Job Discussion Forums

[Madame J]

Hello everyone.

I'm currently doing some research for my teaching course, and have chosen to focus on the issue of student inclusion during activities/class feedback sessions. More specifically, I am looking at possible strategies that can be used to bring quieter learners into the class more whilst stopping more forthcoming learners from dominating quite so much.

However, I seem to be in a real pickle searching for academic articles on this subject that I can use to either prove or disprove my findings. Typing things like "equal student participation", "encouraging reticent learners" , "student domination of activities" or similar into Google or my college's ebook store yields nothing relevant. Might anyone know of any academic pieces, either EFL or simply teaching related, that might be useful?

Thanks in advance.

[Shroob]

There should be quite a bit of literature on introverts / extroverts. It's not an area I'm that familiar with but I have encountered it a number of times.

[mzuri]

Consider expanding your search beyond the teaching arena and into group facilitation. I think you'll find some rich material there.

From there, you might peek into some facilitative mediation resources.

Both of these areas take into account participation approaches and tools.

[rtm]

Here's something that just came out that I have just started reading:

Bao, Dat (2014). Understanding Silence and Reticence: Non-Participation in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Description:

What is the state of that which is not spoken? This book presents empirical research related to the phenomenon of reticence in the second language classroom, connecting current knowledge and theoretical debates in language learning and acquisition.

Why do language learners remain silent or exhibit reticence? In what ways can silence in the language learning classroom be justified? To what extent should learners employ or modify silence? Do quiet learners work more effectively with quiet or verbal learners? Looking at evidence from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, the book presents research data on many internal and external forces that influence the silent mode of learning in contemporary education. This work gives the reader a chance to reflect more profoundly on cultural ways of learning languages.

[Madame J]

This all looks interesting, thanks.

[nomad soul]

Some key terms for an Internet search:

Zoltán Dörnyei motivating language learners
affective domain language learning
language ego
attribution language learning
intrinsic motivation language learning

[kpjf]

Not sure if you have access to some online journals, but how about these (haven't read them myself):


Reducing student reticence through teacher interaction strategy
http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/3/302.abstract

Dealing with learner reticence in the speaking class
http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/1/1.abstract

Why are students quiet? Looking at the Chinese context and beyond
Xiaoyan Xie
http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/1/10.short

Classroom silence: voices from Japanese EFL learners
http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/65/3/260.abstract