ThThe Impact of Language Barrier & Cultural Differences e Impact of Language Barrier

8/13/2019 ThThe Impact of Language Barrier & Cultural Differences e Impact of Language Barrier

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The Impact of Language Barrier & Cultural Differences

Fort Hays State University

Xue (Bruce) Zanglong, Serhiy Zhykin

LDRS600 Sem/Org Ldsh

Dr. Brent Goertzen

December 10, 2013

Abstract

Issue of language barriers is a problem that many international students who come to

United States in pursuit of higher education often run in to. This paper focuses on Chinese

undergraduate and graduate students who study at Fort Hays State University. The primary focus

of our research study was about language barriers that limits Chinese students from fully

engaging in conversations with university professors. After conducting the interviews and

documenting the transcript we have found three common themes that effect the Chinese students;

they were language, culture difference, and social experience. Language was the primary issue

that caused limitations for Chinese students to engage with professors and students at FHSU.

However, we also found out that cultural difference contributed to the limitations why Chinese

students are not very engaging in the classroom.

Introduction

This research paper provides information about language and cultural barriers, and the

limitations that Chinese students devour because of those language barriers. Such limitations

prevent students from actively engaging in classroom discussions, asking and answering


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questions in class, approaching professors for additional help and getting involved in group

projects. Apart from academic restrictions that students acquire, cultural barriers tend to impacts

the social life on campus. Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is in partnership with severalUniversities from China; today FHSU is home to more than 300 graduate and undergraduate

Chinese students. This is a very important topic that needs to be addressed in order to help our

Chinese student overcome both language and cultural barriers that limits their full experience

here at FHSU.

Literature Review

Chinese international students

There are many different factors that create difficulties for Chinese students to be able to

speak English. This issue is particularly important at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It is

a problem that restricts a student to fully apply him or herself to the course and get involved in

classroom discussions; the limitations of English language that many Chinese students areexperiencing also create a language barrier between the student and a professor. Numerous

research studies have been done to help us understand what factors are creating the verbal

language problems for Chinese students. According to Wenli Yuan, and his study on cultural and

academic challenges of Chinese students, Chinese participants identified oral English and class

discussion as their major challenges at school (Yuan, 2011, p. 141). Also Yan and Berliner,

authors of Chinese International Students' Academic Stressors in the United States, focused on

examining why academic life in the United States was so stressful for the Chinese students. What

they found in their research is that Chinese students are very motivated to study in order to

receive excellent grades from their professors, but because most of them lack English proficiency


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they are often unable to communicate with professors (Yan, & Berliner, 2009). We will look at

different studies that have showed that Chinese international students are often overwhelmed and

frustrated with unfamiliar culture, new teaching styles and different educational system that theyare not accustomed to. The goal of this literature review is to find the key factors that have heavy

impact on the language barrier that Chinese students are having when studying in American

universities.

Learning shock

Much time has been spent by scholars to understand the difference in culture of Chinese

students. By having a better understanding of the culture change, we can help students to better

cope with transition. However, it is also very important to recognize the unfamiliar learning

styles that they are not used to. Dorothy S. Griffiths and her collogues refer to this experience as

learning shock, experiences of acute frustration, confusion and anxiety experienced by some

students. These students nd themselves exposed to unfamiliar learning and teaching methods,

bombarded by unexpected and diso rienting cues and subjected to ambiguous and conicting

expectations (Griffiths, Winstanley, & Gabriel, 2005 , p. 276). Victor Wang and Lesley Farmer

the authors of Adult Teaching Methods in China and Blooms Taxonomy, argue d that adult

teaching methods in China feature a teacher-centered, information-based and test-driven

instructional format (Wang & Farmer, 2008 , p. 1). Chinese students find American classrooms

to be very challenging because most professors try to implement multiple learning styles within

the course. While the test scores amaze American professors, C hinese adult students lack of

communication skills, especially in speaking and wri ting worries their professors ( Wang &

Farmer, 2008, p. 2). Most Chinese students have hard time engaging in group projects, class


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discussions and presentations. These unfamiliar teaching techniques, transform to the learning

shock that Dorothy S. Griffiths and her collogues are referring to. This involves a variety of

emotions, both positive and negative, and requires emotional literacy, management and learning.Some cope better than others. For some, it amounts to a tortuous experience where they struggle

to adjust and to learn ( Griffiths, Winstanley, & Gabriel, 2005, p.292).

Issues that handicap effective interactions

For undergraduate and graduate Chinese students, the new learning methods that they are

adapting involve much more than sitting in the classroom; as Stephanie Zimmermann describes

it, students also need to adjust to a soc io-cultural system which is different from their own

(Zimmermann, 1995, p. 322). Zimmermann also argued that those Chinese students that are

academically successful are highly dependent on interaction with their native instructors.

Because communication is such an important factor for Chinese students, language barrier

prevents the students from reaching their full academic potential here in the United States.

According to Yan and Berliner (2009), four problems were identified by our respondents as

factors handicapping their effective interactions with American faculty. The first one is language

insufficiency, which is one of the main barriers that stands between the professors and Chinese

students. However, many students are able to overcome this problem with enough time. Second

one is lack of initiative and autonomy; this aspect keeps students from opening up to the

professor and the class. Chinese students will not engage with the professor unless they are

directly spoken to. The third barrier is verbal passiveness. Students have difficulty formulating

the sentences in the dialect, which makes it difficult to understand the main idea of what the

students is trying to explain. The last issue that students are experiencing is indirect mode of


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communication, which is conveyed not by the words, but by the actions such as silence, or long

pauses and uncertainty in their voice (Yan, Berliner, 2009).

Such factors limit Chinese students to consistently participate in classroom discussions.

This ultimately carries frustration on many American instructors. Because of language

insufficiency and poor verbal skills, teaching strategies that normally work well with native

speakers, seem ineffective with Chinese students (Shu-Fang, 1996; Wan, 2001). Because

language barrier has created such a major issue between Chinese international students and

instructors, Huang (2006), created a study that focused on evaluating listening challenges of

undergraduate and graduate Chinese students who are studying in the United States. He found

interesting correlation why Chinese students score so high on the Test of English as a Foreign

Language (TOEFL), yet still they are experiencing difficulty in the classroom. Large number of

Chinese international students had a high reading and writing ability, which allows them to score

high on the reading and writing sections of the exam. The problem that most Chinese students

face is the verbal and listening aptitude. Most students are not confident enough in their

pronunciation, which limits their performance in the classroom.

Psychological stress

Wenli Yuan, in his journal article talks about cultural experiences of Chinese students at

American Universities and mentioned a study that was done by Wang Chia-Chih and

Mallinckrodt Brent. This study hypothesized Chinese students who avoid cultural connection,

will more likely to experience psychological stress, anxiety and homesickness. The results of the

study suggested that attachment anxiety was negatively associated with students' acculturation

to U.S. culture, and that attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and acculturation to U.S.


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culture were significant predictors for students' psychosocial adjustment (Wang, Mallinckrodt

2006, p. 422). These dimensions such as attachment avoidance, deals with defensive denial to

engage in social contact with those who are from a different culture. Attachment anxiety refers to

separation from culture and the feeling of being home, and acculturation deals with cultural and

psychological change. (Wang, Mallinckrodt 2006). As the consequence of this study, we can say

that for Chinese students who have a desire to be successful undergraduate or graduate student, it

is essential to be willing to adapt to the American culture.

Identification of important issues

As we can see from the previous research, students are avoiding cultural connection,

having issues with language insufficiency, unfamiliar teaching styles and not familiar with

different educational system. We believe that it is the combination of all these factors that is

creating difficulties for international Chinese students. It could be difficult, but it is very

important to understand how culture shock as well as learning shock are complementary to one

another. As we began to have a better understanding of all the different factors that are causing

issues for Chinese international students, we would be able to find a better method to help them

overcome those issues.

Methods Section

Participants

In our research study about the language barriers of Chinese students at Fort Hays State

University, Xue (Bruce) Zanglong and I had ten participants. We conducted four face-to-face

semi structured interview interviews, and one focus group interview. During our face-to-face


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interviews, each participant was interviewed separately. All through for our focus group

interview we interviewed six participants simultaneously. All of the participants were Chinese

students that are currently enrolled in the fall 2013 academic year at Fort Hays State University.The pool of our participants consisted of six male and four female students. We had a mixture of

six graduate students and four undergraduate students. Four of the ten participants were living on

campus while the other four were commuters. Students that live on campus were randomly

selected through the office of international student services. Students that live off campus are

close companions of Bruce that live near his apartment. It was a good idea to take the advantage

of close relationship that Bruce had with the students. Students did not feel any since of

intimidation from the very start, which helped them to share many interesting personal stories

with us. The age of all participants ranged from eighteen to twenty five.

Materials

The primary focus of our research study is about language barriers that limits Chinese

students from fully engaging in conversations with university professors. The negative effects

this has on their academic and social experience at Fort Hays State University. It was important

for the purpose of this research to create a comfortable environment for the participant during

our interview. We want our participants to feel comfortable expressing their opinions and sharing

their stories (Esterberg, 2002). We used qualitative research method that gave us the ability to

conduct a semi-structured interview that consisted of open-ended questions. For the purpose of

our study, it was best to have in-depth interview, this allowed us to explore certain topics in

detail. Depending on the answer that participant provided, we had the flexibility to adjust the

next question or ask additional questions such as why or how.


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After we select ten international Chinese students, we made the first contact with

the participant through the email. We provided them with descriptive information about our

study, and why it is important to Fort Hays State University. In addition to that we askedstudents if they were willing to help us with our research, by taking part in the interview process.

We listed available dates for conducting the interviews and asked them to email us back with the

time slot and the day that best works for them (for a copy of the first email please refer to

Appendix A). The six participants that took part in the focused group interview were the first

students that responded. We had to send additional eight emails on top of the original ten that we

sent, in order to fulfill our four face-to-face interviews. The process from our initial contact with

the students, and until our last interview was four weeks long. After we conducted all of the

interviews, we sent our second and our final email. The purpose of this contact was to express

our gratitude and say thank you for their participation (see Appendix B).

The interviews were held in two different locations. The face-to-face interviews

were held in one of the reserved rooms in the library, and focus group interview was held in

Bruces apartment. During face -to-face interview, the only people who were be present in the

room are the student who was the participant, Bruce who took notes during the interview and I

had the role of a mediator. At the beginning of each interview, I read interview protocol and

Bruce interpreted when translation was needed. After that we started our interview with a few

simple questions that made participant feel more comfortable, after which we jumped into more

relevant questions about our research (see Appendix C). It is important to remember that our

questions changed in order to further explore participants story.

Results Section


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Language

After conducting the interviews and documenting the transcript we have found three

common themes that effect the Chinese students; language, culture difference, and social

experience. All of the participants indicated that language barrier was the most challenging factor

to overcome. Language barrier effected all Chinese students both their academics and social

experience. Many of them do not feel comfortable speaking English in the classroom because

they are not confident in their pronunciation. Some of them even mentioned if they have Chinese

friends in class that they will not attempt to speak English, even if they dont understand what

professors is lecturing about. They much rather get help from their friends later sometime after

class. If I have some Chinese students, I will speak Chinese more. If not, I will try speak

English, but I will not do much communication with my American classmates and professor.

When I have some problems and need to ask them for help. I will ask my friends later. I dont

know why, maybe because I am introverted character and poor English skills. I do not have

much confidence in my communication. Poor communication skills creates the feeling of

intimidation when they are involved in direct conversation with professors or classmates,

classroom discussion, and especially having to give class presentations in front of class.

Cultural Difference

Cultural difference was the second most challenging factor to overcome, and the most

sudden factor to overcome. Chinese students stated that in China they have different learning

system. In China we have a communist government and since little children we are told to obey

our parents and our teachers because they are our leaders. We do not question our professor and

do not speak unless w e are told by the professor that we can speak. Many of them are not used


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program. Students feel that ESL was a tremendous help in the area of grammar and writing.

However, as we discussed earlier and learned from our literature review, oral communication is

the main barrier that Chinese students tend to struggle.

Second problem that students encounter was cultural differences. Two meaningful

suggestions were directed towards academic improvement and one suggestion was targeted

towards the social side. Students realize that improving their communication with classmates and

professors is essential part of the education system here at FHSU. Because of the cultural

difference, new Chinese students do not feel comfortable answering and asking questions in

class. However, students suggested that if professor directly calls on the student to take part in

the discussion they will feel the obligation to do so. A big reason why most Chinese students do

not ask or answer questions in class is because most professors at FHSU provide them with a

choice, by asking the entire class. Because of their lack of communication skills, they rather let

other students be involved in the conversation. Another characteristic deals with culture. In

China students often do not speak without the permission from their instructor. As one of the

participants explained during the interview we do not question our professor and do not speak

unless we are told by the professor that we can speak. Only when student is called upon by the

professor may they answer or ask the question.

Final main issue that we identified was social experience. Students suggested that

Chinese teaching assistants that can act as a mentor to guide and help students understand and

adapt the studying style here at FHSU would be a great first stem to begin the adaptation to the

new social environment. This support should be provided in the early stages, possibly during the


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orientation, before students begin their classes. This could be a good way to introduce the

students to the new, different social environment that they are used to.

Discussion

Parallel Findings

The results that we found after conducting our research study seem to parallel with some

of the finding that originated from the previous studies that were mentioned in our literature

review. For example Wenli Yuan has found in his study on cultural and academic challenges of

Chinese students that Chinese participants consider class discussion as their major challenges at

school (Yuan, 2011, p. 141). Our main theme was language barrier, more specifically oral

communication. Students struggle with classroom presentation and group discussions.

Unfamiliar learning style was covered in our cultural difference theme. That explained why

students are not used to the teaching styles that are implemented at FHSU. Dorothy S. Griffiths

and her collogues refer to this experience as learning shock.

What are we going to do with the results?

All our finding are not anything new in particular, language barrier, culture difference,

and new social experience that Chinese students have to deal with have been learned by many

scholars. Conversely, we have confirmed that our Chinese students at Fort Hays State University

effected by these limitations. What we chose to do now in order to help our international students

to overcome some of these barriers is the next step. Language barrier is by far the main source of

what is limiting the students from becoming more engaging students. This issue has to be

addressed more by the students themselves if they are serious about overcoming that barrier.


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They must practice speaking English as much as possible, surround themselves with as many

English speaking friends as possible. Only when they are willing to overcome the problem

themselves, will they be see real results. However, some of these issues like cultural shock andadaptation to the new environment we can help with the transition. Of course this will take time

and it is also heavily dependent on the students themselves, but establishing programs like iPal,

where international students get partnered up with domestic students where they will attend

various university event together, and have the opportunity to meet more domestic students and

experience different culture is something we can do. This program is something International

Student Services is working on and is hopping to implement it spring semester of 2014.

Limitation and Future Studies

One of our key limitations that we had in the study was low number of participants. With

only ten participants our results may not be the same if we had a larger amount of participants.

Also personal stories was a great advantage for our study, however for a future study we

recommend to implement mix method research design; having personal stories and statistical

analysis will be the most accurate and complete method of getting good results.


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Reference List

Creswell, W. (2012). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approach.(4th ed., pp. 183-192). Los Angeles: Sage.

Esterberg, G. (2002). Qualitative methods in social research. McGraw-Hill Higher Education,87-110. Retrieved from https://blackboard.fhsu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2147002-dt-content-rid-10961222_1/courses/LDRS600_F2013/Esterberg 2002 Interviews.pdf

Griffiths, D. S., Winstanley, D., & Gabriel, Y. (2005). Learning shock: The trauma of return toformal learning. Management Learning , 36 , 275-297.

Huang, J. (2006). English abilities for academic listening: How confident are Chinese students?College Student Journal , 40(1), 218-226.

Huang, Y. (2012). Transitioning challenges faced by Chinese graduate students. Challenges inTransitioning to American Classrooms , 143.

Shu-Fang. (1996, April). Learning multiculturalism from the experience of international students: The experience of international students in a teacher training program . Reports- Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers Annual meeting of the Ameri.

Wang, Chia-Chih DC & Mallinckrodt, Brent. (2006). Acculturation, attachment, and psychological adjustment of Chinese/Taiwanese international students. Journal ofCounseling Psychology, 53 (4), 422-433.

Wang, V., & Farmer, L. (2008). Adult teaching methods in C hina and blooms taxonomy. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2 (2), 1.

Yuan, W. (2011). Academic and cultural experiences of Chinese students at an Americanuniversity: A qualitative study. Intercultural Communication Studies, 1 , 141-148.

Yan, K., & Berliner, D. C. (2009). Chinese international students' academic stressors in theUnited States. College Student Journal, 43 (4), 939-960.

Zimmermann, Stephanie. (1995). Perceptions of intercultural communication competence and

international student adaptation to an American campus. Communication Education,44(4), 321-333.


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Appendix A: First Contact

December 10, 2013

Dear [Participant],

You have been identified as a key person to be a participant for a voluntary interview that is being conducted as part of the graduate degree requirement in the leadership department.

The primary focus of our research study is about language barriers that limits Chinese studentsfrom fully engaging in conversations with university professors and how these limitationseffect their academic and social experience at Fort Hays State University.

The interview will be conducted between you the participant and two mediators Serhiy Zhykinand Xue (Bruce) Zanglong, both are graduate students who are majoring in

Organizational Leadership. This interview is completely voluntary. You are free to leavethe interview at any time if the questions and conversations make you feel uncomfortable.Your answers will be used to enhance the quality of academic and social involvement forthe future Chinese students at Fort Hays State University. The interview is confidentialand your replies will not be individually documented and will not be revealed. Theinterview data will be destroyed at the end of the research project. The interview shouldnot take longer than 45 minutes.

Avail able time for the interview:

Monday 4:30pm-8:00pm

Tuesday 10:00am-1:00pm

Wednesday 4:30pm-8:00pm

Thursday 9:00am-1:00am; 5:00pm-8:00pm

Friday 4:30pm-8:00pm

Saturday ANY TIME

Sunday ANY TIME

Please confirm that you agree to be interviewed by both Serhiy Zhykin and Xue (Bruce)Zanglong who are conducting this research project, and respond back with the convenienttime slot for you to be interviewed.


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If you have any further questions regarding this research project, please do not hesitate to contactSerhiy Zhykin or Xue (Bruce) Zanglong, graduate students in MLS OrganizationalLeadership. You may also contact Dr. Brent J. Goertzen, professor for the LDRS 600:Seminar: Research Methods class.

Contact infor mation:

Serhiy Zhykin Xue (Bruce) Zanglong Dr. Brent Goertzen:

Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email:[email protected]

Phone: 512-629-7722 Phone: 785-787-2039

Thank you, we are looking forward hearing from you soon.


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Appendix B: Second Contact

December 10, 2013

Dear [Participant],

We would like to thank you for your participation in the interview process that tremendouslyhelped our research. You have provided us with analysis that will help Fort Hays StateUniversity (FHSU) have a better understanding of how we can accommodate Chinesestudents that are having language barrier problems in the classroom. We also want to

provide the post possible social experience to our Chinese international students. Withthis knowledge we hope that the social and academic involvement will improve the futurefor Chinese students at FHSU.

Thank you for your participation!


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Appendix C: Interview Questions

General Questions:

1. Your gender: F__ M__

2. Classification: Undergraduate__ Graduate__

3. How long have you been at FHSU?

4. Where do you live? On- campus__ Off-campus__

Language Aspects:

6. What is your favorite way of practicing English (watching TV, reading, speaking to people, writing stories)?

7. What is the most difficult characteristics in English (speaking, reading orcomprehension)? Why do you think it is?

8. Not counting the time when you are in the classroom, which language do you speak moreChinese or English? Why?

9. In your dorm room which language you speak the most? What influences that?

10. What did you find most difficult to adapt to at Fort Hays State University (Americanculture, education)? Why?

11. Have you ever been involved in any university activities (intramural sports, studentlife)? If not, why not?

12. How is the teaching style in China different from what you have experienced at FHSU?

13. Do you find it hard at times to understand your professor when he/she is lecturing? Whatideas would you suggest, that could increase the level of understanding in the classroom?

14. Have you ever taken any online classes? If yes, do you find it that virtual classes haveless of language barrier?

14. What do you think Fort Hays State University can do different to help you understandEnglish better?

Closing Activity (to be read by moderator):


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I would like to express my appreciation for your willingness and collaboration to participate inthis important research. The purpose of this research study is about language barriers thatlimits Chinese students from fully engaging in conversations with university professorsand how these limitations effect their academic and social experience at Fort Hays State

University. If you feel that this research was unfair towards you, please feel free tocontact Dr. Brent J. Goertzen, professor for the LDRS 600: Seminar: Research Methodsclass.

If you have any questions regarding this research project, please do not hesitate to contact SerhiyZhykin or Xue (Bruce) Zanglong, graduate students in MLS Organizational Leadership.You may also contact Dr. Brent J. Goertzen, professor for the LDRS 600: Seminar:Research Methods class.

Serhiy Zhykin: [email protected]

Xue Zanglong (Bruce): [email protected]

Dr. Brent Goertzen: [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Appendix D: Interview Transcript

MODERATOR: Before we begin asking you questions, I want to thank you all verymuch for taking time out of your day and help us conduct this focus group interview. Theinterview should take about 45 minutes to an hour. I will ask you questions, and I amhoping that we all can have an open conversation with each other. If at any time, thequestions or the situation makes you uncomfortable you can withdraw from the groupany time.

Because there are six of you, lets respect one another and make sure that we speak one ata time and I will make sure that everyone is heard and gets to express themselves. Iencourage you all to not only provide an answer, but also to tell stories about differentexperiences that you all may had. Do you guys have any questions?

FEMALE STUDENT: No.

MODERATOR: Okay, one more thing that I have to read to all of you guys before I begin with my questions.

This interview is being conducted as part of the research for graduate degree requirement.

I would like to express my appreciation for your willingness and collaboration to participate in this important activity. The purpose of this interview is to find out what arethe language barriers that of Chinese students have and how they limit their academic

potential and social interactions with domestic students.

This interview is completely voluntary. You are free to leave the interview at any time ifthe questions and conversations make you feel uncomfortable. Your answers will be usedto enhance the quality of academic and social involvement for the future Chinese studentsat Fort Hays State University. The interview is confidential and your replies will not beindividually documented and will not be revealed. The interview data will be destroyed atthe end of the research project.

If you have any questions regarding this research project, please do not hesitate to contact

Serhiy Zhykin or Xue (Bruce) Zanglong, graduate students in MLS OrganizationalLeadership. You may also contact Dr. Brent J. Goertzen, professor for the LDRS 600:Seminar: Research Methods class.

Okay. Lets begin guys.

What is your favorite way to practice English? It can be something like watching TV,reading books, speaking to people, writing stories.


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MALE STUDENT #1: Watching TV, I can do it at any time, and this way can make merelax.

MODERATOR: When I came in I saw all of you guys playing video games and speaking

English; does that help you guys understand English better?

MALE STUDENT #1: We don't speak too much we, listen more.

MALE STUDENT #2: Well it helps me to learn the slang that a lot of Americans use.

MODERATOR: So not the kind of language that you would here professor use in theclassroom?

MALE STUDENT #2: Yes, very different. It is just for game and we can talk like thatwith our American friends.

MODERATOR: What is the most difficult thing about English language for you guys? Isit speaking, reading or comprehension?

MALE STUDENT #1: Speaking and comprehension.

MODERATOR: Why?

MALE STUDENT #1: Because when I could not understand, I would not speak. And themost difficult about English to me, I think is vocabulary. I only know simple words so itshard for us to understand everything when we listen to professor or our American friends.

MODERATOR: Do you practice expanding your vocabulary, maybe by reading more books or trying to speak more with American students?

MALE STUDENT #1: No, not too much. I just read the books that our professors tell usto read.

MALE STUDENT #3: There are so many Chinese students here on campus that we canspeak Chinese to each other and dont really have to speak very much English.

MALE STUDENT #1: But I try to speak English more now than before. I used to haveAmerican roommate with me so I speak English with him a lot.

MODERATOR: So when do you speak English now?

MALE STUDENT #3: In the classroom, but if I have some Chinese students, I will speakChinese more. If not, I will try speak English, but I will not do much communication withmy American classmates and professor. When I have some problems and need to askthem for help. I will ask my friends later. I dont know why, maybe because I am


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introverted character and poor English skills. I do not have much confidence in mycommunication.

MODERATOR: What if the courses here were thought in Chinese would you answer and

ask questions, or would you still hesitate to speak up?

MALE STUDENT #3: In China we have some classes with performance point. We haveto answer questions, because we have to improve our performance point in the class. Sowe here was like in China we would answer questions to get maximum points.

MODERATOR: So what if professor provided you guys with an incentive to askquestions and get involved in class discussions would you be willing to speak up?

MALE STUDENT #4: What kind of incentive?

MODERATOR: Like if they would give you extra points that could help your grade,would you get involved more?

MALE STUDENT #4: Yes of course!

MALE STUDENTS #3: Yea, Yea.

MODERATOR: So if professors would give you guys extra point on the exam if you askget involved in class, you guys would not care anymore about being shy, you would askquestions?

FEMALE STUDENT #1: No, I would not care. I will ask questions and try to answerquestions.

MALE STUDENT #5: Chinese students will not care about being wrong, we would talkand ask questions to get extra point.

MALE STUDENT #3: In University in China we do not ask questions to professor. We just listen and make sure we study hard for the exam.

MODERATOR: So in China, does the professors ever ask you questions? Or maybe askyou to share something with the whole class?

MALE STUDENT #3: Not much. In university we do not talk with the professor much inclass, but in high school we sometimes have classes where teacher asks us questions andwe have to answer and if you dont answer you will get low grade. So we must study andhave to be ready to answer questions.

MODERATOR: So the style of teaching in High School in China is similar to FHSU?


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MALE STUDENT #3: A little. Only some classes, but very different from our university.

MODERATOR: Which system do you prefer, listen professor lecturing or get involved inthe class discussions and ask questions?

MALE STUDENT #3: Listen and leave. Because my English is not so good.

MALE STUDENT#5: I like to listen to professor speak and than we leave. It is how welearn in China so its easy for us, we are used to listen to professor talk, than we study andtake exam.

FEMALE STUDENT #1: I like to list to the professor and take notes, but sometimes theytalk fast and I cannot take notes so fast.

MODERATOR: Do you ask your professors to slow down?

FEMALE STUDENT#1: I dont want to stop him. Maybe I can ask my friend after classand write down what professor said.

MODERATOR #1: In China we cannot ask our professor to stop and repeat. We have tolisten and maybe ask our friend if we didn't not understand something. So we try to dothe same thing here at Fort Hays.

MODERATOR: Okay, well thats really interesting. What about online classes, have anyof you ever taken any online classes?

MALE STUDENT #5: No.

MALE STUDENT #1: Yes.

MODERATOR: Do you find it that virtual classes have less of language barrier?

MALE STUDENT #1: When I take that, I will feel better, because all of teaching usewritten language, and I can use dictionary and network to help me understanding theknowledge. So it help me. I like it better.

MODERATOR: So you guys do not have problems with reading and writing, its thespeaking that is hard for you?

MALE STUDENT #1: Yes, we dont like speaking much because we afraid to makemistakes.

MALE STUDENT #3: Online classes are more work, but its not difficult because wehave time to use dictionary and understand everything.


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FEMALE STUDENT #1: We need more time to be able to understand everything. Inclass professors talk too fast it is hard to follow every word.

MODERATOR: Do you find it hard at times to understand your professor when he or she

is lecturing?

MALE STUDENT #3: Yes, sometime the professor like just speaking with us, and didnot have PowerPoint or some other Multimedia Computer Assisted Instruction. Wecannot understand when the professor speak very fast. And if we have more literalinterpretation like Power Point that can help us to understand. Many professors in myclass do it and I like that.

MODERATOR: So why dont you guys ask the professors to slow down?

FEMALE STUDENT #1: Because we dont want to stop him.

MODERATOR: So you do not feel comf ortable stopping him just because you dontunderstand something?

FEMALE STUDENT #1: Yes, because there are many other students and I dont wantthem to stop just for me.

MODERATOR: Do you ever come up to your professors and ask questions after class?

MALE STUDENT #5: No, we ask each other after class.

MALE STUDENT #3: Sometimes I do, but usually we I just ask my friend and they canhelp me or sometimes I help them.

MODERATOR: Does your professors let you know that you are more than welcome toask them questions during and after class?

MALE STUDENT #1: Yes, everyone is nice and we know that, but we dont want because poor English skills.

MODERATOR: Okay, well lets talk a little more about your experience at Fort HaysState University outside academics. Have you ever been involved in any university

activities like intramural sports or student life activities?

MALE STUDENT #1: No, I did not. The same reason, because I am have poor Englishskills. I did not have much confidence to do a communication. And I have been involvedin some university activities with Chinese students only.

MALE STUDENT #2: I play basketball a lot with Chinese students in the CunninghamHall.


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MALE STUDENT #4: I play basketball too.

MALE STUDENT #5: I go swimming with my friends.

MODERATOR: American friends or Chinese friends?

MALE STUDENT #5: Chinese friends.

MODERATOR: I play soccer every Tuesday and Thursday in the Cunningham Hall, wehave a few Chinese students who play with us. If you guys ever want to join us you aremore than welcome to. At the same time you will get to make some new friends. Wehave a lot of American students and also students from Saudi Arabia. Their English hasimproved just by spending time with American students and talking to us in English.

MALE STUDENT #3: I go to the GYM and workout. Last semester I go there every day,

but this semester I havent been. MODERATOR: But you guys need to find friends that do not speak Chinese so that youcan practice your English.

MALE STUDENT #3: I have some, but I usually prefer to be with Chinese students.

MODERATOR: You dont speak English when you with your Chinese friends do you?

MALE STUDENT #3: No, we speak Chinese 99%.

MODERATOR: See when I came to America I didnt speak English at all, I found it to be very helpful to be around people that spoke only English and that helped me learnEnglish faster. But I guess in your case it is a little different because you have so manyChinese students, you are not forced to speak only English.

MALE STUDENT #4: Where are you from?

MODERATOR: Ukraine.

MALE STUDENT #4: Yes, I know Ukraine and there is not many people from Ukrainehere. Maybe if we didnt have so many Chinese students we would learn English faster.

MODERATOR: Well how do you find Hays, do you guys like it here?

MALE STUDENT #1: It is very boring.

MALE STUDENT #3: I like big city.

MALE STUDENT#5: We love shopping. I wish we had big mall!


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MODERATOR: But being a small city also can be a good thing right? You have lessdestructions and can focus more on your studies.

MA LE STUDENTS #4: Yes we can study more, but this is also why we dont go out

anywhere. It is too boring and not much to do.

MODERATOR: Do you guys get a lot of homework from your professors?

MALE STUDENTS #3: No, not too much.

FEMALE STUDENTS #1: We have more homework in China, and homework is notvery hard.

MODERATOR? So I just have one more question for you guys. What can Fort HaysState University do to help you overcome the language barrier in the classroom?

MALE STUDENT #1: I think, professors at Fort Hays State University can directly callon the student to answer questions. Many of us are still do not feel comfortable speakingwithout permission from the professor. In China we have a communist government youknow, and since little children we are told to obey our parents and our teachers becausethey are our leaders. We do not question our professor and do not speak unless we aretold by the professor that we can speak. So if professor tell me in class answer myquestion, of course I will try my best to answer it.

MALE STUDENT #3: We also dont like to ask questions in class because other studentswill laugh and make fun of you if you say something that is wrong. So here, it is differentfor us to ask questions because we are not used to asking question without being told todo it.

MODERATOR: But you know that here the students will not make fun of you if youanswer question wrong, right?

MALE STUDENT #3: Yes, yes I know, but this is just the culture that we are used to.You know many times in China people make fun of you if you answer question wrong.But here everyone is nice, students and professors both want to help us. Sometimes Ihave students who are not too nice, but most times everyone help us.

FEMALE STUDENT #1: Also the longer we are here, the easier it is for us. Sometimes Ican answer questions in class. Because my English is better, I think it is easier for me tospeak and for everyone to understand.

MODERATOR: When you first got to Fort Hays you did speak as much in theclassroom?


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FEMALE S TUDENT #1: Yes, I dont speak too much. Not many people can understandme because my English is not so good.

MODERATOR: Well I think your English is great!

FEMALE STUDENTS #1: Thank you.

MODERATOR: Does anyone want to add anything?

MALE STUDENT #1: Thank you for coming.

MALE STUDENT #3: Thank you.

MODERATOR: No, thank you guys! Thank you! Thank you so much for helping Bruceand I with our research. Thank you.

MALE STUDENT #4: Youre welcome.

MODERATOR: If you guys want to see the final paper please contact me or Bruce andwe will be happy to share our paper with you.

FEMALE STUDENT #1: Thank you, thank you.

MALE STUDENT #3: Thank you so much.

MODERATOR: Well I think I am finished with all the questions, you guys have been agreat help.

MALE STUDENT #5: No. Thank you.

MALE STUDENT #2: No. Thank you very much.

MODERATOR: Thank you guys. Okay well on that note we will conclude our interview.Once again just as a reminder if you have any questions regarding this research project,

please do not hesitate to contact me or Bruce.

FEMALE STUDENT #1: Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you guys, have a good day.

ThThe Impact of Language Barrier & Cultural Differences e Impact of Language Barrier

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