This lesson presents gestures, and responding to the common question, ‘How are you?’- I’m happy, hungry, sleepy and OK. There are a few activities that explore how we express and perceive non-verbal meaning. The Final Activity is a roving-pair interview activity (How are you? I’m OO.) that emphasizes gestures when answering.
Points for further discussion and development could include:
Interesting world gestures. An easy example is Polishing an Apple in the USA, and goma suri (grinding sesame) in Japan. The idiomatic meaning is the same, but interestingly, the hand positions are opposite (apple- fist on the bottom rubbed by an open palm on top; sesame- upturned open palm on the bottom with a circularly-grinding fist on top). See this video for more. And see the back inside cover of the Eigo Noto book 1 for others.
Research suggests that 60% of meaning comes from body language. This becomes evident when we try to speak in a foreign language on the telephone- it is one of the hardest things to do in a foreign language!
Expressing meaning when we don’t know a word is perhaps the biggest challenge for language learners. Developing skills in both expression and comprehension are important.
Drawing is another common way to express meaning. See these links for drawing, speaking and gesture communication activities.
www.EigoNoto.com copyright 2010 Elton Ersch
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