Abstract

The “silent classroom” phenomenon in Japan has been persisting despite decades of policy reforms in its English education geared toward adapting communicative approaches and producing more global human resources. Intending to examine the socio-cultural factors that deter Japanese high school students from conversing in English, this grounded theory study focuses on the roles of cultural values, the dynamics of the classroom, and the structures of educational institutions that conspire to silence students. The findings highlight the complex social, cultural, psychological, and institutional factors that underpin Japanese students’ resistance to English spoken in the classroom. Grounded theory made it clear that silence is not simply the absence of speech or a sign of linguistic inadequacy, but is, instead, an adaptive, culturally permitted response that is deeply woven into the educational and social fabric of Japan. The Cultural Weight of Silence theory reveals that students’ quietude is both a kind of shield and a statement of risk management, social alignment, and institutional contradiction. It turns upside down the simple and deficit-oriented narratives depicting Japanese learners of English as passive, shy, or unconfident. It provokes a deeper reflection on the essence of communication, emphasizing silence as not just the absence of sound but the presence of something that has as much meaning as a talk. Genuine effort to uplift the level of communicative competence in Japan must go well beyond instruction in the technicalities of the language. It must confront head-on and change, if only slightly, the cultural architecture of Japan’s classrooms. It must do something so far unrealized: challenge the institutional structures that keep so many living and learning in unfortunate silence. Details of the theory as by byproduct of this study and the implications are also discussed in the paper.