A Case Study On Junior High Students’Reticence In English Classrooms

The implementation of the reform of English curriculum necessitates a change of attitudes towards the learning of the English language. Oral English is becoming more and more important. Besides, learning English is not only about remembering words and grammar or about doing various exercises without due consideration. It is not the transmission of knowledge from one side to the other any more. It is more about trying using the language to communicate with others and in this process develop one’s comprehensive communicative ability. However, many students are reticent in English classrooms. Against this background, it is important for teachers to direct more attention to students’ needs and interests while teaching. Students’ reticent behaviors in learning English deserve our attention and should be also carefully treated.On the basis of previous study, the author attempted to make an investigation into junior high students’ reticence in English classrooms. The participants engaged in this study were ninety-eight8th grade students from two natural classes in the middle school where the author took her internship as a student teacher. The instruments employed in this research were questionnaire, classroom observation, and interview. The collected data were fully interpreted and discussed to answer the following four research questions.1. To what extent do junior high students experience reticence in English classrooms? Are there any differences in reticence among students from low, middle, and high English proficiency levels?2. How does students’ willingness to participate vary in different classroom activities?3. What are the possible factors triggering students’ reticence in English classrooms? 4. What can be done to remit students’ reticence in English classrooms?Descriptive analysis, one-way ANOVA, and frequency description were conducted to analyze the data from questionnaire. The recording of classes and interviews were transcribed by the author to know every possible fact about students’ reticence. Based on the quantitative and qualitative data, the findings of this study were summarized:Firstly, the junior high students experienced rather serious reticence in English classrooms and no difference of reticence degree among different proficiency level students was found in this research. In addition, the author found that the students were more willing to participate in interactive classroom activities where they could communicate with other students. About the influencing factors, students’ English proficiency and teachers’teaching mode were found relevant to students’reticence. Finally, the author advised teachers to create a relaxed classroom atmosphere and to employ effective questioning strategies to remit students’ reticence.At the end of this paper, the author proposed two pedagogical implications to make English teaching more effective:firstly, English teachers need to adjust their roles and teaching methodologies in English classrooms. Besides, English teachers should adapt teaching materials to cater for students.