Teacher Non-Verbal Behaviour as Part of Multimodal Interaction to Children With Autism

Abstract

The paper discusses non verbal behavior performed and exploited by a teacher of children with autism as part of multimodal interaction in transferring knowledge. Data were collected from one teaching session carried out by a teacher and five children with autism. Data in the forms of body language, facial gesture, proximity, kinesics and other aspects of non verbal behavior were collected from such a session. The results show that strategies in exploiting non verbal aspects of the interaction are influenced by the autistic conditions of the children. As each of students in the class has different conditions, the teacher should design different non verbal approaches in transferring the knowledge to the children. In general, the teacher always equipped her utterances with body movements, facial gestures, standing position as well as paralinguistic resources such as intonation and loudness of speech. The strategies are performed to support the verbal behavior the teacher has in the teaching session and both represent multimodal interaction in the session. It is expected that the results of this research can be good benefits for other teachers or parents of children with autism in the process of assisting the children.

Sociolinguistic Competence and Training Needs of Future Primary Education Teachers

“…The initial situation of the students in relation to 'non-verbal language and proxemics' indicates that 'only on some occasions" (LNV-PROX-4) they 'use non-verbal language in order to be supported by the others.' These are concerning findings given their relevance to communicative situations in the classroom (Celce-Murcia, 2018;Neira-Piñeiro et al, 2018;Uştuk & Aydın, 2018), in addition to their importance when working with students who have general developmental disorders given that they generate multimodal interaction in the transfer of knowledge (Djatmika et al, 2018). Similar deficiencies are observed in the absence of gestures and paralanguages to address the others (LNV-PROX-2).…”

“…Teachers gestures pay a crucial role in educational contexts, as they may help communication and learning (Bowcher, & Zhang, 2020). These codes have also been found to be beneficial when working with children with general developmental disorders, given that they generate multimodal interaction in the transfer of knowledge (Djatmika et al, 2018). Regarding proxemics, it deals with the positioning and movements of teachers in the classroom, which in turn can either facilitate or impede communication.…”

Politeness Strategies Performed by Teachers: A Case of Assisting Elicitation in Children with Autism

“…Significance of non-verbal behavior as part of multimodal interaction in order to transfer knowledge and assist children with autism was investigated by a group of researchers. According to Djatmika, Wibowo, and Sugini 2018, the use of full language and stimuli including written words in order to engage children can lead to a better understanding and comprehension of complex language and literacy skills performed by children with autism.…”