Silence In The Second Language Classroom Hardcover

Jim King

Why are second language learners in Japan's universities so silent? This book investigates the perplexing but intriguing phenomenon of classroom silence and draws on ideas from psychology, sociolinguistics and anthropology to offer a unique insight into the reasons why some learners are either unable or unwilling to speak in a foreign language.

9781137301475

English

Palgrave MacMillan

31-Oct-13

211

Jim King is a lecturer in the School of Education, University of Leicester, UK. A Post-doctoral Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), he worked for a number of years in Japan as a lecturer, researcher and teacher trainer.

This book...tackles the meaning of silence in the second language classroom. To say 'the meaning of silence' is, at first glance, to imagine a Zen koan. However, the author does an excellent job, using dynamic systems theory, of challenging the reader to consider why Japanese students are silent and sets up a framework to investigate the phenomenon.' - Joseph Tomei, Asian Englishes 'This is a book written for all language teachers as I am sure all will come up against baffling moments of silence in the classroom. Such silence varies greatly from classroom to classroom and from learners to learners. Not always is it detrimental but it can become so. How should a teacher understand this and deal with it? Silence is a phenomenon that varies widely culturally and King's book helps us look into a society with norms that may differ greatly from ours and are therefore more difficult for us as teachers to understand.' - Tanya Roy, The Linguist List