A Dissertation by GRACE HUI-CHIN LIN Submitted to the Office of ...

In both interviews, Jian Guo perceived that “keeping silent” did not convey his
thought that he needed to change the topic. In his first interview, he said:
In class, the “keeping silent” did not pass the signal that I disfavored the topic
or did not understand it. Therefore, I thought if I kept silent and did not
confess my limitation or confusion caused from the wrong topic, no one was
able to distinguish that I needed help. Then, I had no way to get any
information. I could not “keep silence,” but I had to conquer the difficult
situation. “Keeping silence” did not express my thought that I required to
change the topic. Some people could be very sensitive and observe that I was
soundless, but they might not judge that I did not have sufficient motivation
to speak. It was not necessary that they discovered that I was requiring
changing the topic when I kept silence.
I perceive that if we are not knowledgeable or interested in a proceeding topic,
we have to notify our partners verbally, but not keep silent. It is not
guaranteed that some people must cease talking, and then ask why his/her
interlocutors are so quiet. In class, not too many people could realize s/he was
talking to himself/herself. So, “keeping silence” did not obviously imply your
intention of changing topics to those people whose alertness was lower.
Jian Guo explained to the researcher why he regarded the issue of politeness
to be so important. His parents always requested him to respect the others, so he was
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