The Use of Non-Verbal Communication Channels Among Arabic Language Teachers in Government-Aided Religious Schools (GARS)

Communication plays an important role in the field of education, as it is one of the primary modes of interaction that occurs between teachers and students, especially during the teaching process. The use of appropriate and strategic verbal or non-verbal communication media can positively impact the teaching and learning process. However, verbal communication channels have received greater focus among researchers. Non-verbal communication is also important, as it can influence the extent of information imparted; teachers’ failure to apply it can hinder the teaching process. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify the level of non-verbal communication employed in Arabic language instruction across ten channels: physical appearance, kinesics, chronemics, haptics, facial expressions, oculesics, proxemics, paralinguistics, artefactual, and olfactory. This survey study was conducted with 356 students using simple random sampling at nine selected Government-Aided Religious Schools in Selangor. Based on the high overall mean interpretation scores (Mean = 3.71, SD = 0.44), the results showed that Arabic language teachers successfully utilised non-verbal communication in the teaching process. The findings revealed that four channels were used frequently (physical appearance, paralinguistics, facial expressions, and chronemics), four were used at a moderately frequent level (proxemics, artefactual, kinesics, and oculesics), and two were used at a least frequent level (haptics and olfactory). These findings confirm the diversity of non-verbal communication channels used by Arabic language teachers in the teaching and learning process in schools. The findings of this study may also be used to develop and improve appropriate training modules for Arabic language teachers.