Nonverbal Differences in Communication Style Between American Indian and Anglo Elementary Classrooms

Abstract

This study compared nonverbal behaviors associated with classroom conversation in fifth and sixth grade classes in Mississippi Choctaw Indian and predominantly white, middle-class public schools. Eleven class sessions, organized using a switchboard participation structure, were videotaped to provide comparative data on a variety of nonverbal behaviors (i.e., student utterances, turn-switching pauses, listener-gaze, butting-in interruptions, individual as opposed to choral speaking, and teacher utterances and switching pauses). Two cameras recorded the data. One camera provided a view of the teacher and the class, and the second camera provided the listener-gaze of individual students. Choctaw students spoke individually less often (p < .01), used shorter utterances (p < .01), interrupted the teacher more often (p < .01), and, while the teacher was talking gazed more at peers (p < .05) than their Anglo counterparts. Teachers in the Choctaw classrooms had longer turn-switching pauses (p < .05), asked more questions (p < .01), and used shorter utterances to ask questions of individual students (p < .01). The results supported the hypothesis that cultural differences in nonverbal behavior are associated with classroom interaction.