Post-elicitation Wait Time in the Japanese University English as a Foreign Language Classroom

Abstract

This study investigates the average wait time (WT) – how long a teacher waits following an elicitation – and its relationship with student response length (RL) within Japanese university English as a foreign language classes. It also discusses the perspectives of members of this community towards questioning and WT. Previous studies correlate longer WTs with longer responses but none have been conducted in Japan, and very little in second language (L2) classrooms. Data were collected from observing classes and interviewing teachers and students at a medium-ranked private university. The average WT was around 1.5 seconds and no correlation between WT and RL was found. Various factors which may limit the direct effect of WT on RL were identified, including L2 target language limitations and preferred teaching techniques. Although teachers saw potential for longer responses, they did not believe that WT would increase participation or encourage student–student discourse. Students generally agreed, although they expressed a desire for more open-ended questions requiring longer answers. Like prior studies, the average WT was higher than in first language research. While the lack of correlation between WT and RL differed from prior research, the complexity of WT as a classroom variable is further highlighted.