Okay, stepping into a Chinese classroom is like walking onto an iceberg – only the tip of the communication iceberg shows above. You pose something simple, maybe ask "What's your favorite movie?" and you're met with absolute silence.

It feels eerie! Not because anyone actually *is* silent out there (I'm joking!), but it can get that way in certain situations or classrooms during lessons. It’s not laziness hiding behind politeness, which is a common assumption when observing this kind of quiet. There's an underlying culture here; you could say the waters are particularly deep with custom.

Think about 'face' – isn't *that* a tricky concept? It's absolutely central to everything. Students might keep quiet out of fear that their hesitant English sentence, even if grammatically sound, is incorrect or embarrassing in some way. That single mistake could potentially ripple across cultures and reputations otherwise comfortable ones.

As an EFL teacher, you're not just sharing vocabulary – it feels more like orchestrating a delicate symphony where everyone's contribution needs to be carefully harmonized before the next chord can resonate. It’s teaching English, sure, but also gently coaxing out generations accustomed to subtlety and reserve. And sometimes, that requires patience thicker than water!