A Comparative Analysis of American and Russian ESL/EFL Classroom
Abstract
The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine the influence of culture on classroom participation patterns. Methodologically, this study involved participant observations and interviews with the Russian-speaking students and their American ESL instructors in three types of postsecondary institutions in California. The results revealed areas of mismatch between the students’ learning behavior and the instructors’ methodologies. The cultural differences in the language classrooms were analyzed within the critical theory framework, which takes into account the social and cultural antecedents of the studied situation. Teachers and administrators of language programs will be provided with recommendations on how to improve methods of teaching English as a second or foreign language.