32.1224, Review: Applied Linguistics; Psycholinguistics: King, Harumi (2020)

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Subject: 32.1224, Review: Applied Linguistics; Psycholinguistics: King, Harumi (2020)

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Date: Tue, 06 Apr 2021 23:22:07
From: Jeff Peterson [jeffpeterson at byu.edu]
Subject: East Asian Perspectives on Silence in English Language Education

 
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EDITOR: Jim  King
EDITOR: Seiko  Harumi
TITLE: East Asian Perspectives on Silence in English Language Education
SERIES TITLE: Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2020

REVIEWER: Jeff Peterson, Brigham Young University

SUMMARY

‘East Asian Perspectives on Silence in English Language Education’ is a
peer-reviewed edited volume presented in the field of Psychology of Language
Learning and Teaching. This 200-page volume comprising nine chapters is
intended for researchers, second language instructors, and administrators in
English language education. The chapters of this volume provide differing
views on silence and take various approaches to exploring silence among
English language learners from East Asian contexts. The study reported in
Chapter 9, however, attempts to illustrate the effects of cultural context on
participation rates in medical students rather than language learners. The
following is a summary of each chapter.

Chapter 1 East Asian Perspectives on Silence in English Language Education: An
Introduction by Seiko Harumi and Jim King
Chapter 1 sets out the main goals of the volume as a) to provide insight into
the complexity of learner silence within multiple contexts, challenging “the
stereotype of the silent, passive East Asian learner”  and b) “to show a
complete picture of classroom silence seen from interdisciplinary
perspectives” (p. 2). This chapter also defines the scope of the work as one
including cognitive, interactional, and sociocultural perspectives.  A
historical overview of research provides a variety of both negative and
positive perspectives on silence over the past 40 years. Chapter 1 also uses a
summary of the studies within the volume to further discuss the complex and
multifaceted phenomenon of language-learner silence and its various
definitions.

Chapter 2 Silence, Talk and In-betweens: East Asian Students’ Responses to
Task Challenge in an Australian University by Dat Bao
In Chapter 2, Dat Bao takes a positive perspective on silence in the
second-language acquisition (SLA) setting presenting silence as language
output suggesting that learners’ preference for learning modes (silent and
verbal) are influenced by classroom task type as well as cultural context.
Using in-depth interviews with 10 postgraduate students from various East
Asian backgrounds attending an Australian university, Bao takes a
phenomenological approach to investigating a) What kinds of classroom tasks
tend to trigger more silent or verbal processing from students? and b) When
does tension occur, during students task performance, in the choice between
the silent and verbal learning modes? Bao found that independent tasks,
pre-tasks, deductive tasks, and discovery tasks most facilitated silent
processing. Tasks that elicited verbalization were those that involve
collaborating with classmates and include fluency tasks, exploratory tasks,
communication and feedback tasks, collaborative projects and post-tasks. Some
tasks also triggered both silence and talk; for example, problem-solving
tasks. Bao also found that other task elements, such as peer dynamics, also
influence learners’ choice of learning mode. Based on his findings, Bao
suggests task designers specify which part of a task involves audible speaking
and which involves silent learning or self-talk. He also suggests that during
productive silent tasks, instructors also remain silent as to avoid disrupting
the learning process. The chapter concludes indicating that silence isn’t an
undesirable behavior and actually a form of engagement rather than
disengagement.

Chapter 3 Approaches to Interacting with Classroom Silence: The Role of
Teacher Talk by Seiko Harumi
In her chapter on the role of teacher talk in approaching classroom silence,
Seiko Harumi argues for a close analysis of the relationship between classroom
silence and teacher talk, specifically teacher strategies using wait time and
other oral elicitation techniques. Thus, her study investigated the
relationship between student silence and teacher wait time within turn-taking
systems. This investigation uses a mixed-methods approach including
questionnaire surveys on the use of teaching strategies when encountering
learners’ silence (completed by 56 English teachers of varying experience at
private universities in Japan) as well as conversational analysis of eight
hours of video-recorded classroom interactions between instructors and lower
proficiency learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Harumi concludes
that teachers’ level of comfort with learner silence correlated well with the
teachers’ own familiarity and understanding of the Japanese cultural context.
The conversation analysis also presents multiple elicitation strategies used
by instructors to support interactional flow; e.g., direct prompts,
reformulations, and alternation of question types.

Chapter 4 Silence and Anxiety in the English-Medium Classroom of Japanese
Universities: A Longitudinal Intervention Study by Jim King, Tomoko Yashima,
Simon Humphries, Scott Aubrey and Maiko Ikeda
While acknowledging some facilitative effects of micro-silences, in contrast
with the previous chapters, King et al. argue that learner unresponsiveness
and withdrawal hinder the learning process and that anxiety is one reason for
inhibitive silence in learners. Looking for a better understanding of behavior
in relation to oral participation and anxiety and to test the ability of an
experimental treatment to create a low-anxiety, cooperative classroom
atmosphere to combat low-quality inhibitive silence, King et al. conducted a
longitudinal intervention study described in Chapter 4. Seventy-one learners
of EFL from three different university EFL communication classes in Japan
underwent two experimental interventions including a) an in-class discussion
on dealing with anxiety when learning English and b) an out-of-class group
relationship building activity chosen by class participants. A mixed-methods
approach was used to collect a) quantitative observational data on a number of
classroom variables including silence as well as b) student and teacher
perceptions of the interventions. The study reports a decrease in the number
of silences following the interventions and mixed views from students and
teachers on the effectiveness of the interventions. The chapter makes the
tentative claim that the treatment was effective in improving group dynamics
and led to a decrease in learner silences.

Chapter 5 Examining L2 Learners’ Silent Behavior and Anxiety in the Classroom
Using an Approach Based on Cognitive-Behavioral Theory by Kate Maher
In the next chapter, Kate Maher argues that there is a relationship between
anxiety and silence and attempts to examine the relationship between an
individual learner’s anxiety and her in-class silent behavior. Following
structured and unstructured observations of EFL classes, Maher uses a series
of Cognitive-behavioral Theory (CBT)-style interviews and an intervention
activity with Mari, a university student who had displayed many anxious
non-verbal cues during observations, in order to collect qualitative data on
Mari’s perceptions of her thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and bodily sensations
related to her silent behavior. Maher found that although Mari’s perceptions
kept her in a cycle of negative thoughts and anxiety which seemed to lead to
inhibitive silence in the classroom, the interviews and intervention likely
increased Mari’s confidence to overcome her silence and speak up more.

Chapter 6 Communicative Language Teaching and Silence: Chinese (Pre-service)
Teachers’ Perspectives by Michael Karas and Farahnaz Faez
In Chapter 6, Michael Karas and Farahnaz Faez discuss the importance of
considering how Chinese teachers view Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
methods and approaches for EFL contexts in China. Three questions direct their
study a) What is the role of silence in the CLT classroom? b) How do
participants view the suitability of CLT for the Chinese context? What may be
some issues? and c) How can teachers implement CLT in traditionally
teacher-centered contexts and account for students who may prefer to learn
more silently. Using a qualitative research design, Karas and Faez recruit 91
Chinese international graduate students to participate in their study. After
students are introduced to CLT, are given a lecture on CLT and silence, and
complete pre-reading on CLT and silence, they participate in a focus group
where the researchers collect focus group discussion summary notes and field
notes. A thematic analysis of these notes as well as reflective writing pieces
completed by participants are used to answer the research questions. The
researchers found many themes with regard to Chinese teachers’ perceptions of
CLT and silence, one of particular significance being that although
participants had positive perceptions of silence and CLT in general, most
perceived the coexistence of silence and CLT as unsuitable in the Chinese
context. Reasons for these beliefs are discussed in the chapter.

Chapter 7 Silence in Japanese Classrooms: Activities and Factors in Capacities
to Speak English by Simon Humphries, Nobuhiko Akamatsu, Takako Tanaka and Anne
Burns
The views of a unique participant population are then presented in Chapter 7.
Specifically, Humphries et al. describe an ongoing effort to overcome silence
in Japanese classrooms through the lens of Japanese high school students’
capacity to speak (CTS) and their preferences for certain speaking activities.
The research questions addressed are a) What types of activities have students
experienced in class? b) What activities increased and decreased students’
CTS? and c) What underlying factors strongly influenced students’ CTS?
Humphries et al. conduct a quantitative study using a variety of statistical
analyses of 260 high school students’ responses to a questionnaire addressing
the research questions. They found that other than group discussions, most
participants had participated in a range of speaking activities of varying
difficulty levels and that students largely preferred activities with a lower
cognitive load such as repeating after a teacher. They also found that student
confidence was the most important factor in their CTS.

Chapter 8 Willing Silence and Silent Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in the
Chinese EFL Classroom: A Dynamic Systems Perspective by Jian-E Peng
In Chapter 8, Jian-E Peng emphasizes the relatedness of second language (L2)
willingness to communicate (WTC) and silence and uses Dynamic Systems Theory
(DST) as the lens for examining this interaction in the Chinese context.
Specifically, Peng seeks to find to what extent Chinese university students
are silent in their EFL class and how L2 WTC and silence interact with each
other in naturally occurring classroom communication situations. Data was
collected on 23 students with a focus on four of them. Data collection was
done through direct observation of their behavior during three lessons and
through three follow-up stimulated recall interviews. Peng found that
participants were often silent, and that L2 WTC and silence were in fact
interacting in complex ways. She categorizes this interaction into what she
calls five attractor states. For example, findings showed that a majority of
silences could be categorized as students being unwilling and silent; i.e.,
silence due to linguistic difficulties and no desire to talk. Peng offers
multiple suggestions to teachers on how to push students to speak based on
these findings.

Chapter 9 Conclusion: Silence in EFL Classrooms Revisited by Amy B.M. Tsui and
Rintaro Imafuku
Amy B. M. Tsui and Rintaro Imafuku conclude the volume summarizing Chapters
1-9 and shining a light on the multiple meanings and interpretations of
silence. They discuss the similarities in results and responses among the
chapters with an emphasis on the relationship between silence and East Asian
cultural values in general. They further illustrate the effects of cultural
context on silence using a brief report of a study of their own looking at the
reticence of two Japanese medical university students. In their mixed-methods
study, they collect data on students’ participation in video recorded
problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials and analyze stimulated recall
interviews with a focus on two participants. They found that these two
students’ participation trajectories over 8 PBL tutorial sessions is greatly
influenced by group dynamics and cultural values and that these factors are
interrelated and fluid.

EVALUATION

In Chapter 2, Dat Bao provides a thought-provoking perspective on silence as
language output and how task design and cultural context is connected to
active silence or reflection. Although the results of the study could have
been bolstered with the inclusion of classroom observation alongside
participant self-reporting, the insights gained from the in-depth interviews
provide new details regarding how tasks may affect learner non-verbal
behavior. This study will benefit task designers seeking ways to employ active
reflection in their learners. It will also help many instructors rethink the
role of silence in SLA and become more familiar with why learners may choose
to be silent at times.

Seiko Harumi’s study on the role of teacher talk takes a positive perspective
on the facilitative aspects of classroom silence, providing examples of
facilitative silences and interactional strategies. Her well designed
mixed-methods approach provides not only teacher perspectives but also
observational data showing techniques used in the classroom to facilitate
learner L2 output when silence is encountered. The reoccurring theme of
cultural awareness is paramount to further understanding active silence, its
connection with wait time, and L2 output in the East Asian context. Although
one less familiar with learner silence may at first be unsure of its
facilitative effects, this study and the discussion questions that follow will
assist teachers of East Asian students in capitalizing on silent moments to
increase speaking opportunities and create a space for learning.

In a break from the previous two chapters, Chapter 4 takes an unapologetically
negative view on silence. The approach to increasing student interaction and
group cohesiveness outside the classroom is quite intriguing and innovative
and was used alongside an in-class discussion to build a foundation for a
cooperative learning atmosphere within the classroom. Although the chapter
makes some tentative claims, there are some limitations to the study design
and interpretations of data that require closer inspection. Besides lacking a
control group as indicated in the limitations section of the chapter, the
design is endangered by some threats to internal and external validity
including a history threat (classroom learners often become more familiar and
adjust to each other and the class format as a function of time passing),
subject characteristics (participants’ English proficiency was above average),
non-random sampling, and an implementation threat (each class was taught by
different instructors; no indication of control of specific class content).
There is also a problem of multiple comparisons (nine t-tests) without a
Bonferroni correction. A Bonferroni correction may have led to a statistically
non-significant difference in the number of pre- and post-silences. The
chapter concedes that any improvement in group dynamics and decrease in
learner silences “could well have occurred anyway as the courses progressed,
even without the helping hand of the extracurricular activities” (p. 73).
However, as many of the students had positive perceptions of the experimental
interventions, replications of this study with further controls would shed
more light on the possible effects of these innovative treatments to combat
learner inhibitive silence.

In Chapter 5, Maher also has a negative perception of silence and attempts to
help an individual learner, Mari, overcome her negative thoughts to increase
her speaking abilities. This study too uses a unique approach (CBT-style
interviews) to overcoming anxiety and inhibitive silence. Throughout the
chapter Maher creates a clear image of anxiety-induced silence, a problem
faced by Mari that, if not treated, would likely have continued to lead to a
cycle of negative thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Although a specific
example of the intervention activity is provided, one less familiar with
CBT-style interviews could also have benefited from further examples of
questions posed during the four interviews conducted. Teachers and researchers
who wish to use a CBT approach in assisting students to overcome
anxiety-induced silent behavior will benefit most from this chapter. The
suggestions for using a CBT-based approach provided by Maher at the end of the
chapter will help in this effort.

Although Chapter 6 takes a positive view on silence in general, the study
itself provides a stimulating discussion on the views that Chinese teachers
have on CLT and silence. Overall the chapter is well written and follows the
goal of the volume itself to provide uniquely East Asian perspectives on
silence. There are a couple of things that this study could have benefited
from. One is that audio recordings of the focus groups would have provided a
more detailed view into what participants thought of CLT and possibly more on
silence. Another is that silence is not discussed in as much depth as other
chapters up to here as participants seem to not have brought it up as much in
their focus groups and reflective writing pieces. However, the study discusses
many themes found in the qualitative data that will help researchers and
graduate-level instructors understand more deeply the thought processes of
Chinese teachers regarding CLT in the Chinese context. Furthermore, many of
these themes are not unique to the Chinese context, but those of other East
Asian countries as well. 

Readers are returned to a study that takes a negative view of silence in
Chapter 7. However, just like Chapter 6, this study focuses more on the views
of participants rather than that of the authors. This chapter provides
detailed background information regarding factors that influence one’s CTS and
provides a robust analysis of students’ perceptions of their abilities to
speak. The authors discussion on the results provide insight into what
activities are currently being used in Japanese secondary schools and how some
of these activities likely aren’t helping students improve their fluency in
spontaneous conversations. The chapter also connects reasons for silence in
high school students to the cultural context or norms of the Japanese
education system. For example, an emphasis on preparing students to pass
written exams. As the authors suggest, further replications in other East
Asian countries would provide further understanding of students’ CTS in the
East Asian context.

Chapter 8 sees silence as something to be overcome. In this chapter, Peng
provides a good background on the topics of WTC, silence, and DST on which the
study is based. The study uses mixed methods; however, the focus is on the
qualitative side, looking at the reasons Chinese students remain silent in the
EFL classroom and how that silence interacts with WTC. The methods used to
assist learners to recall their silence during classroom communication
situations is well devised taking advantage of audio recordings, student self
WTC reports, as well as the instructor’s teaching materials. The presentation
of the averages of 23 students’ longitudinal WTC data as well as cases
focusing on four individuals helps to make clear student WTC in general as
well as the variability of WTC in individuals. The author helps the reader
understand the interaction of WTC and silence through different scenarios,
student interview excerpts, as well as categorizations. Although space
constraints left discussion of the second and third class sessions completed
for the study impossible, it would have been insightful to have a report on
whether similar results were found in those lessons or not. The suggestions at
the end of the chapter are sure to help instructors more fully trigger student
action among learners with East Asian cultural backgrounds.

In their concluding chapter, Tsui and Imafuku do not take a stance on silence;
rather they present a summary of the volume in general along with a brief
report of their own study. In contrast to the other eight chapters, the study
presented in this chapter investigates participation of students in a medical
university context rather than an EFL context. Despite the disconnect, the
study is a good illustration of the complex nature and prevalence of silence
in East Asian cultures and further demonstrates its effect on not only
language learning settings but other group settings as well.

The goal of East Asian Perspectives on Silence in English Language Education
has mainly been to provide insight into the complexity of learner silence and
to build better awareness and understanding of this phenomenon in East Asian
language classrooms. Overall, I believe it has achieved this goal and serves
as a good introduction into the study of silence among EFL students from East
Asian backgrounds. Beyond the audience explicitly stated in the text, teachers
of East Asian languages such as Japanese, Chinese, or Korean will also likely
benefit from the expanded understanding the book provides regarding silence in
the East Asian context. Teachers less familiar with the field of silence in
language learning and teaching may find the authors’ perspectives insightful
and will likely lead to a better understanding of how to approach silence in
their own teaching.

Each chapter provides thought-provoking insights and research findings
followed up by self-reflection/discussion questions, recommended readings, and
a list of references. Because of the structure of the text, each chapter will
likely work well as a springboard to further discussion, thus making it a good
fit as pre-reading material for lectures and discussion on silence in TESOL
programs such as those discussed in Chapter 6. The chapters of this volume
cohere well presenting various voices, perspectives, and research
methodologies used to provide a balanced view of silence in East Asian
cultures.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Jeff Peterson holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics/Foreign Language
Acquisition from Purdue University and is currently a Visiting Assistant
Professor of Japanese in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at
Brigham Young University. He has taught English in Japan and Mongolia and has
experience teaching Japanese at three universities in the U.S. His recent
research focuses on extensive reading in Japanese and its effect on learner
reading rate. He is also interested in SLA, CALL, and corpus research.
Recently, he worked with the North American Coordinating Council on Japanese
Library Resources as a consultant on the council’s Tadoku-Extensive Reading
LibGuide.





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