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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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