Nonverbal Communication

“A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.”

-The importance of nonverbal communication while teaching in a foreign country-

I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I have been living and working in Korea for more than 10 months now and my Hangul is still next to nothing. Teaching English all day and living in an area termed an “English city” are not excuses, but they’re what help me sleep at night.

What I have learned, the hard way, is that even though I may not know the verb (or even the subject) of what my students may be talking about, there is the wonderful art of body language. One study at UCLA concluded that up to 93% of effective communication is nonverbal. I’m using that to my advantage while teaching. It’s obvious if someone has just made fun of someone or if they are talking about something serious, etc. There are key words I pick up to get the gist of the discussion and from there I go on body language. They are always taken aback when it appears that I understand them. And then they are more careful with what they talk about.

I’m not a teacher by nature and while I tried the “no speaking Korean in my classroom,” in the end, it hasn’t worked. They are taught in Korean by Korean teachers in every other class at my language school, so I can understand if they slip up every now and again. I’m not a disciplinarian, but I’m a tough academic… what my class lacks in discipline it makes up for in its difficulty level.

But I digress- it dawned on me the other day how important nonverbal communication is when traveling (and even in your home country). Not being able to speak a language is no reason to be impolite, and body language can scream rude.