Up and Away - National Council for Curriculum and Assessment

24
The Silent (or non-verbal) Period
Children who find themselves immersed in a new world of meaningless words will often take time to
regain a sense of control over social interactions.
The typical stages are:
1. Continuing to use the mother tongue.
2. Not talking at all.
If they try 1 and it fails to bring results, they may then lapse into 2.
Younger children tend to maintain their silence for longer periods than older children.
Children find alternative means of communicating during their silence by:
✓
✓
✓
Physically turning to teacher to attract attention.
Bringing/holding up objects to show comprehension.
Using facial expressions to indicate feelings.
Bringing objects to seek help.
Looking upset or whimpering when unhappy.
Joining in fun by imitating other children.
Actively observing the activities of other children.
! Points to remember!
Children in the Silent Period stop TALKING but do not stop COMMUNICATING.
Watch ‘silent’ children and you will quickly learn to understand their non-verbal communication.
Watch out for other children imitating the ‘silence’.
The observation checklist on the next page allows the teacher to monitor a child’s responses and reactions
in the absence of verbal communication.
If the teacher identifies that the child is carrying out any of the behaviours listed in the checklist and that
there is steady development in the child’s engagement in the classroom, then he/she may assume that this
period will come to an end when the child is ready to communicate orally.
A Silent Period is common in language learning
and does not necessarily indicate a learning
problem.
Emphasising the situation by referring the child
for psychological assessment can make the
matter worse.
When children emerge from the Silent Period
they demonstrate the learning that has taken
place.
Be careful about assuming that there is a
learning problem.
Several OECD studies in European countries
reported that:
‘There is an overrepresentation of foreign
children in special needs education’.