The Role of Cultural Identity in

Classroom Participation
Melissa Smith, M.A.

Exploring issues involved in using communicative methods in

traditional classrooms.
Working with a monolingual group of students from a
non-Western culture poses a unique set of challenges for
English teachers, whether they are working in English as
a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) contexts. By far one of the greatest challenges comes when students are asked to participate in
a communicative task which requires them to interact
and cooperate with their classmates. In any language
class, but especially in those made up of a monolingual
group from a non-Western culture, students often seem
reluctant to participate orally in classroom settings.
While students lack of proficiency or the temptation to use their native language may feed this reticence,
culture and ethnicity also play an important role in students unwillingness to participate. The degree to which
culture plays a role may depend partially upon students
individual learning and interaction styles. However, the
differences between students cultural backgrounds and
their Western teachers expectations may have a significant effect upon classroom participation. This article
examines some of these differences and suggests means
of accommodating them.

Differences in Educational Practices

One of the most prominent differences lies in the
area of teaching styles. Current trends in English language teaching adhere to many of the principles of
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) theory.
Included in these principles are learner-centered teaching, task-based and content-centered approaches, cooperative and interactive learning, and whole language
education (Brown). Students who are accustomed to
educational practices widely different from CLT may
experience an uncomfortable dichotomy between their
expectations and what in actuality occurs in their language classrooms.
Flowerdew and Miller studied the possible effects
that a Western teaching style may have upon students
Teachers Edition

from non-Western cultures. They examined the reactions of Hong Kong university students to lecturers
from native English-speaking countries. Since the style
of teaching in Hong Kong is teacher-centered, what the
university students in their study expected from their
lecturers was a teacher-centered classroom. What many
of the lecturers hoped for was participation on the part
of the students. What the lecturers soon discovered was
that the Hong Kong students did not perform well in
this situation. In fact, one of the lecturers observed,
They are not accustomed to participating in lectures.
They feel quite threatened when they have to do so(p.
363). Obviously, then, different teaching styles require
different levels and types of participation (or non-participation) from students. Moreover, learners accustomed to one style may be overwhelmed by another.
Another difference is rooted in the Confucian ideal
of respect toward ones teacher. As Flowerdew and
Miller explain, For Confucius, ones teacher is on par
with ones father in terms of the loyalty and deference
that one is expected to show(p.357). As a result,while
original and independent thought are often valued in
American classrooms, the students in the Hong Kong
study were reticent to give their opinions in class, since
this would be seen as showing disrespect to their teachers. Instead of questioning or evaluating what was
being presented to them in class, these learners were
accustomed to an educational setting in which they
were expected to learn the right answer and to regurgitate [it] (p. 364). To do otherwise would be to question the authority of their teachers.
Hahn also studied this attitude of respect for ones
teacher (p. 16). She interviewed six international graduate students at the University of Illinois and had them
compare their American classrooms to classrooms in
their countries. The Korean subjects in her study
described the learning situation in their country as passive, and they explained that students only initiate discourse when they have an indisputably wise comment

28

March 2001

to add to classroom lectures. One subject said,Youre

not supposed to say anything. You have to obey your
leader, the teacher, who is like a king or queen. It is not
virtuous to disagree with your teacher. Thus, while
American culture often allows students to question
teachers and voice opinions, other cultures see such
behavior as highly disrespectful.
Another difference between American classrooms
and those of other cultures is the issue of face.
Understandably, students fears of not being able to
express their ideas in a comprehensible manner may
hinder them from participating in classroom discourse.
One of the Korean students that Hahn interviewed, for
example,described her efforts to participate in her classes in this way:I feel like a loser (p. 10). Further questioning of both this student and the five others revealed
that apprehension about being unintelligible to their
teachers as well as their classmates played a role in their
attitudes toward participating in class. Clearly, then, a
fear of losing face may hinder learners from making
oral contributions to class discussions.
From another perspective, the issue of face may
exercise control over students willingness to participate. Flowerdew and Miller explain that according to
the Confucian ideal, learners should not appear to be
better than their classmates. They describe the situation
in this way:[I]f students ask or answer a question, they
will be seen by their peers as showing off and will
become an outcast (p. 358). In some cultures, then,
students can be guilty of losing face either by producing
unintelligible utterances or by appearing too proficient
in their responses. Both perspectives may serve to
discourage language learners from participating in
EFL classrooms.

Accommodating the Differences

What is clear from the above discussion is that learners cultural backgrounds have an effect upon their attitudes toward classroom participation. Studentslearning
styles or lack of language proficiency may work to shape
their ways of interacting or participating in class.
However, discrepancies between learners expectations
and what occurs in the classroom also play a significant
role in their level of comfort in classroom discourse. In
order to reconcile these differences, teachers may want
to take the following steps.
First, display an active interest in the learning contexts from which students come. Why would teachers
Teachers Edition

want to learn about methods and approaches to EFL

when they may feel unable to justify their worth?
Nonetheless, taking an interest in students learning
backgrounds has a number of benefits. One such benefit is an exposure to a variety of approaches to language
learning, and this exposure may in turn result in an
appropriate respect for such methods. As many students proficiency testifies, they have not been unsuccessful in their attempts to learn English through methods other than CLT. As a result, other teaching methods
deserve respect.
A second benefit is the opportunity for teachers to
justify CLT or other techniques that they make use of in
the classroom. As students share their language learning
experiences,instructors are afforded a chance to explain
their own approaches and give a rationale for choosing
one method over another.
Finally, by showing an interest in students learning
experiences, teachers are modeling the same openness
they expect from their students. When instructors
incorporate new techniques and approaches into lesson
plans, they can expect the same reception that they
have displayed toward their students ideas.
A second suggestion is to approach teaching
methodology as a dynamic rather than a static entity.
Teachers may find it helpful to view approaches to
teaching on a continuum, with methods prevalent in
their students cultures on one end and CLT on the
other. In this way, rather than implementing immediate
and radical changes,instructors can gradually move their
students along the continuum. At first, they can attempt
to include principles of CLT within methods currently
accepted and used in the cultures from which their students come. As learners grow accustomed to these small
changes, teachers can then introduce more and different
ideas. The goal of such a dynamic approach to methodology is to find a middle point, according to what is feasible and most beneficial for students.
Third, dispel the myth that CLT language classes are
all fun and games. EFL learners often seem to be motivated by a fear of not learning anything, and as a result
complain that CLT classes are an entertaining diversion
but educationally worthless. For students from countries where a great deal of emphasis is placed upon
examinations and regurgitating information, the fear of
not learning is an understandable one. The challenge,
then, for language teachers is to demonstrate that learning can be both entertaining and effective. In order to
meet this challenge, a first step is to ensure that communicative and cooperative activities do in actuality

29

March 2001

have educational value and language improvement purposes. This is accomplished when instructors design syllabuses with goals to be reached throughout a semester,
and when they create lesson plans with objectives in
mind for each activity. Once goals and objectives are
mapped out, these should then be communicated to students. Teachers can explain long-term goals at the beginning of each semester, and they may also want to give
rationales either prior to or following class activities. In
this way, students are made aware of what is being
taught, how, and why.
In addition to understanding purposes and rationales, students may need some tangible evidence that
fun activities serve to improve their language proficiency. In this case, a comparison between pre- and post-test
performance may be helpful. For example, learners in a
writing class could be asked to produce an essay at the
beginning of a semester which could then be compared
to one written at the end. Or in a speaking class, learners could be audio- or video-taped before the course
begins, and then they could compare these tapes with
ones made near the end of the course. Such comparisons will help students to measure their own progess
and may open their eyes to the fact that as their overall
proficiency develops so will individual skills necessary
for performance on exams.

Flowerdew, J., and L. Miller. On the Notion of Culture in

L2 Lectures. TESOL Quarterly 29, pp. 345-373, 1995.
Hahn, L. The Challenge of Oral Participation in
American Classroom Discourse: International Graduate
Students Perspectives and Experiences. Paper presented at the 10th Annual International Conference on
Pragmatics and Language Learning in Urbana, Illinois,
March, 1996.
Krashen, S. The Pleasure Hypothesis. In Georgetown
University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics
1994. Ed. J.E.Alatis. Georgetown University Press, 1994.

Melissa Smith (M.A.,TESOL, Ball State University) is currently working on a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology
from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
Previously, she served as the ELI Curriculum Director for
China, where she taught from 1993-1997.

Conclusion
Krashen describes a study that asked students to
compare traditional methods with a more current one,
the Natural Approach. He found that students attitudes
toward traditional methods were neither more positive
nor more negative than their attitudes toward the
Natural Approach. He responded to these findings by
writing:[T]hese students may feel anxiety over the lack
of traditional techniques because they have incorrect
personal theories of language acquisition. This is exactly the attitude that teachers should not have toward
discrepancies learners may find between their own
practices and those of their teachers. Instead,
instructors should recognize that these differences
may be rooted in students cultural identities. What
students need is a teacher who models an ability to
adjust to such differences. n

An education isnt how much

you have committed to memory,
or even how much you know.
Its being able to differentiate
between what you know
and what you dont.
Anatole France

References
Brown, H.D. Teaching By Principles. Prentice-Hall,
1994.
Teachers Edition

30

March 2001