34.2479, Review: Silence in English Language Pedagogy

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LINGUIST List: Vol-34-2479. Mon Aug 14 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.2479, Review: Silence in English Language Pedagogy

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Date: 10-Jul-2023
From: Hanae Ezzaouya [ezzaouya.hanae at gmail.com]
Subject: Applied Linguistics, Language Acquisition: Dat Bao (2023)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/34.647

AUTHOR: Dat Bao
TITLE: Silence in English Language Pedagogy
SUBTITLE: From Research to Practice
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2023

REVIEWER: Hanae Ezzaouya

Silence in English Language Pedagogy: From Research to Practice- Bao
Dat, 2023
Summary
Silence is often an overlooked research area of language learning. As
it plays an instrumental role in the dynamics of language acquisition,
the book “Silence in English Language Pedagogy: From Research to
Practice” adopts an unconventional perspective towards analyzing
silence, focusing mainly on its positive potential in the classroom,
and bridging the gap between research and practice to offer guidance
on the use of silence in the classroom. This book is intended for any
research community and student of applied linguistics, any academic
community of Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL),
and any language teachers and educators. In the 200 pages of the book,
ten main chapters are found, each tackling an array of themes. The
first five chapters explore the existing literature around silence,
from embracing silence in education, to the presence of silence in
Second Language Acquisition (SLA), to the trends of silence in
research, to the elements that shape pedagogy for silence, finally to
problematizing silence. The second five chapters unravel practical and
innovative principles of silence that are applicable to task-based
instruction. These include ways of addressing classroom silence,
online silence, coping with undesirable online silence, silence in
English Language Teaching (ELT) task design, and further ideas for
research on silence.
Starting with the first five chapters, embracing silence in education,
Chapter 1 features the complexity of defining silence in education and
suggests that silence ought not be solely restricted to concepts such
as the silent period (Krashen, 1985), low comprehension, or lack of
conversational initiation (Saville-Troike, 1988), but rather be seen
as context-dependent and involving cognitive processes that do not
implicate a productive verbal participation (Bao, 2023). This
invitation to broaden the understanding of silence in pedagogy
captures the complexity of defining silence and calls for the
necessity to enhance ELT through embracing silence and speech alike in
teaching practices.
The second chapter sheds light on the relationship between silence in
SLA settings and verbal output. It shows how existing literature such
as Levelt’s (1989) speech production model and Long’s (1996)
interaction hypothesis overlook the connection between learners’
output and silent thinking and miss on contextualizing silence in
education whilst considering social competence and cultural
appropriateness as influential factors. Moreover, various types of
silence can affect the learning process differently. While silence can
facilitate language input and attentive listening, its effectiveness
depends on learners’ comprehension abilities. Examining the scholarly
attitudes toward silence in SLA, different interpretations have been
posited; notably that silence is a thought that cannot be heard, a
speech that can be heard by the thinker, a delay in speech, an
incompetence in communication, a psychological self-defense against
criticism, or a mediating tool in social contexts (Bao, 2023). The
unsettling nature of silence interpretation poses a challenge for
educators as they wonder whether to make it serve pedagogical needs or
respond to it as a natural occurrence.
This closely relates to trends of silence research summarized in
Chapter 3. The chapter shows the evolvement of silence research from
the 1970s where the dynamics of inner speech are investigated, to the
early and mid-1900s where causes of silence and interventions against
it are explored, until the mid- and late- 2020s where learner and
teacher views on silence and productive silence are examined. Views on
silence divided into anti-silence (Tatar, 2005; Al-Halawachy, 2014;
Qian, 2020) and pro-silence (Bao, 2002; Wuttke, 2012; Yi, 2020), and
intervention designs split between humanistic (Dallimore et al., 2006;
Yashima et al., 2018; King et al., 2020) and technical (Reinsch &
Wambsganss, 1994; Boniecki & Moore, 2003) types. Moreover, the
theoretical development of silence witnessed instability, as concepts
such as the silent period created controversy. Silence within language
education is complex, however findings from silence studies show a
potential to transform pedagogy and advance ELT.
Moving to the fourth chapter, which delves into the elements that
shape pedagogy for silence, it was established that understanding
silence and using it as a resource are key elements in advancing ELT
pedagogy. Teachers are recommended to treat silence as meaningful and
valuable pauses that hold thoughts, and learners are encouraged to use
it effectively for reflection and avoid delayed communication. In
particular, teachers are called to use five principles: using silence
to manage the shared learning space, nurturing the functions of
productive silence, providing conditions for productive silence,
understanding the learning value of mental rehearsal, and following up
on the outcome of mental rehearsal; and learners are called to use six
strategies: namely, practice of inner speech, interaction with
resources, the use of scripted speech, personal visualization,
creation of output from listening, and the need to follow up on what
silence produces (Bao, 2023). A skillful use of silence can aid
internal reflection and external speech.
Finally, the fifth chapter problematizes silence and emphasizes the
importance of understanding it without prejudice as an evolving
dynamic process affected by context, internal factors, and external
factors, such as individual personalities and the interactive process.
More importantly, it shows scenarios where silence fails to be
productive; notably, silence as cultural immobility, as subject to
misjudgment, as mind wandering, as out of context, as resistance to
poor pedagogy, as a lack of response, and as arising from
demotivational dilemmas (Bao, 2023). To effectively deal with these,
solutions were proposed, including, respectively, investigating
international students’ communication moves between speech and
silence, organizing silence and making its intention explicit, keeping
lessons appealing, encouraging behavioral cultural compromises,
inciting student engagement, reducing imposing undesirable emotions on
students, reducing anxiety and confusion, allowing silence
rule-sharing, and setting peer mentorship (Bao 2023).
Moving to the second five chapters, Chapter 6 discusses ways of
improving classroom silence, a topic which shows that implementing
strategies that alleviate unproductive silence can develop teaching
approaches. The first step is to understand the reasons behind the
learner’s silence. Learner silence can indicate a personal struggle
due to self-perceived low fluency or being introverted or humble; a
past struggle due to low self-esteem, feeling invisible, or family
upbringing; or a present struggle due to the fast pace of discussion,
unhelpful teachers, uninteresting content, lack of preparation, lack
of time, uncertainty about participation, alienation from the teacher
and peers, a mismatch between learners’ perception and behavior, and a
mismatch in teacher–learner expectations (Bao, 2023).  To cope with
undesirable silence in the classroom, students from previous research
(Bao 2002) proposed eight dimensions; namely, linguistic support which
scaffolds verbal skills, metacognitive support which aids
participation, developmental support which tracks learner progress,
resourceful support which provides engaging materials, social and
cultural support which fosters communication, emotional support,
psychological support which considers mental health, and
individualized support which builds good rapport with students. For
these strategies to work, they need to be contextualized, practiced,
reflected upon, and discussed with fellow colleagues for refinement.
The subsequent 7th and 8th chapters explore silence in online
settings. Depending on its effect on learners, silence can be
perceived as productive, unproductive, or mysterious. On the one hand,
productive silence enhances belonging, access to materials, and task
focus; and on the other hand, unproductive silence disrupts
communication and leads to poor engagement and inconsistent
attendance. Due to the enigmatic nature of silence, silence requires
individual analysis. Common challenges of online silence include
delayed student participation, lack of non-verbal cues, digital
boredom, and teacher role pressure. Moreover, educators should
recognize two types of silence: 'painful' and 'helpful', with the
former indicating disengagement and the latter signifying engagement
in various aspects of learning. To manage undesirable negative online
silence, it must be transformed into productive silence or active
participation. Productive silence can include preparation, explicit
learning, reflection, and mental engagement. Participation can involve
collecting resources, reading academic work, forum discussion,
academic dialogue, and peer-discussions. Ten research-based strategies
to enhance this include: making learning content engaging and useful,
promoting personalized communication, setting clear participation
protocols, mediating student workload and participation, scaffolding
online learning, offering choices, varying task approaches,
encouraging students to express themselves, collaborating with
non-teaching staff, and maintaining teacher presence with social
relevance (Bao, 2023).
Chapter 9 studies the underexplored dynamics between silence and task
design and shows that to develop language proficiency effectively,
there needs to be a balance between silence and speech in task-based
designs. Designing these tasks is complex and requires teachers to be
flexible, supportive, and innovative. Some students prefer spontaneous
learning, others find tasks easier to reflectively approach.
Pedagogical practices should therefore acknowledge mental processes as
inherent parts of students’ learning repertoire, and learners should
be given a chance to establish balance between verbal and non-verbal
learning. A myriad of task types is further covered in the chapter,
including tasks prompting silent processing, tasks evoking spontaneous
speech, and tasks triggering speech and silence. Factors influencing
students’ choice of silence and speech are also covered.
The final chapter suggests further ideas for research themes on
silence, including “established themes: growing research with helpful
knowledge that informs the field; evolving themes: areas drawing
researcher attention that should continue to do so; inactive themes:
research with reiterated outcomes without much novel discovery; and
under-explored themes: existing research gaps that need to be
addressed” (Bao, 2023, p. 175). Scratching the surface of the large
field of silence studies, the chapter calls for the need to conduct in
depth interdisciplinary research of silence as a sociocultural,
psychological, political, and communicative system, taking into
account the context in which silence takes place.
Evaluation
The book “Silence in English Language Pedagogy” is a commendable work
that offers an in-depth exploration of the instrumental role of
silence in second language acquisition. Challenging the conventional
pedagogical models that criminalize silence and predominantly favor
verbal communication, the author puts forward well-argued perspectives
that problematize various approaches towards the complex phenomenon of
silence within English Language Teaching (ELT) and proposes practical
innovative solutions to cope with undesirable aspects of silence in
the classroom. Establishing a coherent and cohesive structure, the
author solidly achieves his goal of addressing silence from a positive
perspective and advocating greater use of silence in the classroom
with his book.
The first half of the book offers a rich exploration of silence in
educational settings and pedagogical practice. The author skillfully
charts the evolution of research on silence from the early theories of
inner speech dynamics to recent findings from teachers’ and learners’
authentic perceptions of silence. The first chapter offers a revised
definition of silence moving beyond a simplistic absence of speech.
The chapter’s strength lies particularly in its provocation for
readers to question their understanding of silence and appreciate its
potential role within education. However, as convincing as the
arguments are, the effectiveness of the chapter lies in its power to
change established mindsets. To revisit silence, a paradigm shift is
necessary, which might be challenging to adopt for numerous educators.
Acknowledging silence as an active agent in the learning process
rather than a passive bystander may complicate pedagogical approaches,
especially when imposed by educational institutions, and would require
novel methods of assessment which can account for silent
contributions. The second chapter, however, presents various
interpretations of silence, a multipronged exploration underscoring
its complex nature and illuminating its relationship with verbal
output, which is a noteworthy strength of the chapter. The third
chapter traces the development of silence research from the 1970s to
the late 2020s and contrasts views from proponents to opponents,
delineating intervention strategies, which is critical to
understanding the current state and prospects of silence research.
While the chapter is compelling, it is important to note an oversight:
the lack of acknowledgement of silence as part of language attrition.
Silence, or the absence of speech, often emerges as a major feature in
language loss, both in first and second language acquisition settings.
Addressing this dimension would have enriched the readers’
understanding of silence in the acquisition and attrition landscape.
The fourth chapter focuses on practical aspects of silence as an
educational tool and is strong in providing actionable strategies for
learners and teachers to manage the learning space and stimulate
internal reflection and productive speech alike. While these
strategies are highly beneficial, they could have been further
insightful had there been more elaboration on potential challenges and
solutions when implementing them in culturally diverse learning
environments. The fifth chapter, however, laudably recognizes the
interplay between language, culture, and content, therefore extending
the scope of silence studies beyond English language pedagogy. This
invaluable acknowledgment amplifies the book’s relevance and must be
further incorporated into the overall discourse, applying silence
research to other linguistic and cultural contexts.
The second half of the book shifts its focus from problematizing
silence to providing practical solutions in addressing unproductive
and undesirable silence both in traditional and online learning
environments. Upon perusal, Chapter 6 presents an intricate display of
factors behind learners’ silence and offers a valuable set of
strategies to intervene against negative silence in the classroom. The
inclusion of case studies adds an impartial element of practicality to
the theoretical basis, thereafter facilitating the readers’
understanding of the discussed elements. As the scope of the case
studies remains confined, a more varied representation of
sociocultural factors would have enhanced the applicability of the
strategies put forward to a global audience. The subsequent Chapters 7
and 8 offer timely insights on silence in online learning environments
given the global shift towards digital education. The author
successfully encapsulates the dual nature of silence in online
contexts both as a condition for effective learning and a barrier
against it. However, the chapters could have further elaborated on the
role of emerging technologies and their impact on online silence, and
a further comparison and contrast between these environments could
have provided a more nuanced understanding of the influence of
instruction on silence. The ninth chapter is worth praising for
exploring silence in task design, a welcome contribution to silence
studies given the scarcity of research in this aspect. The final
chapter outlines the need for continued contributions and highlights a
promising trajectory for future research in the field of silence
studies. The categorization of research themes is useful and the
enumeration of areas of potential development is noteworthy.
Nonetheless, a detailed discussion of the methodological approaches to
these areas and a comprehensive roadmap depicting how future
researchers ought to navigate them would be enriching for emerging
scholars in the field.
In conclusion, the book “Silence in English Language Pedagogy: From
Research to Practice” provides an extensive overview of silence and
its presence, relevance, and application in the context of second
language acquisition. As noted above, certain highlighted areas merit
elaboration, particularly incorporating culturally responsive
pedagogical approaches that would capture the topic more holistically
and cater to a diverse student body whilst exploring the
intersectionality of silence with other social, cultural,
psychological, and technological factors.  Nevertheless, the work
stands as an undoubtedly pivotal piece of scholarship in its field and
offers a substantial contribution to the discourse surrounding
conventional pedagogical approaches, imploring the target readers to
revise silence in education. The areas of improvement do not undermine
the book’s core strength as a groundbreaking contribution to various
research disciplines of English language teaching. All in all, this
seminal book constitutes a robust foundation for the ensuing dialogue
and offers a timely lens to an overlooked yet impactful aspect of
language acquisition, thereafter opening the door for promising future
empirical and theoretical research in the field.
References
Al-Halawachy, H. (2014). EFL learner’s silence at university level:
Where to? Journal of Education and Practice, 5(12), 90–119.
Bao, D. (2002). Understanding silence and reticence: Action research
in the Vietnamese EFL classroom. Unpublished PhD thesis, Leeds Beckett
University
Bao, D. (2023). Silence in English Language Pedagogy. Cambridge
University Press.
Boniecki, K. A. & Moore, S. (2003). Breaking the silence: Using a
token economy to reinforce classroom participation. Teaching of
Psychology, 30(3), 224–7.
Dallimore, E. J., Hertenstein, J. H. & Platt, M. B. (2006).
Nonvoluntary class participation in graduate discussion courses:
Effects of grading and cold calling. Journal of Management Education,
30(2), 354–77.
King, J. & Harumi, S. (2020). East Asian perspectives on silence in
English language education: An introduction. In J. King & S. Harumi,
eds., East Asian Perspectives on Silence in English Language
Education. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, pp. 1–16.
Krashen, S. D. (1985). The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications.
Harlow: Longman.
Long, M. H. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second
language acquisition. In W. C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia, eds., Handbook
of Research on Language Acquisition. New York: Academic Press, pp.
413–68.
Qian, Y. (2020). L2 communication as a social action: Silence in oral
communication. In A. Jamshidnejad, ed., Speaking English As a Second
Language. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 33–50.
Reinsch, R. & Wambsganss, J. R. (1994). Class participation: How it
affects results on examinations. Journal of Education for Business,
70(1), 33–7.
Saville-Troike, M. (1988). Private speech: Evidence for second
language learning strategies during the ‘silent period’. Journal of
Child Language, 15, 567–90.
Tatar, S. (2005). Why keep silent? The classroom participation
experiences of non-native-English-speaking students. Language and
Intercultural Communication, 5, 284–93.
Wuttke, E. (2012). Silence is silver, talk is gold? Analysis of
classroom talk in a learnercentred setting. In E. Hjörne, G. van der
Aalsvoort & G. de Abreu, eds., Learning, Social Interaction and
Diversity: Exploring Identities in School Practices. Rotterdam: Sense
Publishers, pp. 103–17.
Yashima, T., MacIntyre, P. D. & Ikeda, M. (2018). Situated willingness
to communicate in an L2: Interplay of individual characteristics and
context. Language Teaching Research, 22(1), 115–37.
Yi, J. (2020). Reticence as participation: Discourses of resistance
from Asians in America. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural
Studies, 42(2), 120–40.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Hanae Ezzaouya is a teacher at Károli Gáspár University and a CELTA
certified instructor pursuing a Ph.D. in applied linguistics at
Pázmány Péter Catholic University's Doctoral School of Linguistics in
Budapest, Hungary. Her main research interests are applied
linguistics, second language attrition, and language pedagogy.



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