Please Speak Up: Asian Immigrant Students in American College Classrooms

Abstract

Informal conversations and structured opportunities for oral communication help international students overcome barriers to improving their academic language skills.

Asian students’ perceptions of group work and group assignments in a New Zealand tertiary institution

“…One of the most visible features of Asian students studying in western tertiary institutions is their negative response to and low level of participation in group work and group assignments, which is often interpreted by western academia as barriers to effective learning and an obstacle to developing independent and critical skills in learning in a western tertiary institution (Hodne 1997). Holmes (2004) attributed Chinese students' lack of interest in participating in group work to interpersonal communication differences in the classroom such as their focus on classroom conformity, group harmony, respect for knowledge, teachers and authorities, efforts on high achievement, competition-oriented and authority-centred model of learning, all of which disadvantage Chinese students in a New Zealand classroom culture where individualism, assertiveness and verbal skills are highly emphasised.…”

Raising the in‐class participation of Asian students through a writing tool

“…Hodne, 1997;Lee, 1997;Littlewood, 1999;Liu & Kuo, 1996). Establishing effective communication is critical for creating a favourable learning environment, and it appears to be even more for raising participation in a multicultural class.…”

“…Not only is writing less stressful emotionally than speaking in class (Cheng, 2000;Liu, 2000), but it draws more on the use of the type of English that was actually studied by international students compared with what they hear around them when they arrive in the host country. Furthermore, writing eliminates much of the anxiety created by the direct identification of the speaker or the speed at which speaking occurs relative to writing (Hodne, 1997), and it is used by students to foster their learning (e.g. Davis, 1993).…”

“…Biggs, 1991). This behaviour is viewed not only as a barrier to the fostering of good learning practice, but also as an obstacle to engaging with campus life and fully benefiting from studying in another country (Hodne, 1997). A feature of low participation among Asians is that it seems confined to classrooms.…”

Becoming a “Model Minority”: Acquisition, Construction and Enactment of American Identity for Korean Immigrant Students

“…Psychologically, balancing ''American'' and ''Korean'' cultural values and norms may negatively affect the immigrants' mental health (Yeh et al 2005;Berry et al 1987;Yeh 2003). Socially, the immigrants frequently find themselves marginalized from English speaking peers and develop a sense of inadequacy or inferiority (Lee 2005(Lee , 2001Olsen 1997;Hodne 1997;McKay and Wong 1996). This article seeks to contribute to this growing body of literature on Asian American school experiences by taking a close look at the school experiences of a group of recent immigrants from Korea in an inner-city high school.…”