Beyond anxiety and face: strategic silence as instrumental disengagement in a Chinese graduate EAP Reading classroom

Silence in East Asian English classrooms has traditionally been attributed to "anxiety" and "face." However, these factors may not sufficiently explain silence in our graduate EAP reading classroom where the course was deliberately designed as a four-week intensive module to teach essential academic reading skills while minimizing the burden on students. Yet despite this careful design, silence remained pervasive. This study is to test the hypothesis that silence in this obligatory, condensed EAP situation is a calculated strategy shaped by students' perceived value of the course. Any academic requirement unrelated to their core research direction is perceived as unworthy of substantial time or energy investment.

A mixed-method approach was adopted. Survey analysis quantified and evaluated the relative predictive power of Perceived Course Value, Reading Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy on Silence Propensity. Focused group discussion investigated how students themselves rationalize their silence.

Reading Anxiety and Perceived Course Value scored a mean of 3.47 (SD = 0.69), 2.80 (SD = 1.05). Both exhibited a positive correlation with Silence Propensity (Perceived Course Value: r = 0.507, p < 0.01; Reading Anxiety r = 0.229, p < 0.01). Correlations among other variable pairs failed to reach statistical significance. The interaction term between Course Value Perception and Self-Efficacy is not significant in predicting silence tendency (B = - 0.0300, t = - 0.3202, p = 0.7494). Together, the three predictors-Perceived Course Value, Reading Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy-explained 31.6% of the variance in Silence Propensity (R ² = 0.316). Qualitative data demonstrated multifaceted reasons for the low ratings of the course.

Perceived Course Value was the strongest predictor of Silence Propensity. The non-significant correlation between Self-Efficacy and Silence Propensity is further addressed in the Discussion. The quantitative and qualitative evidence taken together presents a comprehensive depiction of EAP classroom silence, highlighting "rational disengagement" as a key mechanism and providing an alternative interpretation to the traditional diagnostic of "cultural shyness" in this specific EAP context.