Silence and Rhetorical Listening in L2 Classrooms

By Lisa Parzefall

In 1999, Ratcliffe argued that despite scholars having talked about listening, “these scholars’ focus on voice elides sustained theorizing about listening” (p. 196). Furthermore, Ratcliffe warns that the dominant trend is to assume that listening is something everyone does, but no one needs to study. However, the need to study listening becomes clear when we think about Western societies, in which listening takes a less important role and speaking is the dominating force within discourse. Listening is something we cannot assume “everybody does” but something we need to study and learn how to do. As silence and listening become more interesting topics within research (e.g. Glenn & Ratcliffe, 2011), I am primarily interested in the role of silence and listening in L2 classrooms. Therefore, this feature article explores these concepts and attempts to raise important questions instructors can (and should) ask themselves when working with a body of diverse students.

A common perception of silence in L2 classrooms is that students “don’t understand” or are not engaging enough (e.g. Cools, 2017). However, there are in fact many reasons as to why students might be silent that urge a more careful discussion, so that we, as instructors, can do our best for and with our students. Jordan (2011) claims that “rhetorical listening—working harder to understand the possible meanings both of users’ silences and utterances—can play a substantial role in an overall project of learning how English-language rhetorical practices are evolving by way of the hands and mouths of its widespread users” (p. 284). Reflecting on students’ silence and their utterances can give us an idea of how they understand rhetorical practices in their surroundings and how they attempt to navigate through and/or adjust to them.

One reason why students are silent could be their way of showing their participation. While in the US, we value our students’ input and often invite them to share their questions and thoughts, other cultures practice silence as a way of showing respect to the speaker(s). We need to ask ourselves what we mean when we say “participation”—is a student only participating when they speak? Participation can appear in many forms; a student might be engaging with the material internally or write about their opinions, thoughts, and questions rather than voicing them. Participation can mean showing up and listening. Listening and learning from what is being shared by the instructor and peers is a form of engagement and participation.

Another reason why a student could be silent is that they feel uncomfortable and anxious about speaking up in front of the instructor and their peers (e.g. Cools, 2017). A lack of English vocabulary or practice in speaking English could cause students to feel afraid to speak up in fear of being judged by the instructor or peer. Expressing what we want to say is often difficult, even in our native language; doing it in a different language is even more intimidating. Adding on to this reason is that students need a period of time to process what they just heard or what they were asked for. It’s crucial to allow students to process before asking them to respond, especially in an L2 teaching context.

While this reason seems obvious, we have to remind ourselves that students’ lives could be impacted by personal problems that are causing them to be silent. Although in an L2 context, we want to invite students to speak to practice and advance their English skills, not every student feels like speaking every day. While it is difficult to know how every student feels every day because a) we might feel that asking would be intruding and/or b) they might not want to share, we can be more attentive to students’ expressions, body language, and overall appearance in our classrooms as these, sometimes, can give us a hint of how a student might feel that day. Another suggestion is to provide anonymous writing prompts during which students can write for 5-10 minutes, expressing how they are feeling today. This exercise is great to relieve some stress while at the same time helps students practice their English.

Another reason why students might be silent is that they don’t feel like they have enough to say. They might feel that they don’t have enough authority or “power” to share their views and opinions. This might be due to a lack of proficiency but could also be due to an understanding of who should speak or who is allowed to speak. The response to this can be shaped by students’ cultural background, their gender, their ethnicity, and many more factors. If comfortable enough, a teacher could have an open discussion about questions like these to see where students stand on the topic of silence and listening. This can help clarify questions but also gives an instructor the opportunity to understand why some students might be more silent than others.

Overall, there are probably too many reasons why students are silent to name them. However, it is important that we, as instructors, don’t lose sight of some of these and remind ourselves that we, too, need to listen. We need to listen to students’ silence.

References

Cools, J. (2017). Hearing the Silences: Engaging in Rhetorical Listening in the ESL/ELL Composition Classroom. The CEA Forum, 46(2), 35-61. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1184611.pdf

Glenn, C., & Ratcliffe, K. (Eds.). (2011). Silence and Listening as Rhetorical Acts. Southern Illinois University Press.

Jordan, J. (2011). Revaluing Silence and Listening with Second-Language English Users. In C. Glenn and K. Ratcliffe (Eds.), Silence and Listening as Rhetorical Arts (pp. 278-292). Southern Illinois UP.

Ratcliffe, K. (1999). Rhetorical Listening: A Trope for Interpretive Invention and a “Code of Cross-Cultural Conduct.” College composition and communication, 51(2), 195-224. https://doi.org/10.2307/359039

Lisa Parzefall teaches first-year writing and ESL classes at DePaul University.


Silence and Rhetorical Listening in L2 Classrooms By Lisa Parzefall In 1999, Ratcliffe argued that despite scholars having talked about listening, “these scholars’ focus on voice elides sustained theorizing about listening” (p. 196). Furthermore, Ratcliffe warns that the dominant trend is to assume that listening is something everyone does, but no one needs to study. However, the need to study listening becomes clear when we think about Western societies, in which listening takes a less important role and speaking is the dominating force within discourse. Listening is something we cannot assume “everybody does” but something we need to study and learn how to do. As silence and listening become more interesting topics within research (e.g. Glenn & Ratcliffe, 2011), I am primarily interested in the role of silence and listening in L2 classrooms. Therefore, this feature article explores these concepts and attempts to raise important questions instructors can (and should) ask themselves when working with a body of diverse students. A common perception of silence in L2 classrooms is that students “don’t understand” or are not engaging enough (e.g. Cools, 2017). However, there are in fact many reasons as to why students might be silent that urge a more careful discussion, so that we, as instructors, can do our best for and with our students. Jordan (2011) claims that “rhetorical listening—working harder to understand the possible meanings both of users’ silences and utterances—can play a substantial role in an overall project of learning how English-language rhetorical practices are evolving by way of the hands and mouths of its widespread users” (p. 284). Reflecting on students’ silence and their utterances can give us an idea of how they understand rhetorical practices in their surroundings and how they attempt to navigate through and/or adjust to them. One reason why students are silent could be their way of showing their participation. While in the US, we value our students’ input and often invite them to share their questions and thoughts, other cultures practice silence as a way of showing respect to the speaker(s). We need to ask ourselves what we mean when we say “participation”—is a student only participating when they speak? Participation can appear in many forms; a student might be engaging with the material internally or write about their opinions, thoughts, and questions rather than voicing them. Participation can mean showing up and listening. Listening and learning from what is being shared by the instructor and peers is a form of engagement and participation. Another reason why a student could be silent is that they feel uncomfortable and anxious about speaking up in front of the instructor and their peers (e.g. Cools, 2017). A lack of English vocabulary or practice in speaking English could cause students to feel afraid to speak up in fear of being judged by the instructor or peer. Expressing what we want to say is often difficult, even in our native language; doing it in a different language is even more intimidating. Adding on to this reason is that students need a period of time to process what they just heard or what they were asked for. It’s crucial to allow students to process before asking them to respond, especially in an L2 teaching context. While this reason seems obvious, we have to remind ourselves that students’ lives could be impacted by personal problems that are causing them to be silent. Although in an L2 context, we want to invite students to speak to practice and advance their English skills, not every student feels like speaking every day. While it is difficult to know how every student feels every day because a) we might feel that asking would be intruding and/or b) they might not want to share, we can be more attentive to students’ expressions, body language, and overall appearance in our classrooms as these, sometimes, can give us a hint of how a student might feel that day. Another suggestion is to provide anonymous writing prompts during which students can write for 5-10 minutes, expressing how they are feeling today. This exercise is great to relieve some stress while at the same time helps students practice their English. Another reason why students might be silent is that they don’t feel like they have enough to say. They might feel that they don’t have enough authority or “power” to share their views and opinions. This might be due to a lack of proficiency but could also be due to an understanding of who should speak or who is allowed to speak. The response to this can be shaped by students’ cultural background, their gender, their ethnicity, and many more factors. If comfortable enough, a teacher could have an open discussion about questions like these to see where students stand on the topic of silence and listening. This can help clarify questions but also gives an instructor the opportunity to understand why some students might be more silent than others. Overall, there are probably too many reasons why students are silent to name them. However, it is important that we, as instructors, don’t lose sight of some of these and remind ourselves that we, too, need to listen. We need to listen to students’ silence. References Cools, J. (2017). Hearing the Silences: Engaging in Rhetorical Listening in the ESL/ELL Composition Classroom. The CEA Forum, 46(2), 35-61. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1184611.pdf Glenn, C., & Ratcliffe, K. (Eds.). (2011). Silence and Listening as Rhetorical Acts. Southern Illinois University Press. Jordan, J. (2011). Revaluing Silence and Listening with Second-Language English Users. In C. Glenn and K. Ratcliffe (Eds.), Silence and Listening as Rhetorical Arts (pp. 278-292). Southern Illinois UP. Ratcliffe, K. (1999). Rhetorical Listening: A Trope for Interpretive Invention and a “Code of Cross-Cultural Conduct.” College composition and communication, 51(2), 195-224. https://doi.org/10.2307/359039 Lisa Parzefall teaches first-year writing and ESL classes at DePaul University.
Fall 2022 - Volume 50, Issue 2