It may also affect the success of the interaction and their willingness to communicate and potentially influence how their teacher and peers behave towards them (Bao, 2014). A display of ‘silence’ could reflect poorly on their ability or identity. The weight placed on participation in the language classroom means that silent behaviour is likely to draw negative attention to a student’s in-class performance. Silent Behaviours of Anxious Language Learners Other studies have also found that issues related to communication apprehension-especially students’ anxiety about speaking tasks in the classroom-are often a cause of FLA, leading to silent behaviours in class (Rivers & Ross, 2018 Shachter, 2018). Toyama and Yamazaki ( 2018), adapting the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) (Horwitz et al., 1986), found that communication apprehension and test anxiety were significant factors that contributed to students’ anxiety in foreign language classes. A wave of research examining foreign language anxiety (FLA) within Japanese contexts has highlighted the possible negative impacts on student performance, self-efficacy, and motivation to learn the target language (Effiong, 2016 Nakane, 2007). While this is a single study, its findings are not isolated. In their study of anxiety in Japanese university foreign language classrooms, Williams and Andrade ( 2008) found that almost 50% of 243 students expected to feel anxious. Our study points towards using CBT-based approaches to improve speaking confidence by increasing learners’ awareness of their anxiety triggers. These findings contribute further insights into the causes of speaking-related anxiety and learner ‘silence’. The discomfort some participants felt during a display of ‘silence’ seemed to trigger a fear of being negatively evaluated by classmates, leading to self-doubt about their language proficiency and social performance.
The findings reveal ‘silence’ as a trigger of speaking-related anxiety. Multiple recurrent forms of classroom ‘silence’ reported by the participants included using Japanese when English was expected, finishing speaking turns quickly, and taking on the listener role rather than initiating discourse. Forty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 participants using an interview schedule based on a CBT formulation to explore students’ silent behaviour, associated thoughts and feelings, and behavioural triggers. The study used a cognitive-behavioural theory (CBT)-based approach to gain insights into students’ perceptions of their in-class behaviours. Using King’s (2014) cognitive-behavioural model of silent L2 learners’ anxiety, this paper examines how ‘silence’ can trigger speaking-related anxiety in Japanese university English-medium classrooms. In some cases, however, silence is not just a non-verbal cue of speaking-related anxiety (Maher & King, 2020) it can also be a contributing factor to avoiding talk. King’s (2013) examination of learner silence established a connection between low oral participation, anxiety, and social inhibition. This is especially true for first-year undergraduates in Japan who often struggle to adapt to unfamiliar communicative language lessons taught in the target language.
However, it can be challenging for learners to navigate social interactions with classmates, especially if they lack confidence in their L2 self. Classroom interpersonal dynamics play a key role in shaping the interactional profiles of language learners and the development of their speaking skills.
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