Effective teacher immediacy behaviors in Saudi EFL classrooms: does gender and major matter?

Purpose This study is an attempt to explore the perceptions of Saudi students from King Abdulaziz University toward teachers’ nonverbal immediacy behaviors. It also attempts to explore the differences among students with respect to their perceptions. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design was used for conducting this study combining two instruments (Creswell, 1999). We used survey as our instrument. The data collected from the survey were analyzed statistically using AMOS, an added SPSS module. Findings It was found that male participants had somehow different perceptions than their female counterparts towards teachers' nonverbal immediacy behaviors. Among these differences is that male participants showed more negative perceptions towards the teacher's nonverbal immediacy behavior of pointing to someone with a raised a finger. Practical implications The study would highlight some factors affecting students' perceptions toward teachers’ nonverbal immediacy behaviors. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge, this study is one of the first to have investigated teachers’ non-verbal immediacy in the Saudi culture.