Why students keep silence in English class为什.doc

Why Students Keep Silence In English Class 台州市路桥区新桥中学 陈 苗 Abstract: Most students in China are learning English , but they only take it as a subject. They are skilled at doing all kinds of exercises, however , they often keep silence in English class. Language is a tool for us to communicate. Thus, silence in class must be broken up. How to analyze silence in a correct way and how to solve it become huge tasks for English teachers in senior high schools. This paper aims to analyze some major causes of silence in class, through which some ways to break up students’ silence in English class for high school teachers are provided. Key words: silence; causes; ways Ⅰ.Introduction Nowadays, many students of high schools in English class in China usually find nothing to express or they fail to express their own feelings. In order to improve English language teaching in senior high schools, silence must be analyzed in a correct way. The causes of silence in English class in senior high school are very complicated, and sometimes interwoven reasons may occur. Silence, contrary to verbal interaction, belongs to nonverbal interaction, which in English class can be produced by both teachers and students. This paper will focus on still-silence brought about by students. Ⅱ.Definition and classification of silence A. Definition of Silence According to The American Heritage Dictionary, Silence means ;(1) the condition or quality of being or keeping still and silent (2) the absence of sound, stillness (3) a period of time without speech or noise (4) refusal or failure to speak out. All these items show the features of silence, which belongs to nonverbal interaction. B. Classification of interaction Social interaction, the process through which individuals act in relation to one another, can be divided into verbal interaction and nonverbal interaction. Nonverbal interaction stands for the exchange of information and meaning through facial expressions, gestures, and movements of the