have good examples <strong>and</strong> be easy to read. For example, one of them said, “Clear<strong>and</strong> precise headings with worked examples <strong>and</strong> working <strong>for</strong> answers (when doingmath) also secondary sources in a textbook to back-up what is being said”.Similar to international students, some of the local students do not regularly askquestions in class. They prefer other ways, such as sending emails. However, theysupport the idea that students should be given more opportunities to ask questions.All the local <strong>and</strong> international students think that students should actively engage inthe classroom discussions in their learning.Most of the local <strong>and</strong> international students are willing to choose their own groupmembers <strong>for</strong> group assignments. Local students think that some group membersrelying on others <strong>and</strong> not trying their best is the main problem of group assignments.For example, one of them said, “In some group assignments I have found that somestudents are content with gaining mediocre marks, just to skim through. This can bequite distressing <strong>for</strong> members of the group who are highly ambitious <strong>and</strong> want togain the best possible mark. ‘Social loafing’ can also occur where students when putinto a group situation allow others to contribute more work”.As to presentation, some of the local students also have the same problem asinternational students in that they are very shy of doing presentation. For example,one local student said, “I am a shy person. I am not com<strong>for</strong>table with st<strong>and</strong>ing infront of people <strong>and</strong> talking, which means I also go badly in them usually”.Unlike international students, most local students do not mind doing groupassignments with international students, even if they have language problems, <strong>and</strong>think it is a good way <strong>for</strong> local students to experience different cultures. Forexample, one local student said, “I would like to do a group assignment withinternational students as it will help you in the way that you can get to see anotherculture <strong>and</strong> they may be very helpful in the group as they may have the in<strong>for</strong>mationthat the group needs or they may have an idea that will help the group to answer thequestion that your group has been set”.A majority of local <strong>and</strong> international students prefer not to spend most of their timeon campus. For example, one local student said, “No I don’t, I only go theresometimes if I need to use a textbook or use their net to download some things Ineed because mine is extremely slow”.6.2 Comparison of perspectives between international students <strong>and</strong> lecturers onteaching <strong>and</strong> learningThe interview questions are composed of five main sections, the textbook <strong>and</strong>reference materials, teaching <strong>and</strong> learning methods, assessment, educationmanagement systems <strong>and</strong> language issues in general. Despite some significantdifferences between students <strong>and</strong> lecturers regarding various issues in these fivecategories, both students <strong>and</strong> lecturers agree that the biggest difficulty in this crossculturallearning <strong>and</strong> teaching environment is the language <strong>and</strong> cultural barrier. Thissection will compare the perspectives between international students <strong>and</strong> lecturersfrom the following five aspects.6.2.1 <strong>Teaching</strong> content <strong>and</strong> textbooks1. Regarding the readingMost lecturers set specific readings <strong>for</strong> students <strong>and</strong> expect their students to readthem <strong>and</strong> improve underst<strong>and</strong>ing; however, the majority of international studentshave problems reading textbooks due to the language difficulties. Limitedvocabulary in the discipline area makes the reading very time-consuming <strong>and</strong>stressful. Thus, students are not able to meet the expectations of lecturers. Studentsthere<strong>for</strong>e want to read the most important parts of the textbooks <strong>and</strong> prefer to only119
ead lecture notes.2. Regarding the choice of textbookMost lecturers think good textbook should have broad coverage, be contemporary,<strong>and</strong> have a combination of theory <strong>and</strong> practice. The students would like a textbookwith sufficient case studies <strong>and</strong> examples that has simple language <strong>and</strong> is wellstructured.Interestingly, the interviews with local students reveal that even localstudents feel their current textbooks use too much jargon, do not give simpleanswers <strong>and</strong> go into unnecessary depth. Most students think the textbook content istoo long <strong>and</strong> prices are too high.3. Lecture notesMost lecturers think the students rely too much on PowerPoint slides. However, dueto the difficulty of reading the textbook, students choose to rely heavily on simplifiedstudy material such as lecture notes to enhance their underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the subject.6.2.2 <strong>Teaching</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Learning</strong> MethodsThere is some consistency in students’ <strong>and</strong> lecturers’ perspective of teachingmethod. Most lecturers adopt, or attempt to adopt, class activity in their teaching <strong>and</strong>make an ef<strong>for</strong>t to encourage students to talk, <strong>and</strong> most students prefer to have moreinteraction in class, such as class discussion. However, almost all students wouldlike to be in a small group teaching environment so that they feel more confident <strong>and</strong>com<strong>for</strong>table in speaking. Most international students prefer <strong>and</strong> expect individualattention from the lecturer. However, some students prefer the lecturer to talk all theway through, giving good examples <strong>and</strong> explanation, as they think this is a moreefficient way <strong>for</strong> them to learn. More international students prefer more face-to-faceteaching, less students questions <strong>and</strong> class discussions. They prefer to have moreknowledge to be trans<strong>for</strong>ed from lectures to students.6.2.3 Assessment1. Group assignmentMost of the students view the group assignment positively, despite the fact that theyall experience difficulty working with each other. They think it is important <strong>for</strong> them todevelop teamwork skills. Most prefer to find their own group, which they feel willwork better. However, the lecturers have quite a mixed attitude towards groupassignments. Some think the group work idea is good; however, the apparentproblem is the “free ride”. Thus, lecturers are very cautious with group work. When itcomes to group <strong>for</strong>mation, most lecturers ask students to <strong>for</strong>m their own groups.Some lecturers tend to make an ef<strong>for</strong>t to mix international students with local,however very few students prefer this.2. PresentationLecturers think the presentation is an important tool <strong>for</strong> developing students’communication skills; however international students lack confidence inpresentation, especially when it is a part of their assessment. While a little over halfof the students like presentation, the other half does not. The international studentsfeel they are disadvantaged in language, thus they feel nervous <strong>and</strong> shy whichapparently impacts negatively on their per<strong>for</strong>mance.6.2.4 Education Management systemLectures feel that students should have more knowledge regarding universityeducation management systems, especially about university policies such as thepolicy on plagiarism. Most students are satisfied with the credit point systemadopted in Australia. However many of them have difficulties when it comes toselecting subjects. Even though the International <strong>Office</strong> of each university provides120
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Strategies and Approaches toTeachin
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Table of Contents0 EXECUTIVE SUMMAR
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0 Executive SummaryAustralian terti
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1 Project OutcomesThe outcomes of t
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The identification information sect
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questions aim to discover their ass
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3.2 Literature reviewCross-cultural
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4 Survey Data AnalysisThis section
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Total Count 380 632 1012Percentage
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2 Count 12 30 42Percentage 3.1% 4.7
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Table 13 shows that nearly all loca
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methods are good, while less than h
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Preferredfewerlectures andmore labs
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Table 26 (Question III.4.D) Preferr
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Maindifferencesbetweenteachingmetho
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Table 33 shows that about half of l
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Table 38 (Question IV.4) Sufficient
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understanding lectures?Table 42 (Qu
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confident Count 301 179 480Percenta
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Table 49 (Question VI.4) Caring abo
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Table 52 shows that more local stud
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Table 56 shows that both local and
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a chi-square test to determine whet
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Significance Level (α= 0.05)Hypoth
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presentations are unrelated (Indepe
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Hypotheses V.2H0: Student category
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encountered at university in 2/3/4
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III.7What are you most concerned ab
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II.6.EII.6.FII.6.GTextbooks you pre
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VII. OtherVII.1.1VII.1.2What are th
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III.6 Do you like lecturers to ask
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distribution of these comments acro
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Figure 4.5 University of Sydney und
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- Page 71 and 72: example, one student said that home
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- Page 91 and 92: When they have difficulties in read
- Page 93 and 94: (7) Have you been involved in many
- Page 95 and 96: Only two of the graduates had diffi
- Page 97 and 98: Furthermore, I was not familiar wit
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- Page 115 and 116: CrosstabDo you have anyEnglish lang
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- Page 129 and 130: perceived by them as something insi
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- Page 153 and 154: Visiting Professor Javier Montero f
- Page 155 and 156: 11 ReferencesAsmar C. (1999), Schol