Classroom participation

One of the most common complaints that Western/English-speaking teachers have about students from China and other Confucian Heritage Cultures is their apparent unwillingness to participate in class discussions. For teachers who believe that teacher-student and student-student interactivity in the classroom is a tool for teaching/learning, and at the same time a means for gauging the students' engagement in the learning process and the amount of learning that is actually going on, this apparent passivity can be immensely frustrating.

At the same, we recognise that virtually every student, regardless of background, finds group participation more or less difficult and intimidating, particularly early on; and the number of books and manuals devoted to aspects of small group teaching testifies to the fact that getting groups of people to work together fluently and effectively is an art to be worked at, and which some people are better at than others.

As we have noted elsewhere on this site, most Chinese students appreciate tutorials for the discussions that take place in them, and for the greater access they give to teaching staff. But they do not find participation easy, and to understand the reasons for this we need to look at the way

Chinese students' individual characteristics [educational background, language skill level, individual personality, day-to-day emotional state] interact with classroom context to engender their reluctance to participate, despite opportunity to do so.

( Zhou et al. (2005), p. 297)

This section looks at some of the obstacles that inhibit students' participation in tutorials and interactive classes, and offers some suggestions on facilitating interaction in class and running small group work in class.