New Zealand Applied Business Journal
Volume 1, Number 1, 2002
ASIAN LEARNERS IN A MULTI-CULTURAL CLASSROOM
PERCEPTIONS OF SELF-EFFICACY AND STRATEGIES FOR ASSISTANCE
Bob Beaver
School of Management & Entrepreneurship
UNITEC Institute of Technology
Auckland, New Zealand.
bbeaver@unitec.ac.nz
Ravi Bhat
School of Management & Entrepreneurship
UNITEC Institute of Technology
Auckland, New Zealand
rbhat@unitec.ac.nz.
Abstract: Overseas students from “Confucian-Heritage Cultures” (CHC) experience
particular difficulties in adapting to educational styles in Australasian tertiary
institutions, in spite of the fact that they generally tend to out-perform local students.
They also have perceptions of lower self-efficacy and confidence, and contrasting
views of ways of improving their academic competence.
This paper draws on the survey conducted by Beaver and Tuck (1998), which
examined the levels of anxiety and academic self-efficacy of overseas and local
students, and the preferences Asian students have for particular learning strategies.
The survey results are then analysed, and strategies from literature to assist the Asian
students are discussed. A model based on the work of Leask (2001) and others is
proposed, which facilitates beneficial social interaction in a safe and encouraging
learning environment.
Key Words: NESB, International, business studies, tertiary education, education.
INTRODUCTION
The increase in migration from Asian countries to New Zealand in the 1990s decade (Legat,
1996), has resulted in non-English speaking background (NESB) students entering tertiary
institutes in large numbers. This has been compounded by a more liberal student visa policy
that has attracted another wave of “International Students” in the past three years. Tertiary
institutions in both Australia and New Zealand have placed considerable value on higher
education and encouraged overseas students to continue their development in these countries
(James and Watt, 1992). Both governments have encouraged the promotion of education as
an addition to export earnings. This is for more reasons than just to contribute to the balance
of payments. International students from different cultural backgrounds bring a diversity of
norms and values, enriching the learning experience for local students too. A multi-cultural
perspective promotes an interchange of ideas, which brings benefits to both teachers and
students (Chalmers and Volet, 1997).
Many Asian NESB students come from “Confucian – heritage” cultures (CHC) as referred to
by Ho (1991) in Biggs (1996). The learning experiences and environment for the CHC
students in their countries of origin, in educational institutions, businesses or within their
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New Zealand Applied Business Journal
homes and family structures, are very different from what they face in western cultures, such
as in New Zealand. Graduate profiles as required by New Zealand businesses require
problem-based learning in the classroom, to prepare independent minded students with
effective communication and people skills. However, a majority of the CHC NESB students
are used to rote-based strategies (Biggs, 1996), where the emphasis is on repetition or
learning approaches that encourage reproduction. The essence of learning then becomes note
taking, copying and regurgitating learned material, which is accepted as part of the learning
continuum and cultural construct of the CHC student.
Samuelowicz (1987, p. 121), in an early review of the literature, concluded that the major
problems faced by overseas students studying in Australia were “English language
proficiency, coping with the Australian educational system and its demands, cultural
adjustment to life in a foreign country and provision of support services and usefulness to
overseas students”. In a study of staff and overseas students at Queensland University, she
found that both rated problems with language as significant, but staff also regarded overseas
students as being overly dependent on rote learning. This they believed put these students at
a disadvantage in courses where initiative and participation in class were required.
A recurring theme in much of the research has been the apparent preference students from
Asia have for passive learning. Associated with this are the findings of Volet and Kee (as
cited in Chalmers & Volet, 1997) that Asian students report feeling intimidated in class
because of their minority status; and of Mullins, Quintrell and Hancock (1995), that in
tutorials the comments of Asian students are often ignored by local students. The
implications of such findings for teaching are not straightforward. On the one hand it could
be argued that it would be in Asian students’ interests to be taught in small homogeneous
groups; however such a practice would be at odds with a number of studies which
consistently found that international/overseas students in Australia want greater interaction
with local Australian students (Chalmers & Volet, 1997). This finding is not unrelated to the
conclusion of James and Watt (1992), that overseas students in New Zealand are worried
about social isolation. It is interesting that Tofi, Flett & Timutimu-Thorpe (1996) identified
satisfaction with social support as a significant correlate of the psychological well being of
their 61 New Zealand University students born in a range of Pacific Island nations.
Harris (1995), in a review of the experiences in the United Kingdom with overseas students,
commented that it was difficult for tertiary institutions in the United Kingdom to address the
needs of overseas students given the limited research on the experiences of such students, on
their characteristics, and on the extent to which they differ from local students. In New
Zealand, the absence of a tradition of systematic research on the adjustment and needs of
overseas students means that the situation is even more difficult for its tertiary institutions
than for those in Australia.
This paper draws on the survey conducted by Beaver and Tuck (1998), which in turn
replicated some of the earlier studies undertaken in Australia, in that it examined the levels of
anxiety and the academic self-efficacy of overseas and local students. Their research also
examined the preferences overseas students have for particular learning strategies, in
particular the streaming of classes and the grouping of students within classes. The critical
instrument used was the questionnaire developed by Burns (1991), which in their study was
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used to assess levels of anxiety and academic self-efficacy. The survey results are then
analysed and strategies drawn from literature, to assist the Asian students on a range of study
skills and competencies required in the multi-cultural classroom.
METHODOLOGY
Participants
The initial sample consisted of 205 students enrolled for the second semester in 1996 in
certificate and diploma programmes at a tertiary institute in a New Zealand city of
approximately one million people. The institute had over 6200 equivalent full-time students
and offered a number of degrees, although most of its students were enrolled in non- degree
programmes. The majority (54%) of the students in their sample were enrolled in the
Business faculty, with the balance in the Applied Skills faculty, which offered courses in
health science, carpentry, plumbing, automotive and marine technology, These faculties were
deliberately selected for this study, as a review of enrolments identified them as having
relatively high numbers of students with English as a second or other language. The students
were asked to identify their ethnicity, and 51% identified themselves as New Zealanders of
European descent (Pakeha), and with three exceptions they gave English as their first
language. The Asian group (18 %) identified themselves as Korean, Hong Kong Chinese,
Mainland Chinese or Taiwanese, and all reported that English was their second language.
The remaining 24% came from a wide range of ethnic groups, e.g. Maori, Fijian, South
African, American, Canadian, Japanese, English, Tahitian, German, Bangladeshi, Indonesian,
Malayan, Sri Lankan, Fiji-Indian, Indian, Thai and Cambodian. This latter group of students
was dropped from the sample, because the largest number in any single ethnic/cultural group
(four students) was too small to enable analyses of reasonable power to be undertaken.
The above categorisations by race are somewhat generalised. However the category of
‘Asian’ is loosely based on the notion of a “Confucian heritage culture” (Biggs & Watkins,
1996).
Instruments
This paper focuses only on the section of the questionnaire that estimates the respondents’
competency on a range of study skills as developed by Burns (1991) and used as an
instrument by Beaver and Tuck (1998). Table 1 sets out ratings on a four-point scale of how
Asian and New Zealand European (Pakeha) students perceived their levels of self-efficacy on
18 study skills. The students also rated the importance to them of 11 strategies for achieving
their “learning goals, as shown in Table 3.” A comparison of the ratings of the two groups, in
terms of the priorities, indicated from high to low, are shown in Tables 2 and 4.
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New Zealand Applied Business Journal
Study Skills
Skim Reading
Writing Summaries
Making Notes from Text
Spelling
Expressing Ideas Clearly
Writing Grammatically
Using Logical Arguments
Reading Comprehension
Understanding Lectures
Taking Lecture Notes
Using the Library
Meeting Deadlines
Writing Essays
Participating in Class Discussions
Applying Theory to Practice
Studying Efficiently
Revising Efficiently
Sitting Examinations
Pakeha Asian
2.47
2.26
2.49
2.17
2.71
2.39
2.84
2.49
2.61
2.17
2.72
2.17
2.74
2.17
3.00
2.43
3.74
2.45
2.99
2.45
2.96
2.53
3.3
2.64
2.83
2.02
2.89
2.05
2.87
2.03
2.46
2.32
2.45
2.37
2.46
2.26
Table 1: Ratings by Pakeha (NZ European) and Asian students of perceived levels of self-efficacy in study
skills.
Note: Values for “Ratings of Competence” are 1 = I find this very difficult, 2 = I find this fairly difficult, 3 = I
am fairly good at this, 4 = I am very good at this
Study Skills
Understanding Lectures
Meeting Deadlines
Reading Comprehension
Taking Lecture Notes
Using the Library
Participating in Class Discussions
Applying Theory to Practice
Spelling
Writing Essays
Using Logical Arguments
Writing Grammatically
Making Notes from Text
Expressing Ideas Clearly
Writing Summaries
Skim Reading
Studying Efficiently
Sitting Examinations
Revising Efficiently
Pakeha Asian
3.74
2.64
3.3
2.53
3
2.49
2.99
2.45
2.96
2.45
2.89
2.43
2.87
2.39
2.84
2.37
2.83
2.32
2.74
2.26
2.72
2.26
2.71
2.17
2.61
2.17
2.49
2.17
2.47
2.17
2.46
2.05
2.46
2.03
2.45
2.02
Study Skills
Meeting Deadlines
Using the Library
Spelling
Understanding Lectures
Taking Lecture Notes
Reading Comprehension
Making Notes from Text
Revising Efficiently
Studying Efficiently
Skim Reading
Sitting Examinations
Writing Summaries
Writing Grammatically
Using Logical Arguments
Expressing Ideas Clearly
Participating in Class Discussions
Applying Theory to Practice
Writing Essays
Table 2: Comparison of ratings, in order of priority, by Pakeha (NZ European) and Asian students of
perceived levels of self-efficacy in study skills.
Note: Values for “Ratings of Competence” are 1 = I find this very difficult, 2 = I find this fairly difficult, 3 = I
am fairly good at this, 4 = I am very good at this
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New Zealand Applied Business Journal
Volume 1, Number 1, 2002
Strategies
Have Classes with Mix of Cultures
Have Classes with Similar Ability
Classes with Similar Work Experience
Classes with Similar Language Skill
Mix Cultures Within Groups in Class
Extra Study Assistance
Facilitate Social Interaction
Provide Lecturer Who Speaks Language
Handbook in Own Language
More English Language Assistance
Simplify Assignment Instructions
Pakeha
3.24
2.45
3.04
2.17
3.38
2.05
2.99
2.55
2.71
2.95
2.30
Asian
2.52
2.68
3.15
3.22
2.42
1.67
2.04
2.98
3.31
2.23
2.16
Table 3: Ratings by Pakeha and Asian students of importance of strategies for achieving their learning
goals.
Note: Values for “Ratings of Importance” are 1 = most important, 2 = very important 3 = quite important, 4 =
not important
Strategy
Extra Study Assistance
Classes with Similar Language Skill
Simplify Assignment Instructions
Have Classes with Similar Ability
Provide Lecturer Who Speaks Language
Handbook in Own Language
More English Language Assistance
Facilitate Social Interaction
Pakeha
2.05
2.17
2.30
2.45
2.55
2.71
2.95
2.99
Asian
1.67
2.04
2.16
2.23
2.42
2.52
2.68
2.98
Classes with Similar Work Experience
Have Classes with Mix of Cultures
Mix Cultures Within Groups in Class
3.04
3.24
3.38
3.15
3.22
3.31
Strategy
Extra study Assistance
Facilitate Social Interaction
Simplify Assignment Instructions
More English Language Assistance
Mix Cultures Within Groups in Class
Have Classes with Mix of Cultures
Have Classes with Similar Ability
Provide Lecturer Who Speaks
Language
Classes with Similar Work Experience
Classes with Similar Language Skill
Table 4. Comparison of ratings, in order of priority, by Pakeha and Asian students of importance of
strategies for achieving their learning goals.
Note: Values for “Ratings of Importance” are 1 = most important, 2 = very important, 3 = quite important,
4 = not important
DISCUSSION
The above tables indicate the mean values, which show that there were significant differences
between the ratings of Asian and New Zealand European (Pakeha) students, in two main
areas. Table 1 shows that, firstly, in their ratings of self-efficacy in study skills, Asian
students considered themselves less competent than Pakeha students, particularly in written
English language skills, such as: writing summaries, spelling, making notes from text, writing
grammatically, and writing essays. They also rated themselves significantly lower than
Pakeha students in oral skills, such as expressing ideas clearly, using logical arguments,
participating in class discussions and applying theory to practice. Table 2 lists these study
skills in order of perceived competence. In no area did Asian students rate higher than their
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New Zealand Applied Business Journal
English speaking colleagues. Pakeha students, on the other hand, rated their self-efficacy
higher in the areas of reading comprehension, taking lecture notes, using the library, spelling,
participating in class discussions, and in meeting deadlines.
The second main area of difference, as shown in Table 3, was in ratings of the importance of
strategies to achieve personal learning goals. Asian students considered extra study
assistance, especially more English language assistance, to be of prime importance, followed
by the provision of more simplified instructions for assignments. Close behind this was the
desire for more social interaction, between mixed cultures within groups in a class. Clearly,
Asian students linked increased English language and study skills with greater social and
cultural interaction in a heterogeneous class.
Table 4 compares these preferences in order of priority, and shows that Pakeha students rated
these strategies very differently. They also desired extra study assistance, but rather in classes
more homogeneous in ability and language skill, and with lecturers and handbooks geared to
the students’ own language. So, while Asian students valued increased English language
assistance and mixed classes, Pakeha students, with less concern for written or spoken
language issues, preferred to be in homogeneous groups. There appears to be a conflict
between the two ethnic groups of perceived competency, values and preferred learning
strategies.
The Asian students’ perceptions of difficulties should not be associated with lower levels of
achievement. Studies by Wicks (1996) in Australia, and a report in the New Zealand Herald
(1994) indicated Asian students on average actually outperforming other ethnic groups.
Instead, it is possible that they could be displaying their unique “cultures of learning,”
(Ballard and Clanchy, 1991), in respecting the authority of the teacher, and not wishing to
waste time on ‘irrelevant’ issues. It could also be the result of being ignored by the local
students, as Mullins et al (1995) discovered. This last issue is significant, since Asian
students do not wish to be “isolated from the mainstream” (Beaver and Tuck, 1998). Instead,
as other studies have also shown (Chalmers and Volet, 1997; Hutchison, 2002), they want
greater, not less social interaction with local students.
Strategies to Assist Asian learners.
The challenge for the teacher is to facilitate the learning process in classes that are mixed,
ethnically, in age and experience, and in language and study skills. Solutions should be in
increasing the self-efficacy of the Non English Speaking Background (NESB) students, rather
than in separating the ethnic groups. Many tertiary educational institutions recognise the
conflicting tensions and difficulties in achieving this, and have provided assistance. A cursory
survey of Australian and New Zealand educational internet sites reveals a wealth of
information and tips for the teaching of (NESB) students. For example, Biggs (1997)
suggests that the needs of NESB groups should be integrated into the whole teaching system,
rather than attached to the edge. Leask, (2001) incorporates this into a model designed to
introduce strategies to clarify the local education culture, and improve local and NESB
student interaction. The model uses, for example, assessment tasks, which require crosscultural communication and/or mixed culture learning groups. This relates to Asian students’
desire for this increased social interaction.
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Leask’s model (2001) proposes four integrated teaching strategies suggested by Biggs (1997)
and Ballard and Clanchy (1997):
1. Strategies for communicating content, such as awareness of the cultural content of
assignments, avoidance of colloquialisms, and the use of ‘wait time’ for Asian students to
internally translate the instructions into their own language. Teachers could also support
speaking with notes, diagrams, skeleton outlines, written definitions, and invite tape
recordings of lectures.
2. Strategies for communicating expectations, such as activities which teach and encourage
group participation, work experience and practicum, and for providing early feedback in case
of difficulties. Teachers could also encourage critical thinking, specifically through the use of
critical questions, small group discussions, short essay outlines and class debates. Assignment
instructions and expectations need to be clearly and simply written. Another vital area is to
explain the difference between plagiarism and quoting other sources. Explaining the roles of
the teacher and the student at the outset of the class would be useful, together with learning to
accurately pronounce the Asian student’s name (Hutchison, 2002).
3. Teaching strategies to maximise appropriate student activity. These include providing
supporting material and pre-reading, speaking slowly, clearly, emphasising key words, and
using pauses, and explaining idiomatic phrases. Facilitate follow up of problems encountered
in lectures, encourage Asian students to relate issues studied to their own cultural
background, establish sub-groups of learning partners, and clarify reading activities.
4. Assessment tasks and strategies. Clarify assessment criteria and link them with objectives
and program requirements. Use a variety of assessment methods, and provide models of good
work. Teachers should also be available for informal tutorials which many students would
prefer, away from the stress of a formal lecture, and where language mistakes would not be
noticeable.
In assisting Asian students to increase their proficiency in written and oral language skills and
to encourage beneficial class participation, these strategies should not conflict with those
preferred by New Zealand European (Pakeha) students. In contrast, they should lead to
increased self-efficacy, and the attainment of the learning goals of both ethnic groups.
CONCLUSION
Students from a Confucian-heritage culture bring their own unique learning styles to a
Western-oriented learning environment, emphasising respect for the teacher and rotelearning. They are expected to quickly learn to write and speak English in a class
environment which, geared to problem-based learning, encourages participation,
assertiveness and a seeming challenge to the teacher’s authority. This study highlighted the
contrasting levels of self-efficacy in study skills, and the contrasting strategies desired to
assist them to achieve their learning goals. In essence, Asian students rated having ethnically-
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New Zealand Applied Business Journal
mixed classes and English language assistance significantly more highly than their Pakeha
colleagues. A model based on the work of Leask (2001) and others is proposed, which
optimises beneficial social interaction in a safe and encouraging learning environment. Future
research could be conducted in the form of a longitudinal study of NESB students of Asian
origin, to determine if there are any changes in learning patterns. It would also be worthwhile
to compare the suggested teaching and learning strategies.
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