The Child Who Will Not Speak in Class
A Grade 2 teacher has a new student, a girl of seven, who has attended for five weeks. She completes written work accurately, follows instructions, and plays with two girls at break, but she has not spoken a word in class. She speaks audibly to her friends in the playground and answers her mother at the gate. When called on, she freezes, looks down, and sometimes cries. The class has 45 students. Other teachers describe her as 'stubborn' and suggest pressure will work. The head teacher asks the class teacher to 'make her talk' before the first terminal report.
1. Distinguish between plausible explanations for the silence, and say what evidence would help decide.
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The key discriminator is that she speaks comfortably in the playground and at home but is silent in class, and that being called on produces freezing and tears. That pattern points away from a general language or speech difficulty and away from defiance. Stubbornness would not produce tears and would not be situation-specific.
The likely explanation is a situation-specific anxiety about speaking in front of the class, which may be a selective mutism pattern. Alternatives to rule out: a recent change or stress at home, a hearing issue, or a language mismatch if her home language differs from the medium of instruction. Evidence to gather: a conversation with the mother about when the silence began and whether it occurs elsewhere; observation notes on which settings she speaks in and with whom; a hearing check if not already done; and a check of whether her written work shows understanding of the language of instruction. A pattern across settings and people is more informative than any single observation.
2. Evaluate the colleagues' advice to apply pressure, and propose an alternative approach for the first six weeks.
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Pressure is contraindicated here. If the behaviour is anxiety-driven, public prompting, threats about the report, or removing privileges increases the fear response and can generalise the silence to more settings, including the playground where she currently speaks. The tears are a signal of distress, not a test of wills, so escalating demands risks making the pattern more entrenched and damaging trust with the family.
Alternative for six weeks: reduce the audience and the demand. Start with nonverbal responses such as pointing, nodding, or showing a card, so she can participate without speaking. Use small-group or partner work with the two friends she already talks to, and let her answer through a friend initially. Give her a predictable, low-stakes role such as handing out materials. Do not call on her publicly; signal privately in advance if a response will be invited, and accept a whisper or a written answer. Praise participation, not volume. Keep a simple daily log of any vocalisation in class, and meet the mother every two weeks to share what is working. If there is no movement after six weeks, seek specialist advice.
3. The head teacher wants the terminal report to state that the child is 'non-cooperative'. How do you handle this?
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Raise it directly with the head teacher, privately and with the evidence: the observation log, the mother's account, the playground speech, and the distress response. Explain that 'non-cooperative' describes intent, and the evidence points to anxiety, so the phrase would be inaccurate and could follow the child. Propose report language that is factual and constructive: describes what she can do, notes that she communicates nonverbally and with familiar peers, and states that a support plan is in place with a review date.
Offer the head teacher a shared next step rather than a confrontation: agree the six-week review, and agree in advance what the report will say if progress occurs and if it does not. If the head teacher insists, ask for the concern to be recorded alongside the evidence rather than instead of it, and involve the mother in seeing the report wording, since she has a right to accurate information about her child. Keep the focus on accuracy and the child's interests, not on winning the argument.