Page 125 - Silence in Intercultural Communication

112 Silence in Intercultural Communication

Table 5.5 Number and length of turns in Intercultural Communication
(Regular Discussion: Total)
Participant No. of classes Total number Total turn Average no. of Average turn-
included of turns length turns per class length
Miki 3 7 98 2.3 14.0
Sophia 4 33 378 8.3 11.5
Molly 5 80 577 16.0 7.2
Bill 4 56 339 14.0 6.1
Tony 4 7 138 1.8 19.7
Average 8.5 11.7

Table 5.6 Number and total lengths of turns in Intercultural Communication
(Presentation Discussion: Total)

Participant Number of turns Total turn length Average turn length
Miki 1st pres. 16 64.5 4.0
Miki 2nd pres. 9 171 19
Miki Average 12.5 117.8 9.4
Bill 18 153 8.5
Tony 8 61 7.6
Average 12.8 112.4 9.8

Looking at patterns of participation among the students in the sample group, we
can see that in discussions after others’ presentations (hereafter Regular Discus-
sion), Miki speaks much less frequently than other students, with the exception
of Tony, as shown in Table 5.5.
In discussions after her own presentations (hereafter Presentation Discus-
sion), Miki spoke with greater frequency. Table 5.6 shows the total number and
length of turns of three participants from the sample group.
Comparing participation in the two different situations, Miki had an average
of 12.5 turns after her presentations, while her average turn number in Regular
Discussion was 2.3. Tony, who took the least turns per class (1.8 turns) in Regu-
lar Discussion, also spoke with greater frequency in Presentation Discussion (8
turns). As for Bill, he was one of the most active participants in the group, and the
results show that he made a substantial contribution to class discussions in both
Regular and Presentation Discussions. Indeed, Bill was described by Dr. Telfer as
being among those students who “don’t need encouragement” to participate. Dr.
Telfer in fact mentioned that all the local Australian students seemed confident
in this class.
On the other hand, Miki was perceived as one of the “two [students] that
spoke the least” by Dr. Telfer, and as “reticent” by Bill. This suggests that Miki’s