Extract
[...] However, in a distinction between the perception of silence in the West and in Northeast Asia, Marianne Milhaud returns to the essential role of sociocultural and educational contexts in the perception of silence. Social norms are sometimes present in the classroom. On the Western side, discourse is favored at the expense of the perception of silence. As the author points out, in reference to Adam Jaworski, making silence an exclusively negative concept is an error. It is therefore necessary to reconsider silence to open up to its value, its meaning. [...]
[...] Milhaud, 2018) The association of silence and politeness is indeed an integral part of the socio-cultural life of Asians, including in class where social norms are invited. Marianne Milhaud attempts to understand the passive attitude of Asian learners by focusing her reflection mainly on the class group, on the students from which she analyzes the testimonies. However, in FLE language classes in Northeast Asia, this passive attitude also results from the implementation and application of inappropriate teaching methods (Eunja LEE, 2017) as well as the lack of interest in organizing French classes in secondary school (Lee Kun Nim, 2011). [...]
[...] Thus, the author highlights the complexity of silence, which is often relegated to the background. In her article, she presents silence as a means of communication also endowed with many positive traits. In fact, in the context of FLE learning for Koreans, silence can be the object of a positive use by the teacher in the framework of learning, for example to introduce a waiting time in favor of a more effective participation of the learners. This silence, of an interactive type, can thus become a learning tool with multiple characteristics. [...]
[...] This situation, of course, calls into question the learning techniques in application, and even the entire educational system. She is right to specify that the fault does not directly lie with the teachers, but rather with a lack of understanding of the possible origins of this silence. However, I find it a bit simplistic when Marianne Milhaud, following testimonies from Korean students, suggests that the choice of an uninteresting subject encourages silence. It's just one reason. It's still worth noting that every student, from the East or the West, has experienced this problem in secondary school or at university. [...]
[...] Today, French has become an indispensable tool of communication. « The cultural, economic, professional needs of Korean learners must take into account this reality. (Lee Kun Nim, 2011) Despite positive developments, the teaching of the French language in Korea still lacks clearly defined content, practice, and effectiveness. The discrimination in learning French in secondary education a fortiori leads to a problem of knowledge for learners in our universities who experience in class the hazards developed in Marianne Milhaud's article. However, another defect resulting from this lack of recognition of French affects learners, namely the absence of fixed pedagogical objectives, of adequate didactic methodologies. [...]
