Cultural Difference and Institution Support

Cultural Difference: When Shall I Talk In Class?

The teacher-centered style is typical in East Asian countries where students barely question the knowledge which the teachers deliver (Dong et al., 2008).

In Korean universities, students who recalled the exact knowledge taught in the classroom got high marks (H. J. Lee et al., 2017). In the US, classroom activities lack Asian international students’ participation because they used silence to show respect to the instructors (Ing & Victorino, 2016; Kim, 2008). They concentrated on listening to lecturers to compensate for the shortage of expression (Kim, 2008).

In a teacher-centered class, the instructor gives lectures, tells students when and what to do, and assigns students to answer questions. Therefore, some ESL Asian international students, like me, don’t know how to talk in western-styled classes, where students even talk more than the teacher. This video shows the struggling experience of trying to participate in an online class.

Let Me Give You a Hand: Institution Support

Tip: You may want to take a look at the image I shared on the previous page to help you understand this one.

Many universities and colleges offer extra workshops to help new students adjust to their studies. These courses include writing, presentation, time management, etc., and they are usually free! These supports may seem reasonable or even as spectacular as the image below! Still, the truth is, there are very few ESL Asian international students participating in these workshops because they are already overwhelmed by their major courses and assignments. These assistant courses provide a beautiful, supportive hand, but they may also create another obstacle or burden for ESL Asian international students.