Cultural communication learning environment in science classes

Abstract

Classroom communication often involves interactions between students and teachers from dissimilar cultures, which influence classroom learning because of their dissimilar communication styles influenced by their cultures. It is therefore important to study the influence of culture on classroom communication that influences the classroom verbal and nonverbal interactions. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a new instrument to assess eight scales of students’ classroom communication learning environment: Body Language, Communication Rate, Communication Loudness, Eye Contact, English Usage, Verbal Support, Intra-gender Communication and Inter-gender Communication. The instrument was administered to 1,723 upper-secondary biology students in Brunei government schools. The alpha reliability (0.58–0.91) and discrimination validity (0.08–0.13) coefficients for these scales were within acceptable ranges. Statistically significant η2 coefficients suggested that the instrument was able to differentiate between participating biology classes. Students perceived a low level verbal support and sometimes higher teacher communication rate in their classes. Dialects other than English, which is the medium of instruction, have been used in biology classes to some extent. There is a strong tendency for intra-gender than inter-gender communications in classes, which could limit the effectiveness of teaching and learning in constructivist classes