More Proficient, More Confident?
The impact of English proficiency and cultural upbringing on intercultural communication
In today’s globalized world, having a culturally diverse classroom is becoming a commonality, particularly in universities. Take Lund University in Sweden for example. Out of the 47,700 students they accept over a year, about 6,400 are international students, that’s about 14% of the student population[1]. Many studies have shown that there are many positive benefits that come with having cultural diversity in the classroom, one of which is a broadened learning experience[2]. With an increasing number of students from different cultures who speak a different first language making an appearance in our university classrooms, how does this affect communication and participation in class discussions?
Given the varying exposure to English in different cultures, there is no doubt that there is a varying standard of English among international students. This variance in English proficiency can affect a student’s confidence to participate in class discussions. According to some research conducted in 2013, a good command of the English language can help to reduce anxiety when interacting in class conversations, boost confidence to speak up and allows easier and more fluent communication of ideas and opinions which can improve the quality of discussions.
Furthermore, language difficulties that most international students face can make intercultural friendship formation and group work more challenging. This is because students who are not as proficient in English feel uncomfortable and may find it difficult to fully express themselves in the language. Therefore, for fear of miscommunication and misunderstandings, students poor in the language tend to speak up and participate less in class discussions.
Another factor that has an impact on the participation of international students in university is their cultural upbringing. In some cultures, for example in Asia, Asian students are typically trained not to question, disagree or speak in class. Therefore, when exposed to Western style of classroom learning, Asian students are seen as passive and unresponsive in class participation because they are not used to sharing their views and questions in the classroom setting. According to a paper written by Sifianou, Asian people view silence as a norm and speaking is only desirable if something needs to be conveyed. On the other hand, English-speaking people view speaking as a means to show interest and social interaction[3]. These differences thus have a stark impact on intercultural communication in the university setting as some students tend to speak out more than others.
Overall, the lack of confidence due to a poor command of the English language and the difference in cultural upbringing dampens the positive benefits of having a culturally diverse classroom. We feel that something should be done to resolve this, don’t you? Let us know what you think can be done to overcome this difficulty.
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