ABSTRACT:Class silence is a common phenomenon either in JMS or in university English classes, especially in the middle school classes of the rural area. There are many factors that influence students’ participation in classroom interaction and result in the class silence. The author carried out a survey in order to explore the possible factors. The participants in this study are by 100 students and 2 English teachers from the N.O.1 middle school of Yiliang. Results of the survey show that the factors leading to students’ silence are complicated, which can be seen as follows:

1. The class organization factor: Class size is large; Class atmosphere is unstable. 2. The student factor: The difference of characteristic; paying more attention to face; being lack of confidence and courage; Being afraid of the teacher.   3. The teacher factor: The quality of teacher is lower; teaching method is not suitable because of being lack of experience. 

　　　On the basis of these findings, the write tries to give some suggestions from improving teachers' qualities and teaching methods and reducing teacher’s authority and establishing a harmonious Relationship with students. It aims to provide English teachers with new perspective of class silence to break the silence effectively.

Key words：Classroom silence; the class organization factor; the student factor; 

the teacher factor; Suggestions

摘  要:英语课堂沉默现象普遍存在于中小学以及大学课堂中，特别是边远地区的英语课堂上表现得尤为突出。为了了解造成学生英语课堂沉默的因素，本文对彝良县第一中学高二年级两个班一百名学生进行了调查问卷，并对两位英语教师进行了访谈。通过调查研究，笔者发现导致英语课堂沉默的主要因素有：1.组织因素：班级规模较大；班级气氛不稳定。2.学生自身因素：性格差异；爱面子；学生的自信心和勇气不足；恐惧心理，不敢挑战教师权威。3.教师因素：教师自身素质偏低；教学经验不足，导致教师不能正确使用恰当的教学方法。

　　根据上述原因，笔者尝试着从提高教师素质，改善教学方法，创建和谐的师生关系等方面给出一些建议，旨在以有效的方式打破农村地区中学英语课堂中存在的沉默现象。

关键词：课堂沉默；课堂组织因素；学生因素；教师因素；对策