation. With the purpose of scrutinizing the impact of teachers’ smile on their learners, a questionnaire was distributed to 20 students. The prime key finding is the existence of a discernible link between teachers’ smile and students’ communicational ability. Students assumed that their teachers’ smile helps them not only to communicate but also to overcome their fears of practicing the English language. At last, it tries to suggest some plausible techniques for making a genuine smile.