Page 87 - Silence in Intercultural Communication

74 Silence in Intercultural Communication

Weak language skills of Japanese students were frequently mentioned as a prob-
lem, but on the other hand, some comments referred to Japanese students’ Eng-
lish skills being better than other students from Asian non-English speaking
backgrounds. For example:

(6) Their English is usually better than that of other Asian students and yet they
have been more reluctant to converse, than, say, the Chinese students. [LQ11]

Lecturers may find the explanation of lack of confidence in language proficiency
more appropriate than that of poor language proficiency, but Japanese student
weaknesses in spoken English were also frequently mentioned in relation to si-
lence. In fact, the absence of spoken English skills has often been discussed in
existing literature on Japanese student silences (cf. Anderson 1992; Lucas 1984).
The emphasis and reliance on the written mode of communication in Japa-
nese schools, as shown in the previous chapter, may be considered one explana-
tion for the observations of Australian lecturers who mentioned that Japanese
students could surprise them by producing well-written assignments despite their
inactivity in classroom interaction (see Section 4.2.3.2 below). Japanese student
interviewees also said that they are more confident about writing tasks than spo-
ken activities. Some even mentioned that they are able to do better in written
assignments since they “do not miss the point.”
When we look at overseas students in general, it is quite clear that the prob-
lem of language skills is the major concern for lecturers. In the survey study at
Macquarie University (Braddock et al. 1995), 46% of the staff responded that the
level of English of students from Asia-Pacific region is poor, 49% indicated “ad-
equate,” while 5% indicated “good,” and 0% “excellent.”

4.2.2 Norms of turn-taking

As noted above, the different manner and speed of native speakers’ speech seems
to trouble Japanese students. A difficulty in finding the right moment to join dis-
cussions was expressed by a number of Japanese students:
(7) It’s the question of timing. Particularly in English, I just can’t work out the
timing to speak. Mmm... I wonder if it is because I am not a native speaker.
[2:112 M1]

(8) The interaction, even before I finish talking, they [Australian students] come
in, interrupting me. [24:147 M5]