Page 189 - Silence in Intercultural Communication

176 Silence in Intercultural Communication

(69) [Interview: Aya]
[...] [In the History of Japanese Literature class] because it’s like we work on
translation together, in a sense, you are all right even if you don’t prepare
properly, yeah. So in that sense there is less pressure. But in this [History of
Secondary Education] class, if you haven’t done the reading, you definitely
cannot keep up, and you cannot enjoy the class if you haven’t. So well, it’s not
really appropriate but it [History of Japanese Literature] is easy, and because it
is about Japanese, it is possible to do the translation on the spot. So in that
aspect, that subject gives me little pressure and so it is comfortable and easy I
suppose. It is one of the means of retreat (giggles).
She also mentioned that because her “knowledge is double” on the topics in Japa-
nese Studies subjects, it was possible for her to participate actively. Comparing
herself in different classes, she commented:
(70) [Interview: Aya]
In situations like classes about Japanese language or something, I can, not
exactly lead, but I can give my own opinion, or it’s easier for me to do so. But
this [History of Secondary Education] is pretty confusing.

As comments from Aya herself, her peers and her lecturers suggest, one of the ex-
planations for Aya’s silence in the History of Secondary Education class appears to
be a lack of confidence and motivation in handling unfamiliar concepts in history
and education which are moreover expressed in unfamiliar genres of the English
language. However, Aya’s English in fact was the most fluent of the three Japanese
participants in the case studies. As a lecturer from the Japanese Studies whose
class was observed once for this case study commented, Aya’s spoken English was
“native-like.” Aya herself also mentioned that she preferred discussion to essay
writing and that she was better at speaking than at writing:

(71) [Interview: Aya]
[...] Essays, they actually get checked everything, all the words. So, even a
little mistake of grammar can be checked strictly, you see. But because I am
better at speaking, with speaking, even if your grammar is not good, you can
rephrase and say “Does it make sense?” or something like that to get the
meaning across. So in that sense I feel less pressure in speaking.

In fact, Aya was the only one among the Japanese participants who openly indi-
cated a preference for speaking over writing. Thus, we can see that fluency and
general command of English do not necessarily guarantee more participation
from non-native speakers. Gaps in language in a specific field and in the knowl-
edge schema required for a course of study can create difficulties in participation.