英语课堂沉默现象研究毕业论文

苏州科技学院本科生毕业论文 Students’SilenceinEFLClassroomIntroductionInrecentyears,thephenomenonofstudents’silencehasattractedresearchers’attention.Mostofthemhavestudiedthefactorsthatinfluencestudents’participation,suchasteachers’talkinELFclass,teachers’questioningmethods,etc,butfewresearcheshaveexploredfromstudents’psychologicalperspectivewhichisactuallyfarmoreworthyofinvestigation.DuetothenewrequirementsofCollegeEnglishRequirements(2007:25),thepedagogicaltendencyinEFLclassemphasizesonstudents’rolesandaimstocreateastudent-centeredteachingenvironment.Thus,manyteachershaveintroducedvariousmeanstoencouragestudents’participation.Itprovidesstudentswithmoreopportunitiesbutalsomuchpressure.Studentsmayemploysilenceastheformofcommunicativeengagementandonlyasmallproportionofstudentsactivelyparticipateinclass.Ontheotherhand,manyteachersconsidersilenceastheoppositeactionoreventheenemyofspeechandfewteachershavetakenpropermeasurestoresolvetheproblem.ThemisunderstandingorincompleteunderstandingofsilencemayleadtoaviciouscircleinELFclass.Meyer(Kevin2009:16)putforwardtheconceptionofHypothesizedLinkbetweenSilenceandLearning.Furthermore,shedefinedsilentengagementasakindofcommunication.Onthistheoreticalbasis,moreandmoreresearchersdiverttheirattentiontothevalueofsilenceandexploretherelationshipbetweenspeechandsilenceinELFclass.Thecausesofstudents’silenceinELFclassaremultidimensionalduetodifferentresearchanglesandpurpose.Infact,silencehasbothnegativeandpositivesides.AsDauenhauer(1980)claimedthat“silenceinitsownrightcanbeseentomakeapositivecontributiontothescopeofthemeaningful”(1980:104)Silencepavesthewayforthepotencyoflanguagesincesilencegivesbothbirthandconclusiontospeech.Thisthesiswillbedoneonthebasisofthepreviousstudiesrelatedtothephilosophyofspeechandsilence,factorsinfluencingstudentparticipationandlearningstyles.Inordertomaketheresearchhavemorepracticalsignificances,aseriesofsurveyswillbedonewiththeformofquestionnaires.ThedatawillbecollectedtoanalyzethetheoriesandhopefullysomeofthemcanbeputintopracticeandhelptoputforwardsomesuggestionsinfutureteachinginELFclass.1.TheoreticalbackgroundandliteraturereviewSilenceisameansofpowerfulnonverbalcommunication,howevertointerpretsilenceinthemostproperway,variousconnectedaspectsshouldbeconsidered,includingsubjectiveandobjectivefactors.Thesubjectivefactorsincludethefeelings,personality,mutualrelationsandthedegreeofcaring,whiletheobjectivefactorsarelocation,time,culturebackgroundetc.Todigouttherootcausesofstudents’silenceinEFLclass,closeattentionshouldfirstbepaidonthedefinitionofsilence.1.1ThedefinitionofsilenceAccordingtodifferentpurposeswithvariousresearchframeworks,thedefinitionofsilencedistinguishesfromoneandanother.OxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary(Hornsby2009:1408)definessilenceasthefollowingmeanings:(1)completeabsenceofsoundornoise;quiet;(2)refusalorfailuretodiscusssomethingoranswerquestionsaboutsomething;(3)completequietbecausenobodyistalking;(4)aperiodoftimeinwhicheveryonestopstalkingasasignofrespectandhonortowardssomeonewhohasdied;(5)failuretowritealettertosomeone,telephonethemetc.Obviously,wemustconsidertheactualsituationtoexplainthepropermeaningofsilence.InEncyclopedicDictionaryofAppliedLinguistics:AHandbookforLanguageTeaching(Johnson&H2003:287-288),thenotionofsilenceincommunicationis,asthecaseofspeech,rule-governed,anditisalsovariableandculturalspecific.Tohaveabetterunderstandingandconductivestudy,Bruneau(1973:36)definedsilenceinthreeforms:Psycholinguisticsilence;InteractivesilenceandSocio-culturalsilence.Consideringthehumancommunicationfunctions,everytypehasitsparticulardefinition.Asthispaperaimstostudystudents’silenceinEFLclassroom,thedefinitionoftheinteractivesilenceswillbethecorepart.Interactivesilenceisthepausalinterruptionindialogue,conversation,discussion,debate,etc.Theycanberelatedtoaffective,interpersonalrelationshipsbetweenpeopleaswellastotheexchangeofinformationand/orproblemsolving(Bruneau1973:29).1.2ThecharacteristicsofsilenceIftheambiguousaspectsofsilencemaybeconcludedclearly,furtherstudiesinthisareacanbemademoresmoothly.Inhigh-contextculture,silenceusuallyindicatespositivemeaning,anditisaspecialwaytocommunicate.However,inlow-contextculture,silenceisnegativeforthemostpart,anditisconsideredasalackofcommunication.Jensen(1973:120-124)notesfivedifferentfunctionsperformedbysilence.Theyareaffecting,revelation,linkage,activatingandjudgmental.Basically,silencecanbedividedintotwoparts:positivesilenceandnegativesilence.1.2.1PositivesilenceSilencecanaffectpeople.Insomeembarrassingsituation,silenceofferpeoplesometimeforreflectionandbuffering.Nonverballanguagecanexpressthedeepestfearsandmostintensejoys.Silencecanbeunderstoodasrespect,acceptanceorkindnessinchurchorlibrary.Tosumup,silence,tosomedegrees,isthelanguageofthosestrongpassions:love,anger,surpriseorfear.Silenceisacommonstrategytomanagetensesituations,especiallyforhighlyemotionalpeople,whotrytoavoidusingsomeimproperwordsorexposingtheirignorance.Silencehasrevelationfunction.Itmayimpartsomeinformationwhilepreventingthedisclosureofother(Jensen1973:120).Wecanfindclearimplicationinsomesituations.Forexample,silencecanworkastheconveyorofmessageinclass,whenstudentsthinkabouttheanswerstoquestions,theteacheroftenchoosetobesilent.Althoughtheoveralllanguageenvironmentissilent,students’mindskeepgoingon.Wecancallitrevelationsilenceinthiscase.Insomecases,akindofsilenceiscalled“linkagesilence”.Inthesocialculture,silencecanactasabondamongpeople.Thiskindofsilenceispositiveasisusedtomaintainsocialspaceorpreventinterruption.Suchasthesituationthattwostrangersinelevatorsorcrowdedbusesusuallykeepsilent.Thiscouldalsohappenamongintimatefriends.Theykeepsilentbecausetheyunderstandeachothersowellandthereisnoneedputtingthoughtsintowords.Silencecanleadtoanassumptionofassentandagreementwithwhathasbeensaid.Theoldsayings“silenceisconsent”expressessuchmeaning.Tosomedegrees,silencecangiveussomehintsfrompeoples’responseandhelpusmakeourjudgment.1.2.2NegativesilenceSilencecanrepresentsomenegativefeelings,suchashostility,defiance,coldness,scorn,orevenhate.Silencecanrepresentdishonestyandlying.Weallknowatcourt,thejuryandlawyer’sinterpretationofthehesitantwitnessisoftennegativeiftheykeepsilent.Silencecancommunicateanattitudeofthoughtfulnessandconsiderationoranabsenceofthoughtoropinion(Jensen1973:123).SilencehasanactivatingfunctioninEFLclassroom.Intraditionalteachingpattern,theteacherplaystheroleasthecenterofclassanddominatestheteachingprocedure,whilethestudentsaresilentlistenersorreaderslackingoftheirownthoughts.WiththepromotionofnewCollegeEnglishCurriculumRequirements,modernclassroomsrequirestudentstoplaythemajorroles.Interactiveclassshouldbeteachers’silencemorethanthoseofstudents.Teachersshouldchangetheirauthoritativerolesandcreatestudents-centeredclassroomsettings.Silencecanalsobeinterpretedasdisagreementandresentment(Jensen1973:121).Besidesthis,silencealsostandsfordissent,orreservationandpotentialaction.Itwillhinderthefluentcommunication.Accordingtowhathasanalyzedabove,itcanbeconcludedthat“silencecanperformanumberofhighlysignificantcommunicativefunctions”(Jensen1973).However,theexactlymeaningofsilenceshouldbeembeddedinthecontext.Inotherwords,silencefunctionseitherpositivelyornegatively,whichshoulddependontheconcretecontext.What’smore,positivesilencecantransferintonegativesilenceinEFLclassiftheteachersfailuretostimulatethestudentsincorrectdirection.1.3Classificationofsilence(1)Bruneau’sclassificationofsilence.Silenceistospeechasthewhiteofthispapertothisprint(Bruneau1973:18).Tohavefurtherstudyonsilence,Bruneausummarizesthreeformsofsilenceasfollowing:Interactivesilences.Interactivesilenceistheinterruptionindialogue,conversation,discussion,debate,etc.Theycanberelatedtoaffective,interpersonalrelationshipsbetweenpeopleaswellastotheexchangeofinformationand/orproblemsolving(Bruneau1973:29).Comparedwithpsycholinguistic,slow-timesilences,interactivesilencesarelonger.Peoplecanhavesecondthoughtsandmakeinferences,judgmentsandaffectivedecisionsininteractivesilences.Inclasscontext,thetypicalexamplesofinteractivesilencesareinteractionsbetweenteachersandstudents.Afterputtingforwardaquestion,teachersmaykeepsilencewhilestudentsarethinkingaboutthegivenquestions.Whenteachersareteachingtheoreticalknowledge,studentskeepsilentthroughouttheprocess.Psycholinguisticsilence.Inaspeech,hesitationsoftenappear.Infactthehesitationsinthespeechareformsofsilence.Onthetemporalsequenceofspeech,bothencodersanddecoderscreatenecessaryandvariableimpositionsofslow-time.Decodersintendtocreatemind-time(slow-timesilence)forthedecodingprocess.Socio-culturalsilences.Socio-culturalsilencearethoserelatedtothecharacteristicmannerinwhichentiresocialandculturalordersrefrainfromspeechandmanipulatebothpsycholinguisticandinteractivesilences(Bruneau1973:36).Whenateacherenterstheclassroom,studentsmayturntobesilentimmediately.Thesilencespeaks,“Werecognizeandacknowledgeyourpositionbyoursilence.”Thus,teachersoperatewithdisciplinecodes.Soitsuggeststhatpeopleusesilencetoshowrespectfulacceptanceforasocialstatus.Silenceistheexpectedresponseinmanyplaces,objectsandevents,suchasChurches,courtrooms,libraries,hospitals,schools,funeral,battlesites,etc.(2)Kurzon’sclassificationofsilenceWiththeadoptionofGrice’sdistinctionbetweennaturalandnon-naturalmeaning,Kurzon(1995:35-41)classifiessilenceintotwocategoriesasintentionalandunintentionalsilence.Intentionalsilencereferstosilenceintentionallyusedasastrategy,whiletheunintentionalsilenceiscausedunintentionally,becauseofextremeanxiety,embarrassmentorpanic(Kurzon1995:42).Kurzon(1992:37)gave3modalinterpretationsofsilence:Internal(willingness):Iwill/shallnotspeak.1)Intentional:External:Imust/maynotspeak.2)Unintentional:“Icannotspeak”or“Iamnotabletospeak”.Theintentionalsilenceisinternalforthesilentpersonthatmeansthespeakersdecidenottovoicebythemselves.Ontheotherhand,externalsilencewiththemeaningof“Imust/maynotspeak”impliesanexternalreasonthatforcesthepersonnottovoice.Unintentionalsilenceissupposedtobeexplainedas“Icannotspeak”or“Iamnotabletospeak”,whichcanberesultedfrompsychologicalinhibitionsthatmaypreventstudentsfromspeakingouttheirideasinclass.1.4RelationshipbetweensilenceandspeechInordertoexpandtheframeworkforstudents’participationandhavebetterunderstandingonhowstudentsperceiveandapproachlearninginEFLclass,thecomparativeanalysisshouldbemadebetweenbinarythinkingaboutthespeechandsilenceinEFLclassandtheexistingphilosophicalliteratureontherelationshipbetweenspeechandsilence.Somecreativeworksonspeechandsilenceoutlinefundamentalphilosophicalthoughtsabouttheimportantrolethatsilenceplaysincommunication.Silence,likespeech,canfunctionasameansthroughwhichmeaningandknowledgeareconstructed(Acheson2008b).Thus,ratherthanregardingsilencenegativelyastheabsenceofspeech,silenceoughttoberecognizedasanembodiedandactive,notpassive,gesture(Acheson2008a).Infact,silencescanservecommunicativefunctions(Acheson2008a&2008b)Therelationshipbetweensilenceandspeechdoesn’tcompletelyoppositetoeachother,instead,itisfarmorecomplexandcomplicatedbecausesilenceisintertwinedwithdiscourse.JustasJaworski(1993:34)noted,“silenceandspeechdonotstandintotaloppositiontoeachother,butformacontinuumofformsrangingfromthemostprototypicalinstancesofsilencetothemostprototypicalinstancesofspeech”AccordingtotheargumentfromJaworski(1993:17)thatregardingsilenceonlyasabackgroundtospeechwouldbeadrasticoversimplification.“Silenceandspeecharetwointersectingandequallyrelevantcommunicationcategories”Theotherperspectiveisthatspeechandsilenceformadialecticalrelationshipwithoneanother.Clair(1998:xiii)arguedthatsilenceandvoice“shouldbethoughtoflessasbifurcatedconceptsandmoreasself-containedopposites”.Sheexplained,“Silentpracticesarepervasiveandinterwovenwithlinguisticpractices”(1998:20)Morespecifically,“silenceanddiscourseareboundupininnumerableways.Theirmanynuancedmeaningsandfunctionsarewoventogetherintoacomplextapestry”(1998:38)1.5Thecurrentsituationofsilencestudyathomeandabroad1.5.1StudiesathomeChinesestudents’silenceinEFLclasshasalreadydrawnmanyChineselanguagescholars’attention.ThecaseofoverseaChinesestudents’silenceinEFLclassprovidesbreakthroughinthestudyarea.FromtheinvestigationofthreeChinesestudentsinAmericanclassroom,Liu(2002:38)makesananalysisonthebasisofinterviewandobservationdata.ShefindsAsianstudents’participationcodeiscloselyinfluencedbyfivemajorcategories:Pedagogicalfactors(e.g.teachingpatterns,participationgrading,andchancestospeakup),Cognitivefactors(e.g.backgroundknowledge,previouslearningexperience,orpsychologicalreadiness),Affectivefactors(e.g.motivation,anxiety,encouragement),Linguisticfactors(e.g.languageproficiency,communicativecapability,oraccent).Socio-culturalfactors(e.g.face-savingstrategies,politenessstrategiesconceptofstatusandidentify,personalityandgender.),Jackson(2002:65-84)focusesonastudyonthetaciturnityofChinesestudentsfromtheethnographicangle.TheparticipantsareinfoursectionsofanEnglish-mediumundergraduatebusinesscourseinHongKong.Theresearchconsistsofobservations,interviews,andvideotapes.Jacksonfindsthatstudents’activeinteractionlevelisdeterminedbymixturesofaffective,educationalandsocio-culturalfactors.Duringtheprocedureofinterview,severaltypesofanswerscanbemainlysummedup:Bothmaleandfemaleintervieweesexpressthatthefearofembracementcountsasthemainreasontheyremainsilent.Theychoosetobesilentwhentheywanttoavoidtellingsomestupidanswersorexposingtheirignoranceinfrontofthewholeclassandteachers.Theparticipantsalsoholdtheviewthattheirlackingofself-confidencestopthemfromspeakingup,evenchallengingtheirclassmatesorprofessors.SometraditionalculturessuchasthethinkingofConfucianonharmonyandface-savingstrategiesmayhaveimpactedtheirperceptionofwhatappropriateconductisinclasscontext.Thesecondthoughtmayleadtothelossofopportunitiesofparticipation.GAOGui-ling’sdrawssimilarconclusionfromherstudies(2008:102-104).Sheexplainsthattraditionalcultureaffectsstudents’learninghabit.Duetothetraditionalteachingpatterns,itisquietcommonforstudentstoobeytheclassregulationthatstudentsjustfollowteachersanddonotchallengeauthority.LINai-gang(2008:243-245)doesaseriesofsurveytofindouttherelationshipbetweenstudents’silenceandpolitenessstrategy.Silencecanfunctionasbothpositiveandnegativepolitenessstrategy.Giventhesituationthatstudentshopetobeaccepted,respectedandadmiredbyothers,thensilenceactsaspositive.Whileontheotherhand,silencecanbeseenasakindofnegativepolitenessstrategy.InLi’ssurveyhefindsthatstudentspaymoreattentiontotheirownnegativefaceratherthanpartner’sespeciallytheirteachers’face.Moreover,silenceisregardedasakindofoff-recordstrategyorbeunderstoodas“Don’tDotheFTA”strategy1.5.2StudiesatabroadInordertofindoutthereasonsforstudents’silence,somelanguagescholarshavedonemuchexperimentwithmultipleperceptive.Reda(2002)conductstheresearchonstudents’silencebyexaminingtheimpactingfactorsofteachersandpedagogieswhichwillleadstudentstodecidewhethertospeakortobesilentinclass.Fromtheresults,shefindsthat“smallgestures”encouragestudentstospeak,whichactuallyreflectsthecultivationofteacher-studentrelationships.Teachers’questioningmethodandattentiononfeedbackwillproducepsychologicalhintonstudents.Thepositivehintwillpromoteactiveengagementinclass.Nakane(2005:75-100)focusesonatypicalcaseanalysis.Onthebasisoftheformerresearch,sheexploresthreeJapanesestudentsinAustralianuniversityinanarrowwayWhatshehasfoundindicatesthatJapanesestudents’participationisstronglyinfluencedbyimmediatecontextualfactors,includingtheparticipantstructures,maintopic,andco-participants’understandingandperformances.ShedrawstheconclusionfromtheJapanesestudents’casethatsilencecanbeco-constructedinongoingnegotiationofparticipationintheclassroom.Tatar(2005:284-293)makesthequalitativedescriptivemulti-casestudyoffourTurkishgraduatestudents’classroomparticipationexperiences.Students’ownperceptionsaretakenintoaccount.Tatersummarizesthattonon-English-speakingstudents,therearefivedimensionsofsilence.Thoseincludesilenceas:(a)ameansofparticipation;(b)aface-savingstrategy;(c)areactiontoothers’contributions;(d)aproductofafeelingofinarticulacy;(e)asignofrespectforauthorityandconcernforothers.2.Anempiricalstudyofstudents’silenceinEFLclassroomStudents’silenceisacommonphenomenoninclassroomcontextinuniversity.Thewholeresearchwillrevolvearoundthefactorsrelatedwithstudents’silence.Inordertomaketheoreticalanalysismorecloselycombinedwithactualsituation,themeansofquestionnairesisemployedtocollectdataforanalyzingthefactorswhichmayimpactstudents’participationinEFLclassroom.2.1ResearchquestionsThisthesisaimstoinvestigatethecausesofstudents’silenceinEFLclassandtheprocedurethosefactorsaffectstudents’silence.Therearetwomainquestionstoexploreasbelow:Whatarethefactorsthatcorrelatewithstudents’silence?Howdoteachersandstudentsperceivestudents’silence?2.2Researchmethodology2.2.1ResearchsubjectsTheresearchwasdoneinSuzhouUniversityofScienceandTechnology.ThesubjectswerechosenfromjuniorsandsophomoresfromEnglishmajor.ThisresearchlastedfromMarchtoMayof2013fortwomonths.Specifically,theresearchsubjectsinvolved94studentsfrom4differentclasses.Amongthemwere58femalesand36males.Theparticipantsageintherangefrom20to22.Juniorsandsophomoreswereselectedtoattendthesurveyconsideringtheyhaveadaptedthemselvestotheuniversitylifeandstudyandtheyallhaveatleasteightyears’Englishlearningexperienceatschool.EnglishmajorstudentsattendmanyEnglishrelatedcoursesandthereexistsmuchmoreopportunitiestoobserveandinvestigateclassroominteractionbetweenteachersandstudentsandamongstudents.2.2.2ResearchmaterialsReferredtothepreviousstudiesofMeyer(2009:173-180),questionnairewasdesignedtoprovidethethesiswiththeresultsofinvestigationfromrealEnglishteachingandlearningcondition.ContentsandquestionscanrefertoAppendix1.ThequestionnaireitemswererespondedtoontheLikertScalefive-point.Likertitemsareappropriateformeasuringopinions,beliefs,andattitudes(DeVellis2003).DeVeills(2003:159)explainedthat“although,strictlyspeaking,itemsusingLikertorsemanticdifferentialresponseformatsmaybeordinal,awealthofaccumulatedexperiencesupportsapplyinginterval-basedanalyticmethodstothescalestheyyield”.2.2.3Researchprocedure94participantsweregivenquestionnaireandfinishedin20minutesbeforeclassbeginstoensureenoughtimeforconsideration.Thequestionnaireincluded30questionsandallthequestionswerespeciallydesignedinChineseinordertomakesuretheparticipantscancomprehendandunderstandthemeaningofeveryquestion.Allquestionnairesweredoneanonymouslytocollecttheparticipants’naturevoiceabouttheissue.Thevariablesinthesurveyaimtoinvestigatethestudents’understandingofthephenomenonofsilenceandexplorethefactorswhichwillinfluencestudents’engagementstyleinEFLclassroom.2.3Datacollectionandanalysis2.3.1DatacollectionTherewere94participantsfrom4classesofEnglishmajorstakingpartinthesurvey.Allofthequestionsinthequestionnaireweredesignedastheformofclickingtheproperanswerssimplyfromstudents’firstimpressionandnatureresponse.Participantscompletedthequestionnairesindependentlyandstudentswouldnotbeinfluencedbyeachother.AftercollectingallthequestionnairesandsummingbyLikertScale,theauthorinputallthedataintothecomputerandmadestatisticalproceduresthroughtheprogramofEXCEL.2.3.2DataanalysisThequestionnaireconsistsof30itemsandtheauthorwilladopttheLikert-Scalefive-pointmeasurequestionnairedatatoexplorethefactorsthatinfluencestudents’performanceinEFLclassroom.Studentsareaskedtoclicktheirfrequencyofbehavior,from1(never)to5(veryoften),ortheirlevelofagreementfrom1(stronglydisagree)to5(stronglyagree)Table1Likert-Scalefive-pointneverbarelysometimesoftenveryoften12345stronglydisagreedisagreeneitheragreeordisagreeagreestronglyagree12345Thescoreisusedtorecordthedegreeoffrequencyofeachitemandthe30itemsinthequestionnairecanbedividedintothefollowingcategories:Table2DataanalysisofquestionnairesPerceptiveoftheitemItemnumberPerceptiveoftheitemItemnumberStudents’anxiety13,14Teachers’questioningmethod30Students’personality15Teachers’attitude26,29Students’motivation6,8,Teachers’feedback28Students’attitude1,2,3,4,7,19,20Teachers’wait-time27Students’self-esteem9,12,25Designoftask5,16Classroomatmosphere23Classstructure21,22Classsize24Culturefactors11,12,17,182.4Thefindings2.4.1Teachers’aspectsTheresultsofdataanalysisdemonstratethatstudents’silenceresultedfromteachers’reasonsmayconsistoffouraspects:teachers’questioningmethod,teachers’attitude,teachers’wait-timeandteachers’feedback.AccordingtotheresultofQuestion30,55.32%ofstudentsagreethat“Teachergivesfewopenquestionsinclass”.Itisobviousthatstudents’attentionanddegreeofinterestinclasscanbeimprovedandinappropriatewayofquestioningpartlyleadstostudents’silenceinEFLclass.Question26andQuestion29focusontheperspectiveofteachers’attitudeinclass.AstoQuestion26“Teacherdoesknowmynameorstudentnumber”,intheinterviewwithsomeEnglishteachers,itcanbefoundthatmostteachersadmittedthattheydidforgetstudents’namesinclass.Becauseateacherisofteninchargeofseveralclassesconsistingofmanystudents,suchcasescannotbeavoidedcompletely.Becauseofsuchsituation,studentsmayfeelignoredornotvaluedbyteachers,thustheychoosetokeepsilentinsteadofparticipatingactively.DuetothedataofQuestion29,51.06%ofstudentsholdtheopinionthatteachersalwayscallthosetopstudentstoanswerquestions.Generally,mostoftheteachersmakeeffortstotreatallthestudentsfairlyandprovidethemequalopportunitiestoengageinclass.However,inrealEFLclassroom,itisnotsopracticaltofollowtherules.Nunan(1991:136-145)claimsthatteacherstendtopayattentiontosomeparticulararealikethefrontandmiddlepartinclassroom.Thiscanexplainteachers’unintentionalactionswhichmayresultinstudents’silencefrompsychologicallevel.AstoQuestion27,thisindicatesthefactorofteachers’wait-timeinEFLclassroom.55.32%ofparticipantsagreethat“teacherofferthemenoughtimeforthinkingafteraskingquestions”.Becauseofthefacetheory,moststudentschoosetokeepsilentuntiltheymakefullpreparationsforthequestionandthiscontributestostudents’silence.59.57%ofstudentsadmittedthat“Teacheroftengivepositivefeedbacklikeencouragementorpraiseafteransweringquestions”.sobasicallyteachers’feedbackcannotaccountasthemaincauseofthephenomenonofstudents’silenceinEFLclassroom.2.4.2Students’aspectsStudentsasthemainparticipantsinclass,thereasonsofstudentscannotbeignoredwhenanalyzingthefactorsofstudents’silence.Inthisthesis,theauthormainlyconcentratesonthefactorsincludestudents’attitude,students’motivation,students’self-esteem,students’anxietyandpersonality.Questions1,2,3,4,7,19and20reflecttheaspectofstudents’attitude.ConsideringtheresultofQuestion2,only14.89%oftotalthinktheteachingstyleistooboringtoparticipate.Accordingly,mostofstudentshavepositiveattitudetowardsteachingstyleandarewillingtomakeeffortsinpresentinginclass.Talkingabouttheperceptiveofstudents’motivation,Question6demonstratesthat29.79%ofstudentsengageinclassreactionduetotheparticipationscores.Thatistosay,thereisadiscrepancybetweenteachers’expectationandrealsituation.Manyteachersemploythemethodofscoringstudents’speechesandanswersaspartofthefinalgrade.However,fromthestatisticsanalysis,togetherwithclassobservation,participationscorehasn’tstimulatedstudents’motivationfundamentally.Students’anxietyalsoaccountsasafactorneededtobeinvestigate.43.55%ofstudentsagreewiththeitemthat“Iwillfeelnervouswhenteacherasksmetoanswer,evensometimesanswerinincohere