Contrastive Analysis of Hand Movements in English and in Spanish Presentations of Secondary School Students

Abstract

In this global communication era we live in, the interest in nonverbal communication is increasing exponentially. In fact, in an academic context, nonverbal communication courses are already part of most American high school’s curriculum. Therefore, the present paper attempts to highlight the importance of nonverbal communication in any verbal interaction. More specifically, I want to analyse the different uses of hand movements made by non-native English speakers when using English and when expressing orally with their mother tongue –in this case Spanish. Therefore, this paper presents:  First, a general picture of nonverbal communication’s domain along with a classification of non-linguistic elements of speech.  Second, a chronological overview of the development and studies on nonverbal communication over time.  Then, a compilation of the different ways of interpreting nonverbal movements in different countries and cultures.  Finally, a subdivision of the major hand movements in communication as reported by Ekman and Friesen (1973). According to these parameters, 14 oral presentations –7 in English and 7 in Spanish– performed by Spanish students have been analysed in order to determine the frequency and the different uses of hand movements in both languages. Results suggest that specific hand activity appears when using the mother tongue; whereas when not feeling confident using English as the communication tool, a different type of hand movement stands up. This confirms the need of implementing nonverbal communication as a major part in the EFL’s core curriculum.