PERSPECTIVE! WHEN SILENCE MEANS NO DURING LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

JEFFREY LOUIE B. MACASPAC

Over the past years, a good classroom has been defined consisting of students quietly paying attention to what the teacher says during discussion. A good classroom has also been identified with a class of learners sitting silently on their chairs and just jotting down notes from a teacher’s lecture for the entire class hours. A traditional school head and traditional language teachers may applaud this type of setting by concluding that the room teacher in charge has succeeded in instilling discipline among her learners. This pictures a conclusion that is purely based on the observed silence of the class and dominance of a teacher in discussion.

Opposite to the aforementioned view about silence, an education leader and a pedagogue of the 21st century have stated research-based factors that caused this silence to happen in a modern classroom. These reasons for learners’ silence are also cited in most seminars and workshop conducted by education authorities and experts. In such situations, they cited that silence does not always mean learning.

In a language class of this present generation, a totally silent classroom with an active teacher doing the talk all the time is now concluded to be unhealthy and harmful. The emergence of communicative competence, collaborative learning and progressivist view in instruction has pushed the new definition of a good classroom.

First, a total silence of learners may have rooted from their unsuccessful attempt to understand a concept. Thus, silence may mean struggle to relate schema to the new ideas introduced by the teacher. This is also related to a silence that emanated from the learners’ lack of interest resulting to boredom in class.

Next, silence may also mean fear— fear to ask, fear to speak and fear to be corrected by the teacher and peers. A student nowadays chooses to be quiet rather than face a chance to be a focus of shame after stating an incorrect answer or using inconsistent English in class. This is true especially in an English class of second language learners who are anxious to use a language they are not familiar. They assume that their attempt may result to their peers laughing at them. This again is another picture of a destructible silence in class.

Lastly, silence may also reflect a NO or NONE as a response of students to the teachers’ famous ending question: Is everything clear? Moreover, their YES as response does not always mean a YES all the time. This could also be perceived as a mechanism of students to immediately end the class and free themselves from the boredom they experience throughout the session.

A good language class has to be free from total silence as active language learners are expected to be engaged, to be motivated, to be expressive and to be interactive. The absence of fear and boredom may be evidenced through a class of students doing the talk, working with peers and exerting efforts to raise relevant questions. These mirror the presence of their interest to learn and to improve.

On one hand, silence is positive in some situations. On the other hand, silence does not always mean learning. Neither has it always connoted discipline nor success. It could also serve as a call that should ring a bell to 21st century teachers.

— oOo—

The author is Secondary School Teacher-III at Lubao National High School, Lubao, Pampanga