In-class communication : the effect of studying and teaching abroad on chinese academic staff

• Autor(a) principal: Conradt, Sigrid Anna
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/29524
• topic: Intercultural communication; Communication accommodation theory; In-class communication; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Ciências da Comunicação

This study aimed at examining the effects of an international education and teaching experience on Chinese academic staff, particularly on the way they communicate with their students. The main question was whether an “internationalization” of communication strategies could be found. The focus was placed on interpersonal communication between Chinese teachers and their students. Taking into account existing literature, it was expected to find teachers adapt to a higher degree to the students than vice versa. This qualitative study presents case studies of teachers’ praxis within international classrooms. Interviews were used to examine the participants’ perceptions about the topic and their transformation. The participants in this study comprised of Chinese university teachers who gained experience (studying and/or teaching) outside of China and are now back in the country, teaching either Chinese or international (i.e. non-Chinese) students or who are currently still living outside of China, teaching international students. The findings of this study suggest that Confucianism still presents a key determinant of Chinese communication approaches. However, those perceptions are not perpetual but in a constant process of change and (re)alignment to the environment. We could see that with a growing exposure time the internationalization of the communication approaches deepened.