Sharroky Hollie seeks validation and affirmation of the nonverbal language practices our college students deliver with them
Throughout my early tutorial research in linguistics, I used to be launched to the six dimensions of language, a framework that has formed each layer of linguistic understanding I’ve gained since. Their usefulness has really stood the check of time. Even now, I can recite and clarify them with out hesitation: phonology (sounds), morphology (morphemes), syntax (grammar), semantics (that means), pragmatics (nonverbal and contextual use), and discourse (dialogue model and prolonged communication). Coupled with greater than 20 years of expertise working with 1000’s of educators throughout the US and Canada, I’ve discovered that of all six dimensions, the pragmatic dimension is probably the most misunderstood and probably the most underestimated.
Pragmatics addresses how language is used in social contexts, with consideration to situational norms, expectations, and relationships. We talk way more by means of facial expressions, gestures, posture, eye contact, and tone than we do by means of precise phrases. These nonverbal linguistic cues are reputable cultural expressions that fluctuate considerably throughout communities world wide. But a persistent lack of know-how about pragmatic language use stays amongst many educators, regardless of many years of linguistic analysis demonstrating {that a} substantial proportion of human communication is nonverbal.
Anthropologist Edward T. Corridor, in The Silent Language, famously described pragmatics as precisely that—the unstated, but deeply significant, dimension of communication. He writes, “It isn’t simply that folks ‘speak’ to one another with out using phrases, however that there’s a complete universe of conduct that’s unexplored, unexamined, and really a lot taken as a right.”
This ignorance usually results in hidden biases. Over time, I’ve amassed dozens of testimonies—confessions, actually—by which educators acknowledge their misinterpretations of scholars’ attitudes or behaviors based mostly solely on nonverbal cues. One of the frequent examples is eye contact. Even within the 21st century, college students who don’t preserve eye contact are often perceived as disrespectful or inattentive. Classroom administration techniques usually reinforce this bias by means of guidelines equivalent to “eyes on me,” below the idea that spotlight and respect are universally demonstrated in the identical approach. But we all know that is unfaithful. In lots of cultures, sustaining eye contact alerts respect, attentiveness, or engagement—whereas in others, averting eye contact communicates the very same factor. The that means is wholly depending on cultural norms and context.
One other instance of linguistic misunderstanding occurred in France a number of years in the past however stays instructive at present. Within the mid-2010s, some public colleges banned college students from sucking their enamel—a gesture often called le tchip—as a result of academics perceived it as impolite or vulgar. For a lot of college students of African or Afro-Caribbean descent, nonetheless, le tchip is a significant cultural expression inside a broader system of pragmatic communication. The failure to acknowledge its cultural legitimacy led to punitive practices that disproportionately focused these college students.
As we transfer into 2026, my hope is that we deliver heightened consideration to pragmatic language use as a central part of communication and as a deeply cultural observe. In culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) phrases, we should search to validate and affirm the nonverbal language practices our college students deliver with them (Hollie, 2018). Validation and affirmation require us to uncover our blind spots, acknowledge our biases, and resist leaping to conclusions. When confronted with conduct that we would initially choose—a watch roll, a selected tone, an akimbo stance, exaggerated hand gestures—we should pause and ask: is that this conduct cultural or linguistic?
Solely by asking that query constantly can we construct school rooms that honor the complete humanity and linguistic richness of our college students.
References
Corridor, E. T. (1973). The Silent Language. Anchor Books
Hollie, S. (2018). Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Educating and Studying: Methods for All College students (2nd ed.) Shell Schooling.
Sharroky Hollie is a nationwide educator who offers skilled growth to 1000’s of educators within the space of cultural responsiveness. www.culturallyresponsive.org
