How to Learn the Body Language of a Foreign Culture

Body language and gestures are a huge part of human communication, but the same body language can mean very different things in different cultures. That's why it's so important to study body language when you're learning a foreign language. Put some focused effort into learning the non-verbal communication signals of the other culture and you'll avoid a lot of misunderstandings. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Movies in your target language
• Children's picture books in your target language

1. Get a feel for the overall body language used by speakers of the language you're learning. If you're in their country, go "people watching" in the park or mall. If you're outside the country, watch movies and look through children's books that have pictures of people to get an over all feel for the body language. Do people use a lot of gestures when speaking or are they fairly reserved? Do they touch one another or keep to themselves?

2. Focus on how people of your own gender act. Even in cultures where men and women are generally regarded as equals, there are still differences in the body language used by each gender. Pay attention to how people of your gender treat both each other and the opposite gender.

3. Get a sense of the typical personal space. Notice how far apart people stand when they're talking to each other, waiting in line and on public transportation. This can vary quite a lot from culture to culture.

4. Notice what gestures and body language accompany certain emotions. What do people do when they're surprised, angry or confused? What gestures do they make? How do they hold themselves? Also watch how other people react to the behavior so you can tell if someone is acting normally or is over-reacting or being rude.

5. Make note of gestures used when giving directions like "Come here." or "Bring me that." Pay attention to how people hail taxis, get attention in shops or indicate something they want. For instance, if most people snap their fingers to call someone's attention, you can guess that this is normal and not considered rude.

6. Check what gestures native speakers have for expressing complete thoughts like "I don't know," "That's crazy!," or "I don't want to talk about it!" (Think about they way English speakers draw a circle around one ear to indicate "crazy"). If you're not sure what a gesture means, ask. It's far better to ask than to misinterpret.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful with watching people in public places because unless you hear the whole conversation, you could easily misinterpret gestures.
• Don't forget to notice facial expressions while you're studying body language.
• Hand gestures like "thumbs up" or "OK" can have very different meanings in different countries, so try to avoid them until you know the culture fairly well.

Resources

• CrossCultured.com has articles and activites related to intercultural communication.
• Test your knowledge of body language around the world.
• Read up on intercultural communication at Kwintessential.co.uk
• ClearlyCultural.com offers a starting point for exploring communication between cultures.

[didi8u]

on 3/31/2009 5 * and recommend.

[Gardengates]

on 8/24/2008 Communication has got to be the basis of all our relationships and if language isn't fluent (and even if it is!) I think body language is broadcasting loud and clear! Maybe that's why we're always being "misunderstood"! Boy, do I remember getting into "misunderstandings" when I first came to Italy ...!!