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

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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

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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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