A Brief Study of Reticence in ESL Class

doi:10.4304/tpls.1.8.961-965

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol 1, No 8 (2011), 961-965, Aug 2011

doi:10.4304/tpls.1.8.961-965

A Brief Study of Reticence in ESL Class

Hui Li, Yuhui Liu

Abstract

It is a common phenomenon that students in China, either English or Non-English majors, are resistant to participating in individual or group-based speaking activities. This paper claims that students who refuse to actively participate in their own learning are reticent. Reticence in class impedes student learning, teacher effectiveness and classmate benefits of learning from silent students' insights, observations, and experiences. This paper takes a brief analysis of causes, effects of reticence problem and then proposes possible resolution of it.

Keywords

English learning; reticence; communicative approach

References

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Theory and Practice in Language Studies (TPLS, ISSN 1799-2591)

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