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Instructor: Teresa Hsu

Presenter: Mickey Chan

Date: 2015/05/18

Speaking up: Six Korean Students’ Oral Participation in Class Discussion in US Graduate Seminars

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Citation

Lee, G. (2009). Speaking up: Six Korean students’ oral participation in class discussions in US graduate seminars. English for Specific Purposes, 28(3), 142-156.

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Contents

① Introduction

② Literature review

③ Method

④ Results

⑤ Conclusion

⑥ Reflection

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Definition of Terms

C&I : Curriculum and Instruction

L&LD : Language and Literacy Development

ED.Psy. : Education Psychology

FLE : Foreign Language Education

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Introduction

BackgroundPurpose of studyResearch questions

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Background

To participate in a discourse community, members must share not only linguistic knowledge but also sociocultural rules and values and the conversational norms of the community

Introduction

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Purpose of study

to explore the factors that influenced the oral classroom participation of six Korean students attending graduate school in the US, and how these factors impacted their oral interaction in class discussion

Introduction

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Research questions

① What are the primary factors that influence the oral classroom participation of Korean students in the US graduate seminars?

② In what ways do these factors impact on Korean students’ verbal interaction in class discussions?

Introduction

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Literature review

Contextual information Studies on the oral classroom participation of

Asian students

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Contextual information

Literature review

In addition to the limited scope of the TOEFL and GRE tests in assessing the students’ actual ability to participate orally in class discussions, many scholars have discussed how politeness and face-negotiation differ across cultures and influence verbal styles.

(Brown & Levinon, 1987; Goffman, 1966, 1971; Ting-Toomey,1988; Ting-Toomey & Kurogi, 1998)

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Classroom participation is a complex issue influenced by multiple factors that stem from linguistic, sociocultural, cognitive, pedagogical, as well as affective aspects.

Studies on the oral classroom participation of Asian students

(Liu, 2001)

Literature review

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Some cultural differences exist among Chinese, Japanese, or Korean students, which may differentially influence students’ oral participation in class discussions.

Studies on the oral classroom participation of Asian students

(Coward, 2002; Liu, 2001; Morita, 2000, 2004)

Literature review

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Method

• Participants• Setting • Data collection

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Participants: Class A

Method

Nameage

Betty30

Sumi28

Minnie32

Major C&I L&LD ED.Psy.

Current status MA/1ST year MA/1ST year Ph.D. candidate

Study in US 3 years 1 year 6 years

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Participants: Class B

Method

Nameage

Jina28

Minho38

Yongsu34

Major FLE FLE FLE

Current status MA/1ST year Ph.D. candidate Ph.D. candidate

Study in US 1 years 4 year 4years

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Setting-observation class A

Method

Psycholinguistics

Dr. Dina led the whole class discussions and asked them to talk about online experiences

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Setting-observation class B

Method

began with greetings, and followed by 40-50-min presentation

discussed two or three issues raised by the presenters

Each group was asked to share its exchange with other students.

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Data collection

Method

Transcripts of formal and informal interviewsObservational notesTranscript of audio-recorded small group

discussions

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Results

① What are the primary factors that influence the oral classroom participation of Korean students students in the US graduate seminars?

English language ability Sociocultural differences Individual differences Classroom environment

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English language ability Sociocultural differences -social views on talk -gender and age -classroom norms

① What are the primary factors that influence the oral classroom participation of Korean students students in the US graduate seminars?

Results

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Individual differences

-content knowledge

-personality

-anxiety

① What are the primary factors that influence the oral classroom participation of Korean students students in the US graduate seminars?

Results

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Classroom environment

-perceptions of teachers and classmates

-discussion formats

① What are the primary factors that influence the oral classroom participation of Korean students students in the US graduate seminars?

Results

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② In what ways do these factors impact on Korean students’ verbal interaction in class discussions?

Interaction patterns -take turns -initiate topics -responded to questions -how long their talk lasted

Results

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Conclusion

While it is commonly believed that Asian students’ reticence in class is mainly related to their lack of language proficiency.

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Reflection

What is your attitude toward to speaking in class?

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