Factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among Malaysian undergraduate students

Asians are said to use silence in academic situation more than other learners from Europe and America. With the increased need for students’ oral participation in the language learning classroom and other academic situations, the Asian silent behavior has been considered a problem. The aim of this s...

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Main Authors: Ibrahim, Bashir, Mohd. Kasim, Zalina, Abdullah, Ain Nadzimah, Rafik-Galea, Shameem
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UKM Press 2018
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/72724/1/Factors%20contributing%20to%20the%20use%20of%20conversational%20silence%20.pdf
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author Ibrahim, Bashir
Mohd. Kasim, Zalina
Abdullah, Ain Nadzimah
Rafik-Galea, Shameem
author_facet Ibrahim, Bashir
Mohd. Kasim, Zalina
Abdullah, Ain Nadzimah
Rafik-Galea, Shameem
author_sort Ibrahim, Bashir
collection UPM
description Asians are said to use silence in academic situation more than other learners from Europe and America. With the increased need for students’ oral participation in the language learning classroom and other academic situations, the Asian silent behavior has been considered a problem. The aim of this study is to investigate factors that contribute to the use of conversational silence by Malaysian science and non-science undergraduate students in academic discourse. Seventeen undergraduate students from a local university in Malaysia participated in a focus group interview which required them to respond to questions related to the beliefs of their culture on the use of silence, the extent to which the participants practice silence in academic discourse, and factors that contribute to the use of conversational silence. There were two groups each from the Departments of English and Computer and Communication System who informed the research. The study was underpinned by Brown and Levinson Politeness Theory, which is tied to the concept of ‘face’ as something that is highly valuable, and must be guarded in interaction. The findings suggest that some factors such as socio-cultural upbringing, personality and intimidation by the environment play a role in the use of silence by the informants of this study.
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spelling upm.eprints-727242021-01-29T11:42:33Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/72724/ Factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among Malaysian undergraduate students Ibrahim, Bashir Mohd. Kasim, Zalina Abdullah, Ain Nadzimah Rafik-Galea, Shameem Asians are said to use silence in academic situation more than other learners from Europe and America. With the increased need for students’ oral participation in the language learning classroom and other academic situations, the Asian silent behavior has been considered a problem. The aim of this study is to investigate factors that contribute to the use of conversational silence by Malaysian science and non-science undergraduate students in academic discourse. Seventeen undergraduate students from a local university in Malaysia participated in a focus group interview which required them to respond to questions related to the beliefs of their culture on the use of silence, the extent to which the participants practice silence in academic discourse, and factors that contribute to the use of conversational silence. There were two groups each from the Departments of English and Computer and Communication System who informed the research. The study was underpinned by Brown and Levinson Politeness Theory, which is tied to the concept of ‘face’ as something that is highly valuable, and must be guarded in interaction. The findings suggest that some factors such as socio-cultural upbringing, personality and intimidation by the environment play a role in the use of silence by the informants of this study. UKM Press 2018 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/72724/1/Factors%20contributing%20to%20the%20use%20of%20conversational%20silence%20.pdf Ibrahim, Bashir and Mohd. Kasim, Zalina and Abdullah, Ain Nadzimah and Rafik-Galea, Shameem (2018) Factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among Malaysian undergraduate students. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature, 24 (3). 43 - 58. ISSN 0128-5157; ESSN: 2550-2247 https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/article/view/21376 10.17576/3L-2018-2403-04
spellingShingle Ibrahim, Bashir
Mohd. Kasim, Zalina
Abdullah, Ain Nadzimah
Rafik-Galea, Shameem
Factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among Malaysian undergraduate students
title Factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_full Factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_fullStr Factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_full_unstemmed Factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_short Factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_sort factors contributing to the use of conversational silence in academic discourse among malaysian undergraduate students
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/72724/1/Factors%20contributing%20to%20the%20use%20of%20conversational%20silence%20.pdf
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