Silence in English as a Foreign Language classroom: Students' and teachers' perception of classroom interaction.

Abstract

Silence in EFL classrooms has potential influences on the language acquisition process. This study examined teachers’ and students’ perceptions of student silence in EFL classrooms by triangulating data from videos of 91 students from four classes, semi-structured and retrospective interviews of eight students and three teachers. The findings reveal a disconnect between teachers and students’ perception of student silence, resulting in failure to address the issue. While students' silence reflects cognitive engagement or language processing needs, teachers tend to overlook this, reinforcing passive behaviors by quickly providing answers and focusing on maintaining classroom order. While students were silent due to dynamic interaction of cultural and social norms, unproductive classroom management and language proficiency, teachers viewed student silence as students’ learning habits, test-oriented purposes, justifying their silence based on their fixed characteristics, learning attitudes and results. Contradiction was also found between teachers’ preference for maintaining order in the classroom and their desire for students’ active involvement. A training program making teachers' expectations and perceptions visible for questioning, challenging, and negotiating, while considering the dynamics of teaching, learning processes, and students' fluid identities, could improve teaching practices.