Abstract—Reticence is a prominent and complex phenomenon which occurs in foreign language classrooms and influences students’ oral passivity. The present study investigated the extent in which students experience reticence in the EFL classrooms and explored the underlying factors triggering reticence. The participants were 104 Iranian freshmen undergraduate male and female EFL students, who enrolled in listening and speaking courses, all majoring in English studying at Islamic Azad University Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch and University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. To collect the data, the Reticence Scale-12 (RS-12) questionnaire which measures the level of reticence consisting of six dimensions (anxiety, knowledge, timing, organization, skills, and memory) was administered to the participants. The statistical analyses showed that the reticent level was high among the Iranian EFL undergraduate students, and their major problems were feelings of anxiety and delivery skills. Moreover, the results revealed that factors such as low English proficiency, the teaching method, and lack of confidence contributed to the students’ reticence in Iranian EFL classrooms. It can be implied that language teachers’ awareness of learners’ reticence can help them choose more appropriate activities and provide a friendly environment enhancing hopefully more effective participation of EFL learners. The findings can have implications for EFL teachers, learners and policy makers. Keywords—Reticence, reticence scale, anxiety, Iranian EFL learners. I. INTRODUCTION N the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and learning, students’ participation in the classrooms is very important. Though many foreign language learners tended to be active and independent and to be involved in interpersonal interactions [1], [2], in many foreign learning situations, learners have been observed to be quiet in language classrooms, rarely responding to teachers’ questions, or actively taking part in classroom interactions [3]-[5]. It is believed that “reticence, as behavior, occurs “when people avoid communication because they believe it is better to remain silent than to risk appearing foolish” [6]. Reticence impedes students expressing and sharing what they know. Therefore, student reticence impacts on teaching and learning process and there is a necessity for an individual, teacher and learner to reduce or eliminate such phenomena [7]. Thus, this is fundamental to find out students tendency of having reticence and discover the roots of reticence of the EFL A. Chalak is with the Department of English, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran (corresponding author phone: +98-31- 35354009; email: azichalak@gmail.com). F. Baktash is an MA in TEFL, graduated from the Department of English, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran (e-mail: firouzeh.baktash@gmail.com). students in classrooms. However, there are not enough studies investigating reticence of university EFL students in Iran. This study met the need for more investigation in this area and explored the extent of Iranian EFL students’ reticence in the classroom. Moreover, the potential causes of students’ reticence in the classroom discussion are presented. II. LITERATURE REVIEW In the EFL classroom, the students usually express willingness to participate in classroom discussions in the target language, but remain reticent and passive in classes. They even perceive themselves as active in class just by listening to the teacher or others. In an investigation indicated that personal-affective factors such as anxiety and lack of experience with class discussion, and socio-cultural factors such as the prevailing belief of teacher as a sage on the stage, as the primary causes of the issue in question [8]. It claimed that being reticent not only impedes the learners’ own pace of learning, but also impedes the teacher’s help. The teachers do not know whether the learners have any problems or not, especially pronunciation problems if the students remain reticent [9]. Contribution in EFL classrooms is determined both by learners themselves and the situation they are in, proposing that situational variables such as topic and participants should be included in the study [10]. The results demonstrated that teacher strategy is a major cause of student reticence in classrooms. In addition, pedagogical factors such as lesson objectives and task type were found to influence a teacher’s classroom-based interaction strategy decision making. The issue of reticence from the perspective of teachers and students were examined by [11]. The results of the study demonstrated that fear of making mistakes, and error correction and how it was done played significant roles in determining students’ reticence. Group work was found to have an important role in reducing reticence among the participants. Reference [12] investigated the extent in which tertiary students majoring in English experience reticence in the classrooms, and examined the underlying factors of reticence. The findings revealed that reticent level is high among the students, and their major problems laid in affective-control and delivery. In a study, [13] examined the degree of reticence among Iranian EFL learners and the roles of productive vocabulary knowledge and gender in their reticence in the classroom. Results of the study showed that learners mostly avoid communication rather than have a negative attitude toward An Investigation on Students’ Reticence in Iranian University EFL Classrooms Azizeh Chalak, Firouzeh Baktash I World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Cognitive and Language Sciences Vol:9, No:8, 2015 2656 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 9(8) 2015 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/10001675 International Science Index, Cognitive and Language Sciences Vol:9, No:8, 2015 waset.org/Publication/10001675