Body Language For Teachers

1.Stand Near The Door When Classes Start. When you stand by the door while students walk in, they almost always do so more calmly. Students racing to enter the room usually isn't a good thing since they start the class pumping adrenaline, causing them to be more disruptive for everyone else. The calmer you can get your students before a class starts, the more productive the next hour or so is going to be.

2.Project Your Voice. You can’t talk sheepishly in a classroom. That’s the easiest way to make students put their attention elsewhere. Address your class with a loud, clear and upbeat voice — that’s how you command your students’ undivided attention.

3.Avoid Standing Behind The Table Too Long. When you stand behind the table, you establish a physical barrier between yourself and the students. While having that divide can be helpful in some instances (especially when you’re chastising specific individuals in class), physical barriers can create gaps in communication in the classroom, too. You’re always better off bridging any gap with your students, instead of encouraging it.

4.Use The Whole Classroom. Walking around the classroom establishes your ownership of the space, establishing your authority inside it. Stride confidently from end to end, take laps around the entire space and so on. Doing this puts students on their toes — something you’d probably want if you value their full and undivided attention during lectures.

5.Stand Next To Misbehaving Students. When a student is being disruptive, you can verbally call them out. If you want to be more subtle, just stand next to their seat — that communicates the exact same thing and they’ll usually stop whatever they’re doing. Why scream when you can just walk over and get the same results, right?

6.Use Your Face. Be expressive with your face. Facial expressions can be very helpful for communication. Since you’re in charge of the room, your facial expressions can dictate how students will feel about what’s being discussed in class. Wear an open, excited look and they’ll take your cue. Smile and they instinctively know that a lighthearted discussion is afoot. Oh, and you can always shoot a darting glance at any misbehaving miscreants. The more expressive your face is, the more students will pay attention to cues provided by your facial expressions.

7.Stoop To Their Level. In this case, we mean literally, not figuratively. When you want to address specific students one by one, it helps to physically get down on their level, rather than merely stand in front. This holds true whether you’re chastising a student for misbehavior or helping them out with a lesson. Physically adjusting to meet them at eye level makes the interaction feel more genuine and level-headed. Alternately, you can have them stand up to meet you at eye level.

8.Stand Tall. Maintain an erect posture when you’re speaking in front. A sagging posture communicates a lack of confidence, making your students doubt your credibility in more ways than one. It also encourages troublemakers to start disruptions in the classroom, since they feel your authority is open to be challenged.

9.Move Slower. Don’t rush through your motions. Instead, make your movements deliberate, whether you’re walking across the room, writing on the whiteboard or demonstrating a pose. Be particularly conscious of slowing down your hand movements. Fast movements, especially ones that appear nervously rapid, are unsettling for students. Remember, they look towards you for how they will feel — if you act like you’re nervous, the more likely they are to respond in a similar manner.

10.Talk Slower. Similar to the above, slowing down your speech demonstrates confidence and helps calm down your students. Speaking rapidly makes it appear you’re rushing through what you’re saying because you’re unsure of what you’re talking about.

11.Keep Your Hands In Plain View. Putting your hands in your pockets signal that you’re either nervous or hiding something. While there’s nothing wrong with a little case of nerves, it doesn't inspire confidence in your students, painting you as closed off and defensive. If you don’t like using your hands when speaking in public, either keep them to the side or cup them along the line of your stomach — both are perfectly acceptable postures when addressing a group.

12.Don’t Be Afraid Of Silence. Silent moments happen — don’t be afraid of it. Some teachers will fill in gaps of silence by continuously talking even when further talk is no longer necessary. Pauses slow down the pace of the lessons, giving students room to absorb previously-discussed ideas.


Nattinin 014 3EN

I think presence is about controlling your body language in a way that shows you are in charge in a classroom. So, here are some tips I've picked up over the past year to bear in mind.

1. Be at your door to welcome pupils when they arrive. Position yourself almost in the door way so that pupils can't bumble inside in a great mass, they have to slow down and go in individually. It calms them down.
2. If pupils are in the classroom already then stride in confidently and greet the class with a loud, clear and upbeat voice. Don't scuttle in looking disorganised even if you are — it makes you look vulnerable.
3. Use the whole classroom. Standing behind a desk puts a barrier between you and the pupils so I like to walk around the whole class when talking, using different parts of the classroom to explain concepts. This keeps them on their toes a bit too. I also sometimes stand next to someone being a bit disruptive when talking to a class — they know exactly what you're doing and tend to desist.
4. Use your face. I tend to be a bit theatrical (possibly too much), but you can use expression to communicate so much. I look intently for answers from pupils, smile reassuringly when someone looks tentative and adopt a thinking pose (that's a finger to chin) when encouraging students to think over a question. I also try to make eye contact with each student a couple of times in a lesson to let them know I'm aware of what they're up to, good or bad.

Rungphet031 3EN

I think this is the three body language for teachers for teaching effectively.

1. Project Your Voice.
You can’t talk sheepishly in a classroom. That’s the easiest way to make students put their attention elsewhere. Address your class with a loud, clear and upbeat voice — that’s how you command your students’ undivided attention.

2. Avoid Standing Behind The Table Too Long.
When you stand behind the table, you establish a physical barrier between yourself and the students. While having that divide can be helpful in some instances (especially when you’re chastising specific individuals in class), physical barriers can create gaps in communication in the classroom, too. You’re always better off bridging any gap with your students, instead of encouraging it.

3. Use Your Face.
Be expressive with your face. Facial expressions can be very helpful for communication. Since you’re in charge of the room, your facial expressions can dictate how students will feel about what’s being discussed in class. Wear an open, excited look and they’ll take your cue. Smile and they instinctively know that a lighthearted discussion is afoot. Oh, and you can always shoot a darting glance at any misbehaving miscreants. The more expressive your face is, the more students will pay attention to cues provided by your facial expressions.


Papassorn Waijan 050 3EN

Body Language Dos and Don’ts

Where and how you stand in the classroom speaks volumes, too.

- Stand up straight.
- Avoid folding your arms, standing behind a desk, and using barriers.
- Use the whole classroom.
- Be aware of your facial expressions (or lack thereof!).
- Smile.
- Make eye contact.
- Adopt different poses
- Your hand on your chin
- Hands out and palms up
- Observe wait time

Soraya 036 3EN

Body Language Tips for Teachers

1. Showing Your Hands: Keep them out of your pockets, don’t put them behind your back or under a desk and on camera be sure to get your whole body in the shot.
2. Power Posing: Power Posing means taking up space with your body. When teaching keep your arms loose, roll your shoulders back and keep your head up. This will help you claim the room and own your material.
3. Nonverbal Hooks: You need to hook the brain into remembering your content with nonverbal and verbal explanations. Try to think of ways you can explain your concepts using your hands, your voice or your body.


Patcharaporn 025 3EN

Body Language is very important to teacher. For instance;

Eye Contact – Eye contact is perhaps the most powerful way we communicate. A single fleeting look from across the classroom can speak volumes. Longer eye contact is associated with trust, good feelings, and rapport—all of which are important leveraging qualities. Be aware, however, that too much eye contact can be intimidating, especially for shy students. So although we want to utilize the power of eye contact and should use it often, we shouldn’t over do it.

Facial Expressions – This one is easy. Smile. A smile makes communication easier, less awkward, and more persuasive. It’s also a mood-changer and will evoke warm and happy feelings in both the giver and the recipient. So let your guard down and smile away.

Posture – A sagging posture displays a lack of confidence and is associated with weak leadership. To students, it says that you’re unsure of yourself. They won’t listen to or trust someone who appears wishy-washy. Walking tall, with your body erect and shoulders straight, engenders confidence in you as a leader. You then become more believable, and students are more apt to accept what you say. The difference between telling a student to go to time-out with a tall comportment versus saying it with a sagging, defeated posture is night and day.

Proximity – Some classroom management “experts” recommend standing close to difficult students during lessons. But moving into someone’s personal space without permission is a show of dominance. It’s aggressive and antagonistic and is universally perceived as a threat. And although it may dissuade unwanted behavior during the brief moment you’re standing there, doing so will give you less leverage and influence in the long run, resulting in more disruptive behavior. Allow students their personal space. They’ll appreciate and respect you for it.


Sakolsupa 035 3EN

1.Eye behavior - the eyes are the most dominant and reliable features of the face
and provide a constant channel of communication. They serve as the major decision
factor in deciphering the spoken truth. Unlike other parts of the face, eyes can
both send and receive messages. Teachers usually maintain eye contact and flash
visual signals when they want to emphasize particular points. Students' eyes often
signal listening and non-listening behavior. Lack of student-teacher eye-contact
will often indicate disinterest, inattention, or even dislike for the teacher. Direct
teacher eye contact can also express support, disapproval, or neutrality. Teachers
can have an individual connection with every student in the classroom by using eye
contact.

2.Vocal Intonation – Sometimes referred to as "paralinguistics" and includes a
multitude of components: rhythm, pitch, intensity, nasality and slurring that elicit
the "truth" of the message. Vocal intonation – projection, variety, timing and rate
of speech – influences how others perceive us and provides evidence about our
self-confidence and enthusiasm. Vocal projection is the most important requisite to effective communication. If vocal intonation contradicts your words, the
former will dominate.

3.Touching – touching is an important aspect of any culture. Tactual sensitivity
begins in childhood and greatly contributes to the mental and emotional
adjustment of the individual. In the classroom it is a delicate matter. Since
teachers are considered superiors in the classroom, they often initiate touching
behavior. Teachers have to respect and understand the personal space of the
students and not to enter uninvited, even when the student is misbehaving.
Positively, touching can also be used to reinforce. Small children learn significantly
more when teachers exhibit touching, close body proximity, and smiles of approval.
As they grow older, touching behaviors become less appropriate.

4.Body movements and gestures – we communicate by the way we walk, stand, sit,
what we do with our shoulders, hands, arms, and legs, how we hold our heads, and
the manner in which we position our bodies toward or away from others. Posture
often indicates mood and attitude. The body tends to move in harmony with words.
We lean forward when we like someone or if the topic being discussed is
interesting. On the other hand, we lean away from individuals we have negative
attitudes towards, or from topics that do not interest us. In the classroom,
students receive nonverbal messages of enthusiasm or boredom communicated
through a teacher's body orientation. An observant teacher can also tell when
students understand material presented or when students have trouble grasping
major concepts. Inappropriate postures and gestures of a teacher will diminish a
lesson's delivery. All body movements should be used to accentuate and confirm
verbal messages.

5.Use of space – or, proxemics, is a subtle component of body language that
indicates territory to which access is allowed or denied to other people or objects.
Classroom layout and aesthetics can directly impact students' learning. Classroom
environments can create moods and establish how much communication takes place.
The position of a teacher's desk may serve as a barrier to prevent students from
entering his/her space and thus inhibits interaction. In straight row seating, most
student interaction is greatest in the front and middle rows.

Orapin 3EN 060