A dynamic systems approach to wait time in the second language classroom

Abstract

This study discusses how wait time-the silent pause after a teacher elicits a student response-alters classroom discourse. Previous wait time research suggests overall positive changes in both teacher and student discourse where wait time is over 1 second. However, such studies are primarily structuralist in nature and tend to reduce the intricacy of classroom behavior to distinct variables, which can be easily altered to achieve a desired result. The data presented here comes from a series of structured observations of a UK university postgraduate L2 classroom. The findings were as follows: 1) Wait time played an intricate role in determining classroom discourse patterns and heavily favored an IRF turn-taking sequence; 2) Studentinitiated discourse was low in all observations and favored higher proficiency students; 3) The length of individual student-initiated turns appears to have been more important than the overall number of student-initiated turns in determining the quality of classroom discourse and was not directly related to changes in wait time length; 4) Extended wait time (over 2 seconds in length) temporarily shifted discourse out of an IRF pattern and into a new, more student-driven phase. While previously thought of as only a pedagogical tool to increase student speech, wait time is shown to be a phenomenon which develops and changes with the composite forces that affect other aspects of classroom discourse.

Talk, silence and anxiety during one-to-one tutorials: A cross-cultural comparative study of Japan and UK undergraduates’ tolerance of silence

“…Defined as the silent duration between a teacher elicitation and student response, research suggests that by extending their silent wait time after solicits, teachers can improve the quality of classroom discourse and combat student non-responsiveness (Rowe 1986;Shrum 1985). In a recent mixed methods investigation into instances of wait time within a UK university second language classroom, Smith and King (2017) discovered that wait time played an intricate role in shaping classroom discourse patterns, with extended wait times of more than 2 s in length working to temporarily shift discourse out of a rigid Initiation Response Feedback (IRF) pattern (see Sinclair and Coulthard 1975) into a new, more student-driven phase. In contrast to this, Ingram and Elliot (2014), researching within secondary mathematics classrooms, found that outside of the IRF pattern, extending wait time may work against student self-selection as it reinforces the teacher's control over classroom discourse and may hinder more naturally flowing interactions.…”

Complexity perspectives on researching language learner and teacher psychology. Richard J.Sampson and Richard S.Pinner (eds). Multilingual Matters, (2021). xii+304 pp. ISBN: 9781788923569

“…Silent behaviors commonly observed in East Asian language learners was once viewed unfavorably as an indication of nonparticipation and a hindrance to learning (Tsou, 2005). However, the extensive research on silence discovered that it had multiple meanings and served different purposes in second language learning contexts (Bao, 2014;Karas, 2017;Smith & King, 2017) In Chapter 5, Maher uses cognitive-behavioral theory (CBT) to examine the relationship between language learners' silent behavior and anxiety in Japanese EFL contexts. After unstructured and structured observations, the author focuses on an English major Mari for further investigation and four CBT-style interviews have been conducted.…”

Using Corpus Methods to Triangulate Linguistic Analysis Edited By JesseEgbert and PaulBaker. Routledge, 2020. 300 pp., ISBN: 9780367777050. 96£

“…Silent behaviors commonly observed in East Asian language learners was once viewed unfavorably as an indication of nonparticipation and a hindrance to learning (Tsou, 2005). However, the extensive research on silence discovered that it had multiple meanings and served different purposes in second language learning contexts (Bao, 2014;Karas, 2017;Smith & King, 2017) In Chapter 5, Maher uses cognitive-behavioral theory (CBT) to examine the relationship between language learners' silent behavior and anxiety in Japanese EFL contexts. After unstructured and structured observations, the author focuses on an English major Mari for further investigation and four CBT-style interviews have been conducted.…”