International Journal of
Information and Education Technology

Abstract

Research on communication behaviours in fostering effective learning outcomes has become important, particularly in the distance education setting, where there is no face-to-face communication. Given the issue of physical distance between lecturer and students, the concept of behavioural immediacy aims to encompass behavioural styles that simulate a sense of co-presence in mediated communications to compensate for the lack of direct verbal contact and body language cues. Immediacy behaviours practised by the lecturer in virtual classrooms may reduce their psychological distance from students, creating a more social environment and increasing sensory stimulation, to aid the learning process. This research was undertaken at a university in Saudi Arabia (a premier provider of distance education courses) to investigate the influence of lecturer immediacy (verbal and non-verbal) on the affective and cognitive dimensions of learning in a virtual classroom environment. The results showed a positive significant relationship between affective/cognitive learning and verbal/non-verbal immediacy of lecturers in virtual classrooms. Some gender differences were found showing that male students were more willing than female students to learn when the lecturer practised immediacy behaviours.