Silence: A duoethnography

Abstract

Duoethnography is an emerging research methodology and tool for reflective practice in English language teaching (ELT). Duoethnography allows for people to become the sites of their own inquiry and investigate issues and phenomena of importance to them (Sawyer Norris, 2013). In duoethnography, participants engage in critical dialogue with one another as a way to challenge broader normative assumptions but also as a way to bring meaning to experiences and find solutions to immediate teaching issues. In this duoethnography, we examine the phenomenon of silence through our shared experiences as English language teachers and applied linguists but also from our diverging perspectives, cultures, and backgrounds. Data were gathered from online conversations, reflective notes, and memos between the two authors with emerging themes including 1) Shifting perspectives on silence, 2) Silence in the online classroom, and 3) Turn-taking and student/teacher discourse expectations. While specific to the authors, it is hoped that this duoethnography may resonate with readers and serve as a catalyst for further reflection on silence.

The mediative role of learning materials: Raising L2 learners’ awareness of silence and conversational repair during L2 interaction

“…Later, the tutor learns that the student's minimum verbal contribution and silence stem from her expectation that the teacher's role involves initiating interaction (Turner & Hiraga, 2003). Paradoxical views on turn-taking practices involving turn-nomination, are reported in other studies (Ellwood & Nakane, 2009;Karas & Uchihara, 2021) and even by learners. For example, in Harumi's study (2011), the majority of students expect that turn-allocation to be initiated by the teacher, largely because it is the widely used educational practices in Japanese contexts, although some students preferred not to be singled out from others, avoiding possible invisible social sanction and evaluation for being too good or different from others, as explained by Uchihara in his duoethnography study (Karas & Uchihara, 2021).…”

“…For example, Nakane (2005) and Ellwood and Nakane (2009) highlight Japanese international students' interactional negotiation towards oral participation in a range of Australian academic discourse but also suggest the importance of teaching useful conversational skills needed to participate in oral interaction. Karas and Uchihara (2021) have illustrated multiple perspectives on turn-allocation. These have involved teachers nominating individuals, with different expectations and outcomes in Canadian and Japanese educational contexts.…”

Exploring the Challenges of Technology in Language Teaching in the Aftermath of the Pandemic

“… Darling-Hammond and Lieberman, 2012 ; Trippestad et al, 2017 ). This lack of training has likely contributed to teachers’ scepticism about the applicability of technology to their teaching, and while first-order barriers such as making technologies available to teachers are comparatively easy to overcome (albeit costly), it is the second-order barriers – the teachers’ negative beliefs about using technology – that have proved to be the most challenging and slow to change ( Ertmer, 1999 ; Ma et al, 2021 ; Wang, 2021 ). As the impact of the pandemic became apparent, it was clear that the second-order barriers impacted the ways in which teachers perceived how they felt that their classes would proceed.…”

“…The sudden change has also contributed to psychological and emotional problems for teachers. For example, the sharp increase in workload to manage online classes with little time or training, along with feelings of being isolated from their colleagues, has had a negative impact on teacher wellbeing, resulting in burnout, compassion fatigue, and other mental health problems ( Alibudbud, 2021 ; Dabrowski, 2021 ; Ma et al, 2021 ; Yang, 2021 ). The need for teachers to possess suitable skills and attitudes towards using technology to move forward from the pandemic with an open mind is discussed below.…”

“…In saying this, however, free discussion is often seen as logistically more difficult in online settings (Gao and Zhang, 2020); for example, in breakout sessions where learners were divided into smaller groups, they could go largely unobserved as teachers are typically only able to attend a single session at a time. While motivated students may actively participate in these breakout sessions, it is not uncommon for teachers to enter a room in which all cameras are off and the room is in silence (Karas and Uchihara, 2021), leaving potential learning opportunities squandered.…”