Different Pond Different Fish


Issue 11	April 2005

Academic Roles and Relationships - Survey Results

In July 2004 an open-ended survey questionnaire was handed out to Indonesian students studying at IALF Bali and Jakarta and 70 students responded. Of these, 10 had previously studied in Australia. The survey asked students to think about their experience of studying in a Western academic setting (either in Australia or at IALF) and describe both what they valued and what they had found difficult to adjust to. The survey particularly asked students to reflect on academic roles and relationships. The survey questionnaire gave students considerable freedom to choose what to comment on and as a result there were a wide range of responses. Nonetheless a number of common themes came out of the survey.

Studying in a Western Academic Setting - What students valued and what they found hard to adjust to

Feeling of equality in teacher-student relationships

40% of students liked the way that age and status differences were not important either at IALF or at Australian universities. They said that the role of a teacher was more like a friend or colleague to their students. As one student commented, teachers are not 'up there' in an ivory tower but are mere mortals like us. Students also noted that Western teachers encouraged two-way communication, respected student's opinions and allowed them to interrupt and as a result the class environment felt more alive.

However 19% of students admitted they found it hard to call their teachers by their first name without a title. As one student commented, it is hard for me to call a woman who is as old as my grandmother by her name without 'bu'.

Western teachers' casual, informal communication style

43% of students made a positive comment about this. Western teachers were seen to be approachable, friendly, open, understanding and helpful as well as courteous and polite and many students said they enjoyed their joking informal style. One student noted they tended to create a relaxed and fun classroom atmosphere, because they were not too serious.

However 10% of students admitted they had found it hard to adjust to their teacher's casual, informal communication style. Some said they found their teachers were at times too casual and individualistic, doing whatever they felt like. This was described by a couple of students as teachers having a 'cuwek' (don't care) attitude. Others said they found it hard sometimes to understand their Western teacher's different sense of humor.

The direct communication style of Western teachers

47% of students said they appreciated the clear, systematic, straight-to-the-point communication style of their Western teachers. As one student commented you don't have to guess what they mean. Students wrote they like the way their teachers give clear, detailed and step-by-step explanations and directions and also use good paraphrasing and examples. In addition many said Western teachers are very expressive when they explain something and use a lot of body language and gestures. Another student noted that Western teachers make sure that students clearly understand their point of view, but also try hard to understand the student's point of view. Other students appreciated their teachers for being open-minded and objective and also willing to tackle problems directly.

Despite these many positive comments, there were some students who had problems adapting to their Western teachers direct communication style. 17% of students admitted it felt 'rude' to them at first, and made them uncomfortable and even 'scared'. They felt their teachers were at times too straightforward in expressing their opinion and asking for student opinions and also in giving critical feedback. Some students noted they found it particularly hard that Western teachers tend to express what they do not like verbally rather than non-verbally.

Reasons for communication difficulties

54% of students felt the reason they found it difficult sometimes to communicate with Western teachers is because they were not used to their language, accent, pronunciation and body language. Students admitted they had found it difficult to adjust to the way Western teachers both speak and move very fast and often use formal academic vocabulary. Some students found it confusing at first to read the body language of Western teachers and felt overwhelmed by the number of gestures and facial expressions they used. However other students felt this use of gestures made them easy to understand because their communication combined verbal and body language.

31% of students identified cultural differences reflected in manners, customs and habits as the reason they found it difficult sometimes to relate to Westerners. Specific habits that caused some students difficulty include teachers putting their knees on chairs and sitting on desks while they were teaching or thinking it was acceptable to blow their nose in public while at the same time commenting it was rude to burp. A major area of concern was not knowing what Westerners considered polite or impolite and finding it difficult to make conversation because Westerners don't welcome personal questions and use too many condition greetings like, how are you? Other barriers identified were the lack of basa-basi (small talk) in social relations and the free and close intermixing between the sexes, which made some students feel uncomfortable at first.

On to the next page for more Cross Cultural Fun ...

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