Why do many students appear reluctant to participate in classroom learning discourse

Abstract Teachers sometimes comment on East Asian students' reluctance to adopt active speech roles in classrooms. In two large-scale surveys conducted at the University of Hong Kong, however, students gave no evidence of such reluctance. They expressed a liking for communicative work at school and a preference for university classes in which students do most of the talking. What is the cause, then, of the reticence that some teachers have observed? The surveys indicate that most students have enjoyed inadequate speaking opportunities at school, where “listening to teacher” has been their most frequent classroom experience. Many have low confidence in their ability to speak without prior planning. Although most see no conflict between speaking English and their Chinese identity, many feel unease when speaking it. This unease is often reinforced by students' anxiety to speak well and some teachers' error treatment techniques. Schoolteachers need to provide more and better contexts for students to develop oral English skills and use these skills in active learning roles in the classroom. Tertiary teachers need to develop strategies for encouraging students to step into the active learning roles which both sides seem to want. These practical implications will be explored further in the paper.