Silence in Language Education
International Perspectives on Speech and Quiet Learning
Silence in Language Education
International Perspectives on Speech and Quiet Learning
Description
This collection examines how silence and speech function in the psychology of student learning. Building on the emerging field of silence studies, it gathers cutting-edge contributions on the role of silence in education and suggests new possibilities for integrating silence into classroom practice.
A great deal of discourse on silence and speech has presumed that verbal articulation is more advanced and effectual than silent contemplation. The proposed book challenges that positioning with empirical evidence to show how silence and speech can work together to optimise student learning. With over 25 years' experience in silence research and speech analysis, the editors, Seiko Harumi and Dat Bao, have collected contributions from contexts including Australia, China, Japan, Sweden, the UK, the USA, Vietnam, Mongolia, and India, from school and university education settings.
Themes covered include silence and speech in the ecology of the classroom; learner experience in students who suffer from anxiety and communication unwillingness; teacher perspectives on productive and unproductive silence; silence in communication and speech performance; and productive silent learning models or ways of learning.
This research-based collection promises to add essential new perspectives to thinking on the role of silence and speech in student learning applicable both to researchers and practitioners in education and silence studies.
Table of Contents
List of Contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Framing the Field: Multiple Silences, Diverse Contexts and Shared Meanings in Language Education
Dat Bao and Seiko Harumi
Part I: The Shift between Silence and Speech
1 Mediating L2 Interaction through Silent Interactional Repertoires: A Case Study
of a Japanese student in the UK
Seiko Harumi
2 Understanding Pro-silence Dynamics among Japanese Learners of English
Dat Bao and Jonathan Schachter
3 Moving between Silence, Willingness to Communicate, and “In-Betweens”:
The Psychology of University L2 Learners
Jian-E Peng and Yiqian Cao
4 Strategic Silence: A Case Study of a British Learner of Japanese
Seiko Harumi and Dat Bao
5 Fluid Silence, Shifting Selves: An Autoethnography of Silence Stages
Tran Thi Hoang Nguyen
Part II: Learner and Teacher Experiences
6 Fostering Oral Participation through Intercultural Understanding:
Perspectives from English Language Teachers and Japanese Students
Soyhan Egitim
7 Student Perception of Lecturer Talk and its Impact on Learning:
A Case Study in a Mongolian University
Dat Bao and Soyol Erdene Sanjaa
8 Language but No Words: Higher Education, Philosophy of Silence and Teachers'
Professional Communication
Lisa Jakobs and Eva Alerby
9 A CBT-based Intervention to reframe Japanese University Students' Perceived
Speaking Anxiety in English Classes: A Case Study
Kate Maher
Part III: How Silence Influences Teaching
10 'Not shy, just need my space': Supporting Quiet Learners in
Upper Elementary Classrooms
Kay M. Rosheim
11 Perceptions of Doctoral and Graduate Students in India on the Role of
Silence in Cognitive Learning and Social Interaction: A Mixed-Method Approach
Suvarna Lakshmi Gangavarapu, Udaya Muthyala and Chada Ramamuni Reddy
12 Vietnamese Teachers' Response to Students' Silence in English as a Foreign
Language Online Classrooms during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Huy Hoang Huynh
Conclusion: Silence as Resource, Filled Gaps and New Pathways for Inquiry
Dat Bao and Seiko Harumi
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 03 Sep 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 288 |
| ISBN | 9781350544994 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 10 bw illus |
| Series | Bloomsbury Solitude Studies |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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