Silence and speech are used
differently according to the cultures. In America, teachers encourage students
to discuss and ask questions in class. Teachers believe that the active
atmosphere would help the students to learn more quickly and effectively. If
the class is silent, most teachers would feel awkward and do not know what to
do. They started to doubt whether their teaching is boring or not.
However, the atmosphere in
Vietnamese classes is absolutely silent. Talking in the class is regarded as disrespect
and impolite to teachers. It also interrupts the orders in class. The students
only ask questions after class or when the teachers allow them to. This makes
some students become shy and afraid to talk in class. When teachers ask
questions, although they know the answers, they don’t speak up unless teachers
call their name.
The difference of learning atmosphere
often confuses many foreign teachers in Vietnam. While the teacher happily
discusses the lesson, Vietnamese students just keep silent, sit still and fix their
eyes on the teacher. Some foreign teachers, who don’t know about the Vietnamese
positive attitude of silence, feel unhappy and start questioning about students’
behavior.
Silence, different than speech, conveys many meanings. It shows respects, creates personal distance, and represents emotions. Silence, however, sounds differently in different areas and cultures.
Wow, this was really interesting thuy! I never knew that silence was interpreted that way in your culture. I enjoyed reading this, it's always good to learn about other cultures and how they interpret silence.
ReplyDeleteI remember our professor saying that teachers wait a few seconds before answering their own question because it starts to get awkward. Some classes need silence in order for teachers to teach, like science classes. For English classes, interpretation is important and different from person to person, and it is difficult to convey interpretation without speech. I didn't realize how important silence was in Vietnamese culture.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to hear about how silence was used in Vietnamese class rooms. I believe that the classes in America are a lot more relaxed than most countries because the students do not simply answer questions when called upon but also joke around with the teacher. I think culture roles factor greatly into this as well as the different learning styles employed.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you agree with this Thuy, but as a science major there are few classes that encourage us to speak up and answer questions. Most of the time, we are expected to sit there and remain silent as they provide us with all the information we need. Therefore, it is even hard for me to speak up in classes that ask for participation because I am used to listening only in terms of respect. Thus, I understand where you are coming from except your case may be a little more difficult to cope with and this is your culture, not just because of science!
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