Page 86 - Silence in Intercultural Communication

Chapter 4. Perceptions of silence 73

4.2.1 Language proficiency

Half of the Japanese students interviewed indicated that they felt that their lack of
proficiency in English was a major barrier to participation:

(1) Discussion, I find it a little hard to keep up. Yeah. lectures are okay, but with
my level of English, it’s a bit [difficult]. [1:231 M1]

It is, however, difficult to tell whether students’ negative perception of their Eng-
lish proficiency is an accurate self assessment or not. Students who had lived in
Australia for more than five years also gave English proficiency as one of the rea-
sons for their silence; this includes the student who gave the comment above.
Some students also mentioned that difficulty in understanding what their peers
and lecturers were saying was a major problem:

(2) For example, I know I have an accent when I speak, but if I could understand
what is being discussed in discussions – I wish I could. People say I don’t have
any problems in speaking, but I cannot grasp the content of the discussion.
[30:111 F7]
Because of the fast rate of speech, manner of speaking and vocabulary use of peer
students, discussions appear to be more difficult for Japanese students to under-
stand than clearer and more formal lecturer speech.
(3) F10: Well, say during the class, for example, I can’t understand native speaker’s
English.
I: Oh, because they speak too fast.
F10: Fast but also um they don’t seem to know grammar, do they? (laugh) So I
don’t understand what they are saying. Also, they use different kinds of
language. [22:14-16 F10]
The speech of peer Australian students may not be produced in a clear and formal
manner unless they are giving a presentation. If that is the case, it is not the formal
lexico-grammatical competence of English but rather a sociolinguistic gap in the
rate of speaking that may be playing a role in Japanese students’ silence.
As for lecturers, they seem to see Japanese students’ silence as a reflection of
their lack of confidence in language skills, as well as “poor language skills”:
(4) Poor language skills lead to lack of confidence in class participation. [LQ26]

(5) They are more comfortable responding to written questions, because they are
self-conscious about their verbal skills or lack of them. [LQ8]