The Segregation of Foreigners in U.S. Mainstream Classrooms

Ee Lin Lee

doi:10.3390/su11113157

Abstract

(1) This study investigates the norms of speaking in the classroom by examining the speaking practices of Japanese international students (JIS)—a nonnative English speaking group—in classroom conversations with native English speakers (NES). (2) Semi-structured interviews in Japanese were conducted with 12 JIS in undergraduate programs at a predominantly White university in the United States. (3) The use of speech codes theory and Hymes’s SPEAKING framework, coupled with the grounded theory, reveal that all the interviewees dealt with conflicting feelings of eagerness and dread when deciding whether or not to participate in classroom conversations. The JIS revealed threatening classroom dynamics that made them feel inadequate, isolated, and intimidated. The norms for speaking in the classroom subjugate the JIS into silent observers and subalterns who lack colloquial English skills or local cultural knowledge. Unforgiving sanctions, including discrimination, exclusion, ignorance, and silent treatment, are used by the NES to illegitimize JIS membership in the classroom community. (4) These micro-level nuances of classroom culture are discussed in relation to the macro-level institutionalized structures of U.S. higher education that are, in turn, embedded in the socio-historical dynamics of the nation.

Highlights

The phenomenon of the shy and reticent international student in U.S college classrooms, those from Southeast Asia, is a common topic of inquiry in international education
What is said and what is not said to the Japanese international students (JIS) by their native English speakers (NES) peers and instructors contribute to the JIS’ reluctance to participate in classroom conversations
The following subsections detail the reasons for the conflicting feelings of eagerness and dread the JIS feel as a result of these classroom dynamics

Summary

Introduction

The phenomenon of the shy and reticent international student in U.S college classrooms, those from Southeast Asia, is a common topic of inquiry in international education. Common strategies proposed to maximize the learning experience of the students include assisting them to hone their English language skills, teaching them how to overcome reticence and shyness and adapt to the U.S academic culture, and encouraging them to forge intercultural friendships with their U.S counterparts [2,3,4,5,6,7]. While these remedial strategies provide invaluable knowledge in enhancing the students’ learning experience, the approaches have exposed the unchallenged, taken-for-granted assumptions of U.S academic practices. Despite sharing the goal of improving intercultural dialogue in higher education, such approaches contradict interculturalists’ long-held beliefs about achieving meaningful intercultural dialogue [10]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion