Can I Talk to You? The Effects of Instructor Position, Nationality, and Teaching Style on Students' Perceived Willingness to Communicate and on Teacher Evaluations

Abstract

The influence of instructor position, nationality, and teaching style on student perceived willingness to communicate and on teaching evaluations in a college math course is examined in this study. Students are more willing to communicate both in class and outside of class during lecture-based courses rather than discussion-based courses. Students are more willing to communicate outside of the classroom with an American instructor than they are with a Chinese instructor. Additionally, students give higher evaluations to instructors who use a lecture-based teaching style than instructors who use a discussion-based format. Social identity theory helps to explain these findings.