Abstract
This research explores how three junior high school students revealed their mental processes in English classes for one
year and nine months through their "murmured speech". Based on an analysis of classroom discourse in chronological
order, the features of "murmured speech" and its transformational processes are discussed. Five findings were made:
(1) while 71 percent of the teacher’s utterances were spoken in English, 79 percent of the students’ "murmured speech"
was in Japanese; (2) there were six different kinds of "murmured speech"; (3) each student’s "murmured speech" showed
his or her own uniqueness, and some students altered the characteristics of their "murmured speech" while others did
not; (4) examining the features of "murmured speech" and the students’ participation in classroom discourse helps throw
light on their mental processes; and (5) each student’s social context is likely related to his or her "murmured speech".
The paper concludes it is necessary to consider not only the cognitive but also the social aspects of students’ utterances
and suggests the effectiveness of English learning through "murmured speech".
