Gundarina, O

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This is a repository copy of Perspectives on the ‘silent period’: evidence from migrant EAL learners in England.White Rose Research Online URL for this paper:http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/163439/Version: Accepted VersionConference or Workshop Item:Gundarina, O orcid.org/0000-0003-1548-4565 (Accepted: 2020) Perspectives on the ‘silentperiod’: evidence from migrant EAL learners in England. In: The University of Leeds Language Centre Summer Slow Conference, 31 Jul - 21 Aug 2020, University of Leeds: Leeds, UK. This is an author produced version of a presentation given at the The University of Leeds Language Centre Summer Slow Conference.eprints@whiterose.ac.ukhttps://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing eprints@whiterose.ac.uk including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request.  Perspectives on the ͚silent period͛: evidence from migrant EAL learners in England  The University of Leeds Language Centre Summer Slow Conference 31st July- 21st August 2020  Dr Olena Gundarina ORCID  Twitter: @DrGundarina o.gundarina@leeds.ac.uk  The Language Centre University of Leeds ͻ The experiences and personality development of Russian-speaking migrant pupils in English primary schools (Gundarina, 2019) ͻ Early stages of immersion - the ͚silent͛, ͚ non-verbal͛ period (Conteh & Brock, 2006) or the ͚silent phase͛ (Clarke, 1999; Tabors, 1997)    ͻ Communication studies (Kenny, 2018) to psychoanalysis as part of ͚identity-formation process͛ (Granger, 2004, p. 6) and linguistics (Jaworski, 1993) ͻ Originates from SLA research with a duration of 6 months (Krashen, 1985, p. 9) up to over a year (Bligh, 2014; Krashen, 1989) ͻ It is accepted to be temporary (Le Pichon & de Jonge, 2016).  ͻ Pupils keep quiet in school  ͻ Avoid both verbal and non-verbal communication in school even in their L1 (first or dominant language) (Siraj-Blatchford & Clarke, 2000)  1 - Is it a 'problem'?  ͻ Segmented and dynamic, and essential for ͚ self-mediated learning  ͛(Bligh and Drury, 2015, p. 259)  ͻ Can be the pupils͛ unavoidable strategy, a ͚ survival reaction to an indifferent or even hostile atmosphere͛ exemplified by their hesitation to participate in class discussions (Safford & Costley, 2008, p. 140). ͻ Given the inherent complexity, the main challenge of this period is that it can be easily misinterpreted by adults (Jones, 2015; Skinner, 2010) being conflated with or covering learning needs (Conteh & Brock, 2006). Perceptions of the 'silent period'  ͻ Among pre-schoolers, four stages of the ͚ silent period͛ are identified (Tabors, 1997, p. 37), comprising speaking in L1, realising not being able to understand new L2, becoming silent, using new L2, speaking the L2 freely.  ͻ ͚coping mechanism͛ and as a cultural manifestation of ͚ Asian identity͛ which was perceived positively by the teachers (Yamat et al., 2013, p. 1342). ͻ Strategically masking students͛ L2 proficiency level (Monzó and Rueda, 2009, p. 37) ͻ Complex, intricate and only seemingly inactive nature.  ͻ Underexplored with neither an integrated interdisciplinary view on it (Le Pichon & de Jonge, 2016) nor a general lack of consensus on its nature (Granger, 2004).   Theoretical framework    2 - McAdams' Personality Development theory (2015a; 2015b; 2015c)  ͻ Goffman (1956) defined people͛s social behaviour as performances.  ͻ Highlight sociocultural environment, psychological dimension and pupils͛ agency through their social ͚performances ,͛ assuming pupils as social actors uniquely performing their emotions through their actions in everyday social life (McAdams, 2015a, 2015b, 2015c).  ͻ Migrant pupils are seen as social actors uniquely performing their emotions through their actions in everyday social life:  - overt (observed) and covert (reported) performances,  - emotions acted out in an L2 school environment. Method of data collection and data sample    3 - Cases' information Creative elicitation techniques and data analysis    Gundarina, O. in print. Interviews with creative techniques: research with Russian-speaking migrant pupils. International Journal of Research and Method in Education.  ͻ NVivo 11/Plus  ͻ Thematic (Creswell and Poth, 2016; LeCompte and Schensul, 2010; Bazeley, 2009)  ͻ Logic models technique: ͚ matching empirically observed events to theoretically predicted events ,͛ i.e. based on the existing theoretical categories (Yin, 2014, p.155).  4 - Example of 'logic models' technique Research question The aim is to explore the social behaviour of migrant pupils, based on Russian-speaking migrant pupils at Key Stage 2 How do migrant pupils express their social in-school behaviour in English primary schools?  Findings ͻ In-class behaviour  ͻ Out-of-class behaviour  ͻ Children͛s voices Theme: In-class behaviour  Reticence in class   Teachersげ views and emotional safety   Avoidance of communication (Siraj-Blatchford & Clarke, 2000).   Social isolation   Theme: Out-of-class behaviour     Theme: Children's voices 'Do not want to attract attention' ͚I won't raise my hand. I am scared.͛  (Rita, 11 y.o. 2017) ͚Knew the answers but kept quiet.͛  (Rita, 11 y.o., 2016). The teacher calls on Rita and she answers, ͚ Scary.͛ Teacher, ͚ Scary?͛ And then someone shouts out, correcting Rita, ͚SCARED!͛ to which Rita blushes and keeps quiet. (Observations)   L: What do you do, if you can't do something? Do you tell your teacher? K: No. L: Do you just keep quiet?  K: Yes yes yes. (Katerina, 7 y.o, 2016) Do you play by herself or with somebody else? A: By myself.  (Alisa, 8 y.o., 2017) L: When in Belarus, you also didn't want to present or perform? Y: No, I wanted. It's just here I don't know the language so well, and I am afraid to read something incorrectly.  (Yulia, 10 y.o., 2017) The けSilent periodげ (Bligh and Drury, 2015; Drury, 2013; Conteh and Brock, 2006; Krashen, 1985) or the けsilent actげ?  ͻ Following (Goffman, 1956, p. 16) and McAdams (2015a), pupils as social actors, exhibited their performances through a unique but also common among cases quiet and submissive けroutineげ part of their personal けfrontげ (McAdams, 2015a, p. 32).  ͻ These routines, as the data suggested, may, therefore, be interpreted as an ͚ act͛, highlighting children͛s own deliberate actions, aimed at avoidance of undesirable for them situations (e.g. fear or embarrassment linked with L2).  The 'silent act'  ͻ Describes migrant primary level children͛s in-class behaviour. It is characterised by: - conscious,  - deliberate  - recurrent nature,  ͻ And exhibited as:  - outward submissiveness,  - quietness and  - reticence ͻ These seem to be caused by L2-related:  - fear,  - perceived lack of support,  - communication and solitude/inclusion issues. ͻ It is still unclear what the disbenefits and potential benefits may be, as e.g. some positive attributes of shyness described by Chen et al. (2013).  ͻ The 'act' seemed neither productive nor in overtly beneficial.  Conclusions and further directions  ͻ The ͚silent period͛ should not be taken for granted as an aspect of LL or ͚natural͛ character, as it may be students͛ enactment of the けsilent actげ, i.e. submissiveness as an adopted pattern of behaviour and may signify underlying issues in learning (e.g. social isolation, avoidance of L2 experiences).  ͻ This period needs to be valued and pupils should not be pressurised to speak (Crosse, 2007).  ͻ New avenues of potential research may include  - case studies of the in-class behaviour of Russian-speaking migrants across countries (a comparative case study)  - a comparison of cases of other speakers across countries - a study among adult learners in EAP context?  How can we (if at all) apply these findings to EAP?  What is your take on teaching EAP and potential silences of EAP students?   References Bazeley, P. 2009. Analysing Qualitative Data: More Than 'Identifying Themes'. Malaysian Journal of Qualitative research. 2, pp.6-22. Bligh, C. 2014. The Silent Experiences of Young Bilingual Learners: A Sociocultural Study into the Silent Period. Leiden: Brill. Bligh, C. and Drury, R. 2015. Perspectives on the ͞ Silent Period͟ for Emergent Bilinguals in England. Journal of Research in Childhood Education. 29(2), pp.259-274. Chen, S., Adams, J., Qu, Z., Wang, Z. and Chen, L. 2013. Parental migration and children ͛s academic engagement: The case of China. International Review of Education. 59(6), pp.693ʹ722. Choi, L.L.S. 2016. A Support Program for English as an Additional Language Nursing Students. Journal of Transcultural Nursing. 27(1), pp.81-85. Clarke, P. 1999. Investigating Second Language Acquisition in Preschools: A Longitudinal Study of Four Vietnamese? Speaking Children͛s Acquisition of English in a Bilingual Preschool. International Journal of Early Years Education. 7(1), pp.17ʹ24. Conteh, J. and Brock, A. 2006. Introduction: Principles and Practices for Teaching Bilingual Learners. Promoting Learning for Bilingual Pupils 3ʹ11: Opening Doors to Success.  1 Oliver's Yard,  55 City Road,  London    EC1Y 1SP  United Kingdom: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp.1-12. Creswell, J.W. and Poth, C.N. 2016. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. London: Sage. Crosse, K. 2007. Introducing English as an Additional Language to Young Children.   Paul Chapman Publishing, a SAGE Publications Company. Drury, R. 2013. How silent is the ͚ Silent Period  ͛for young bilinguals in early years settings in England? European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. 21(3), pp.380-391. Gillham, B. 2000. Case study research methods. London: Continuum Goffman, E. 1956. The presentation of self in everyday life. London: Penguin Group. Granger, C.A. 2004. Silence in Second Language Learning: A Psychoanalytic Reading.  Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. Gundarina, O. 2019. The experiences and personality development of Russian-speaking migrant pupils in English primary schools. PhD thesis, University of Leeds. Gundarina, O. forthcoming. Interviews with creative techniques: research with Russian-speaking migrant pupils. International Journal of Research and Method in Education.  Jaworski, A. 1993. The power of silence: social and pragmatic perspectives. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage. Jones, S.J. 2015. Newcomer pupils in Northern Ireland: a pastoral perspective. Pastoral Care in Education. 33(3), pp.154-160. Kenny, C. 2018. The power of silence silent communication in daily life.  2 ed. London: Routledge. Krashen, S.D. 1985. The input hypothesis: issues and implications.  London: Longman. Krashen, S.D. 1989. Language acquisition and language education: extensions and applications.  New York; London: Prentice Hall International. Le Pichon, E. and de Jonge, M. 2016. Linguistic and psychological perspectives on prolonged periods of silence in dual-language learners. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism.  19(4), pp.426-441. LeCompte, M.D. and Schensul, J.J. 2010. Designing and Conducting Ethnographic Research: An Introduction Ethnographer's toolkit 1.  Altamira Press. McAdams, D.P. 2015a. The Art and Science of Personality Development.  Guilford Publications. McAdams, D.P. 2015b. Three lines of personality development: A conceptual itinerary. European Psychologist. 20(4), pp.252-264. McAdams, D.P. 2015c. Tracing Three Lines of Personality Development. Research in Human Development. 12(3-4), pp.224-228. Monzó, L.D. and Rueda, R. 2009. Passing for English fluent: Latino immigrant children masking, language proficiency. Anthropology and Education Quarterly. 40, pp.20ʹ40. Safford, K. and Costley, T. 2008. ͚I didn't speak for the first year͛: Silence, Self-Study and Student Stories of English Language Learning in Mainstream Education. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching. 2(2), pp.136-151. Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Clarke, P. 2000. Supporting identity, diversity and language in the early years.  Open University Press. Skinner, B. 2010. English as an Additional Language and initial teacher education: views and experiences from Northern Ireland. Journal of Education for Teaching. 36(1), pp.75-90. Tabors, P.O. 1997. One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for Preschool Educators.  Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes. Yamat, H., Fisher, R. and Rich, S. 2013. Young Malaysian children͛s silence in a multicultural classroom. In: ScienceDirect 13th International Educational Technology Conference. Procedia ʹ  Social and Behavioural Sciences, pp.1337ʹ1343. Yin, R.K. 2014. Case Study Research.  SAGE Publications.  Images credit: The silent period: Image source Definition: Image source Problem: Image source EAP: Image source Questions: Image source Silent period: Image source Comments: Image source Acknowledgements Thanks are due to the University of Leeds School of Education International Research Scholarship for supporting this research and to my supervisors, Dr James Simpson and Dr Lou Harvey.  

Perspectives on the ‘silent period’: evidence from migrant EAL learners in England

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Perspectives on the ‘silent period’: evidence from migrant EAL learners in England

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