Without Words - Body Language - Number 1

At face-to-face.org, Carolyn Fidelman and Stephen Sadow of the Department of Modern Languages at Northeastern University, hope to "promote the learning of total communication skills when dealing in-person with members of another culture. This means teaching the elements of gesture, intonation, body movement and pacing that impart a more native-like feel to a person's second language performance and therefore diminish the possibilities for cross-cultural misunderstanding."

With advanced computer and video technology, this is possible. Interactive video materials are critical to this language education method and if you have RealPlayer 7 you can review a short clip from "Eric et Emmanuelle."

In an article about extending the language curriculum with enabling technologies: nonverbal communication and interactive video, Carolyn Fidelman writes: "In the past, psychologists have written about the many ways facial expression, hand gesture, posture and other nonverbal features contribute to the messages or simply affirmation passed back and forth in a typical interaction. While this research has not been widely adapted to language teaching, it is very much incorporated in the cross-cultural and intracultural training provided law enforcement, medical, and legal personnel as well as social workers and clinical psychologists. With the method and materials developed for the "In The…Body" project, teachers can now make this information available to language students."

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