scholarly journals What is wrong with silence in intercultural classrooms? An insight into international students’ integration at a UK university

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (Winter) ◽  
pp. 52-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
SIHUI WANG ◽  
Marta Moskal
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Verbal Participation ◽  
Oral Participation

Recent research has reported a common tendency for international students to be silent in the classroom, identifying language competence and cultural difference as main barriers to participation. However, insights into the integration of international students within the classroom context remain rather limited. Grounded in the framework of Lave and Wenger’s community of practice, this paper examines the issue of silence in verbal participation of postgraduate international students of different socio-cultural backgrounds in a UK university context. Findings reveal tensions in classroom activities resulting from different perceptions and attitudes towards oral participation. Comparative analyses in different classroom communities and peer interactions were carried out to provide implications for practice to better integrate international students within educational context.

International Students' Perceptions of Living With Roommates From Different Cultural Backgrounds

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wonjin Sim ◽  
Christa Close ◽  
Ashley Dandridge ◽  
Sushma Kumble ◽  
Jessica Stahl
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds

The multicultural experience of international students in Portugal: a narrative approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cosmin Ionut Nada ◽  
Helena Costa Araújo
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multicultural Experience ◽  
Institutional Strategies ◽  
Portuguese Higher Education ◽  
Local Students ◽  
Support Students

Purpose The aim of this paper is to explore qualitatively and holistically the experience of international students in the context of Portuguese higher education. This paper interrogates the potential that an experience abroad provides for multicultural learning and for enhancing interaction between students with different cultural backgrounds. Design/methodology/approach To provide depth to the understanding of their experiences abroad, the narratives of 12 international students in Portugal were constructed and analysed interpretatively. The findings presented in this paper result from a solid set of data based on 41 interviews with an average duration of two hours each. Findings Regarding students’ levels of multicultural contact, the findings presented in this paper are not consistent with previous research literature which indicates a tendency for segregation among international and local students. Aside from one exception, all the interviewed students were rather comfortable to interact with their local peers and even established meaningful friendships with them. Concerning students’ learning throughout the sojourn, the findings indicate that the experience of living in a different country provides numerous opportunities for multicultural learning. Research limitations/implications Even though the findings suggest that multicultural learning is part of international students’ lives, it is beyond the scope of this paper to identify institutional strategies to further support students’ learning. Originality/value The study adds to knowledge production in the field of multicultural education by bringing data from Portugal, a country seldom approached in the research literature.

Doppelganger-Inspired Change Effect Model of Faculty Global Cultural Competency

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-32
Author(s):  
Papia Bawa
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Native Americans ◽  
Cultural Dissonance ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Cultural Empathy ◽  
Effect Model ◽  
Change Effect ◽  
Dice Model ◽  
Case Study Methods

Our student populations' diversity now includes more than just African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos. We are now more representative of a wider range of cultural backgrounds. This shift brings fresh challenges of educator unpreparedness to identify with the unique cultures of international students. The cultural dissonance that international students face compounds this challenge. The cultural unawareness and misconceptions may be generated from both educators and students. The DICE model is inspired by an extensive review of the literature and a qualitative case study methods application. It is a process of fostering global cultural empathy and preparedness of educators by linking such preparedness to evaluating negative attitudinal influences that may block people from changing their thinking, which in turn will negatively impact global empathy preparedness. This is a valid linkage given the influence culture has on attitudes and vice versa and is true in the context of developing global empathy.

A self-tracking study of international students in France: Exploring opportunities for language and cultural learning

ReCALL ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-292
Author(s):  
Nicolas Guichon
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Academic Environments ◽  
The Social

AbstractThis exploratory study focuses on international students’ usage of digital tools in order to understand what role such tools play in the transition to their new academic environments and what learning opportunities they provide. Not only do digital tools accompany international students’ social, cultural, and linguistic transitions as they move to France to further their language competence, but their usage also reveals part of the social and semiotic adjustments they have to make in the process. Sixteen international students who volunteered for the study were given a smartphone application with which they could track learning opportunities by taking pictures and writing textual commentaries. The data, collected over a period of five weeks, thus include the resulting entries these participants shared in their mobile multimodal diaries with the researchers, as well as an end-of-project debriefing that was conducted to shed further light on the international students’ digital habits and their attitudes towards self-tracking. This study indicates that digital tools can play an important and pervasive role in facilitating international students’ linguistic development and their dealings with everyday life abroad. It also confirms that self-tracking apps can be instrumental in enhancing students’ awareness of learning opportunities outside the classroom.

scholarly journals Developing relationality and student belonging: The need for building cosmopolitan engagement in undergraduate communities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Bamford ◽  
Lucie Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Communication Patterns ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Circle Of Friends ◽  
Student Belonging ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
The Impact

This paper addresses evidence that developing a sense of belonging for students from different ethnic groups impacts on their engagement. It notes previous findings that in universities habits of coexistence may present barriers to the development of relationships and the sense of student belonging. The paper proposes that cosmopolitan engagement offers a frame for considering the experience of cultural difference in the classroom. It stresses the importance of relationality and communication. The research, involving students undertaking business and science programmes in two culturally similar universities, has sought to develop a better understanding of how students in London engage with higher education, with their learning and with cultural others, and the impact on their learning of differing communication patterns. The study finds that students often feel distant from their tutors and afraid to ask for further explanation. Instead, they rely on a circle of friends to provide support and clarification. Students have identified the development of agency through engaging with others from different cultures. Engagement in practical collective tasks such as forensic lab work seems to have the potential to encourage communication across cultures, but observation have suggested that students tend to self-segregate. The article concludes that there cannot be a presumption of cosmopolitan engagement. Rather universities need to develop strategies for improving communication between students and staff and between students of different cultural backgrounds.

The classroom and beyond: Creating a learning environment to support learners of Japanese at CEFR levels A2.2 towards B1

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuko Ijichi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Opportunities For Learning ◽  
Activity Report

AbstractJapanese is a popular choice amongst higher education students on IWLPs (Institution-Wide Language Programmes), but the language presents challenges for many learners. Students on university elective programmes begin their courses with enthusiasm but often become discouraged and drop out at the post-beginner stage. Thus Japanese elective programmes in universities can be over-represented at beginner level but then tail off. There are many examples of good practice in teaching beginners Japanese but fewer models at higher levels. This activity report focuses on the development of a student learning environment suitable for Japanese at A2.2 towards B1 levels, incorporating classroom activities but also opportunities for learning in a “beyond the classroom” context. It is now widely accepted that the CEFR can provide much support and open up new opportunities. A common approach is to begin by defining appropriate “can do” descriptors, which can then be set as classroom objectives for learners. But very often there is not enough time or opportunity to use the language in the classroom. This report shows how classroom learning can be supplemented in contexts outside the institutional setting. Such contexts can provide real-world tasks, stimuli for interaction, a range of authentic documents, and culture discovery opportunities. All these support learning in a dynamic manner and ideally should link back to the CEFR’s “can do” objectives, which are identified in the core curriculum.

Learning to Communicate in the Classroom

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rod Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Illocutionary Act ◽  
Sociolinguistic Competence ◽  
Linguistic Repertoire ◽  
Esl Classroom

It is now generally accepted that second language (L2) acquisition can take place as a result of learning how to communicate in the L2. It is less clear, however, whether the kind of communication that occurs in a classroom is sufficient to ensure development of full target language competence. This article examines the extent to which the opportunities for communication in an English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom result in the acquisition of one particular illocutionary act—requests. A total of 410 requests produced by two child learners over 15–21 months were examined. The results suggest that although considerable development took place over this period, both learners failed to develop either the full range of request types or a broad linguistic repertoire for performing those types that they did acquire. The learners also failed to develop the sociolinguistic competence needed to vary their choice of request to take account of different addressees. One explanation for these results is that although the classroom context fostered interpersonal and expressive needs in the two learners, it did not provide the conditions for real sociolinguistic needs.

scholarly journals THE NECESSITY OF IMPROVING CULTURAL AWARENESS OF EFL LEARNERS IN STMIK HANDAYANI MAKASSAR

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Yuliah Abdul Haris
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
The Relationship

This paper mainly discusses the relationship between language and culture. Language and culture are closely related. If one does not understand the cultural backgrounds, he or she cannot learn the target language really well because any language is an integral part of its culture. Moreover, misunderstanding between the speaker whose first language is English and the speaker whose first language is not English occur between them.  The writer believes that there is still an important cultural element missing from foreign language education in Indonesian EFL classes in such as in STMIK Handayani Makassar. Therefore, English learning in STMIK Handayani Makassar should not only to learn the language, but also to learn its culture. To improve students’ sensitivity for cultural difference between the West and the East and to raise their cultural awareness, English teachers at schools are required not only to teach language but also to impart cultural background knowledge and further to deal with the relationship between language and culture well. This article starts with the necessity of teaching cultural awareness in English teaching at schools, and then this paper discusses some common cultural language mistakes by English Foreign Language learners in STMIK Handayani Makassar.

scholarly journals MULTILINGUAL INTERACTION IN CLASSROOM CONTEXT

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 381
Author(s):  
Andi Muhammad Syafri Idris ◽  
Adliah Adliah ◽  
Syatria Alfina
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Data Analysis Procedure ◽  
Teacher Students ◽  
Collection Data

This research aimed at exploring teacher and student ways of interacting in multilingual EFL classrooms. This research was a qualitative study using case study design. This research participants consisted of 1 EFL and 4 SMKN 5 Jeneponto students at Sulawesi Selatan. The data was obtained by observation and interview. The data was analyzed on the basis of data analysis procedure consisting of data collection, data display, data condensation, and conclusion: drawing / verification. The finding showed that there were three ways through multilingual interaction in the teaching and learning process, beginning the class, during learning process and closing the class.  The findings led to the conclusion that the multilingual interaction within the classroom had already made the teacher-students and student-students more interactive. Furthermore, the students were even good in communicating and influencing their attitude so they participated actively in classroom activities and felt comfort interacting with the class using multilingual interaction. The researcher also suggests that future researchers should conduct the relevant research by adding some new aspects to it. The aspects can be extended in terms of the method used, the number of research variables, research participants, etc.

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