ABSTRACT:It has been argued that students’ silence in the senior middle school classroom is a common phenomenon. Compared with studies abroad, the domestic studies on the students’ silences are quite limited. Focusing on the senior middle school students as the subjects, this study attempts to find out what are the influencing factors of students’ classroom silence from students’ and teachers’ perspectives and provide English teachers and learners with some possible solutions to break silence in language classroom.

　　　Drawing on the data collected from classroom observation and questionnaire, this study shows that there are various reasons of students’ keeping silent in classroom learning context from both teachers, students and external social influence. On the basis of the findings, some possible solutions are proposed to solve this problem in language classroom. 

Key words: Senior middle school students; English classroom; Silent phenomenon

摘要:语言课堂中的沉默现象一度是教育研究中普遍关注和讨论的话题。然而，与国外有关研究相比，国内在这方面的研究相对匮乏。因此，本研究通过问卷调查和课堂观察，以云南南部地区一所县级中学的师生为研究对象，从师生的角度进行调查，旨在发现英语课堂上学生沉默的原因，进而为打破这一现象给老师和学生提供一些参考。

　　　研究结果表明课堂沉默现象不仅有老师和学生的原因，而且还受其它社会因素的影响，它困扰着老师和学生，已经成为影响英语学习的一个潜在因素。因此，解决课堂沉默现象是很必要的，它需要老师和同学在深刻剖析各自的原因后，为课堂注入新的活力，为构建和谐的师生关系和课堂氛围而努力。 

关键词：高中生；英语课堂；沉默现象；沉默原因