Language – Discussion Board #3

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Learning Objective: What is Language and Where Does it Come From?

While we may think of language as confined to the words that we speak, there is so much more to language than this. The world of gestures is an excellent example; many of us “speak with our hands” in order to emphasize the topics that we are trying to communicate. Italians are particularly famous for their elaborate and exaggerated language of gestures. A recent article and video from the New York Times does an excellent job of elucidating this topic. You can see the article “When Italians Chat, Hands and Fingers Do the Talking” at the following link NY TIMES Article

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Instructions:

1. After reading the article and watching the video about Italian hand gestures, you should have a greater awareness of the role of gesture in communication. Over the course of a day, make note of the gestures that you, your friends, and your professors use, and in what contexts these gestures are used.

2. Prepare a summary of the gestures you observed for your class’s online forum.

3. Use Canvas Studio to respond to this post (60 seconds or less). Make a short video of the gestures. How to respond with Canvas Studio.

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6. Explain the gestures in a small paragraph!

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9. In the comment section, discuss with your classmates whether there are other possible meanings for any of the gestures you presented.

All posts made to each Lesson discussion are scored according to the following criteria:

· 0 points: no participation, no attempt to begin a discussion, or respond to a classmate.

· .5 – 5.75 point (F): varying degrees of failure; attempt to participate is not sincere; does not demonstrate much or any preparation; student clearly unwilling to participate or prepare; posts do not address the topic or engage peer in discussion; and/or post is incomprehensible due to grammar/spelling/syntax errors!

· 6 – 6.75 points (D): attempt does not demonstrate comprehension of material or full preparation for the discussion, or does not address the discussion topic in a meaningful way, and/or post is very difficult to understand, containing grammar/spelling/syntax errors!

· 7 – 7.75 points (C): statements indicate a willingness to participate but do not indicate full preparation or full comprehension, or may not address the discussion topic fully and/or post is somewhat difficult to follow, containing grammar/spelling/syntax errors.

· 8 – 8.75 points (B): statements indicate student willing and prepared for discussion, but maybe lacking a complete understanding of concepts or complete coverage of discussion topic, and/or post contains some grammar/spelling/syntax errors. They have also responded to at least 2 other post

· 9-10 points (A): Students’ enthusiastic participation indicates preparation, comprehension and complete understanding of concepts, has complete and accurate coverage of the discussion topic and is free of grammar/spelling/syntax errors. They have also responded to at least 2 other posts.

This is my discussion . I only need comments on students discussions

In the online course forum, there are a lot of gestures I have learned and become completely aware of. I have learned that communication goes beyond verbal engagement since gestures are powerful way of communicating a message. For instance, I have noted that when a student is not comfortable and not in a position to say no, a simple frown on the face can communicate discomfort. In other instances a student can nod the head as a sign of agreement or even looking at a person straight in the eye communicating attentive listening. Whenever one could desire say something, members of the online class could raise their hands to attract attention from other students or the tutor. As a sign of fatigue and tiredness, students could demonstrate with gestures like yawning and stretching. When something exciting is being shared, students could show through smiley and happy faces accompanied by laughter but also varying voice tone is also a perfect gesture constantly used.

Here are the discussions from other students. I need to leave a comment to them.

Cristina Parra Medrano

Some hand gestures I’ve caught myself doing in particular range from being habitual to doing them so other’s understand what I say better. For example, at work, I’ve caught myself gesturing towards the menu several times especially with customers, just to make it easier for them to see what they can order. Another thing I’ve notices is the typical “I don’t know gesture,” where both your hands kind of bend at a 90 degree angle palms up by the side of your head, similar to the emoji. That one’s kind of become habitual. One of the gestures that I’m trying to break habit of performing is simply moving my hands around when I talk, It’s just so dramatic the way I do it and I feel like people would take me more seriously if I stop. I notice at work that most managers of mine mimic actions, for example, if I’m asked to write something down, they’ll mimic writing something down on an invisible paper with an invisible pen as they assume this helps me and other employees understand what they mean. I noticed when I talk about the sizes of particular objects my hands kind of extend when it’s a bigger object and come closer together when I’m referring to something smaller. One gesture I’ve noticed my mother does is raise her hand up tp her ear when she can’t hear what I’m saying, a lot of customers at work tend to do this as well. One specific gesture that I personally like to do a lot, especially at work to our employees, is a thumbs up just to show I’m grateful whenever I ask someone to perform a task or after rush hour to validate our employees for their hard work. One thing I’ve noticed is the difference of hand gestures from generation to generation. For example, I know some hand gestures that my mom won’t understand but other people my age might. Additionally I have some older coworkers who wouldn’t understand these gestures either, but they seem popular among other people around my age.

Angel De La Torre

One of the most valuable tools for musicians in a loud studio to communicate are hand gestures, signals, queues, and facial expressions. The absolute inability to project your voice loud enough (without being a trained singer) makes learning these gestures crucial to getting anything done in a noisy studio with an overactive drummer. You can gesture when the song starts by counting the beat with your hand. Similarly, you can wave your hand with your palm facing the ground in a lateral motion to signal the end of a song. Finally you can make a face when you are very pleased with the sound.