Page 129 - Silence in Intercultural Communication

116 Silence in Intercultural Communication

Language proficiency seemed to vary slightly among the three case study stu-
dents, as did the degree of silence. Importantly, language proficiency did not seem
to directly predict this silence.
Two raters, the author and a native English speaker, both with language test-
ing experience, rated the Japanese students’ English language proficiency from
the video-recordings of their classroom interaction. The ISLPR (International
Second Language Proficiency Ratings) system was used. (See Appendix 6 for de-
tails) The ratings given by the native speaker rater were 4+ for Aya, 4 for Tadashi
and 3+ for Miki. The author rated Aya and Tadashi as 4, and Miki as 3. Apart from
these ratings, short descriptions of each student’s competence in English were also
produced by the raters. Both the native speaker rater and the author evaluated
Aya’s English to be native-like, fluent and Australian, although a low command of
academic language was noted. Tadashi’s English was found to be fluent (not to the
same degree as Aya’s) and to show control of grammar and vocabulary including
academic language, although with a relatively strong accent. Miki’s language was
evaluated to be adequate for communicating her ideas. Her accent, occasional
grammatical errors and frequent hesitations contributed to her lower rating.
An examination of the students’ own comments as well as those of their lec-
turers about their English shows that there is agreement for the most part with
the raters’ evaluations. For example, Aya mentioned that her lack of vocabulary
and knowledge of academic English prevented her from discussing issues in the
History of Secondary Education class, but her lecturer in that class described
her English as “reasonable,” while a lecturer in her Japanese translation class de-
scribed it as “native-like.” Tadashi said he was worried about his accent, but his
lecturers indicated that his English was “[e]xcellent to very good” and said that
“he can communicate perfectly well.” Miki emphasised her need to “take time”
before speaking, and her lecturer described her English as “careful” and said that
she took “trouble when she speaks.” However, Miki also commented that she had
“a communicative problem rather than the problem with English proficiency.”
Concerning measured frequency of participation, Aya was, quantitatively, the
least silent of the three Japanese students in the case studies. Since Aya’s English
proficiency was evaluated the highest, a role for proficiency in silence can be sup-
ported in her case. However, in terms of perceptions, she perceived herself to be
silent and also was perceived so by the lecturer and her peers.
(8) [Interview: Aya]
A: I suppose in this kind of class - it is difficult to say what I want to say,
I think.
I: What do you mean?