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Culture and Cross-Cultural Issues | Academic Culture | Second Language Anxiety | Communication Skills
Status and Role Expectations
During a typical four-year period of undergraduate education in the U.S., a university provides various levels of instruction at the freshman (first year), sophomore (second year), junior (third year), and senior (fourth year and beyond) levels. Freshman students are advised to enroll in courses that are designed to help them make a transition from their high school curriculum to university courses that offer multiple perspectives. Senior year courses are designed to prepare students for further study in graduate programs or for integration into the workforce.These four different levels are not always clear. Many courses' enrollment may include a mixture of students (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors--as well as graduate students from other disciplines), each of whom is taking the class for different reasons. Additionally, many students earn an associate degree by completing their first two years of college at a junior or community college, and then transfer to a four-year college or university like Ohio State as a junior to complete the remaining years required for a baccalaureate degree.
Students in U.S. college classrooms are encouraged to have independent opinions about their courses, and many of them may hold a point of view about the course material that differs from the teacher's. Students expect to be recognized as individuals but not singled out or asked to speak for their group (based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc.). At the same time, students may relate course material to their life experiences. They will want to be appreciated for their special thoughts and ideas.
Although U.S. professors are to be treated with respect, they are not regarded as absolute authorities who cannot be questioned, doubted, or challenged. Student involvement is strongly encouraged in the teaching and learning process. To earn respect, you may be expected to teach like a university teacher in the United States (National Association for Foreign Student Affairs, 1996). Most students do not expect you to behave like an American, however, so do not try too hard to "fit in." A better approach may be to present your international status as an educational benefit. In this time of ever-increasing cross-cultural contact, students who have had experience interacting with people from different cultures will be at an advantage in their future workplace. Your students may be unaware of that benefit, however, and you may wish to tell them.
I have observed a very different relationship between Ghana, my home country, and the U.S. Our relationship with a teacher is very formal; we consider that teachers have the highest knowledge, so we are supposed to show our respect. On the other hand, American students consider the instructors as a colleague; they call teachers by their first name, which is not imaginable in my country.
– Padmore Agbemabiese, Instructor, Teaching and Learning, Ghana
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