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The Perspective of American Teachers on American and
Taiwanese Students’ Learning Attitudes in Class
Instructor: Dr. Hsiu-Hui SuStudents: 9622611 林以悅 (Elly),
9622612 施緯華 (Grace)Date: Jan. 8th, 2009
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Contents
Introduction1
Literature Review2
Methodology3
Data Analysis4
Conclusion5
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Introduction
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to investigate
American Teachers’ perception on American
and Taiwanese Students’ Learning Attitudes
in Class.
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Introduction
Research Questions
1. What view do western teachers hold toward
Taiwanese learners’ response and participation
in class?
2. What view do western teachers hold toward
Taiwanese learners’ learning attitudes and
learning styles?
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Introduction
Definition of Terms
Learning Style
Learning styles are conceptual, behavioral,
cognitive, and affective patterns that are
displayed over time and task.
(Guild, 1994)
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Introduction
Definition of Terms
Learning Attitude
Learning attitudes, are various, toward ones’
self, toward the teachers, and the classroom
influence on learning.
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Introduction
Limitation of the Study
Due to the shortage of time, the data collected in
this study are restricted to only two Native
American interviewees in Taiwan.
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Literature Review
The realities and traits of a language
Language is a product of the culture, in which
members have created the language to carry out all
their cultural practices to identify and organize all
their cultural products, and to name the underlying
cultural perspectives in all the various communities
that comprise their culture.
(Moran, 2001).
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Literature Review
The realities and traits in individualistic classrooms
In an American classroom, for example, every
student is encouraged to voice their own opinion
and even to have a debate if their ideas contradict
with others’.
(Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, 2007)
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Literature Review
The realities and traits in collectivistic classrooms
In these collective classrooms, students’ behaviors
are shaped into an indirect mode.
There are hardly discussions, debates, or challenges
to the teachers’ point of view. The teachers are
always right because they are teachers.
(Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, 2007)
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Literature Review
Learning Style
Learning style is made up of different behaviors
that play the role as indicators of how one
learns and adapts to the environment and it also
gives us a clue as to how a person’s mind acts.
(Ballone & Czerniak, 2001)
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Literature Review
Learning Attitude
Learning attitudes constitute one’s perception and
the target culture. learning attitudes were
determined the component to which learners would
actively involve themselves in leaning progress.
(Brown, 2000)
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Literature Review
Different attitudes with different cultural backgrounds
1. The research was held by Oller, Hudson, and
Liu’s in 1977.
2. The research was held by Oller, Baca, and
Vigil in 1978.
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Methodology
An introduction to qualitative research
Qualitative research assumes that all knowledge is
relative, that there is a subjective element to all
research and knowledge, and that holistic,
ungeneralizable studies are justifiable. In
metaphorical terms, quantitative research is ‘hard’
while qualitative research is ’soft’.
(Nunan, 1992)
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Methodology
An introduction to interview
Interview can be characterized in terms of their
degree of formality, and the type of interview can be
divided into four categories: (1) informal
conversational interview (2) interview guide
approach (3) standardized open-ended interview
and (4) closed, fixed response interview.
(Patton, 1990)
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Methodology
Instrument
The type of interview adopted in this study is a
standardized open-ended interview (:a semi-
structured interview). The interviewers pre-selected
the exact wording and sequence of the interview
questions. Two interviewees were asked the same
basic questions about the education in the same
order.
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Methodology
Procedures
1. Face-to-Face interview (using open-ended
questions)
2. Tape recorded and video recorded
3. Data were transcribed verbatim, analyzed, and
reported
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Methodology
Data Analysis
Data collected from interviews were analyzed
using comparison in the hope of discovering the
categories and differences.
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Data AnalysisIQ1: Do students in your country actively
participate in classroom activities?
Interviewees Interviewee A Interviewee B
U.S.A. Taiwan U.S.A.
Teachers
try harder to get Ss involved in class
try less to get Ss involved in class
in college few learning activities (T-centered)
in high-school
group discussions
Students
1. Some Ss get involved in class; some don’t.
2. Ss prefer field-trips.
in elementary schools
activity-oriented teaching
some Ss are more involved; others are not.
Role of Ts & Ss
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Data Analysis
IQ2: Do Taiwanese students actively participate in classroom activities?
IntervieweesInterviewee A Interviewee B
Taiwanese students
Kindergartners may participate in the class; but not high-school or university Ss.
The participation depends on Ss’ learning motivation.
The closer Ss sit near the platform, the more motivation they are.
Role of Ss
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Data AnalysisIQ3: Do students in your country ask
questions in class?
Interviewees Interviewee A Interviewee B
American SsThey feel comfortableasking questions inopen class.
Some Ss do, andothers don’t.
American Ts
They feel comfortableand happy if Ss askquestions.
They’ll admit it if theydon’t know the answerto the question andthey’ll try to find it.
They’ll adjust thecourse if the Ss lookconfused even thoughthey don’t askquestions.
Role of American Ts & Ss
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Data Analysis
IQ4: Do you think Taiwanese students actively ask questions in class?
IntervieweesInterviewee A Interviewee B
Taiwanese Ss
Adults Ss do askquestions actively,but young Ss seldomask questions.
The older Ss, suchas the retired andthe housewives, aremore willing to askquestions.
High-school or college Ss are morequiet.
Role of Taiwanese Ss
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Data Analysis IQ5: Averagely, how do you perceive the difference in learning
style among Taiwanese students and American students?
IntervieweesInterviewee A Interviewee B
Taiwanese Students
Taiwanese students are much more studious.
Taiwanese studentsare more diligent thanAmerican students.
American Students
American students don’tdo necessary study atall. But they do paymore attention in classthan Taiwanesestudents.
American students arewilling to try differentway to helpthemselves learn.
Role of Student
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Data AnalysisIQ6: Comparing to American students; do Taiwanese
students worry a lot about making mistakes?
IntervieweesInterviewee A Interviewee B
Taiwanese Students
Taiwanese studentsdon’t get involved toomuch in class becausethey are too afraid ofmaking mistakes.
Asian students are moreworried.
Asian students havemore pressure form thesociety and the parents.
American StudentsAmerica people don’tdo that necessary.
American students worry,
too.
Role of Student
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Data Analysis IQ7: Based on your teaching experience, are both Taiwanese
students and American students willing to understand target language culture and value the system before they learn the language?
IntervieweesInterviewee A Interviewee B
Taiwanese Students
American Students
American students do not learn the second language since English as the world language. Therefore they have no drive and need to learn the culture.
Not quietly sure but it’s important for both. It will help and get learners excited, get them motivated.
Role of Student
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Data Analysis
IQ8: Comparing Americans students; do you think Taiwanese students are kind of “risk-takers” in learning language?
IntervieweesInterviewee A Interviewee B
Taiwanese StudentsSome want to try different ways to express their meaning and ideas.
Asia society is quieter, however. It depends on the context to assert it is good or not.
American Students Westerns are more
direct spoken, but sometimes it depends on the satiations.
Role of Student
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Conclusion
American students behave quite similarly as
Taiwanese students do in class.
The participation in both Taiwanese and American
classes depend largely on the students’ learning
motivation, and the learning motivation depends
mainly on the student’ age. The adult learners
behave more positively than much younger ones.
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Conclusion
American teachers, especially in primary schools, try
harder to design more activities to attract the students to
get involved in the class. However, high-school or
college teachers talk more in class. This is like the
situation in Taiwan as well.
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Conclusion
Both interviewees agreed that Taiwanese students
are more studious and they really pay much
attention on studying than American students do.
The reason could be referred to the value of
Confucianism and the pressure from their parents’
expectation.
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Conclusion
Taiwanese students and American students are
worried about making mistake but Taiwanese
students worried a lot because they get more
pressure from the issue of “saving face”.
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Conclusion
The researchers proposed that teachers would need to
pay attention to the attitudes held by the students of
different cultural backgrounds when designing their
curricula or dealing with culture-related issues in the
classroom.
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