This negative take on silence apparently arises out of a belief that putting ideas into words is a primary modality through which learning occurs, along with a further belief that, “course discussions are one of the most frequent and best opportunities” for such learning to occur (Davis, 2009, p. 97; Lang, 2008, p. 87-88, 97). While I accept that there is sufficient research to support this contention, I believe the role of silence within discussions/conversations warrants further considerations.
Air Time and Pause Time
Perhaps since the days of radio, the idea of “air time” - time spent speaking – has become a generally understood construct in US culture; the idea of “pause time” however, is less well-renowned. Pause time refers to the pauses between conversational turns. Pause times vary across families, regions, and cultures and this is sometimes referred to as “pacing and pausing” (Tannen, 1984). Differences in pause time among conversational partners may be responsible for many communication problems including negative assumptions made about one another and an eventual unwillingness to continue communication efforts (Aaronson, 1973; Greenbaum, 1985; Shigemitsu, 2005). In a 2009 interview Tannen described how communication style can impact discussion flow (Retrieved 8/30/10 http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=1305):
“If you talk to somebody who has a different sense of timing (pacing and pausing), then whoever is expecting the longer pause will find that they can’t get the floor. And whoever is expecting the shorter pause will find themselves doing all the talking… if you tell someone, “Be aware of conversational style differences,” then you stand to solve the problem.”Differences in pace-pause styles may represent additional cultural communication-style variations. For example, in some Indigenous (Tafoya, 1989) and Asian cultures (Shigemitsu, 2005), conversational pause times are longer than majority/dominant US culture pause times; moreover, the majority/dominant culture expectations for discussion participation described by Davis (2009, p. 107) sit in nearly direct opposition to culturally-appropriate practices in several Asian cultures (Shigemitsu, 2005) and to norms identified as culturally-appropriate by various Indigenous peoples (Retrieved 8/30/10 (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/lpsc_wksp_2007/resources/heit_report.pdf).
Thus, a principle of discussion would be to purposefully create group norms that, to paraphrase a Peggy McIntosh quote regarding ethnic/racial diversity, allow discussants to “become comfortable being uncomfortable” with silence. One concrete example might be to establish a practice of 2- 5 second pause times between speakers.
References
Aaronson, D. (1973). A refreshing monograph on the pause that refreshes: Rhythms of dialogue. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 2(4), 369-374.
Greenbaum, P. E. (1985). Nonverbal Differences in Communication Style Between American Indian and Anglo Elementary Classrooms. American Educational Research Journal, 22(1), 101-115.
Shigemitsu, Y. (2005). Different interpretations of pauses, Japanese, Chinese, and Americans: Discoursal Problems in Cross-Cultural Conversations. Paper presented at the 9th International Pragmatics Conference, Riva del Garda, Italy.
Tafoya, T. (1989). Circles and Cedar -- Native Americans and Family Therapy. Journal of Psychotherapy & The Family, 6(1), 71 - 98.
Tannen, D. (1984). The Pragmatics of Cross-Cultural Communication. Applied Linguistics, 5(3), 189-195.
I get where you are coming from and I agree people should "'become comfortable being uncomfortable' with silence". Further, I agree with the idea of creating a group norm. Multicultural sensitivity is very important in many realms and, as you have here, one could make a compelling argument why this is a good reason for creating pauses. However, I do not necessarily agree with it in this case.
ReplyDeleteMany students come from many parts of the world and, as you note, have many different communication-styles. It is not only about those that have longer pauses. By creating the pause, using the multicultural line of reasoning, you are accommodating one cultural norm over another. This in turn makes a certain, albeit different, set of students uncomfortable. Unfortunately, especially early on in their school career, students of all cultures are dealing with the stressful and uncomfortable situation of college and no one culture should be accommodated.
That being said, I think that your idea of creating a new group norm of pauses, decided by the group, is a good one. This way, the students become a part of a new all inclusive culture, instead of certain cultures being accommodated over others. Beyond that and to get to my main point, I think that this is less about a cultural issue and more about what the authors mention regarding letting information sit in so the students can formulate a response. This also applies to your example in that it allows ALL the students, instead of just the rather quick ones, to formulate a response and contribute to the discussion. Good idea that I will probably use in my class!!
Having been a student for 24 of my 36 years, I have been on the receiving end of many “uncomfortable” silences. For some students, answers may come quickly, and depending on their confidence in the answer, these students may not even notice the silence. For the rest of us slow thinkers and/or reluctant speakers, the silent seconds ticking by can seem endless!
ReplyDeleteUntil I became a teacher and started learning about the positive outcomes of pausing after asking a question or even just during a conversation, I was as uncomfortable and confused as the rest of the class as to why the teacher would wait in silence for an answer.
I have observed that within a short amount of time, students will become used to the pause and even come to expect it. Often, the reluctant speakers are not really reluctant, but just contemplating an answer. I have also found that waiting for a few seconds after posing a question increases class participating and allows students to become more confident in their ability to contribute to the discussion. If the silence drags on for too long, though, it may be help to rephrase the question or explain it better before moving on.
Putting the cultural issue aside:
ReplyDeletePerhaps in the best of situations, silence in class discussions will rarely be uncomfortable and there isn’t even a need to train oneself to be comfortable with uncomfortable salience. Last semester I was in a seminar (with Cali and Adam) in which the silent moments were not even a touch awkward. Whenever it was silent, everyone was simultaneously thinking about the exact same discussion point/problem/issue and we knew that someone would speak as soon as they thought of a clever or creative answer/response.
I predict that this awkward free atmosphere was primarily due to two factors. First, all the students were intrinsically interested in answering the questions posed in the course. Second, all the students knew each other very well and had no reservations about speaking in front of one another. These two factors came naturally, in part, because it was a small graduate seminar. However, I think it may be possible to tap into these factors in undergraduate courses. Davis and Lang have outlined strategies to foster intrinsic motivation (e.g., convey enthusiasm) and a sense of community among class members.