THE IMPORTANCE OF BODY LANGUAGE IN A SECOND LANGUAGE.

Body language is an important – and often decisive – factor in communication. This is especially true of communicators, who need to show congruency between the oral information and their body language when transmitting a message, because only if they manage to do so will the message be effective. Body language is an element in communication that we should be very much aware of because it gives clues to the character, emotions, and reactions of an individual.

If you are aware of what you do with your body, your self-understanding becomes deeper and more meaningful. Once you manage to control your body language, you will be able to cross many defensive barriers and establish better relationships. Body language is an important component of communication and it is to our advantage to develop skills in this area in order to be better communicators.

Therefore,non-verbal communication is very important in maintaining the interpersonal relationship as the signals of warmth, emotions and feelings are mostly conveyed through non -verbal communication.Our emotions, mind, and body work as one to send signals to other people. Nonverbal communication relates to the unspoken word and a means to send messages that are "not sanctioned for verbal delivery by our culture" (Wiemann, 1975).

Andersen (2004) concluded people trust body language over the spoken word. People trust body languages because it is spontaneous, multi-channeled, and possesses redundant qualities that make it very hard to completely fake.

Culture also plays an important role in understanding of non-verbal communication specially Oculesics (eye contact) .For the necessity of eye contact and the civility it provides in American Culture differs greatly from an Asian culture, for example where your eye contact is often considered rude (DeFleur, 2005)

Success of interpersonal relationship totally depends on the communication, and non-verbal communication being the instinctive part play a vital role in maintaining the same. It is important to understand the several attributes of non-verbal communication to expound how it affects and maintain the longevity of interpersonal relationship .In interpersonal communication verbal exchange accounts for only a fraction of the message people send and receive.Reseraches has shown that between 70 to 90% of the entire communication spectrum is non verbal. In interpersonal communication the words generally convey the objective information where as nonverbal messages reveal our emotions and attitudes which is the essence of the interpersonal relationship. When we do use words to talk about our emotions, we often talk about what we think we ought to feel, not what we really feel.

Effective and better use of non-verbal communication can the increase and enhance the interpersonal relation at the school.