i
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
Dong Thap, April 2012
Nguyen Cong Danh
I certify that the work presented in this research report
has been performed and interpreted solely by myself. I
confirm that this work is submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirement of the B.A Degree and
has not been submitted elsewhere in any other form
for the fulfillment of any other degree or qualification.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
During the process of carrying out the study, I have received a large amount of
contribution and support from many people.
First, I would like to send my wholehearted thanks to Dean and all the lectures of
the Foreign Languages Department of Dong Thap University who gave me a
chance to study the thesis.
Second, I would like to express my greatest and sincerest appreciation to Mr.
Nguyen Van Tam, M.A, my supervisor, for his precious pieces of advice,
guidance, and support inn the pursuance of this study.
Finally yet importantly, I am grateful to Mr. Pham Van Tac and Ms. Tran Thi
Hien who did allow me to carry out my observation and to other teachers of
English and all the students in the Department of Foreign Languages for what
they have done to help me finish the study.
iii
ABSTRACT
The study is conducted to investigate what is the reality of using classroom eye
contact in English teaching and to raise students‘ awareness of the importance of
nonverbal language, especially eye contact. The questionnaire for teachers and
for students was delivered to seek essential information about the current use of
classroom eye contact and the teachers of English and students‘ attitudes toward
the technique. The observation was also later carried out at two classes to collect
relevant data. Then the data obtained from the above tools was analyzed
including table charts, pie charts and discussions. The results show that most of
the teachers of English have awareness to use classroom eye contact and the
students seem to be more excited joining the teachers‘ activities. Some other
teachers, however, have failed to bring eye contact to play in class and to
combine the speaking technique with other nonverbal means. In brief, the data
gained from the students and the teachers‘ answers as well as the observation
sheets confirmed that classroom eye contact brings great advantages to classroom
management and motivate students‘ participation.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENT
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ....................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. ii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENT ....................................................................................... iv
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1
1. Motivation of the study ................................................................................ 1
2. Aims of the study ......................................................................................... 2
3. Research methods ........................................................................................ 2
4. Scope of the study ........................................................................................ 3
5. Significance of the study .............................................................................. 3
6. Related previous studies .............................................................................. 3
7. Organization of the thesis ............................................................................ 3
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................. 5
1.1 Nonverbal communication........................................................................ 5
1.1.1 Definition of nonverbal communication ................................................... 5
1.1. 2 The importance of nonverbal communication to language learners ........... 5
1.1.3 Components of nonverbal communication ............................................... 7
1.2 Eye contact communication ................................................................... 21
1.2.1 Definition of eye contact communication ........................................... 21
1.2.2 The importance of classroom eye contact ........................................... 22
1.2.3 Expressions of eye contact in teaching ............................................... 24
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 26
v
2.1 Research questions ..................................................................................... 26
2.2 Research participants ................................................................................. 26
2.2.1 The researcher ........................................................................................ 26
2.2.2 The subjects ........................................................................................... 26
2.3 Research procedure and data collection.................................................... 26
2.3.1 Classroom observation ........................................................................... 26
2.3.2 Questionnaire ......................................................................................... 27
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ................................................ 30
3.1 Results ......................................................................................................... 30
3.1.1 The observation sheets ........................................................................... 30
3.1.2 The questionnaires for students .............................................................. 35
3.1.3 The questionnaires for teachers .............................................................. 47
3.2 Discussions .................................................................................................. 56
3.2.1 Research question 1................................................................................ 56
3.2.2 Research question 2................................................................................ 56
3.2.3 Recommendations .................................................................................. 57
CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 59
1. Overview of the thesis ................................................................................ 59
2. Limitations of the thesis ............................................................................ 59
3. Suggestions for further research ............................................................... 60
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... v
APPENDIX 1 ....................................................................................................... vii
APPENDIX 2 ........................................................................................................ ix
OBSERVATION SHEET.................................................................................... xii