Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Full Professor in Department of Linguistics. Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
2 PhD Candidate of Linguistics, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract
This study investigates silence as a discursive strategy in educational English conversations from a pragmatic, Conversation Analysis (CA) perspective. Drawing on 15 hours of naturally occurring classroom interaction from fourth-year undergraduate EFL seminars at the University of Al-Qadisiyah (27 students, ages 21-22), we examine how silence is positioned and oriented to within three key sequential environments: post-question gaps, pre-dispreferred responses, and repair spaces. Video-audio recordings were transcribed using ten Have’s (2007) conventions with fine-grained timing and multimodal notes (e.g., gaze, gesture). Analyses show that post-question gaps, when coupled with withheld evaluation or minimal continuers, are treated as invitations to elaborate, redistributing epistemic work to learners. Brief delays before disagreement operate as face-management buffers, licensing hedging and reason-giving that render stance shifts pedagogically productive. Silences surrounding trouble in hearing/understanding function as repair slots and search spaces, supporting concise teacher repeats and learner recognition/uptake that secure intersubjectivity with minimal disruption. Across environments, the pragmatic import of silence is evidenced through next-turn proof in participants’ subsequent actions. We argue that silence in these classrooms is not absence but a recipient-designed resource that coordinates knowledge, face, and progressivity. Implications include micro-pedagogical practices and CA-informed materials that normalize repair and elaboration.
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