Language is an important part of our functional activity and we indicate, often in diagrammatic form, the varying communication patterns used in meetings and during negotiations. Language studies have traditionally emphasized verbal and written language, but recently have begun to consider communication that takes place without words. In some types of communication people express more nonverbally than verbally, for example, in expressing human emotions and attitudes. Nonverbal communication including gestures, postures, facial expressions, touching behaviors, vocal behaviors, etc. is said to convey anything up to 90 percent of our message, and plays an important role in our daily life. Along the line of reasoning, nonverbal communication appears even more powerful than the verbal interaction. Thus, it is essential that study on nonverbal communication be paid more attention to.
Gestures are found fascinating things, at once wholly expressive and curiously mysterious. The flick of the wrist, the wave of a finger, or simply the movement of an eyelid can say more than a speech, and sometimes a subtle gesture can express a feeling more gracefully than words. (Armstrong & Wagner, 2003:1). Gestures used for greetings, in particular, play an important part in communication in that they help to establish and maintain a relationship in an initial meeting.
In Vietnam in the last few years, ELT has concentrated on communication with emphasis much on communicative competence rather than on simply linguistic competence. As Vietnam has adopted an open-door policy, the number of people who wish to master English for international communication and further study overseas is increasing. However, it is observed that ELT in Vietnam, as a matter of fact, has focused too much on the verbal aspects of communication (which is necessary but not sufficient) while ignoring nonverbal communicative competence. Consequently, learners fail to communicate effectively across cultures due to the misinterpretations of nonverbal cues extended by native speakers.