There are times when words are not enough. There are times when no matter how hard we try we cannot put our message across. In the EFL classroom such situations take place pretty often, especially if you are teachingyoung learners.

Most of us know thatmimingis an extremely useful tool for eliciting, presenting or practising new vocabulary. To become good at that requirestime, consciouseffortand possibly a pinch oftalent.

Sadly, some teachers reject the idea as they are afraid to look and actsillyin front of their students. My advice give it a try!

Some basic ideas on how to use hands and fingers in the ESL classroom involve:

Pointingto objects, students, yourself meaningthis/that/you/meetc

Pointingbackindicatingpast, pointingforwardindicatingfuture, pointing to the floor in front of youmeaningnow, at the moment

Thumbs upforok, thumbdownmeaningnot ok, wrong

Shakingyour handsidewaysmeaningso-so, not really, give it another try

Showingtimes upusing both hands, making aT

Clappingmeaningbravo, well done, good job

Holding your headin different ways meaningtired, Im having a headache(e.g. because students talk too much)

Putting a hand close to yourearas in Chinese whispers meaningspeak louder, I cant hear you, repeat

Wavingyour hand meaningBye bye, Hello

Raising a handto indicate that you expect the same from the students

Shaking a pointing fingermeaningyoure naughty, dont do that, I dont like that

Moving handstomimecertainnounsoractions a car, rain, playing the piano, smoking

Presentingadjectives-big small, long short, heavy light

Using fingers toshow a numberor whilecounting, numbering, listing

Alternative ideas for using hands:

to indicateword stress(e.g. vegetable has 4 syllables and the first one is stressed. Holding your palm as if you were knocking on the door, knock the air four times opening your fist for the stressed syllable as inOooo. Make sure you do itfrom right to leftas the students have to see it from left to right)

to showintonationby making waves (rise, fall, rise fall, fall rise, level)

Alternative ideas for using fingers:

to show anumber of wordsin a sentence,syllables in a wordand tocorrectstudentsutterances. If a student forgets to use a word in a phrase, show him/her the number of words using fingers with one finger missing.

holding fingers together to showcontractions(e.g. 1st fingerI, 2nd fingerAM, two fingers held together Im)

making thescissorsgesture may indicate thattoo muchhas been said and something has to becut out

Why is it worthwhile to consider using these techniques?

They make studentsrememberthings easily as they give them the opportunity tovisualize andmime(perfect for learners with the visual and kinesthetic learning styles)

They reduceTeacher Talking Time

They may be used whileeliciting

They provide alternative ways oferror correction, indicating stress, showing contractions, intonation

They might help you create goodrapportwith the students

If students are at a loss for words, miming canput them back on track

They may help teachersexpressthemselvesmore effectively

On a final note, make sure the gestures you want to use do not havenegative connotations in a country you teach in. Taking learnersbackgroundsorageinto consideration also plays an important role. Whatever you do, do not be afraid to experiment. In the end, experimentingis a vital part of the learning process.

* Some of the ideas presented above might sound too Silent Way-ish to some of you. My aim though is not to advocate this method but to take the best of what it has to offer.