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West Virginia University

Non-native ESL teachers' reactions to students' different cultural backgrounds in classroom interaction

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

There have been research studies done in the area of cross-cultural analysis that discuss the necessity of culture-oriented examiners or assessors as well as "culture-free testing" when assessing students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Despite evidence that "culture-bias" is present in oral examinations, few of the studies found directly approach the instructors' reactions to students' different cultural and backgrounds in classroom interaction. Therefore the purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate teachers' perspectives on teaching in a multicultural classroom. The findings of this study conducted in an American language institute with non-native ESL teachers reveal a mismatch between what teachers think they do and what they actually do (between their conscious and subconscious) with regard to different cultural groups in the classroom.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
MA
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
Year dc:date.available
2003

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Lirio, Livia Silva
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Frank W. Medley, Jr.
  • Sharon Wilkinson
  • Dara G. Shaw

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1724

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
West Virginia University
Base URL
researchrepository.wvu.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Lirio, Livia Silva. Non-native ESL teachers' reactions to students' different cultural backgrounds in classroom interaction. Thesis thesis, 2003. https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.721