Ethnocentrism: Language Barriers in College
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Transcript of Ethnocentrism: Language Barriers in College
HOW MUCH ETHNOCENTRISM EXISTS IN THE COLLEGE CLASSROOMS ANDWHAT EFFECT DOES ETHNOCENTRISM HAVE ON LANGUAGE BARRIERS?
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ByEric C. Talaska
A PROSPECTUS USING ETHNOMETHODOLOGY
CommunicationDr. Mollie Condra
University of ArkansasDecember 7, 1993
students and thus allow further research into ways to
INTRODUCTION
Because of the impracticality of all or most countries
<"-will continue to cause problems in the classroom as
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This study will focus ~.,h.+- be-~ Cc:.v:f-on ethnocentrism and language barriers in college VO~ ~ ~
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of the world adapting a univer~a.g.e- oystem::-in
the near future, language barriers and ethnocen~m
well as outside the classroom.
classrooms in order to understand the attitudes of the
corne up with solutions to the problems.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE~
Not-v~ studies have ~ee~ reported about
ethnocentrism as a cause of language barriers, perhaps
because of ethnocentrism its~After all, most""'~ "Ee-"-m reluctant-~:tudY a culture unlike their
~ S ('~ - own unless it is relevant to their personal lives.
With a global economy arising in this multilingual
world, this proposal should have many similar studies
Some good reasons to review literature that deal
following it because of increases in relevance to/L.. , bo ~everybody's lives. ~
with ethnocentrism and language barriers is because by(l\..n.v\. I '"~~- J. ~so dOing_!e can accomplish two things: (a) Broaden, .:J- know ledqe of ourselves by revealing some of our own
~~~ (~ unconscious communicative acts; (b) clear away
heretofore almost insurmountable obstacles to
understanding in the cross-cultural process (Shrope, 'Z)_b ~..v
~
The relationship of social structure and
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1974) .
communication patterns suggests dimensions for a
typology of speech communities which might allow
analysis and display of patterns at a more
level, and thus contribute to general theory of
communication (Saville-Troike, 1982). Accor'
Saville-Troike, the similar levels of experience in
traditional college students reduces the types of
interaction among the students. I interpret that as
meaning students can be less confusing to study
compared to the average person due to consistency in
the way students interact.
It is a commonplace in the study of the
pragmatics of natural languages that we employ as
resources for the production and comprehension of our
utterances not only our knowledge of the lexicon and
our syntactical capability but also our knowledge of
"machinery" for the production of orderly communicative
and beliefs about the world. Ethnomethodologists have
similarly been concerned for some time with the
analysis of members' "tacit resources" or background
understandings" and with the description of a
interaction which specifies the role of such tacit
resources (Psathas I 1979). ~That data T..'ao mad,. pOliS ibl e
by _!Jleaward-O-t (BriWsh) Soaial Science Research--..Co.u.»e-ii.--GrantRR r49o/1 (Community Reactions to
language (ESL). ESL students also often have
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Deviance") and is helpful in understanding how language
relates to ethnomethodology.
RESEARCH PROBLEMThe question of how much ethnocentrism exists and
its effect on language barriers in college level
classrooms is very important to examine via a
prospectus followed by a study for several reasons.
Many problems arise in classes where ethnocentrism and
language barriers exist. -Begeral exampTe£ are
~s1DI~ One example would be especially applicable
if the instructor cannot be understood well. That is
typical among instructors that have English as
difficulties in communicating with other students
faculty.
One or more theories need to be made about how
ethnocentrism, the emotional attitude that one's own
ethnic group, nation, culture, (and language) is
superior to all others, may facilitate communication
barriers in a multilingual class. If students and or
instructors are ethnocentric, a motive to communicate
effectively and efficiently may be severely blocked.
How much ethnocentrism exists needs to be
measured to effectively conclude its impact on language
barriers. Ethnocentrism should be weighed against;;~ C\oO .......
other causes of language barriers. Only after the
proposed study can this weighing take place accurately.
Objective descriptions of ethnocentrism and
-~4 ~k- ~t~ pIO
METHOD / PROCEDURE .__----.:? 0\"".1'
ObViOUSly,~methodOIOgy is appropriate to use
in a prospectus involving ethnocentrism in a large
proportion of the study; therefore more emphasis will
be placed on the method rather than arguing for reasons
why it is the appropriate method. Description and
inferences about student's patterns of communication in
the social context of enthnocentrism and communicative
language barriers is the aim of this ethnographic
communication methodical research.
Ethnogrophers are primarily interested in the
ritual use of language as the encoder of cUltural~
beliefs and reflections of community social
organizations. This method correlates college as a
unique community social organization where ESL members
are heavily influenced by their native language and
thus are prone to some degree of ethnocentrism.
Non-ESL members of this study are to get as much
attention as ESL members because they heavily influence
ESL members' attitudes about the levels of ethnocentrism
they display. "Members" refer to students, instructors,
and faculty. All members of this research are to be
from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
language barriers will be measured in the field as
occur naturally in the university (an institution).
Specifically, the fieldwork will be limited to
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\ _y~rs~F~classrooms. if ~ V'
The classrooms will have at least on~ member,so selectivity is already in effect. One or more ESL
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members are needed to study language barriers and
because ethnocentrism should be higher. Testimony from
reliable members of the classrooms will be included via
an emic (internal interview) approach while an etic
(external observational) approach will be the most
sophisticated and time consuming research method.
"Gaining entry" into the social classroom setting
is easy for myself, the primary researcher. A friend
of mine from India is willing to be a secondary
researcher. He will use the same method I will and his
data will be combined with mine to aviod a sujective
and biased theory.
No theory will be reached until findings repeat
what previous inquiries already have revealed and
thereafter data will no longer be gathered. In essence,
a grounded theory will be sought, that is, a theory ~dlthat emerges from data. That data will be collected
without a theory in mind in a rather creative and free
manner. A memoranda will be written to encapsulate
what both researchers have learned to identify
contradictions in the data. If any contradictions
arise, they can be resolved via furthur inquiries,
tentative conclusions, and spotting gaps in the
researcher's knowledge.
._
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Observation research data gathering
This "realism" approach will be conducted in a
university physics class of which my research partner
will be a regular student of and a college algebra
class of which I will be a regular student ~ The
physics class is expected to be taught be a professor
from India and the algebra class is expected to be
taught by an instructor from the Pacific Rim.
The researchers will be covert and complete
participant observers by nature. No ethical concerns
should arise unless names are used in the final report.
Permission may be sought to publish names, if needed.
Most people have no access to research in a college
classroom. Only students can covertly and ethically
research without being under suspicion of doing so.
What is said and done will be recorded and
later divided into categories to infer patterns
regarding how ethnocentrism is communicated. Care
be taken to start with a descriptive observation,
a focused observation, and finally a selective
observation in order to be ethnographically correct.
Language barriers should be easier to collect
data about than ethnocentrism in the observational
sense. Careful interpretations need to be made about
how students interact with each other and their
instructors. Reliability is facilitated because of the
direct participation of the researchers.
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Interview research method
The questions of "how ethnocentric do you
consider yourself to be and why?" and "What language
barriers do you encounter at the university,
particularly in the classroom?" will be asked to most
students in the classrooms in an informal manner. The
researchers will briefly say they are working on
researching ethnocentrism and language barriers. The
goal is to discover what students think and feel about
the research questions. All classmates will be
considered to be key informants and will be encouraged
to network in duplicating the interview process. The
university will be considered to be the "grass hut":
the place where language barriers affect academics.
Since rapport is greater among people who are
similar to themselves, the researcher from India will
focus on interviewing ESL students and I will focus on dl-interviewing native English students. The wording ~
should be carefully planned to avoid an ethnocentric
or biased appearance. Trust is a key concept to
employ in order to receive accurate responses.
CONCLUSIONEthnographic observations will be used to study
the student's patterns of communication bahavior in a
naturalistic setting while ethnographic interviews will
be used to study the student's personal reports and
interpretations of their communication behaviors in
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the college classrooms.
Research in ethnocentrism and language barriers
is becoming more important than ever before due to the
increase in international business and ESL student
enrollments. This investigation in the classroom
environment can give us key information about the
limitations and implications involved in such
communicative processes and lead us to solutions to the
problems related.
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REFERENCESPsathas, G. (1979). Everyday language: Studies in
ethnornethodology. New . 'York. Irv1ngton PublishS ' 1 e r s .aV1 le-Troike, M. (1982) Th. e ethnography of
communi t'~==~~c~a~1~o~n. Great Brita'· '1n. Bas1l Blackwell LSh td.rope, W.A. (1974). Experiences~~~~~~~i~n~c~o~m~rn~u~n~i~c~a~tli~o~n.New York/Chica Isgo . an Francisco/Atlanta.' Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich I, nco
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