IMPACT OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION ON STUDENTS' LEARNING OUTCOMES

Abstract

Communication plays a pivotal role in our daily lives. To articulate our ideas, feelings, emotions and skills we communicate not only with verbal but also with non-verbal methods. These are essential in teaching-learning process. Teachers can utilize a variety of verbal and non-verbal skills to aid students’ comprehension of difficult concepts. It was an experimental study that looked into the impact of non-verbal communication on the learning outcomes of students of 9 th and 10 th classes in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This study highlighted the importance of non-verbal communication in the subject of English (Compulsory) of classes (IX-X), further it explored the impact of non-verbal communication on students' learning by observing teachers and students in classrooms and; finding out how this mechanism contributed to better learning outcomes of students. The study examined the hypotheses that there is an impact of non- verbal communication on students’ learning outcomes both in rural and urban areas; and there is an impact of non-verbal communication on the learning outcomes of male and female students. Population of the study included students and teachers of 103 Govt. secondary schools in rural and urban areas of Peshawar. The sample included 2 teachers and 40 students from each school in the subject of English (Compulsory). The total number of sample teachers and students is 40 and 800 respectively. Tools of the data collection were questionnaires and experiment in the actual classrooms setting. The significance difference between pre and post tests of the control and experimental groups was tested through paired t-test. Furthermore the questionnaires were interpreted with the help of frequency and percentage imethods, while the correlation between teachers and students’ questionnaires was carried out through Gamma correlation. The important conclusions indicated that teachers made the learning environment active through their non-verbal communication whereby students felt alert in the classrooms and participated in the learning process, which consequently enhanced the level of their retention and understanding. Proper use of facial expressions, body movements, eye contact, pitch of voice, and spatial distance helped the teachers to provide better understanding to the students in the attainment of their learning outcomes. To the contrary the teachers who did not properly use non-verbal communication in the classroom could not motivate the students for effective learning. The study made the following recommendations: Teachers should be given an orientation in non-verbal communication and the skills thus acquired should be utilized in their teaching methodologies. Teachers should be encouraged to use this technology in order to provoke the interest of the students and make them attentive in the class. It is recommended that curriculum planners and policy maker should also recognize the importance of non-verbal communication and make it a part of the teacher education program so that prospective teachers are trained in this important skill.