Don't fear silence
In both content classrooms and language classrooms, it has been found that teachers seem 'to become anxious if their questions are followed by silence' (Nunan and Lamb, 1996: 84). These authors quote research suggesting that tutors tend to wait only a second for a response to their question, before rephrasing it, replying themselves or employing some similar strategy to fill the void:
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We believe that it is particularly important for second language students to have sufficient time to think about questions before being required to answer them. However, we also acknowledge the fact that, from the perspective of managing the learning process, silence tends to break up the flow of lessons. |
My own response to this would be that you have only to think of the embarrassed silence which falls after an audience of lecturers has been invited to ask questions after a lecture, before the debate gets off the ground. All listeners need time to process the input they have received, before they are able to comment on it. Try extending your pauses just a little and you may reap dividends.
