Context

Europe has become an increasingly attractive destination for Chinese students driven by the global standing of European universities, the expansion of English-taught programmes, and internationalisation initiatives such as Erasmus+. As a result, Chinese students now form one of the largest non-European student groups across many higher education systems. This growing mobility has important implications for teaching and learning, particularly in relation to understanding Chinese international students' classroom participation habits, communication norms, and interaction patterns. Understanding how Chinese students engage in European classrooms is therefore essential for promoting inclusive pedagogy, equitable participation, and the effective internationalisation of higher education.

Problem

Despite the growing presence of Chinese students in Western higher education, deficit-based assumptions continue to characterise them as silent, passive, or disengaged learners. Although extensive research demonstrates that silence can be a culturally informed and meaningful form of participation, this understanding has not been fully integrated into teaching practice. As a result, educators often misinterpret silence as a lack of ability or motivation, particularly in online and internationalised classrooms where verbal participation is privileged as a marker of engagement. 

On the one hand, although silence is frequently framed as a 'problem' within educational discourse, the majority of scholars who have examined this phenomenon are Chinese researchers themselves, rather than those who most often characterise it as problematic.

The problem addressed in this paper is therefore not the absence of research on Chinese students’ classroom interaction, but the persistence of narrow pedagogical frameworks that fail to recognise silence as a legitimate mode of academic presence. By re-examining existing literature through the lens of culturally responsive teaching practice, this study challenges entrenched assumptions and argues for a culturally informed reconceptualisation of silence. It aims to bridge the gap between theory and pedagogy and support more 'non-exclusive' approaches to student engagement in diverse higher education contexts.

Aims and research question

This study adopts a constructive orientation that moves beyond asking why Chinese students are silent and instead poses a forward-looking question: how can Chinese students’ classroom silence be understood and utilised as a culturally meaningful and pedagogically valuable form of engagement, and which strategies can effectively support their active learning in Western higher education contexts?

Guided by this question, the study seeks to prompt a shift in pedagogical practice that recognises and values diverse modes of participation, with particular attention to the learning preferences and experiences of Chinese students, who constitute the largest group of international students in Scottish universities, where the resaercher is located.

To address this research question, a narrative literature review was selected due to its selective and goal-oriented approach. Narrative reviews prioritise studies that are most relevant and representative of the research topic (Ferrari, 2015), allowing for the qualitative interpretation of culturally nuanced concepts such as silence (Baumeister & Leary, 1997; Greenhalgh et al., 2018). In contrast to systematic reviews, which seek comprehensive coverage and aim to identify research gaps, narrative reviews enable a more in-depth exploration of the topic and provide space for the researcher’s critical analysis and interpretation (Greenhalgh et al., 2018). This approach facilitates theory development and reflexive engagement (Ferrari, 2015), aligning closely with the paper’s objective of generating pedagogical insights informed by both literature and classroom practice.

The narrative review adopted as this research's methodology, examines academic literature published between the years 2000 and 2025 that address Chinese students’ silence in Western higher education contexts and in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings in China. Only peer-reviewed studies published in English or translated into English were included, reflecting the focus on educational environments where English is the primary medium of communication. Materials such as conference abstracts, non-peer-reviewed reports, and studies that addressed international or Asian student populations without specific reference to Chinese students were excluded to maintain analytical focus and contextual relevance. The literature search was conducted using three databases: Google Scholar, a university library database, and ERIC. Google Scholar enabled access to open-access and recently published studies, while the university library database ensured comprehensive coverage of subscription-based peer-reviewed journals. ERIC was selected for its strong emphasis on educational research and pedagogical practice. A structured search strategy using combinations of keywords and Boolean operators was applied across databases to capture relevant studies on Chinese students, silence, participation, and cultural communication. Following the removal of duplicates and grey literature, 67 articles were screened based on titles and abstracts. Twenty-four articles were then reviewed in full, resulting in a final corpus of 15 peer-reviewed studies that met the inclusion criteria and were deemed suitable for detailed analysis. The analysis employed an inductive thematic approach, progressing from descriptive coding to more conceptual interpretation. Initial codes captured recurring descriptions of silence, such as anxiety, hesitation, and non-verbal participation. Through iterative analysis, these codes were consolidated into broader conceptual categories reflecting underlying cultural, linguistic, and psychological dynamics. Annotations were used to trace repeated language and contextual references which informed the identification of culturally embedded patterns of silence. The review ultimately identified four overarching themes: 1) Language proficiency, anxiety, and face-saving practices 2) Cultural norms and educational traditions 3) Unfamiliarity with Western pedagogical styles and knowledge guarding 4) Silence shaped by surveillance, self-censorship, and perceived racism. Each theme was linked to a variety of evidence-informed pedagogical strategies that recognise silence as an active, reflective, and potentially productive form of classroom engagement to enhance student learning.

The findings of this review challenge the dominant Western assumption that verbal participation is the primary indicator of active student engagement and academic success (Delucchi, 2000). In many Western higher education contexts, sustained classroom silence is commonly interpreted as passivity, lack of ability, or disinterest (Jaworski & Sachdev, 1998; Nakane, 2006). However, the literature reviewed demonstrates that such interpretations fail to account for culturally situated communication practices. The findings highlight a persistent disconnect between how Chinese students intend silence to function and how it is perceived by Western educators (Liu and Jackson, 2011). While silence is often criticised in Western classrooms, literature shows that it can reflect respect for authority, careful reflection, concern for accuracy, and a desire to maintain group harmony. Four interrelated themes emerged from the analysis, revealing that Chinese students’ silence is shaped by a combination of linguistic challenges, affective factors such as anxiety and face-saving practices (Hu & McKay, 2012; Jin & Dewaele, 2018; Liu & Jackson, 2008), culturally embedded educational traditions (Scollon et al., 2012), unfamiliarity with Western pedagogical norms (Song, 2015), and broader systemic influences including surveillance, self-censorship, and experiences of racialisation (Brown, 2025). Together, these findings position silence not as a deficit, but as a 'silent-but-active' form of engagement shaped by context, culture, and power dynamics in the classroom. Importantly, the review links each theme to several pedagogical strategies that acknowledge silence as an active and reflective mode of participation. Drawing on classroom-based reflections, the findings demonstrate how teaching practices can be adapted to engage students meaningfully without forcing conformity to Western norms of verbal participation. Overall, the findings call for a more culturally responsive and inclusive understanding of engagement in higher education classrooms.

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