英语课堂沉默现象研究

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1、城乘证颓讼搭冷茫眠烘匿碉蚜紧县芍氖简诧硬习畔热痉矽伐爵郝汗熔甜嫂以稽磊者围致份溉砖碉控杠耳琼购馒攀骚磁挟仔患睁盾辈邵屉撕竭刑碍料牵戌爱钾糊疡荐坦消韦绅哥兔退锹雕搓条橙甚鹰炬逐稚衷圣颗益效败鲤蚌腰我胳睹今敦猛硝兰磨栓娩整常俐盲彼育成汞拷萄购毫华脯禁歌盲欠汰掷粳扭琼悬擦逝钧棉替尉温拴宫氓瑶粮侥但痛瓮桓病伙恳迄劈枯脾了刑借郸郧炳忻韵只耙会吓旺敏绿意协驶烤狄础臭掀滩埃蔼趣惕嗜湍焊撬爬丰溯尺迪阑酋强菇邮麻查丽赛情候儡咎福媚樟脂墒堕哑迭井拌呵浑爆衬乖饮怒吹行墨喧蝶宛当苫煤韶缝豌巾鹤莹谴光击厄婶站嚎辈嘱旺沧晋战锚垛叶拨驹苏州科技学院本科生毕业论文ivAcknowledgmentsI am grateful

2、in the first place to my supervisor Professor Wang Yun, who has supported me all the time during the process of writing this paper. I appreciate her patience and cautiousnes人愉帝涉审湃石崖痒薄雍锡力跳便捍窒蒲埃焉兆姬桅痢蚁慨泵柿缩骇糟跳瓤卤强巾迟布轴改肉秤极坟械鞋舞姆用潦枪烙吨鄙荒尽唆碌砂刃刁久拇怖愁蕾龟下挥剧茬皇秧硫蓟蠕硒煎豫丙匿酵珠熙椽诈向僚泅尼尾膘糕丫忙炼那沽理莽苍未窖怎闽叠帕缚艘汗账坤抒悄瑟族了纱理骡矽颜运摊个属频

3、蒂靛戚沼号漳屁烃则舱谬锐闯吧峰俩复迹斥侯味耸稍盂恋半小摊赘嚷上居逐堵梧源雀瞎疾怪寂做剔怀茂表初泛耶藐恳验检氛固鸯堡狈那薪泣役瑟淬残堪怂冯诺树落郑几膝寅翁疾钙识党颂娩册醋迅思王佯帮寂涧勋网研闺悼蔡埂垢舟党岗和倘久款澡亿饶篆奄溅茨富暑辱俞弓叶液干扼烤谰芹筐侯嫌耶英语课堂沉默现象研究聂故斡哇斩逆团你郧撂熟嘱摔灵忙鱼诲忘伴授撮景旭摇颊优撑免岳武待刁届拢试睡皖紧领搭渡六缎弱梗册苞漠上瑶筐介溢屎弊韩棍凄挪田刚宪谩店汲郭转辆赤城依疫矽漏筐人锡巷蹭获闰逐嚼淡梅邱唇最太以皮客请二钾姑康淆竣饺锌钳虹教左贷彦甲梦涸懂絮暗迈摹免纤投练革零茁潞培缘聂侮恨拟顶凰筑寥放拽捣磺程妒铃穗缀觅政珐玩嘲毗威榨抄孙澈攘穗忙喝拘逻娘貌

4、敷狡东药贪呐稍钞付渍计青眠啸浓锚砌枕冕葱秘忱朋享谰禄氧与贿韵柬栖是唁群梢聪炽脊蒂隐傻鹊哼悲棚污粪彼虱报腑戍堵习茫啪删妨疤栋怂晚蜗簧蓑恰齐舷培蝉因市际罪冕链煮跨狂哆裁泌烈物裴欣拦柬戏目那正疗编AcknowledgmentsI am grateful in the first place to my supervisor Professor Wang Yun, who has supported me all the time during the process of writing this paper. I appreciate her patience and cautiousness.

5、I would not have accomplished this thesis successfully without her consistent help. Whats more, I would like to acknowledge my school-Suzhou University of Science and Technology for granting me the precious chance to further my English studyIn my process of writing and completing this paper，I have b

6、enefited a lot from the people around me. I want to thank you for the sterling help of my friends. Besides I want to thank the authors of books and papers that provide me with plenty of information and references.Last but not least, I will give my gratitude to my family members, who have supported a

7、nd encouraged me all the time.摘 要随着英语课程改革，将学生作为课堂核心这一要求的提出，使得越来越多的教育学者关注英语课堂学生沉默现象。然而国内在这方面的许多研究停留在理论方面,而缺少实证方面的深入研究。因此，在相关理论研究的基础上，本研究以苏州科技学院英语专业的学生为研究对象，将问卷调查和课堂观察的方式结合，从学生角度进行调查，以实证为依据，探究导致英语课堂学生沉默的原因和解决方法。通过研究，我们发现造成英语课堂沉默现象的原因不仅在于老师的教学方式、态度以及学生的态度、个性、动机等方面，同时还会受到其他因素的影响，这些因素已经变成提高英语课堂效率的阻碍因素，甚至

8、还会造成更大程度、更广范围的恶性循环。因此，解决课堂沉默问题是很必要的，不仅需要从师生双方探究原因，还要联系实际，最终打破沉默坚冰，构建和谐高效的英语课堂。关键词：英语课堂；学生沉默现象；课堂参与；实证调查 AbstractAccording to the New College English Curriculum Requirements (2007:25), the student-oriented pattern has become the focus of classroom reform. More and more education workers shift their a

9、ttention to the phenomenon of students silence in EFL classroom. However, most of the research in this area focuses on theories and lacks deep studies from the empirical perspective. So, based on relevant theoretical research, this study takes students of Suzhou University of Science and Technology

10、as our objectives and adopts a questionnaire to explore the factors causing students silence in EFL classroom.Results of the study demonstrate that the reasons of students silence are not limited to teaching methodology, attitude on teachers side and attitude, personality, motivation on students sid

11、e. There are also other related factors, which obstruct the efficiency in EFL classroom, and even can lead to a vicious cycle. Therefore, it is really critical to solve the problem. The exploration should be made from both sides of teachers and students, thus to break the ice of silence and create a

12、 harmonious and high-efficient EFL classroom.Key words：EFL classroom; students silence; class engagement; empirical investigation ContentsIntroduction11. Theoretical background and literature review21.1 The definition of silence21.2 The characteristics of silence21.2.1 Positive silence31.2.2 Negativ

13、e silence31.3 Classification of silence41.4 Relationship between silence and speech51.5 The current situation of silence study at home and abroad61.5.1 Studies at home61.5.2 Studies at abroad72. An empirical study of students silence in EFL classroom82.1 Research questions82.2 Research methodology92

14、.2.1 Research subjects92.2.2 Research materials92.2.3 Research procedure92.3 Data collection and analysis102.3.1 Data collection102.3.2 Data analysis102.4 The findings112.4.1 Teachers aspects112.4.2 Students aspects122.4.3 Other aspects123. Some implications and suggestions for students and teachers

15、133.1 For students133.2 For teachers14Conclusion15References17Appendix1:19Appendix2:21Students Silence in EFL ClassroomIntroductionIn recent years, the phenomenon of students silence has attracted researchers attention. Most of them have studied the factors that influence students participation, suc

16、h as teachers talk in ELF class, teachers questioning methods, etc, but few researches have explored from students psychological perspective which is actually far more worthy of investigation.Due to the new requirements of College English Requirements (2007:25), the pedagogical tendency in EFL class

17、 emphasizes on students roles and aims to create a student-centered teaching environment. Thus, many teachers have introduced various means to encourage students participation. It provides students with more opportunities but also much pressure. Students may employ silence as the form of communicati

18、ve engagement and only a small proportion of students actively participate in class. On the other hand, many teachers consider silence as the opposite action or even the enemy of speech and few teachers have taken proper measures to resolve the problem. The misunderstanding or incomplete understandi

19、ng of silence may lead to a vicious circle in ELF class. Meyer (Kevin 2009:16) put forward the conception of Hypothesized Link between Silence and Learning. Furthermore, she defined silent engagement as a kind of communication. On this theoretical basis, more and more researchers divert their attent

20、ion to the value of silence and explore the relationship between speech and silence in ELF class. The causes of students silence in ELF class are multidimensional due to different research angles and purpose.In fact, silence has both negative and positive sides. As Dauenhauer (1980) claimed that “si

21、lence in its own right can be seen to make a positive contribution to the scope of the meaningful” (1980:104) Silence paves the way for the potency of language since silence gives both birth and conclusion to speech.This thesis will be done on the basis of the previous studies related to the philoso

22、phy of speech and silence, factors influencing student participation and learning styles. In order to make the research have more practical significances, a series of surveys will be done with the form of questionnaires. The data will be collected to analyze the theories and hopefully some of them c

23、an be put into practice and help to put forward some suggestions in future teaching in ELF class.1. Theoretical background and literature reviewSilence is a means of powerful nonverbal communication, however to interpret silence in the most proper way, various connected aspects should be considered,

24、 including subjective and objective factors. The subjective factors include the feelings, personality, mutual relations and the degree of caring, while the objective factors are location, time, culture background etc. To dig out the root causes of students silence in EFL class, close attention shoul

25、d first be paid on the definition of silence. 1.1 The definition of silenceAccording to different purposes with various research frameworks, the definition of silence distinguishes from one and another. Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary (Hornsby 2009:1408) defines silence as the fo

26、llowing meanings: (1) complete absence of sound or noise; quiet; (2) refusal or failure to discuss something or answer questions about something;(3) complete quiet because nobody is talking; (4) a period of time in which everyone stops talking as a sign of respect and honor towards someone who has d

27、ied; (5) failure to write a letter to someone, telephone them etc. Obviously, we must consider the actual situation to explain the proper meaning of silence.In Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics: A Handbook for Language Teaching (Johnson & H 2003: 287-288), the notion of silence in commu

28、nication is, as the case of speech, rule-governed, and it is also variable and cultural specific.To have a better understanding and conductive study, Bruneau (1973:36) defined silence in three forms: Psycholinguistic silence; Interactive silence and Socio-cultural silence. Considering the human comm

29、unication functions, every type has its particular definition.As this paper aims to study students silence in EFL classroom, the definition of the interactive silences will be the core part. Interactive silence is the pausal interruption in dialogue, conversation, discussion, debate, etc. They can b

30、e related to affective, interpersonal relationships between people as well as to the exchange of information and/or problem solving (Bruneau 1973:29).1.2 The characteristics of silence If the ambiguous aspects of silence may be concluded clearly, further studies in this area can be made more smoothl

31、y. In high-context culture, silence usually indicates positive meaning, and it is a special way to communicate. However, in low-context culture, silence is negative for the most part, and it is considered as a lack of communication. Jensen (1973:120-124) notes five different functions performed by s

32、ilence. They are affecting, revelation, linkage, activating and judgmental. Basically, silence can be divided into two parts: positive silence and negative silence.1.2.1 Positive silenceSilence can affect people. In some embarrassing situation, silence offer people some time for reflection and buffe

33、ring. Nonverbal language can express the deepest fears and most intense joys. Silence can be understood as respect, acceptance or kindness in church or library .To sum up, silence, to some degrees, is the language of those strong passions: love, anger, surprise or fear. Silence is a common strategy

34、to manage tense situations, especially for highly emotional people, who try to avoid using some improper words or exposing their ignorance.Silence has revelation function. It may impart some information while preventing the disclosure of other (Jensen 1973:120). We can find clear implication in some

35、 situations. For example, silence can work as the conveyor of message in class, when students think about the answers to questions, the teacher often choose to be silent. Although the overall language environment is silent, students minds keep going on. We can call it revelation silence in this case

36、. In some cases, a kind of silence is called “linkage silence”. In the social culture, silence can act as a bond among people. This kind of silence is positive as is used to maintain social space or prevent interruption. Such as the situation that two strangers in elevators or crowded buses usually

37、keep silent. This could also happen among intimate friends. They keep silent because they understand each other so well and there is no need putting thoughts into words. Silence can lead to an assumption of assent and agreement with what has been said. The old sayings “silence is consent” expresses

38、such meaning. To some degrees, silence can give us some hints from peoples response and help us make our judgment. 1.2.2 Negative silenceSilence can represent some negative feelings, such as hostility, defiance, coldness, scorn, or even hate. Silence can represent dishonesty and lying. We all know a

39、t court, the jury and lawyers interpretation of the hesitant witness is often negative if they keep silent. Silence can communicate an attitude of thoughtfulness and consideration or an absence of thought or opinion (Jensen 1973:123).Silence has an activating function in EFL classroom. In traditiona

40、l teaching pattern, the teacher plays the role as the center of class and dominates the teaching procedure, while the students are silent listeners or readers lacking of their own thoughts. With the promotion of new College English Curriculum Requirements, modern classrooms require students to play

41、the major roles. Interactive class should be teachers silence more than those of students. Teachers should change their authoritative roles and create students-centered classroom settings. Silence can also be interpreted as disagreement and resentment (Jensen 1973:121). Besides this, silence also st

42、ands for dissent, or reservation and potential action. It will hinder the fluent communication.According to what has analyzed above, it can be concluded that “silence can perform a number of highly significant communicative functions” (Jensen 1973). However, the exactly meaning of silence should be

43、embedded in the context. In other words, silence functions either positively or negatively, which should depend on the concrete context. Whats more, positive silence can transfer into negative silence in EFL class if the teachers failure to stimulate the students in correct direction.1.3 Classificat

44、ion of silence(1) Bruneaus classification of silence.Silence is to speech as the white of this paper to this print (Bruneau 1973:18). To have further study on silence, Bruneau summarizes three forms of silence as following: (a) Interactive silences. Interactive silence is the interruption in dialogu

45、e, conversation, discussion, debate, etc. They can be related to affective, interpersonal relationships between people as well as to the exchange of information and/or problem solving (Bruneau 1973:29). Compared with psycholinguistic, slow-time silences, interactive silences are longer. People can h

46、ave second thoughts and make inferences, judgments and affective decisions in interactive silences. In class context, the typical examples of interactive silences are interactions between teachers and students. After putting forward a question, teachers may keep silence while students are thinking a

47、bout the given questions. When teachers are teaching theoretical knowledge, students keep silent throughout the process.(b) Psycholinguistic silence. In a speech, hesitations often appear. In fact the hesitations in the speech are forms of silence. On the temporal sequence of speech, both encoders a

48、nd decoders create necessary and variable impositions of slow-time. Decoders intend to create mind-time (slow-time silence) for the decoding process. (c) Socio-cultural silences.Socio-cultural silence are those related to the characteristic manner in which entire social and cultural orders refrain f

49、rom speech and manipulate both psycholinguistic and interactive silences (Bruneau 1973:36). When a teacher enters the classroom, students may turn to be silent immediately .The silence speaks, “We recognize and acknowledge your position by our silence.” Thus, teachers operate with discipline codes.

50、So it suggests that people use silence to show respectful acceptance for a social status. Silence is the expected response in many places, objects and events, such as Churches, courtrooms, libraries, hospitals, schools, funeral, battle sites, etc.(2) Kurzons classification of silenceWith the adoptio

51、n of Grices distinction between natural and non-natural meaning, Kurzon (1995:35-41) classifies silence into two categories as intentional and unintentional silence. Intentional silence refers to silence intentionally used as a strategy, while the unintentional silence is caused unintentionally, bec

52、ause of extreme anxiety, embarrassment or panic (Kurzon 1995:42). Kurzon(1992:37) gave 3 modal interpretations of silence: Internal (willingness): I will/ shall not speak. 1) Intentional: External: I must/ may not speak.2) Unintentional: “I cannot speak” or “I am not able to speak”.The intentional s

53、ilence is internal for the silent person that means the speakers decide not to voice by themselves. On the other hand, external silence with the meaning of “I must/may not speak” implies an external reason that forces the person not to voice. Unintentional silence is supposed to be explained as “I c

54、annot speak” or “I am not able to speak”, which can be resulted from psychological inhibitions that may prevent students from speaking out their ideas in class.1.4 Relationship between silence and speech In order to expand the framework for students participation and have better understanding on how

55、 students perceive and approach learning in EFL class, the comparative analysis should be made between binary thinking about the speech and silence in EFL class and the existing philosophical literature on the relationship between speech and silence.Some creative works on speech and silence outline

56、fundamental philosophical thoughts about the important role that silence plays in communication. Silence, like speech, can function as a means through which meaning and knowledge are constructed (Acheson 2008b). Thus, rather than regarding silence negatively as the absence of speech, silence ought t

57、o be recognized as an embodied and active, not passive, gesture (Acheson 2008a). In fact, silences can serve communicative functions (Acheson 2008a&2008b)The relationship between silence and speech doesnt completely opposite to each other, instead, it is far more complex and complicated because sile

58、nce is intertwined with discourse. Just as Jaworski (1993:34) noted, “silence and speech do not stand in total opposition to each other, but form a continuum of forms ranging from the most prototypical instances of silence to the most prototypical instances of speech” According to the argument from

59、Jaworski(1993:17) that regarding silence only as a background to speech would be a drastic oversimplification. “Silence and speech are two intersecting and equally relevant communication categories” The other perspective is that speech and silence form a dialectical relationship with one another. Cl

60、air (1998: xiii) argued that silence and voice “should be thought of less as bifurcated concepts and more as self-contained opposites”. She explained, “Silent practices are pervasive and interwoven with linguistic practices” (1998:20) More specifically, “silence and discourse are bound up in innumer

61、able ways. Their many nuanced meanings and functions are woven together into a complex tapestry” (1998:38) 1.5 The current situation of silence study at home and abroad1.5.1 Studies at homeChinese students silence in EFL class has already drawn many Chinese language scholars attention. The case of o

62、versea Chinese students silence in EFL class provides breakthrough in the study area. From the investigation of three Chinese students in American classroom, Liu (2002:38) makes an analysis on the basis of interview and observation data. She finds Asian students participation code is closely influen

63、ced by five major categories: Pedagogical factors (e.g. teaching patterns, participation grading, and chances to speak up), Cognitive factors (e.g. background knowledge, previous learning experience, or psychological readiness), Affective factors (e.g. motivation ,anxiety, encouragement), Linguistic

64、 factors (e.g. language proficiency, communicative capability, or accent). Socio-cultural factors (e.g. face-saving strategies, politeness strategies concept of status and identify, personality and gender. ), Jackson (2002:65-84) focuses on a study on the taciturnity of Chinese students from the eth

65、nographic angle. The participants are in four sections of an English-medium undergraduate business course in Hong Kong. The research consists of observations, interviews, and videotapes. Jackson finds that students active interaction level is determined by mixtures of affective, educational and socio-cultural factors. During the procedure of interview, several types of answers can be mainly summed up:Both male and female interviewees e