Listen to the silence - it speaks: understanding Chinese university student perceptions of silence during intercultural communication

The overall goal of this study was to understand the role that silence plays when university students engage in intercultural communication interactions. Twenty college students at California State University, Chico (CSUC): ten international Chinese and ten Americans were interviewed about perceptions of silence in the classroom, and how silence is managed or negotiated. Qualitative interviews were conducted in the subjects’ native languages by the bilingual researcher. The responses were analyzed and trends identified using grounded theory. The findings revealed American and Chinese respondents defined the nature of silence differently. An iceberg analogy was constructed to discuss the influences and implications of the different perceptions of silence between the two cultures. English proficiency, the nature of the background educational system, and the native cultures were three themes which unified the findings and their implications. Although English proficiency was one of the most apparent causes, the prior school experience and, ultimately, cultural differences may be much more important influences to silence in culturally diverse conversations and communication in the classroom, but more difficult to ascertain. In a theoretical sense, this research may help the development of intercultural understanding in communication. In a practical sense, its implication offers the teachers, course planners, academic advisers, international student advisors, and students themselves a new way of understanding Chinese students’ communication style.