Teaching Speech Communication with a Foreign Accent: A Pilot Study.

A pilot study examined problems encountered by foreign instructors teaching in American colleges. Fourteen Chinese-born instructors teaching in Speech Communication answered a questionnaire containing 12 open-ended questions. Recurring themes were coded from the answers, and then organized into three categories: cultural differences; linguistic level of understanding; and relationship development. Results indicated that: (1) cultural differences was the major difficulty the subjects encountered; (2) deeper meanings of their students' language (including slang, idioms, and jokes) were the linguistic barriers the subjects were trying to overcome; (3) American students tended to use formal language to interact with foreign instructors, limiting establishment of personal relationships; and (4) subjects reported a high degree of satisfaction with teaching. Future studies should examine other ethnic groups besides the Chinese, other fields besides speech communication, and increase the number of participants for more reliable results. (A figure modeling the problems foreign instructors encountered in American colleges is included; 21 references and the questionnaire are attached.) (Author/RS)