Does the Students’ Preferred Pedagogy Relate to their Ethnicity : UK and Asian Experience

Abstract

Abstract An increasing number of international students, whose culture of teaching and learning practices are very different from UK students, are studying at British universities. This study investigates multicultural students’ preferences using two different teaching approaches in the 2009/2010 academic year, which is explained in the framework of this study. The study sample was two groups, a total of 34 students who were studying Japanese as a non-credited module. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected using questionnaires. The results showed that students’ preferences in teaching and learning appeared to be altered and influenced by the British educational culture regardless of students’ previous educational culture. In addition, the sample participants’ preference of teaching and learning are categorised into three types based on the framework of the study. Those who are in the teaching profession in a multicultural learning environment are encouraged to take consideration of students’ previous educational culture. It is suggested to incorporate teaching and learning practices from non-Anglophone countries to the Anglophone originated teaching approach to capture different preferences of multicultural students, reflecting global international characteristics of teaching and learning environments.