ESL LEARNERS’ PERCEPTION OF NON-VERBAL BEHAVIOUR AS REPRESENTED IN SILENT COMEDY

Abstract

In human communication, interlocutors involved in the communicative process generally practice verbal communication to relay information. A crucial aspect of information seeking that is often overlooked during interaction is the myriad of information one would be able to gain by studying interlocutors’ non-verbal communication. Understanding non-verbal behaviour as part of communicative competence is a challenging task, particularly among second-language learners. This study investigates the perception of ESL learners on the non-verbal behaviours expressed through silent comedy. Analysis suggests that ESL learners are able to identify certain non-verbal channels represented in silent comedy.