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Table of Contents

Introduction Background Areas of Research Hypothesis Methodology Data presentation and analysis Summary of Research Findings Recommendation Conclusion Work citation

2 3 6 6 7 8 20 21 22 23

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Introduction
In most cases, when we have a question in class, when we do not understand a certain topic, we hesitate to ask the teacher the very instance confusion arises in our head regarding the teaching material. Many students do not feel like responding in class even when they have realized that their teacher has made a mistake, they choose to keep quiet. My study is concerned with the students of North South University, one of the leading private universities in Bangladesh as I try to identify the variables which act as a barrier between the students and their attempt to speak up in class. Not just the students of North South University but among students of all ages; schools, colleges and universities, this unwritten law exist where students are hesitant in the class room. The purpose of this research is to find out the mindset of students when they are about to raise a question, what goes in their head when they stand in front of the whole class to ask his/her question. Students appear to think twice before participating, they are very reluctant to go stand in front of the class. Why is that? Is it the students who have made an assumption in their head that makes them reluctant to speak up or is it the teachers that make them hesitant. This research will vaguely depend on the use of primary data as this research only relates to North South University students so secondary sources will be of little or no use. Secondary research will fail to answer the research question directly but some secondary data will be used to know about the students living in other countries and their perspective relating the research topic. I decided on this topic because it struck me as I myself face a certain dilemma to stand in class. This is a way for me to find out that whether the other students feel the same way in class as I do. This research might allow the students to reach a ground level which will enable them to remove their dilemma regarding class participation.

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Background

According to Graham, Tripp and Joeckel (2007), a students education is not confined to books but also to his or her perception of the material taught by the teacher (p. 234). The students perception that Graham was talking about not only depends on the students themselves but also on the capability of the teachers to portray their message to the students who are facing him with books and copies opened at their desks. Education is a give and take process, it needs feedback; the teacher needs to know whether his students understood the lecture and the students need to be cleared out whenever a confusion arises during a lecture. This can only be accomplished by an open communication. The fastest feedback a teacher can get informing him that his students have understood is by asking the students then and there and the students replying a yes or no to the teachers query. But unfortunately it is not as simple as it appears. In a survey conducted at the Department of English in Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Hong Kong by Ngar-Fun Liu and William Littlewood which was published in the online periodical Why do many students appear reluctant to participate in classroom learning discourse? (1998), the researcher found that many students have low confidence in their ability to speak without prior planning. Although most see no conflict between speaking English, many feel unease when speaking it. This unease is often reinforced by students' anxiety to speak well and some teachers' error treatment techniques. (p. 371). Many students are reluctant to speak up, mostly students of countries like Bangladesh where children are bought up with strict and conservative culture. Students of western countries however does on face the attributes that discourages a Bangladeshi student to speak up and so students of western cultures are seen to communicate with their teachers or participate in class with less anxiety. NgarFun Liu and William Littlewood (1998), after their research findings, commented, In 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. (p. 371). However the scene is not

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the same among students of Bangladeshi universities which is one of the factors that drove this research in order to find out the deficiencies or the factors that Bangladeshi students faces which discourages class participation as opposed to their western counterparts. Shyness is one factor that discourages a students involvement in class participation. Shyness is universal. Everyone possesses it at varying levels and experiences it at one time or the other. Considering the very role of students' shyness in education, a study has been undertaken to identify the shyness present in the secondary school students and to know about the influence of certain variables on it. The ninth class students are moderately shy. The variables such as gender, parents, occupation, parents' income, and academic achievement have their influence on student shyness, but the medium of instruction, management of the school, parents' education, and number of siblings in the family have no influence on student shyness. (Vanaja, Latha and Rao, 2004, pg. 1) Shyness not only undermines a students capability to speak up in class but also affects a students grade. In an article by Diane (2000), her study shows that shy students are considered less competent. Although shyness is not related to intelligence, shyness affects a student's overall educational experience negatively. Shyness becomes an important issue in the classroom when students are evaluated, in part, on their classroom participation. In fact, research indicates that shy students who attend college will have significantly lower grade-point averages than students who do not suffer from shyness will (para 2). Many students fear stage fright. University programmes, such as the programmes that are offered in North South University involve a lot of stage appearance or participation equivalent to that. Public speakers, performers and debaters they all go through the same feeling that a student feels before heading up to the front of the class to present his paper or to raise his hand even to ask or to answer a question. According to the Advanced Public Speaking Institute in Virginia, Usa (n.d.) stage fright is a state of feeling felt by all (both students and professional speakers). The impact of stage fright should not be underestimated. Stage fright alone is not an independent phenomenon but it is caused by factors such as nervousness, shyness and under confidence. The

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article further goes on to explain the symptoms of stage fright and steps or actions that can be taken to reduce the impact of stage fright. One thing to note here is that nervousness, shyness or stage fright cannot be eliminated but rather steps can be taken to minimize the effect of it. Bangladesh is a country hugely lacks in maintaining a balance of income. This is indirectly a cause for students participation in class. Teenagers from poor families feel a bit of uneasiness and inferior at times and this shows in the class room. Authors Vanaja, Latha and Rao explained in their book that The variables such as gender, parents, occupation, parents' income, and academic achievement have their influence on student shyness (2004, p. 32). Minorities feel that speaking too much in class will attract uncalled attention.

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Areas of research.
1. How would the NSU students rate their faculty members in term of friendliness? 2. What do students think that their teacher thinks of them if they ask too many questions? 3. Do the students ask questions? If they do, how often do they ask? 4. What goes on their mind when you are about to ask a question? 5. What do they think their class mates think of them if they keep on asking questions? 6. What do the students do when they have realized that the teacher has made a mistake?

Hypotheses
Students feel unenthusiastic about speaking up in class. They think twice before asking questions or to answer one even. This phenomenon is common among the students of North South University. This research paper seeks to find out the students perspective regarding this matter. What goes in their mind when they have

confusion/concerns/questions regarding the subject matter that is being taught in class? Why are the students reluctant to question the faculty members and why are they under confident answering questions that sometimes results in them not participating in class. The purpose of this research is to find out the dilemmas that students of North South University face regarding class participation.

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Methodology
This research hugely depends on primary data. Since the research question is related to students of North South University, secondary data will not be able to answer the research question directly. However some secondary sources will be used to show the relations between students of different cultures, background and knowledge. 1. Primary data: As mentioned earlier primary statistics is a vital part of this research paper, a questionnaire was designed targeting all the students of North South University. The questionnaire, containing ten questions, was distributed following the simple random sampling process, a probability sampling involving no biases where everyone in the sample size gets an equal chance of being chosen. In an attempt to find out students enthusiasm about class participation it was necessary to make sure that the questionnaire were distributed totally random so that data can be collected from as many students of different

courses, departments etc possible. It was distributed by me alone in the cafeteria and the gallery where most of the students can be found during their free time.

The questionnaire involved both open ended and multiple choice questions and was designed in such a way that it dealt with real life situations and the students reactions/actions in those situations were recorded. For example, the students were asked what they would do when they have just realized that their teacher has just made a mistake and the choice of answers included what the students might do in that situation.

2. Secondary data: Beside the primary data collection, some secondary sources are also used in this paper. Secondary sources were mainly used to present the context of the research and to relate it to broader issues or areas, secondary data were mainly used in the background section of the research paper.

Secondary sources involved books and online periodical that are found through google and other search engines on the internet. (The complete sources are

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given using the APA format in the reference section of the research paper) Areas of secondary data mainly includes the student-teacher relation in foreign universities, the teachers take on this subject matter and experts analysis on why there exists a certain boundary that discourages a student from speaking up and ways to prevent it.

Data presentation and analysis

All those data that were collected during the survey process would be meaningless if they were not organized into a readable form. In order to answer the survey questions, a questionnaire containing ten questions were filled up by 70 random North South University students. The answers are organized below: The respondents needed to be distinguished by gender, age, their department and their education background. All of respondents were between 19-24 years old. Average age is 22.4. 40 respondents were from BBA, 5 from Economics, 3 from English, 12 from ETE, 1 form EE and 8 from pharmacy department. They were also grouped by their education background; 33 students were from an O/A Level and rests of the 47 students were from HSC/SSC background.

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1. When asked how the students would rate their faculty members in term of friendliness. Their response were:

Category Least friendly Will help if they could be friendlier They are ok Very friendly

No. of students responded 4 16 44 6

45 40 35 30 No. of students 25 responded 20 15 10 5 0 Least friendly Could be more friendlier They are okay Very friendly

Categories

44 of the 70 students replied that their respective faculty members are friendly and that encourages talking. One of the reasons for such a response is that students usually do not want to say negative things about their teachers so they try to be neutral. However the next highest number of respondents, 16, thinks that it would help them if faculties could become friendlier.

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2. Do you ask questions in class?

YES 59 NO 11

15.70%

YES NO

84.30%

A majority of 59% of the sample replied that yes, they do participate in class for whatever the reason might be, but they do speak up. It could be because NSU demands students to be more participative by grading them for class participation, and of course for the obvious fact that learning is a 2 way communication process and that the students need to speak up to learn.

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3. Do you wait for others to ask questions first or do you want to go first?

I First 24

Let someone else ask first 46

35.71%

I First Let someone else ask first

65.71%

The above chart supports my research question. Even if students participate, they hesitate to speak up and this pie chart show that 66.71% of the students would rather let others speak before them. This could be due to the various reasons mentioned throughout this research paper. One of the most common issues among all students is that they fear of being in the spotlight. They think too much about their image on their peers. Calling talkative students names like nerd, geek discourages a student to speak up.

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4. What goes on your mind when you are about to ask a question? a. I feel like I am in the spotlight b. I get nervous c. If I participate in class my teacher will like me and he/she will remember me which will help me later! d. There are marks for class participation so I have to ask questions

Choices No. of students responded A 19 B 15 C 24 D 10

25 20 15 No. of Students 10 5 0 A B Options C D

As seen before on the earlier graph. Most student hesitate to speak up in class, and those who do, a good deal of them, 24 out of 70 students do it because they believe doing so , you will be known by the teacher and they believe this will act as an advantage when getting the final grades.

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5. What do you do when you suddenly realize that the teacher has made a mistake? a) I immediately mention it to the teacher b) I wait for other students to bring up the mistake c) I wait for the teacher to realize the mistake themselves? d) I dont do anything as it is none of my business

Options A B C D

No. of students responded 22 21 16 11

25

20

15 No. of students' response 10

0 A B Options C D

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Those students who like or participate in class discussions will notify the teacher immediately upon spotting a mistake, but those who are less willing to speak up in class, wait for someone else to notify the teacher about their mistake and perhaps afterward speak up for themselves. One of the reason for student being under confident is shyness. Shyness plays a very big role in making the student hesitant to speak up. Also nervousness, many students gets nervous when they become the center of attention in class and thus choose not to speak up at all.

6. What do you think is the most important skill a debater must have? a) Confident b) Know the subject matter c) Has to feel comfortable in front of people d) Has to be able to quarrel/shout e) Has to be able to make the opponent understand his/her point

Options No. of students responded A 27 B 11 C 19 D 4 E 8

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30 25 20 No. of student's 15 response 10 5 0 A B C Options D E

The reason this question was asked because I wanted to see the students perspective on this subject matter. Although this question might not be related directly to the research question but it tells me about my respondents mind. What they think the skill a debator (almost the same as participating in class / presenting) should posses.

Scenario questions.
7. You have already asked two questions to you teacher regarding the topic which you did not understand. You see that your teacher is a bit irritated having to answer so many questions. What do you do next? a) Keep on asking question, I have to understand this concept b) Shake my head to make the teacher believe that I have understood but in fact you are still unclear c) I will ask my friend later and learn the topic from him/her d) I can later go to the teachers office and clear my concept there

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Options A B C D

No. of students responded 3 18 33 16

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 A B C D

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8. You are running late for class, you stand outside the class room and see that the class has already started. What do you do? a) I enter the class b) I stand for two minutes before deciding on what to do c) What if I get shouted at in front of the whole class! Its better I skip class

Options A B C

No. of students responded 12 33 25

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 A B C

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9. What would you rather do and why? a) Join Shangskritik Shangathan (NSUSS) and go for

acting/singing/dancing b) Join NSUSS and just stick to organizing duties c) Love to be just a crowd and enjoy their events.
Options A B C No. of students responded 14 21 35

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 A B C

The above three scenario question put the respondents into 3 different situations and asks them what they will do under the given circumstances. The first question asks that what a student would do if he/she just realized that he/she might have just asked a bit too many questions. The answers the respondents produced gave me the insight to their mind where I can see their willingness to ask questions in class. The third question does the same thing; a majority of 82% of students (33+25) would rather avoid the stage if they were given a chance to perform in front of a live audience. This reason is also partly because some people cannot perform and others, who can perform, are

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consumed with stage fright. Question number 8 gives us an idea about the students unsure mind. Before making a quick decision to whether enter the class if they arrive late can be link with the confusion that arises before asking a question in front of the entire class.

Open ended questions: There were some questions in the questionnaire which were in the form of an open ended question. Numerical estimation from such questions cannot be calculated. There were three open ended questions: What do you think you teacher thinks of you if you ask too many questions? What do you think your class mates think of you if you keep on asking questions? Why do you think students sometimes hesitate to speak up in class?

Majority of the students supported not asking questions in class while answering the first two open ended questions. This is because they are too much concerned about what others might think of them. They do not like to be called nerd or geek by their class mates and neither they want their class mates or teachers to think that they are trying to butter their way up the grades. Another reason for another supporting speaking in class is nervousness and shyness. They do not want to make a fool of themselves in front of the entire class. In the world of teenagers, if you once get branded by a name, it stays forever and it could turn your four years of university experience very unpleasant. When asking the students why they think the reason is for being hesitant in class, most of them answered language problem, under confidence, bad remarks or comments from their class mates and some people does not care.

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Summary of findings
Based on the findings of the survey 33 out of 70people surveyed came from an O/A level background and when asked about the friendliness of their teacher of their approximately 60% of them said that their comfort level with their teachers are okay. The rest 40% said that it will help them if their teachers could be friendlier. The rest 37 people who were from bangle medium, according to 19 of them, their teachers are okay and according to 11, it would help them if the teacher could be friendlier. A majority of 59% of the sample replied that yes, they do participate in class for whatever the reason might be, but they do speak up. It could be because NSU demands students to be more participative by grading them for class participation, and of course for the obvious fact that learning is a 2 way communication process and that the students need to speak up to learn. Those students who like or participate in class discussions will notify the teacher immediately upon spotting a mistake, but those who are less willing to speak up in class, wait for someone else to notify the teacher about their mistake and perhaps afterward speak up for themselves. Even if students participate, they hesitate to speak up that 66.71% of the students would rather let others speak before them. Nervousness and fear of being in the spotlight are the major issues concerning the unwillingness of students to speak up. The teachers here could play a very important role to bring students out of their shell. Introducing marks for class participation encourages students to speak in class but it mostly attracts the students who already do participate to participate even more. Another issue remains that students think too much about their impression on their class mates and they tend to think they will be branded as nerds or geeks if they ask too many questions. Language problem do exist but according to the survey it is not a concerning issue like nervousness or shyness.

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Recommendations
As found by the primary research one of the reason that a student hesitates to speak up is because of language barrier. There are two kinds of schools in Bangladesh which follows two different curriculums: English and Bengali. Those who follow English curriculum are required to teach their students everything in English who later goes on to give their O/A level exams which is also in English. Schools following Bengali curriculum teacher their students everything in Bangla and they later go on to appear in the HSC/SSC which is the bangla equivalent to O/A levels. After students finish their school they join the university. North South University is one of those universities where students come from all over, both English and bangla medium students. Everything taught here is English and that is where the problem arises for some of the students. Students hesitant to speak up in class can be avoided if the faculty members participate in not just English but also bangla explanation. If they allow the student to ask

questions in bangla or to answer questions in bangla, that would encourage more and more students to speak up. As we have seen that grades are linked with class participation, encouraging to student to speak up in their own convenience would really help the students to do better. Another problem that has come to light is that students worry too much about what their peers think of them. They are too much concerned about other perception on them. This is not the systems fault but this is just a way how teenagers think. Words such as nerd, geek are used by the so-called cool students. As authors Liu and Littlehood suggested, it is the students own thoughts, one way to improve is that to make the students believe that is okay and students themselves have to understand that. Students themselves have to work on their lacking self confidence.

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Conclusion
My study is concerned with the students of North South University, one of the leading private universities in Bangladesh as I try to identify the variables which act as a barrier between the students and their attempt to speak up in class. Most students are not able to ask questions or participate in class not because they do not know what is being taught but because of their shyness, nervousness, cautiousness and sometimes language problems. The seventy responses from the questionnaire indicated that the most common reason a student hesitates to speak up is because their fear of the spotlight, when they are the center of attention they become nervous. Those students who like or participate in class discussions will notify the teacher immediately upon spotting a mistake, but those who are less willing to speak up in class, wait for someone else to notify the teacher about their mistake and perhaps afterward speak up for themselves. One of the reasons for student being under confident is shyness. Shyness plays a very big role in making the student hesitant to speak up. According to Graham, Tripp and Joeckel (2007), a students education is not confined to books but also to his or her perception of the material taught by the teacher (p. 234). One of the most sad reason why students fail to achieve more scores in their courses is their unwillingness to speak up. If they do not speak up, the confusion that the have regarding the teaching material remains and as a result a student gets frustrated. Another reason for this is the inability to speak in proper english. Everything taught here is English and that is where the problem arises for some of the students. It is the students own thoughts, the nervousness, the shyness, one way to improve is that to make the students believe that is okay and students themselves have to understand that.

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Works Cited
Advance Public Speaking Institute (n.d.). Public speaking: Stage fright strategies. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.public-speaking.org/public-speaking-stagefrightarticle.htm Graham, C.R., Tripp, T.R., & Joeckel, G. (2007). Empowering or compelling reluctant participators using audience response [Electronic Version]. Active learning in higher education. Liu, N., & Littlewood, W. (1988, June 10). Why do many students appear reluctant to participate in classroom learning discourse?, 3(25), 371-384. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VCH-3SX1G666&_user=10&_coverDate=09%2F30%2F1997&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort =d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1271607752&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C00 0050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=2c97990046099f92171fcc628b eeaccd SIsko, B. (n.d.). Afraid to Speak Up. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.christianitytoday.com/iyf/faithandlife/mylifeasastudent/33.16.html Vanaja, M., Latha, N.S., & Rao, D.B. (2004). Student Shyness. India: Aph Publishing Corporation.

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