Whenwecommunicatewithothers,weexpressourthoughtsandfeelingsnotonlythroughthewordswechoose,butalsothroughourtoneofvoice,facialexpressionandbodylanguage.Infact,manycommunicationsexpertsbelievethatfarmoreinformationiscommunicatednon-verbally(withoutwords)thanverbally(withwords)."Bodylanguage"isanimportantpartofnon-verbalcommunication. 　　Bodylanguageincludesmanydifferentaspectsofoureverydayphysicalbehaviour:thewaywegreetoneanother;howwestand,howwesitorwalk;thewaywepositionourarmsandlegsoruseourhandsandeyesaresomeofthemostbasic. 　　Tolearnanotherlanguageismorethanjustlearningwordsandgrammar,itinvolveslearningaboutanotherculture,too.Welearnmuchofourownculture'sbodylanguagebeforewelearntospeak,fromthetimewearechildren,usuallywithoutevenbeingawareofit.Andthatbodylanguagevariesfromculturetoculture,soit'ssomethingtowhichsecondlanguagelearnersshouldpayattention. 　　So,howattunedareyoutootherpeople'sbodylanguage?Trythislittleexperiment.Turnthevolumeonthetelevisionrightdownwhileyouwatchpeopleinteractonthescreen.Youmayfinditismoredifficulttounderstandwhat'shappeningbetweenpeoplefromunfamiliarcultures. 　　Sometimes,culturaldifferencesinappropriatebodylanguagecancausediscomfortormisunderstandingstoo.Forexample,therearedefiniteculturaldifferencesinhowmuchdistanceshouldbekeptbetweentwopeoplewhoarespeakingtogether.Ifyouareusedtopeoplekeepingtheirdistance,youwillfeelveryuncomfortable,andprobablymoveawayrepeatedly,ifsomeonekeepstryingtostandclosertoyouataparty!Wecallthisthe"personalcomfortzone". 　　Anothercommonexampleofmisunderstandingistheuseofasmile.InsomeAsiancultures,asmilecanshowembarrassmentorapology.However,smilingbackatateacherwhoisunhappywithyou,orastrangerwhosefootyouaccidentallysteppeduponisprobablynotagoodideainmostEnglishspeakingcultures!Also,youshouldnotassumethatnoddingyourheadmeans"yes"orthatshakingyourheadmeans"no"orviceversa.Yes,youcanevengetthatwrong,withpotentiallydisastrousconsequences. 　　Evenspeakersofthesamelanguage,suchasBritish,American,orAustralianpeople,maynotusethesamebodylanguageandmustadaptiftheywishtocommunicatesuccessfully.Britishpeoplearesaidtobemorereservedandformal,ingeneral,andthisisreflectedintheirbodylanguage.Americansareconsideredmoreopenandoutgoing,whileAustraliansareseenascasualandrelaxed. 　　It'sworthlearning,understandinganyunderlyingculturalorregionalattitudescanhelpyoulearnhowtounderstandandusebodylanguagetoimproveyourcommunicativeabilities. 　　Justasyoushouldnotallowafearofmakinglanguagemistakespreventyoufromspeaking,youshouldnotbeoverlyafraidofusinginappropriatebodylanguageinanunfamiliarculture.Mostpeoplewillunderstandthatpeoplefromdifferentculturesmaynotalwaysusebodylanguageinthesameways.Allthesame,it'sdefinitelyadvisabletolearnasmuchaspossibleaboutthebodylanguageofanewculture,andtousecarefulobservationtoavoidmakinganymistakes.