Exploring ways of accommodating silent Japanese language learners in the classroom: Insights from scholars in the field

Abstract

The following paper highlights a podcast narrative that emerged through a series of interviews for the podcast series "Lost in Citations". The thread that connects each guest is the topic of silence in 2nd-language university classrooms in Japan. Much like academics read, cite, and then publish responses, throughout this podcast narrative, leading scholars in the field of silence in university classrooms were able to listen in "real time" to their colleagues and subsequently respond and forward the ongoing conversation to future guests in the series. After reviewing 5 interviews which focused on publications regarding silence in university language classrooms, the following themes emerged: ways of conceptualizing silence, silence and culture, approaching research, problematizing and coping with unwanted silence, and categorizing meaningful/productive silence. Where appropriate, we situated these commentaries within the wider discourse of silence literature.