The Interrelationship Between Self-Concept And Class Participation:A Study Of Silent Asian Students

With the wide-spread popularity of studying abroad, the number of Asian students pursuing a higher degree in America is also in a rapid growth. However, being raised in countries which hold diverse cultural values from America, they inevitably have to struggle with the difficulties when adapting to academic and everyday life. Among those difficulties, Asian students’ silent class participation has been troubling many American schools, as well as many educators and cultural scholars. Through survey reports and interviews of 63 Asian students studying in Grand Valley State University, this thesis attempts to find the interrelationship between students’ self-concept and class participation, and analyze the cultural factors influencing self-concept from three aspects, namely power distance, facework and high/low-context culture. Also the relationship between these factors and class participation will be discussed. With the hope to facilitate Asian students’ adaptation to American classroom setting, break the embarrassing silence, and improve their ability to adapt to different cultures, this thesis also provides American universities with a statistical analysis and cultural explanation on Asian students’ silent classroom behavior.