Abstract
Gregersen and MacIntyre’s Optimizing Language Learners’ Nonverbal Behavior is a compilation of nonverbal communication concepts and activities for teachers of second languages. The book is divided into three parts. The first consists of the “Introduction” and “Background on Nonverbal Behavior, Its Teachability and General Training Recommendations.” The background section first defines nonverbal behavior, then introduces the organizing pattern found throughout the book: “Nonverbal Behavior and Communicative Competence,” “Nonverbal Behavior and Affective Competence,” and “Nonverbal Behavior and Cognitive Competence.” The authors next discuss six challenges of teaching nonverbal behavior. Table 1, a summary of 10 decoding strategies and 8 encoding strategies based on the nonverbal communication sections of two undergraduate interpersonal communication textbooks (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2014; DeVito, 2014), follows. Last in this section is a brief presentation on the difficulty of changing nonverbal behavior because it is “most often performed automatically with no thought whatsoever” (p. 21).
Part 2 (“Codes”) provides the majority of the theoretical content, summarizing the literature about gestures, posture, facial expression, eye behavior, space and touch, and prosody. The section on gestures provides an example of the types of information included throughout part 2. “Gestures” begins by discussing four ways in which gestures differ (Kendon, 1988). They may be intentional (or not), similar (or not) to words they accompany, conventional (or not; e.g., shaking hands or bowing in greeting), and dependent (or not) on accompanying words to be understood. Next, the authors discuss Ekman and Friesen’s (1969) familiar typology of illustrators, regulators, emblems, and affect displays and McNeill’s (1992) subcategories. Table G2 (“Gesture’s Influence”) presents lists of ways that gestures are related to communicative, affective, and cognitive functions, previewing the discussions that follow. Throughout the text, the authors reference accompanying exercises in part 3, and frequently present illustrative photographs. At the end of the discussion of gestures, the authors provide a very useful summary of the skills of “gesture-conscious interactants” (p. 64) related to cultural competence, gestural dexterity, emotional competence, and cognitive competence. Like the subsection on gestures, the following subsections all begin with tables summarizing and previewing the content related to communication, emotion, and cognition. The content that follows is interspersed with references to exercises and with pictures. Each subsection ends with a conclusion.
Part 3 (“Activities”), the longest portion of the book, is also divided into the three categories used throughout: Communicative Techniques (Activities CM1-CM48), Affective Techniques (Activities AF1-AF54), and Cognitive Techniques (Activities CG1-CG27). Each activity is presented with an aim (communicative, affective, or cognitive), a level of students for which the activity is suited (intermediate/advanced or all), preparation (e.g., what to write on the board, how to arrange chairs, materials needed), and detailed procedures for the exercise. Sixty-nine YouTube videos associated with exercises are available through the publisher’s website.
The book ends with a short section on Nonverbal Positive Communication in which the authors cite positive communication research (Socha & Pitts, 2012) and the positive psychology concepts related to second language acquisition (MacIntyre, Gregersen, & Mercer, 2016). Presenting Oxford’s (2016) acronym “EMPATHICS,” the authors discuss positive nonverbal behaviors related to Emotion and Empathy, Meaning and Motivation, and a few others.
It is important to note there is some ambiguity about the authors’ target audience. The Foreword states, “Our primary audience for this book is the sojourners whose roads pass through unfamiliar cultures, who will navigate the language and nonverbal communication cues that are found in their interactions along the route.” Sojourners’ hosts are mentioned as a secondary audience. However, the Introduction states the primary goals are to “highlight for teachers” (p. 5) the importance of nonverbal behavior by summarizing principles from the academic literature and to provide techniques and exercises to develop nonverbal skills. The focus throughout on teaching and learning makes the book most useful to language teachers with little background in nonverbal communication. Although sojourners and hosts would benefit from reading the book, the detailed summaries in table form (e.g., Table 1: Eighteen strategies for increased efficacy in nonverbal communication, p. 16) and the 177 pages of exercises designed to increase sensitivity and skills in expressing nonverbal behavior seem primarily designed for language teachers or those studying to be teachers.
This impression is reinforced by the photos throughout illustrating nonverbal behavior, such as using space to emphasize power (Photo 17, p. 79), and the videos provided to illustrate exercises (e.g., Enigmatic Emblems” [p. 171], “Gaze Away the Gray” [p. 267], “Say It with Your Hands” [p. 335]). A sampling of the videos reveals helpful enactments of the activities. One difficulty is that all the videos sampled pictured exercises in progress at the same time the narrator described their purpose and procedures, so the viewer felt forced either to listen to the description or watch the behaviors because it was difficult to do both. Happily, the videos are more natural than the photographs throughout part 2. These are dark and appear to picture students awkwardly posing. Despite these limitations, part 3 provides a wealth of information for teachers to enrich classroom discussion. The detailed descriptions and lists of exercises and the icons indicating which exercises have associated videos make the activities easy to use. Those with little background in nonverbal behavior will find the book provides a wealth of information and practical ideas.
The book also accurately presents the current state of nonverbal behavior theory. Unlike some authors of undergraduate textbooks, Gregersen and MacIntyre avoid the trap of privileging nonverbal over verbal communication. In part 1 they write, “Communicatively speaking, in a social framework, nonverbal and verbal channels are inextricably linked” (p. 9). They also cite important nonverbal researchers such as Argyle (1988) and many others.
However, the book’s applied focus may fail to satisfy readers more versed in the subject. Although these readers will be pleased to see familiar material such as the Johari Window (Luft & Ingham, 1955) and citations to familiar authors such as Knapp and Hall (2010), Remland and Neal (2004), and Richmond, McCroskey, and Hickson (2013), they will be disappointed to find that much of the discussion is based on textbook summaries rather than primary research. They will find little to surprise them in either the content or the exercises. Some of the exercises have been available since the 1960s. So while the conceptual material may seem very new to language teachers, the book may disappoint readers more experienced in the nonverbal communication literature.
For both experienced readers and those new to nonverbal behavior, perhaps the book’s greatest value is in the frequent tables in section 2 (e.g., “Eyes’ Influence,” p. 109). This summary table lists seven communicative principles such as “Regulate turn taking,” eight affective principles like “Manages impressions of trustworthiness and confidence,” and two cognitive principles, including “Reveal a shift in attention.” These tables provide useful summaries of concepts for anyone teaching nonverbal communication.
Yet these summaries also highlight the book’s most puzzling factor, the three-part organizing principle throughout that separates communication from affect and cognition. When the authors begin to use this schema in part 2, they do so under the subheadings presented earlier that separate emotion and cognition from communication. A novice reader might conclude that it is possible to be a competent communicator without competently managing affective and cognitive elements or even that communication does not include affective or cognitive components. Also, despite the title Communicative Competence, the book presents none of the models of communication competence available (e.g., Cupach & Canary, 2000; Wiemann, 1977). At the very least, the authors should make clear that affective and cognitive components of nonverbal behavior are part of the general heading of communicative competence, not separate and equal headings.
Overall, Gregersen and MacIntyre have much to offer for those teaching or preparing to teach a second language. The collection of nonverbal communication principles, both explained and displayed in tables, and the exercises with video illustrations are valuable resources for teachers. While the book has an applied rather than a research focus, it accurately presents research from a wide variety of sources, especially textbook summaries of nonverbal communication.