Culture and Communication in the Classroom

by :: Anamaria

Note: This post is part of a series on direct and indirect communication. Here are the previous posts in the series:

:: What is your communication style?
:: We’re not fighting. We’re just being Romanian.
:: Indirect-direct communication styles.

In this post, we touch on communication styles in the classroom. It’s an important cross-cultural topic because everything that goes on in a classroom is impacted by students’ and teacher’s communication styles: student participation, student-student interactions, student-teacher interaction, classroom management, etc.

In previous posts we talked about two specific communication styles: direct and indirect. You can either re-read the posts (here, here & here) or read the “cliff notes” version below:

Direct communication is when the meaning of the message is communicated mainly via words, and is explicitly stated. With this communication style the onus is on the speaker to make sure the message is understood. (Example: I’m cold. Please close the window.)

Indirect communication is when meaning is not only in the words someone says, but also in the surrounding context of a conversation. So, somebody who is indirect will often leave it up to the listener to fill in the blanks and make out the meaning by correctly reading the contextual clues (e.g. what’s not being said, non-verbal communication, status and/or age of people involved in the conversation, attire, etc.). With this communication style, the onus is on the listener to make sense of the message. (Example: If the speaker wants the window closed they might say It sure is cold in here, isn’t it? or quietly putting on a sweater.)

Just like with cultural dimensions, it is important to remember that:

Both communication styles are found in every culture.
Context is key (how you communicate with your sister might be very different than how you communicate with your new boss).
People have their own personal communication style preferences.

That said, cultures do tend to favor one style more than the other in many contexts. That said, the style a culture favors is best understood in contrast to another. So, for example, does the USA tend to favor direct or indirect communication? In comparison to some cultures (e.g. Japan), US Americans are more direct. In comparison to others (e.g. Germany), Americans are more indirect.

In the context of education, it’s interesting to think of how these two communication styles shape interactions in the classroom.

Students in direct communication cultures may:

Feel free to offer differing opinions frankly.
Feel comfortable directly contradicting someone else’s idea (in some cases, including the teacher’s).
Tend to make many brief comments, emphasizing the self: “I said”, “my opinion”, etc.
Sometimes jump from idea to another idea, as they believe a comment is worthwhile only if it is different from what was already said. Direct students might find expanding on somebody else’s thoughts, or build on somebody else’s idea not worthwhile.
Try to keep ideas flowing, and avoid “dead air” when no one is talking.

Students in indirect communication cultures may:

Speak fewer times in a conversation, but when they do, they usually connect things together.
Don’t find “dead air” uncomfortable; silence is valued as a time to think through what is being said and make connections between ideas.
Phrase their own ideas as building on someone else’s idea. Quick turn-taking is unusual in an indirect classroom.

An Example

Let’s assume that you are a teacher who’s used to a more indirect style of communication and you begin teaching students who are more used to a direct style of communication. Wow! Where do we even begin to talk about the difficulties that will most likely arise out of that situation?

Here are a few things likely to happen:

The teacher could perceive the students’ direct communication style and quick turn-taking as disrespectful.
The teacher could feel as if he/she has no authority in the classroom.
The students may perceive the teachers as not knowledgeable. In direct cultures, a sign of knowledge is being able to come up with new, fresh ideas. Being vocal is important. Less emphasis is placed on being able to expand on an existing idea, or on quietly thinking through issues. A teacher perceived as “quiet” in a vocal, direct classroom will have difficulty managing his/her students.

We’ve barely scratched the surface here with these three examples, and with communication styles in general. The topic of communication styles seems deceptively simple, when in reality the deeper you go the more complex you realize the topic is.

What are your thoughts on communication styles in the classroom? What’s the favored communication style in your culture? Classroom? What’s your personal communication style preference? Do you communicate differently with different people? Have you ever taught in a culture that favored a different communication style than you were used to?

Tell us in the comments!

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