Silence, Well-being and Learning

Abstract

I am approaching this article from the viewpoint of an ordinary human being, condemned to live in the 21^st century – and of a language teaching practitioner.   I have no pretensions to academic scholarship, nor to research into silence, so this will be a purely personal view.

I will first examine the negative effects that loss of silence has had on us as individuals and society.  I will then suggest some ways in which we can palliate these effects in our individual lives.  Finally, I will discuss the value of silence in learning (with a focus on language learning) and suggest some ways we might incorporate positive aspects of silence in our teaching.