Study On Chinese College Students’ Silence In English Class

Students classroom silence is a special form of Silence Phenomenon in foreignlanguage class. Many research findings indicate that it is especially popular in Asiancountries. Communicative competence is attached much importance in foreign languageclass, so classroom silence brings about much negative influence to language teachingand learning. Chinese students are always considered to be reticent in class, receivingknowledge in a passive way. But with the development of information technology andteaching reform, classroom behavior of college students in the new times is experiencinga change. Therefore, it is necessary to study this phenomenon from a new perspective.This study investigated the classroom silence phenomenon among277non-Englishmajors of Huazhong University of Science and Technology by two surveys andclassroom observations. The author firstly studied the participants communication withclassmates and teachers in class, the participation situation of speech activity andparticipants states of mind when speaking English in class. Then the research moved onto exploring possible reasons causing student silence from the following aspects:linguistic knowledge, learner confidence, the influence of former learning style and thepersonality of learners.It was found that the participants seldom communicated with classmates or teachersin class in English; they did not take part in the speech activities very actively; theyusually felt unconfident and even nervous when speaking English in class; and their oralEnglish did not get practiced sufficiently. According to the research findings, the mainreasons causing student silence were the lack of linguistic knowledge and the “silent”habit formed in previous learning experiences. Therefore, it is crucial to strengthen thelearning of basic linguistic knowledge, help students form a positive learning style,improve students learning interest and establish a relaxed and harmonious languagelearning atmosphere for students.