A Study On College Non-English Major Students’ Silence In EFL Class

Classroom Silence refers to a phenomenon that students are not willing to communicate with teachers or other students and keep silent to teachers? questioning during class. Over the years, Chinese college students? silence has become a common phenomenon in EFL classes. With the development of international cultural exchange and growth of business trade, the need for high-quality talents with comprehensive capability in English is imperative. Therefore, to meet the requirements, it is essential for teachers to pay attention to Chinese students? silence in EFL class. Many researchers at home and abroad have devoted comprehensive studies to the phenomenon of students? silence. Foreign scholars mainly focus on cross-cultural and psychological factors and Chinese learners also concentrate on these factors and have proposed some strategies in order to change the phenomenon of classroom silence. Undoubtedly, these scholars had made great contribution on this phenomenon, but few attempts have been made to explore the factors causing Chinese college non-English major students? silence in English listening and speaking classes. As we know, silence may have many negative impacts on English teaching and second language learning in EFL class. The purpose of this study is to find out the reasons why students keep silent in EFL class by using the methods of questionnaire, interviews and classroom observation and finally gives some suggestions for improving current situation to both teachers and students.According to the input hypothesis, Krashen(1997) considers “comprehensible input” as the necessary condition for acquiring a second language. Like the input hypothesis, the interaction hypothesis puts a great emphasis on obtaining comprehensible input in learning a second language. In addition to input and interaction hypothesis, another important SLA hypothesis which provides strong theoretical grounds for the role of participation in conversation on second language acquisition is the Output Hypothesis, proposed by Swain(1985). This hypothesis suggests that learners need the opportunity for meaningful use of their linguistic resources to achieve native-speaker levels.Based on these three hypotheses in the research of SLA and previous studies, the research has been done in Inner Mongolia Normal University, which is the key normal university in Inner Mongolia. There are 200 EFL students participated in this study. They are all non-English majors. All the students participating in the study are level 3 students and in their second year at college. Classroom observation, interviews and questionnaires are used in this research for investigating possible reasons of classroom silence. Interviews have been done after the questionnaire was finished. Five English teachers and five students have been chosen for the interview. Classroom observation is also used in the process of investigation.It is discovered that there are complex reasons exist on the phenomenon of classroom silence: teachers? attitude; the relationship between teachers and students; traditional teaching model and teachers? questioning strategies. Students are also responsible for this phenomenon, students? attitude and motivation; students? poor proficiency and introverted personality. There are also some cultural factors which include face protection and Chinese traditional value.On the basis of these findings, the author proposed some suggestions for college English teachers and students. Teachers should improve their teaching methods and their questioning strategies, try to establish a harmonious relationship between teachers and students. While students should pay attention to two aspects: forming a good learning attitude and enhancing their inner motivation.