Controversy
There is controversy as to whether there is such a defined silent period of active learning. Studies in support of a silent period have used variable methods and definitions of silence. Some define it as the absence of any L2, while others define it as the absence of productive syntax in L2. Moreover, these studies were conducted across variable settings , and report a big range in the length of silent periods. Ultimately, even if these studies did properly established a non-verbal phase, there is still a lack of evidence that it involves active learning, as opposed to general incomprehension or shyness. The general concept of the silent period also seems at odds with the communicative nature of language and language acquisition.In language teaching
Strategies teachers can use to help children who are in the silent period include: asking the child to teach you words in their language, having children draw a picture of their family and then asking them for details, watching the children on the playground to see if there is any verbalization outside of the classroom, having the children use their bodies to mime what they want to communicate, and asking children to draw what they are trying to say. General support for a silent period of active learning leads to certain implications in language teaching. Educators are less likely to expect engagement from L2 learners early on in acquisition, and might not try to elicit speech from L2 learners . However, if the silent period is not empirically founded, or if it reflects general incomprehension or shyness rather than active learning, then these pedagogical methods have to be reevaluated. The silent period has been used inNotes
{{Reflist, refs= {{cite journal , author-last=Saville-Troike , author-first=M. , title=Private speech: Evidence for second language learning strategies, during the "silent period" , journal=Journal of Child Language , date=1988 , volume=15 , issue=3 , pages=567–590 , doi=10.1017/s0305000900012575, pmid=3198723 {{cite book , publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Administration on Children, Youth and Families, (ACYF) , title=Head Start bulletin # 78. English language learners. , date=2005 {{cite journal , author-last=Paradis , author-first1=J. , title=Second language acquisition in childhood , journal=Blackwell Handbook of Language Development , pages=387–405 {{cite book , author-last=Tabors , author-first=P. O. , title=One child, two languages: A guide for preschool educators of children, learning English as a second language. {{cite journal , author-last=Roberts , author-first=T. A. , title=Not so silent after all: Examination and analysis of the silent stage in childhood second language acquisition , journal=Early Childhood Research Quarterly , date=2014 , volume=29 , issue=1 , pages=22–40 , doi=10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.09.001 Language-teaching methodology Second-language acquisition