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This PowerPoint was presented at CoTESOL 2015.
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Student’s strategies behind dealing with misunderstandings
in the classroom
Are these strategies cultural?
Kathleen Hamel
Agenda
• Rationale• Previous Research• Research questions• Method• Conclusions• Discussion• Pedagogical implications
Rationale– Provide an understanding on how culture can affect
students and their strategies to clarify misunderstandings– How can teachers then accommodate their learners’
needs?• Through having an awareness of these differences, then
teachers can adjust their own strategies.– How can teachers facilitate the implementation of the
strategies that they prefer or find effective?
Opening Questions
• What are the most common types of strategies that ESL students use in/out of your classroom to clarify a misunderstanding (i.e. not understanding the content presented)?
• Do you notice that students from different cultural backgrounds use different strategies?
• What are some other possible reasons that students choose certain strategies?
Previous Research• Based upon Hofstede’s (1986) model of culture, intercultural
competence can be achieved through three stages:– Awareness– Knowledge– Skills
• From Kurtyka (2007), it was concluded that if there is a focus on language and discernible cultural practices, in language teaching, then a greater mastery of culture would result. Thus, the likelihood of misunderstandings would decrease.
Previous Research
• Misunderstandings could be solved by a common repair, if a different inference is what led to the misunderstanding initially , even if the misunderstanding is based on interculturality (Hinnenkamp, 2001).– Therefore, intercultural communication doesn’t have to be conflict
driven, as previous research had indicated, according to Hinnenkamp.
Previous Research
• Communication breakdown can occur when two cultures engage in discourse since verbal and non-verbal cues vary between cultures (Huang, Dooterwich & Bowers, 2012).
• In order to avoid being attributed to the cause of misunderstandings, students might not speak to ‘save face.’
This Study
• Misunderstandings-–when there is confusion based upon the content
being taught
Research questions• How does a student clarify misunderstandings based on
content in an ESL context?– From a friend/classmate– Before/after class– E-mail – In class– Internet– From the teacher directly
Research Questions
• Are the strategies that students use based upon their cultural background?
• Do the strategies that students use change from their native country to the US?–If yes, in what ways do they change?
Method: Participants
Questionnaire:
- 24 students:- 13 - Chinese- 8 - Vietnamese- 3 - Arabic
Ages:- 19 -24
- Education:- Current
undergraduates- Gender
- 17 Female- 7 Male
Method: Participants
Interview:- 3 students:
- Chinese- Arabic- American English, native
- Ages:- 19 -21
- Education:- Current
undergraduates- Gender
- All Female
Method: Questionnaire
Questionnaire:- What types of strategies do students use when
clarifying misunderstandings?- Do these strategies change from their native
country to the USA?
Method: Questionnaire1= Strongly Agree2= Agree3= Disagree4= Strongly Disagree
Example Questions:- In the United States, when I don’t understand
something in class, I usually look for answers on the Internet.
- In my home country, it’s more common for students to ask their classmates a question when they don’t understand what’s going on.
Method: Interview
Interview:- What strategies do they use most often in each context?- Why do students choose the strategies that they use?
Method: Interview
Example Interview Questions:• When you didn’t understand a teacher in your home
country, what would you do? • Why do you think misunderstandings occur in the
classroom?• Do you think misunderstandings occur in the
classroom due to different expectations based upon previous classroom experiences? Why or why not?
Questionnaire Conclusions
Results revealed some themes:– In their native country, students prefer:
• Fellow classmates– In the USA, students prefer:
• E-mail• Directly from the teacher
– In both contexts, students prefer:• Before/After class
Classmates.- Three questions per context
- Out of 72 individual responses
- Native country:- 61 agree- 11 disagree
- USA:- 41 agree- 31 disagree
Nat
ive
Cou
ntry
USA
Strongly Agree 32 14
Agree 29 27
Disagree 11 25
Strongly Disagree 0 6
84.7%15.3%
56.9%43.1%
Questionnaire Conclusions
Classmates in their native countries.
Classmates in the USA.
Questionnaire Conclusions
Before or after class.
Nat
ive
Cou
ntry
USA
Strongly Agree 12 17
Agree 20 15
Disagree 13 15
Strongly Disagree 3 1
- Two questions per context- Out of 48 individual responses
- Native country:- 66.7% agree- 33.3% disagree
- USA:- 66.7% agree- 33.3% disagree
Questionnaire Conclusions
Using e-mail.- Two questions per context
- Out of 48 individual responses
- Native country:- 27.1% agree- 72.9% disagree
- USA:- 68.8% agree- 31.2% disagree
Nat
ive
Cou
ntry
USA
Strongly Agree 5 16
Agree 8 17
Disagree 16 13
Strongly Disagree 19 2
Questionnaire Conclusions
E-mail in the USA.
E-mail in their native countries.
Questionnaire Conclusions
During class time.
Nat
ive
Cou
ntry
USA
Strongly Agree 7 16
Agree 14 14
Disagree 23 16
Strongly Disagree 4 2
- Two questions per context- Out of 48 individual responses
- Native country:- 43.8% agree- 56.2% disagree
- USA:- 62.5% agree- 37.5% disagree
Questionnaire Conclusions
Using Internet.- Two questions per context
- Out of 48 individual responses
- Native country:- 54.2% agree- 45.8% disagree
- USA:- 60.4% agree- 39.6% disagree
Nat
ive
Cou
ntry
USA
Strongly Agree 11 8
Agree 15 21
Disagree 19 16
Strongly Disagree 3 3
lyQuestionnaire Conclusions
Internet in the USA.
Questionnaire Conclusions
Directly asking the teacher.
Nat
ive
Cou
ntry
USA
Strongly Agree 12 13
Agree 14 20
Disagree 14 9
Strongly Disagree 8 6
- Two questions per context- Out of 48 individual responses
- Native country:- 54.2% agree- 45.8% disagree
- USA:- 68.8% agree- 31.2% disagree
Questionnaire Conclusions
Interview ConclusionsEach student differed in the strategies that chose:- Chinese student
- (1) office hours (2) e-mail (3) classmates
- Arabic student- (1) office hours (2) before/after class
- American student- (1) in class (2) websites (3) office hours
Interview Conclusions
Reasons for choosing strategies fell into three categories:
– “Saving face”– Context of the class
• Size of class• Perception of the teacher
– Culture
Interview Conclusions
“Saving face”
“…only ask a question [in class] if I know my classmates well enough...”
- Arabic student
Interview Conclusions
Context of the class“It depends if it’s a smaller or a larger class setting. If it was a smaller class setting, then I would just do it in the middle of lecture. If not, I would wait till the end and ask her aferwards.”
- American student
Interview Conclusions
CultureEven when the topic was currently being discussed, and the student was confused about the content, she wouldn’t ask a question because that’s how it was at her high school.
- Chinese student
Discussion
– Based upon your past experiences, do these results align with what you’ve noticed?
– Are there any additional strategies that you see students use?
– Why do you think these strategies change from one context to a different one?
Pedagogical ImplicationsWhen working in an ESL context, it’s important to:- Foster a comforting classroom atmosphere- Encourage students to ask questions
- In class, e-mail, or office hours
- Provide time before/after class to allow for students to come up and ask questions
- Consistently ask clarifying questions or repeat difficult material
- Provide reliable resources for students to use outside of class
Pedagogical Implications
• How do you encourage students to deal with misunderstandings in the classroom?
• Any other questions?
ReferencesHinnenkamp, V. (2001). Constructing Misunderstanding as a Cultural Event.
In A. DiLuzio, S. Gunthner & F. Orletti, Culture in Communication: Analyses of intercultural situations (1st ed., pp. 211 243). Philadelphia: John BenjaminsNorth America.
Hofstede, G. (1986). Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 10(30), 301-320.
Huang, J., Dotterwich, E., & Bowers, A. (2012). Intercultural miscommunication: Impact on ESOL students and implications for ESOL teachers. Joutnal of Instructional Psychology 39(1), 36- 40.
Kurtyka, A. (2007). From language to culture: On the intercultural dimension of foreign language learning and teaching. In A. Pearson-Evans & A. Leahy (Eds.). Intercultural spaces: Language, Culture, Identity (pp. 57-72). New York: Peter Lang.