Addressing Reticence: The Challenge of Engaging Reluctant Adult ESL Students

Reticence frequently prevents adult ESL learners from learning as much as they otherwise might. The nature of second-language learning requires frequent performance that may challenge students' self-concepts, leading to reticence and self-consciousness. To reduce or prevent this problem, teachers must employ appropriate pedagogical and classroom management strategies to create a safe and supportive learning environment that will reduce students' state anxiety and by extension increase their confidence when using English. Furthermore, attention to establishing a positive group dynamic and careful monitoring and control of situational factors/variables can do much to alleviate language learners' anxiety such that reticence is minimized.