Multiple Interpretations of EFL Learners’ Silence in the Iranian Context

Reza Ghaffar Samar,Elham Yazdanmehr

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.2n.6p.15

Abstract

Attention to silence as part of the communicative discourse was first drawn in Sack’s (1974) paper, in which it was perceived as a linguistic and communicative form, and from the functional point of view as capable of expressing ideational, interpersonal, and textual functions. Awareness of multiple functions of silence including the referential, emotive, conative, phatic, poetic and metalanguage is of greater significance when it comes to language learning settings, where learners from a different cultural background from the target language are present to learn that language. In such contexts, awareness of various functions of silence and correct interpretation of it is essential in teacher-student rapport. This paper aims to, first, provide an introduction to the multiple functions of silence in general and then to investigate these functions in EFL classes of Iran’s private language institutes. The researchers’ own teaching experience along with class observations and 2 phases of interview with teachers of those classes comprise the research data. Findings were indicative of teachers’ lack of awareness of diverse communicative functions of silence in class and that this awareness could be raised through the informal interview phases. This paper attests to the fact that not all learner’s silence should be interpreted negatively as lack of attention or knowledge. Teachers need to be aware of the salient meanings of silence in their EFL class and take an appropriate reactive step accordingly.

Highlights

Silence is sometimes louder than any utterance
What is common among multifarious descriptions of silence in linguistics is the functional, active and communicative roles attributed to it which distinguishes ‘eloquent silence’ from the simplistic view of the mere absence of talk
Silence found its way into linguistics through two main gates

Summary

Introduction

Silence is sometimes louder than any utterance. Carrying with it a multitude of meanings, it serves to function differently in various national and cultural settings. To characterize silence as eloquent means to see it as part of communication. The first was affected by philosophy along with literature It cast a functional and pragmatic perspective at eloquent silence; this approach did not have a direct effect on the discipline. The other gate was acoustics through which silence was indicated as a topic of investigation. Within this paradigm, silence as a subject grew along two major directions one of which was the time-based examination of speech. The other direction, taken around the same time, deemed to be discourse analysis (Ephratt, 2008)

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