Institutional Repository | Satya Wacana Christian University: A Study of Teachers' Perception of Students' Silence in English Department

ABSTRACT
The controversy of students’ silence between western and eastern perspectives are
still happening until now. Some people believe that students’ silence is positive because it is
one of learning strategies and indicate students’ comprehension. In contrast, some people say
students’ silence is negative because they just sit down in the class, do nothing, do not care
about the lessons and do not answer the questions. This study was needed to explore teachers’
perception of students’ silence in Indonesia, especially in English Department. As a result,
the beliefs of teachers of students’ silence can be shared and they can have different strategies
in dealing with. This study used qualitative approach to describe the findings and interviews
to explore teachers’ perspective. The result of this study showed that some English
Department teachers had different perspectives of students’ silence. Three major perspectives
were found in this study. Some teachers say students’ silence is positive, some say it is
negative and the rest say neutral about this term.
Key words: students’ silence, teachers’ perspective, positive-negative-neutral belief.