Investigating Verbal Learners' Perspectives on Silence in English as a Foreign Language Classrooms in Myanmar

Abstract

Recognising the value of silence in English as a Foreign Language classes, this study aims to extend critical discussion to similar issues in Myanmar classrooms. We explored how verbally active Myanmar EFL students interpreted classroom silence. A qualitative case study was used to interview three self-perceived EFL ‘verbal learners’. Data analysed thematically using Jaworski's (1993) silence categories and Kurzon's (1995) model of intentionality revealed that participants acknowledged the benefits of silence, yet complained about unintended and pointless silences. The study highlights the usefulness of silence in in-class group learning and the need to explore silence holistically for diverse learning styles.

Introduction

Silence in educational settings, traditionally viewed merely as the absence of speech, has widely been recognised for its significance in the learning dynamics of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Recent literature underscores the complexity of silence, illustrating its nuanced contributions to educational environments (see Bao, 2023). The importance of silence could include how silence facilitates learners' thinking, engages them in reflective learning, enhances their listening skills, and allows for emotional regulation during challenging tasks (King and Harumi, 2020). In this regard, the growing body of research challenges the conventional perception that active participation is solely verbal, suggesting instead that silence itself can facilitate deep cognitive and emotional processing among learners (Bao, 2023).

In Myanmar, the investigation of silence within EFL classrooms remains markedly underexplored. The scant research available predominantly addresses the more overt aspects of classroom interaction, such as verbal participation, while the subtler dynamics of silence receive less attention (Nge and Eamoraphan, 2020). Notably, students who are less verbally active in these settings are often mislabelled as passive, overlooking the potential active engagement they might be experiencing internally (Gilhooly, 2015; Win, 2015). This skewed focus neglects periods of non-verbal engagement, which could be critical in understanding the full spectrum of student participation and learning effectiveness (Huynh and Adams, 2022). Research from various global contexts suggests that these silent intervals are not merely gaps in communication, but are integral to the learning process, providing students with necessary pauses to reflect, process information and construct meaning (Harumi, 2010).

Our study specifically addresses a notable gap in the literature concerning verbally active learners in Myanmar EFL classrooms. It is often assumed that these individuals, who typically dominate classroom discussions, disengage during silent moments. However, prior studies challenge this notion, indicating that silence may serve as a strategic pause, enabling these learners to enhance their comprehension and assimilate knowledge (Ahour and Haradasht, 2014; Alcock, 1998). Therefore, our goal is to understand how self-perceived verbal learners in Myanmar understand and engage with silence within their learning environments. By exploring the interplay between verbal expression and silent contemplation, this study seeks to answer the research question: How do self-perceived verbal learners in Myanmar EFL classrooms perceive and engage with periods of silence, and what impact does this engagement have on their learning effectiveness?

The Relevant Literature

Silence-related Values in EFL Classrooms

Silence has been well researched, and its roles in EFL students' in-class learning offer a wide range of benefits. First, a group of Turkish learners use silence in the classroom as a form of engagement during interactions with their peers and teachers (Tatar, 2005). Verbal learners also engage in purposeful silent breaks to contemplate and integrate others' perspectives through critically evaluating these ideas against their own (Fadilah et al., 2019; Yashima et al., 2018). Silence, in this sense, can further assist them in reflecting and responding to questions emerging in their thinking before making notes or producing a response (Liu, 2002). While several studies argue that verbal learners appreciate silent moments during their in-class participation (Dewaele and Furnham, 2000), the complexities in verbal learners' use of silence, in terms of when and how they deploy it, remain underexplored, which is one of the foci of our research.

Aligned with the active listening perspective, silence could be a significant preparatory step for EFL verbal learners to make productive oral contributions to classroom discussions (Bao and Nguyen, 2020; Ollin, 2008). Productive contributions, in this sense, include well-prepared and organised ideas for the content output with fewer linguistic errors (King and Harumi, 2020). Bao and Nguyen (2020) indicated that some students used silence to formulate content ideas, choose appropriate English grammar and words, and practise private speech, processing thoughts in the target language. Given students' diverse learning styles and English proficiency levels, it appears that private speech practice necessitates a certain degree of silence to function efficiently. However, it might also be the case that certain verbal learners at Flemish universities do not require such private speech (Dewaele and Furnham, 2000), or, according to Alcock (1998), that their private speech could be simultaneously translated into vocal response.

While these cases are possible, we agree that silence may serve as a crucial buffer, allowing learners to process their thoughts fully before articulating them. Interestingly, there are very few studies addressing whether verbal learners' speech is meaningful or impulsive due to brief moments of silence. This raises further questions regarding short periods of silent thinking time that enhance verbal learners' meaningful talk, how they utilise silence, and what factors might help such use of silence to happen.

Exploring verbal learners' perspectives towards silent learning also necessitates the probable influences of cultural and contextual factors (Kurzon, 1995; Tatar, 2005). A notable example of those factors is Harumi's (2010) research into Japanese EFL tertiary classrooms. Silent behaviours were the result of not wanting to detach from their group by sharing their individual ideas (Harumi, 2010). This finding was reinforced by King and Harumi's (2020) observation that ‘groupism’, in which one person's perceptions are influenced by their position as a member of a group, appears to be an important cultural norm in Japan. Indeed, silence occurs due to students' conscious choice, and their ability to speak up is hindered by cultural norms and contextual factors (Huynh and Adams, 2022).

Such findings are of great importance, as some of these cultural norms and traditions are also found in many EFL classrooms in Myanmar (Dim, 2013; Gilhooly, 2015; Win, 2015; Wai, 2022). Myanmar is perceived as having a ‘moderate national culture’, due to the influence of Buddhism (Rarick and Nickerson, 2006). This research found that extremes are not acknowledged in Buddhism, yet patience and harmony are valued. However, according to Wai (2022), concepts of the traditional Confucian philosophy have influenced EFL classrooms in most East Asian countries, including Myanmar. According to the Confucian philosophy, teachers are treated with respect and acknowledged as authorities (Wai, 2022), and students, consequently, might be discouraged from questioning or challenging teachers. Such classroom practices might lead to power differentials between teachers and students, which might be likely to impact some Myanmar EFL learners' classroom silence (Gilhooly, 2015; Win, 2015). Therefore, we put such classroom cultural aspects as teacher–student relationships into perspective when seeking to understand the way EFL verbal learners in Myanmar might interpret the phenomenon of silence in learning English.

Interplay Between Verbal Learners' Characteristics and Silence in EFL Contexts

Verbal learners, in general, are likely to be interpreted as being active in verbal interaction and being less experienced with silent learning. Previous research proposed that talk tends to be dominant in a cohort of Iranian verbal learners' second language learning, and silence seems to be a hindrance to their participation in class (Ahour and Haradasht, 2014; Alcock, 1998). Verbal learners are likely to give prompt voluntary responses to questions raised by the teacher and their peers during group-work activities (Alcock, 1998), indicating that their use of silence might be infrequent.

However, critiques of this viewpoint show that verbal learners do not consistently monopolise classroom discourse, despite the high likelihood of their consistent participation. Research shows that they are willing to give other peers the opportunity to share their opinions (Fadilah et al., 2019; Yashima et al., 2018). Yashima et al.’s (2018) study of Japanese EFL verbal learners is illustrative of this. Their findings show that the verbal students in their study were often reticent to speak first, concerned that if they did so, they might deprive their quieter classmates of opportunities to speak, or to make the same points the verbal students might make. Another notable example is Fadilah et al.’s (2019) study of Indonesian EFL verbal learners' experience of silence in the language learning process. They found that verbal students frequently put ‘brakes’ on their participation in class discussions to listen to others' ideas. These students waited until their classmates had spoken, then included their own agreements or disagreements with what had been shared.

This collective research finds that verbal learners utilise silence intentionally to involve their peers in classroom discussion, as well as to elicit others' ideas for effective ongoing engagement. In other words, they not only give importance to their verbal participation, but also purposefully use silence to encourage others. In our study, we explore verbal learners' classroom experiences regarding the use of silence in their target language learning process and their stated intentions, in the chosen EFL context of Myanmar.

Theoretical Contextualisation

In this work, we drew on the theoretical definitions of silence by Jaworski (1993) as operational to interpret EFL verbal learners' perceptions of classroom silence. He adopts ‘fuzzy categories’ and posits that silence and speech do not lie in total opposition to each other, but rather stand on a continuum. The term ‘fuzzy categories’ refers to the idea that there are blurred boundaries between silence and speech, suggesting that they can coexist and overlap in various contexts (Jaworski, 1993). Jaworski suggests that silence can function as an intentional, meaningful component of dialogue, underscoring the need to discern the underlying intentions that remain ambiguous without further insight. Adopting this theory, our study argues that Jaworski's category of silence as a cooperation element in conversation could have been better interpreted with the analysis of the interlocutor's actual intention behind their silence. This means that the interpretation of silence from verbal learners is typically contingent upon the amount of talk, whether the topic of talk is expected, the speaker's intentionality, and how the talking event is linguistically described (Jaworski, 1993).

We further add to our theoretical framework Kurzon's (1995) notion of ‘silence model intentionality’ to enhance our understanding. In this model, Kurzon (1995: 60–65) posits three possible modal interpretations of silence:

Unintentional silence caused by psychological inhibitions such as shyness or anxiety.

Intentional silence due to the addressee's own choice.

Intentional silence due to an external source.

Reflecting upon Kurzon’s interpretations, we understand that verbal learners who can speak but opt for silence may be influenced by psychological barriers such as shyness and anxiety, as well as by overcrowded classrooms or a focus on rote learning. This decision can also reflect socio-cultural norms that dictate the tolerance for silence, with classroom cultures, such as in Myanmar, with power imbalance between teachers and students that discourage student participation (Gilhooly, 2015; Jaworski, 1993; Rarick and Nickerson, 2006; Wai, 2022).

For our purposes, we seek to build on the work of both Jaworski (1993) and Kurzon (1995) in arguing for deep consideration and interpretation of EFL verbal learners' in-class silent learning experiences, with an eye towards understanding their intentionality as directly expressed. As such, our study hopes to build upon these theoretical foundations as well as to understand the discursive classroom phenomenon in question (the use of silences), especially in a Myanmar context, but also beyond.

Methodology

We employed a qualitative case study methodology (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) in our exploration of how three Myanmar verbal learners perceived and used silence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) tertiary classrooms. Participants for this project were recruited through purposive sampling (Bryman, 2016) via the lead author's professional networks in Myanmar. Questionnaires were distributed to recruit participants based on two criteria: 1) they were identified as learning better through interaction with teachers and peers rather than through listening and silent reflection, and 2) they tended to contribute to classroom interactions rather than remain silent (Alcock, 1998). Out of five participants who responded to the survey, only three met the selection criteria and were subsequently included in the study. We treated this small pool of participants, and their experiences, as a case study that could offer insight on their use of silence. Notwithstanding our participants' gender differences (two women and one man), all had been EFL students for over 13 years (in both ‘traditional’ and ‘progressive’ classrooms), identified as ‘verbal learners’, and came from the Magway Region in central Myanmar.

Following informed consent from participants, the lead author conducted 60-min Zoom interviews with each participant, having distributed the interview questions beforehand for reflection. All interviews were conducted in Burmese and were subsequently audio-recorded, transcribed and translated into English by the lead author, a native Burmese speaker. The English transcripts underwent spot-checking for accuracy by another fluent Burmese/English speaker. Collaboratively, all authors engaged in manual data analysis and contributed to the final article.

Employing thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006), we familiarised ourselves with the data through repeated readings of transcripts, followed by initial coding to identify participant comments and organise them into thematic groups. Themes were refined through iterative revision, naming and analysis of coherent patterns. Drawing from our backgrounds as ESL/EFL educators and learners, we analysed the data while reflecting on our experiences with student silence. This exploration was motivated by our interest in amplifying student voices, guided by our research question (Creswell, 2007).

Findings

Analyses of our data revealed four themes around the phenomenon of silence amongst this case study of three EFL learners. First, the participants perceived that silence facilitates learning English. Second, they recognised that long silent moments caused by their peers in group discussions did not accomplish the group work and negatively affected learning English. Third, they believed that silence which was the result of external factors was frustrating to their pedagogical goals. Fourth, and finally, participants perceived that silence could be supportive of learning.

Utilising Silence Benefits Learning English

Although all three participants (Tun, Hnin and Su, pseudonyms) emphasised the essential role of talk in classroom discussions, they all agreed that silence aided their process of thinking about the lesson content, integrating new knowledge, and honouring the vocal contributions of their peers. Tun, for example, used silence before speaking while ‘organising content to make it relevant to the topic’ and ‘preparing not to make grammatical mistakes’. Su, on the other hand, remained silent because she was ‘trying to understand the difficult topic’ and ‘noting down key words, academic vocabulary, and higher-level sentence structures’. Similarly, Hnin used silence as she needed to check for ‘proper usage of a word’ and ‘pronunciation that I'm not sure about’ while preparing productive verbal output. Such findings appeared to underline the importance of silence for them as verbal learners in their talk preparation.

These participants, who were verbally active students, enjoyed interactions with people. Tun, Hnin and Su all experienced absorbing the richness of ideas and language forms through careful listening to others. For example, Tun shared, ‘I can absorb more information by talking and hearing others' perspectives. Then I can see things from more perspectives, so I can generate more ideas.’

Su also argued that attentive listening enriched new ideas for the specific topic and English usages, commenting, ‘There were some new and fancy ideas for the topic in my peers' contributions. Since I was listening carefully in silence, I could also notice and learn better word choice and sentence structure in their talk.’ Furthermore, Hnin added how quiet listening to others' talk could support her learning, sharing, ‘If they made mistakes in making collocations, I noticed the mistakes and reminded myself not to make them myself.’

The way they applied silence seemed to help raise their understanding of other peers' silence during their talk as cooperation. Su noted, concerning other peers' silence, ‘They are cooperating as listeners.’ Similarly, Hnin also found her peers' silent listening ‘cooperative’ and ‘engaged’. Likewise, Tun mentioned specific non-verbal behaviours of other classmates as being cooperative, such as ‘nodding’, ‘smiling’ and ‘note taking’. Hence, it could be concluded that the participants seemed to attach great importance to the benefits of silence in learning English, even having noted that they generally learned more effectively by talking.

However, all participants also reported that they could effectively think and speak simultaneously, although they realised that talking after silent preparation was more productive. Su and Hnin thought of themselves as ‘more capable’ if they could verbalise simultaneous thoughts. Su shared, ‘Talk with simultaneous thoughts gives me one kind of confidence like, I did it well, too, without preparation.’ Interestingly, Su also appreciated short silence as hesitations and fillers (such as the use of ‘um’, ‘eh’, etc.), which provided her time to think during simultaneous talk. Tun also described that silent thinking prepared a good ‘foundation’ for his verbal output and allowed him to polish his talk to improve it.

Prolonged Silence Affects Learning English

All participants felt that silence could also have a negative impact on English classes when it continued longer than necessary. They seemed to lament the fact that extended silence could impact the learning speed, interaction and spoken English practice in group discussions and the output of the group work.

Tun simply expressed his feelings when he worked with students who needed long moments of silence for thinking, commenting, ‘I feel bored at that moment while waiting for their responses. I feel that the learning process is not moving forward.’ Likewise, Su shared her experiences of how extended silence affected spoken English practice, noting, ‘Since my peers took quite a long time to generate ideas to discuss between the time, I didn't have enough time for spoken English practice.’ Hnin was similarly frustrated during instances where group work was slowed down due to prolonged silence, sharing:

I felt frustrated when my friends took a long time to think about ideas to discuss. When time was up, only my ideas had to be presented. I was not confident about our group output without my peers' ideas, compared with others' group work after they had done a lot of discussion.

Our participants did not have a high level of tolerance for long silences in the class when this negatively affected their learning. Tun suggested, ‘Just think for a few seconds and get the ideas.’ Su elaborated, ‘Group work [is] where we can discuss and share our ideas and thoughts’, implying that this should not involve long silences. Hnin noted, ‘I prefer collecting ideas by discussing them with my peers, rather than just working on a few ideas of my own.’ These feelings were also contingent on participants’ mixed perceptions of whether they saw themselves as verbal learners or silent learners within any given EFL classroom. For example, Tun said, ‘80–85% of students talk in most classes’ while Hnin felt the number was closer to ‘60%’. Thus, when classes fell silent for a few minutes, Tun felt ‘bored’ and ‘awkward’, and Hnin ‘wanted my friends to add to my ideas quickly’. On the other hand, Su mentioned that five out of 10 students were silent in her class. Hence, when moments of silence were extended, Su thought, sympathetically, her peers might be afraid or shy to speak in English.

Silence Influenced by External Factors Causes Frustration

Tun shared that, normally, ‘I always actively share my ideas and ask questions.’ In the same way, Su, in describing herself, commented, ‘I'm never afraid or anxious to talk in class.’ Similarly, Hnin expressed, ‘There is nothing that makes me shy to speak out.’ However, the three participants revealed that there were external factors that occasionally made them feel uncomfortable to engage in verbal participation. Tun assumed that some teachers were likely to feel annoyed with his comments in class, and they sometimes neglected his comments. He shared, ‘I felt that the teacher thought I was against her opinion, and she felt offended. And she just ignored what I said and continued the lesson.’

Su believed that her hesitation in asking questions of teachers might be the result of the high school classroom culture to which she had previously become accustomed, noting:

Although our teachers welcomed questions from us [at university], I've been used to high school culture, where teachers cannot be challenged. So, there was a time when I kept silent, although I really wanted to ask questions.

Hnin revealed that she ‘intentionally did not talk when the teacher neglected her participation and was merely appreciating better responses from another student’. Although participants chose to use silence intentionally so as not to cause annoyance on the part of teachers, they frequently felt ‘frustrated’ (Su) or ‘less motivated’ (Tun and Hnin) since they were verbally active learners who were often otherwise eager to talk.

Apart from teacher reactions, the participants also mentioned peer dynamics as another factor that sometimes influenced their choice to stay silent. Tun illustrated his assumption about other peers' thoughts in relation to his participation by stating that he was mocked and called ‘the Boss’ or ‘the Great’ in public by a group of classmates due to his questioning and commenting habits. In the same way, Su ‘often remained silent, even when peers' points were not reasonable’. Similarly, Hnin believed that her peers sometimes kept silent because they would be ‘ashamed’ if she negatively commented on them. Again, although participants occasionally kept silent intentionally to avoid confrontation with peers, they expressed that this gave them feelings of being ‘inferior’ (Hnin and Tun) and ‘frustrated’ (Su).

Utilising Silence Helps Others to Save Face

In analysing our data, it also became clear that participants sometimes intentionally kept silent in their EFL classes as a face-saving technique. They reported, ‘If they [our classmates] are really participating, at least questions for clarification should come out’ (Tun), ‘I really wanted at least one reaction to my talk from my peers’ (Su), and ‘I don't mind being interrupted during my talk’ (Hnin). However, all participants frequently thought twice before they asked questions or commented on others' contributions. Tun shared, ‘I'm worried that they may not participate actively later when I point out their mistakes.’ Likewise, Hnin and Su reported their concerns about others feeling ‘embarrassed’ if they questioned or gave comments when their classmates were sharing their ideas. Given the fact that the participants intended to save face for others, they purposely chose talking to their peers ‘later privately’ (Tun, Su and Hnin) when they had questions, or they wanted to give comments on their work.

Discussion

Silence Facilitates Verbal Learners' Thinking Practices

In EFL classes, silence can be used as a vital learning tool for students to improve the quality of their inner thoughts, allowing improved verbal output. Aligning with this concept of silence, our participants agreed that silence contributed significantly to their process of inner thinking and the products of their spoken language (King and Harumi, 2020). Particularly, they asserted that they could prepare content ideas with quality use of English and execute numerous cognitive processes during their silent periods. In this sense, verbal learners are not necessarily opposed to learning that employs the use of silence or to silence learners (Bao and Nguyen, 2020; Ollin, 2008). Indeed, our participants' use of productive silence appears to be consistent with Kurzon's discussion on the potential intentional use of silence as a form of active thinking. Silence allowed our participants to produce correct language in terms of structure, grammar, and pronunciation. This demonstrates that silence could facilitate their production of ‘well-baked’ verbal output (Kurzon, 1995). As such, we believe this study adds value to the current literature discussion that self-perceived verbal learners might purposefully use silence for different learning purposes in addition to their regular verbal engagement.

Interestingly, our study participants did not require much private speech rehearsal during their silent preparation time. This seems to challenge the interplay between students' talk and silence in which Bao and Nguyen (2020) emphasise that private speech is predominantly evident in students' minds to support their thinking. In this case, participants did not always require extensive periods of silence before responding verbally. In accordance with Dewaele and Furnham's (2000) findings, verbal learners can sometimes recall and analyse information quickly enough that silence does not always have to be evident in facilitating thinking practices. This implies that rather than assuming that particular traits of learners determine their choice of silence, verbal learners' use of silence should focus on their spectrum of intentionality (Kurzon, 1995).

It is also worth noting, however, that our participants enjoyed verbalising their spontaneous thoughts, which, according to Alcock (1998), is one of the characteristics of verbal learners. This might support the idea that verbal learners do require a minimum level of silence to process their thoughts. As such, it should be understood with caution that in the EFL Myanmar classroom (and beyond), verbal learners may require a certain degree of silence across their EFL studies. However, as analyses of our data seem to indicate, their silent preparation time might be much shorter than that of other students with a stronger predisposition to silence. Rather than ignoring silence, verbal learners purposefully use it to promote their learning. This could be significant for teachers in devising and arranging interactive classroom activities in which silence should be embraced to cater to the needs of various types of learners (Huynh and Adams, 2022).

Additionally, silence was found to be a critical space for our participants to exercise their active listening skills. All participants agreed that rather than dominating other peers by talking, listening to others helped enrich their own ideas, assisted them in relating to a given topic, and pushed their English and grammatical learning forward. These participants argued that they functioned as active listeners to others, and used non-verbal expressions such as nodding, smiling and taking notes to acknowledge others' vocal contributions. This finding seems to contradict the common belief that silence is resistance to speech (Dim, 2013). Indeed, the purposeful use of silence as a learning technique is something that should be further considered and researched amongst verbal and non-verbal learners alike. From the perspective of our participants, the need to stay silent to listen to others is also visible, which further reinforces that silence can play a communicative role while enriching content ideas and language expressions (Jaworski, 1993).

Silence Affects Verbal Learners' Learning

Our participants indicated that prolonged silences encroach upon precious class time needed for practising spoken English, as, to them, it could potentially reduce the pace of learning and the quality of group interactions. In English language learning, silence is multifaceted. It is appreciated by some for aiding contemplation and listening, as noted by Jaworski (1993), yet for others, particularly verbal learners, it can be a source of frustration. Our participants' interpretations of silence align with the idea that low tolerance for silence, as suggested by Kurzon (1995), is contextually dependent and at odds with their expectations of active verbal engagement in group work.

Externally influenced silence, often due to factors such as teacher attitudes and peer reactions, as discussed by researchers including Harumi (2010), King and Harumi (2020), Liu (2002), Choi (2015), Saito et al. (2024) and Win (2015), can also add to learners' frustration. Rather than a reflection of a lack of competence or a pedagogical strategy, this type of silence is a protective measure against social friction or perceived disapproval by figures of authority. Thus, while silence can be intentional, as per Kurzon's (1995) model, it is not always valued by verbal learners, particularly when it does not facilitate learning. Our study highlights the need for teachers, especially in EFL contexts like Myanmar, to discern the intent behind silence and to use it in ways that enhance, rather than impede, learning. This includes adapting responses to both verbal learners and those who express themselves through silence.

Utilising Silence Encourages Peers' Verbal Participation

Despite their frustration with occasionally keeping silent when they otherwise would prefer not to (with extended silences, or externally influenced silence, as noted above), our participants were keenly aware that their silence could be utilised as a facilitating tool to enhance others' participation. They perceived that if they merely listened silently when their introverted peers were sharing their ideas, it might facilitate their peers' future participation, to the benefit of all. They also thought that, on occasion, their questions and comments might make their quieter peers feel embarrassment. To save face for their quieter peers, our participants chose to speak privately to them to offer contributions, questions and comments. This implied that they understood their silence as an encouragement to others' verbal output. In other words, it could be assumed that their silence was communicative as an encouragement for others. This finding is consistent with Jaworski's (1993) categories of silence, supporting his notion that silence can play a communicative role depending on the expectation of the context. In this case, participants' silence was found necessary for the continuous flow of their introverted peers' talk and later participation.

It could also be important to note that intentional silence of this sort might support verbal learners' own learning in this more indirect way: avoid too many comments that might embarrass, share feedback later privately, increase the confidence of peers, peers will speak more, lengthened silences are reduced, everyone's learning improves. Our participants described themselves as verbal learners who required talk and interactions for their learning (Alcock, 1998; Dewaele and Furnham, 2000). According to Alcock (1998), verbal learners are very enthusiastic to listen to others to synthesise ideas and develop their own thoughts. This might imply that silence during their peers' talk could be with the intention of facilitating as many ideas as possible from their peers to support their own learning. Therefore, it is important to interpret verbal learners' perspectives on silence not only in terms of their characteristics, but also their deliberate contribution towards learning for all (Kurzon, 1995).

Implications and Conclusion

While this study focused on the use of student silence by one small case study group of verbal learners in a particular context (tertiary EFL classes in Myanmar), we feel our findings can be considered more broadly, as well as adding to theories of silence and learning. In terms of practice, in the Myanmar context and beyond, our findings and insights might be of use to EFL teachers, verbal learners and non-verbal learners alike. Teachers might, for example, consider extending their pedagogical repertoire by purposefully and strategically employing silence in ways that foster more student thinking and give them time to formulate and deliver more extensive utterances. Students might consider expanding their pedagogical repertoire and learning habits by purposefully employing or accepting silence in ways that might assist both verbal and less-verbal learners. Additionally, our finding that prolonged moments of silence sometimes negatively affect group activities might prompt Myanmar EFL teachers to develop silence training by not only including reflective activities but also facilitating outcomes (Bao, 2023). This might lead to reducing unproductive moments in group activities in EFL classrooms. Importantly, the findings could inform English language teaching (ELT) coursebook writers of the need to customise textbooks to benefit EFL students with diverse learning styles.

This study, of course, has limitations. While this was a small-scale research project, and all three of our participants were situated in Myanmar, the extent to which we can generalise our findings is limited. These research outcomes may or may not be consistent with the experiences of other EFL verbal learners in Myanmar or other Asian countries, or beyond (Bryman, 2016). However, when our findings are combined with other similar case study research, a broader understanding of how these types of learners use silence in EFL contexts might develop. Yet, even if this work only serves as a qualitative baseline measure of these three students in this specific EFL setting, we have raised important questions and thus contributed to the literature, theory and practice of the potential use of silence when teaching English as a Foreign Language.

This study investigated how one group of tertiary level self-identified verbal learners understood the role of silence in EFL classrooms in Myanmar. We found that silence benefited such students' inner thinking for preparing content and language before actual verbal output, and that participants appreciated attentively listening to others' contributions. Our findings suggest that EFL classrooms should address the issues of silence more sensitively by considering its impact on all students. We also demonstrated that this group of verbal learners acknowledged that classroom silence, for them, supported learning (their own as well as the learning of their less-verbal peers). They perceived silent behaviours paired with attentive listening as cooperative, yet they showed their frustrations with prolonged silence and staying silent for the purpose of avoiding social confrontation. Our participants' understandings and perceptions of silence aligned with Jaworski's (1993) categories, and the analysis to understand participants' intentionality of utilising silence informed by Kurzon's (1995) model was evident. Notably, in this study, the use of silence with the intention of listening, cognitive processing and avoiding confrontation is consistent with the most prototypical silence, which is seen as the absence of speech yet still having communicative values.