COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CHINESE STUDENTS AND GERMAN UNIVERSITY TEACHERS IN ACADEMIC SETTINGS Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie des Fachbereichs 05 der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen vorgelegt von Lei Huang aus Tianjin, China 2017 Dekan: Prof. Dr. Thomas Möbius 1.Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hallet 2.Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. Dietmar Rösler Tag der Disputation: 12. Februar 2018 Acknowledgments It is a long and challenging journey to complete this dissertation. I spent the most meaningful and important time at the Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen inGermany. I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to all those individuals, without whomthis dissertationwouldnothave beenpossible. First and foremost, I am especially indebted to my doctoral supervisors, Professor Wolfgang Hallet and Professor Dietmar Rösler, for their wisdom, advice, and support in my writing of this dissertation. They offered a lot of illuminating feedback, skillful guidance, and stimulating encouragement every time they readmy revisions. I profoundly appreciate their contributions of time and ideas to make my research experiences productive and significant.Without their invaluable assistance, this dissertationwouldnever havebeen possible. My heartfelt thanks also go to the Chinese students and the German teachers who supported my dissertation and agreed to serve as my respondents. This research could never have become a realitywithout their support and trust. I greatly appreciate their timeand efforts spent on the questionnaires and interviews. I would also like to thank Professor Thomas Gloning, Professor Henning Lobin, my colleagues in the International Graduate Center for the Study of Culture (GCSC) and all my dear friends inGermany, who not only shared the happymoment andbut alsohelpedmego through thehard timeof this dissertation. I grateful acknowledge the funding sources thatmakemyPh.D.work possible. I was funded by the International Graduate Center for the Study of Culture (GCSC) in the beginning of my research and after, I received a position of Research Assistantship from the International Ph.D. Programme "Literary and Cultural Studies" (IPP). I also really appreciate the recommendations of my supervisors and the financial support offered byFAZIT-Stiftung in the lastwriting stage. Finally, and most important, I special gratitude goes to my parents, especially to my dear mother, for all their love, understanding, support, and encouragement during my doctoral study in Germany. I know it was a hard time for them, as their only child was so far away from China. In spite of that, they are always, ever, there for me. I also want to thank my dear husband, who is always my most powerful backing.My love to them is beyondmeasure. HUANGLei Mai, 2017 InGießen,Germany - i - Table of Contents List of Tables....................................................................................................................................... v List of Figures................................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Research background ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research objectives and significance............................................................................................7 1.3 The organization of the dissertation ...........................................................................................10 Chapter 2: Theoretical Principles of the Study 2.1 Intercultural communication....................................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 Intercultural communication................................................................................................ 11 2.1.2 Intercultural teacher-student communication in teaching and learning.............................. 15 2.1.2.1 Intercultural communication between teachers and students................................... 15 2.1.2.2 Communication concerns model ............................................................................. 17 2.1.2.3 Strategies for eliminating concerns ..........................................................................21 2.2 Intercultural communication between Chinese and Germans.................................................... 23 2.2.1 Central features of Chinese communication style............................................................... 25 2.2.1.1 Confucianism as the social ethic orientation basis................................................... 26 2.2.1.2 Social harmony ........................................................................................................ 28 2.2.1.3 Collective thinking ...................................................................................................30 2.2.1.4 Face-saving .............................................................................................................. 32 2.2.1.5 Modesty and “the Doctrine of the Mean”.................................................................34 2.2.2 Central features of German communication style............................................................... 36 2.2.3 Research on Chinese students studying at German universities ........................................ 38 2.3 Family- and education-based socialization of Chinese students ............................................... 43 2.3.1 The family structure and expectations................................................................................. 44 2.3.1.1 The one-child policy as a social factor..................................................................... 44 2.3.1.2 Family education and expectations toward Chinese students.................................. 46 2.3.2 Learning and teaching in China........................................................................................... 50 2.3.2.1 The education and student evaluation method as influencing factors......................50 2.3.2.2 Features of student organization and teaching style at Chinese universities........... 55 2.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................58 Chapter 3: Research Methodology and Design 3.1 Research questions and hypotheses........................................................................................... 60 3.1.1 Research questions.............................................................................................................. 60 3.1.2 Hypotheses of the study...................................................................................................... 61 3.2 Research participants................................................................................................................. 64 - ii - 3.2.1 Chinese students in Germany............................................................................................. 65 3.2.2 Chinese students in China................................................................................................... 67 3.2.3 German teachers in Germany..............................................................................................68 3.3 Research methodology and design.............................................................................................68 3.3.1 Research method................................................................................................................. 69 3.3.2 Development of questionnaires...........................................................................................71 3.3.2.1 Type of questions...................................................................................................... 71 3.3.2.2 Structure and content of questionnaires....................................................................74 Questionnaires for Chinese students in Germany and in China...................................75 Questionnaires for German teachers.............................................................................82 3.3.2.3 Questionnaire structure related to research questions .............................................. 83 3.3.3 Semi-structured interview................................................................................................... 84 3.3.3.1 Interview with Chinese students............................................................................... 85 3.3.3.2 Interview with German teachers............................................................................... 87 3.4 Research procedure.................................................................................................................... 89 3.4.1 Data collection.....................................................................................................................89 3.4.1.1 Administration of the questionnaires....................................................................... 89 3.4.1.2 Conduct of interviews.............................................................................................. 93 3.4.2 Data analysis....................................................................................................................... 94 3.4.2.1 Quantitative data analysis........................................................................................ 95 3.4.2.2 Qualitative data analysis.......................................................................................... 96 3.5 Reliability and validity...............................................................................................................99 3.5.1 Pilot study..........................................................................................................................101 3.5.2 Methodology triangulation................................................................................................108 3.5.3 Tools for analysis.............................................................................................................. 108 3.5.4 Synthesis of data analysis................................................................................................. 109 3.5.5 Moral and ethical issues....................................................................................................109 3.5.6 Reliability test of survey instrument.................................................................................109 3.6 Framework of the investigation............................................................................................... 110 Chapter 4: Major Communication Concerns and Differences between Chinese Students and German Teachers Statistic Description of the Participants and Reliability 4.1 Statistic description of the participants.................................................................................... 114 4.1.1 Chinese students in Germany............................................................................................115 4.1.2 Chinese students in China................................................................................................. 118 4.1.3 German teachers in Germany............................................................................................120 4.2 Reliability of the items in section III and IV of the questionnaires.........................................121 Results of the First Research Question 4.3 The major communication concerns of Chinese students and German teachers.................... 124 4.3.1 Major communication concerns across communication domains....................................124 4.3.2 Hypotheses testing of the first research question............................................................. 128 4.3.3 Overall results of the questions in section V of the questionnaires..................................131 4.3.4 Four major concerns of Chinese students and German teachers......................................133 4.3.4.1 Concern No.1: Just being shy or mainly for protecting “Face”?............................133 - iii - 4.3.4.2 Concern No.2: Respect the teacher and the principles taught................................140 4.3.4.3 Concern No.3: Being modest based on “The Doctrine of the Mean”.................... 146 4.3.4.4 Concern No.4: Language affects communication subtly but profoundly.............. 149 Results of the Second Research Question 4.4 Concerns resulted from the differences between Chinese students and German teachers......154 4.4.1 Comparison between Chinese students and German teachers in Germany..................... 156 4.4.2 Hypotheses testing of the second research question.........................................................159 4.4.3 Comparison of communication concerns within each research group.............................161 4.4.4 Summary of the results analysis....................................................................................... 170 4.4.5 Explanation of the results..................................................................................................174 4.4.5.1 “For me it is right, but for you it is wrong.”...........................................................174 4.4.5.2 “Hard but passive learners.”................................................................................... 184 The impact of the Chinese examination and evaluation system................................185 Different roles of teachers..........................................................................................189 Expectations from the society and families............................................................... 190 4.4.5.3 “Does he call my name?”........................................................................................192 4.5 Conclusion of the findings in this chapter............................................................................... 194 Chapter 5: Communication Concerns Comparison between Different Communication Environments and Individuals Results of the Third and Fourth Research Questions 5.1 Concerns in different communication environments...............................................................196 5.2 Comparison between Chinese students in Germany and in China..........................................198 5.3 Comparison of communication concerns within each group.................................................. 202 5.4 Summary of the findings and hypotheses testing.................................................................... 204 5.5 Expressions of the changes and reflections of the concerns....................................................207 5.5.1 Changes of self-identity and mindset in communication................................................. 207 5.5.2 Changes of the role of foreign language: from a “subject” to a “daily tool”................... 212 5.5.2.1 Expression of the overall changes.......................................................................... 212 5.5.2.2 Reflection of the specific concern.......................................................................... 219 5.5.3 Changes of teacher-students communicative relationships and methods.........................221 5.5.3.1 Expression of the overall changes.......................................................................... 221 5.5.3.2 Reflection of the specific concerns.........................................................................226 5.5.4 Changes of communication concerns in group discussions............................................. 234 5.5.5 Stick to Chinese communities in Germany.......................................................................240 Results of the Fifth and Sixth Research Questions 5.6 Communication concerns based on individual difference.......................................................242 5.7 The invariant and variable factors in this study.......................................................................243 5.8 Hypothesis testing of invariant factors and explanations........................................................ 246 5.8.1 Congenital factor.............................................................................................................. 246 5.8.1.1 Gender....................................................................................................................246 5.8.1.2 Explanation of the results...................................................................................... 248 5.8.2 Acquired factors................................................................................................................ 252 5.8.2.1 Field of study......................................................................................................... 252 5.8.2.2 Language of communication................................................................................. 256 - iv - 5.8.2.3 Explanation of the results...................................................................................... 258 5.9 Hypothesis testing of variable factors and explanations..........................................................266 5.9.1 Inside school factors..........................................................................................................266 5.9.1.1 The age of Chinese students................................................................................... 266 5.9.1.2 The academic level of Chinese students................................................................. 268 5.9.1.3 The length of advising Chinese students of German teachers................................270 5.9.1.4 Explanation of the results........................................................................................271 5.9.2 Outside school factors.......................................................................................................275 5.9.2.1 The length of residence in Germany of Chinese students...................................... 275 5.9.2.2 Work experiences of Chinese students in Germany............................................... 276 5.9.2.3 Living status of Chinese students in Germany....................................................... 278 5.9.2.4 Overseas experiences of German teachers in China...............................................279 5.9.2.5 Explanation of the results........................................................................................281 5.10 Conclusion of the findings in this chapter............................................................................. 287 Chapter 6: Conclusions, Inspirations and Reflections 6.1 Review of the major findings and interpretations....................................................................289 6.1.1 Review of the major findings............................................................................................289 6.1.2 Interpretations of the findings...........................................................................................292 6.1.2.1 Overemphasis on cultural differences in communication..................................... 292 6.1.2.2 Being restrained by the language ability in communication................................. 294 6.1.2.3 Misunderstanding caused by different learning and teaching habits ................... 295 6.1.2.4 Underestimation of personal potentials in communication...................................297 6.2 Inspirations of the findings...................................................................................................... 298 6.2.1 Seeking common ground while respecting differences....................................................298 6.2.2 Language is a tool for communication rather than the end.............................................. 307 6.2.3 Task-oriented communication...........................................................................................311 6.2.4 Fully realizing the personal potential in communication................................................. 316 6.2.5 Summary of the interpretations and inspirations..............................................................319 6.3 Reflections and perspectives....................................................................................................328 6.3.1 Strength............................................................................................................................. 328 6.3.2 Limitation.......................................................................................................................... 329 6.3.3 Suggestions for future research.........................................................................................331 Bibliography............................................................................................................................... 333 Appendix Appendix A: Concerns categories...............................................................................................373 Appendix B: Questionnaire (Chinese students in Germany)..................................................... 375 Appendix C: Questionnaire (Chinese students in China)...........................................................385 Appendix D: Questionnaire (German teachers in Germany)..................................................... 394 Appendix E: Interview framework (Chinese students in Germany).......................................... 401 Appendix F: Interview framework (German teachers)...............................................................402 Appendix G: The quoted statements of Chinese students in chapter 4...................................... 403 Appendix H: The quoted statements of Chinese students in chapter 5...................................... 407 - v - List of Tables Chapter 3 Table 3.1: Status of Chinese participants in Germany......................................................................66 Table 3.2: Status of Chinese participants in China........................................................................... 67 Table 3.3: Status of German teachers at JLU....................................................................................68 Table 3.4: Structure of the questionnaires for Chinese students.......................................................75 Table 3.5: Structure of the questionnaires.........................................................................................83 Chapter 4 Table 4.1: Demographic information of Chinese students surveyed in Germany (N=123)...........117 Table 4.2: Demographic information of Chinese students surveyed in China (N=42).................. 119 Table 4.3: Demographic information of German teachers surveyed in Germany (N=34).............121 Table 4.4: Reliability coefficients of survey instrument (section III and section IV of the questionnaires)...............................................................................................................123 Table 4.5: Mean and standard deviations of the items in section III and section IV of the questionnaires .............................................................................................................. 125 Table 4.6: T-test results of communication concerns in class and in one-on-one conversations (Chinese students in Germany)..................................................................................... 129 Table 4.7: T-test results of communication concerns in class and in one-on-one conversations (Chinese students in China)...........................................................................................129 Table 4.8: T-test results of communication concerns in class and in one-on-one conversations (German teachers in Germany)..................................................................................... 130 Table 4.9: Summary of the findings of section V of the questionnaires.........................................131 Table 4.10: Items of communication concerns in the ranking order (Chinese students and German teachers in Germany).....................................................................................................158 Table 4.11: T-test results of communication concerns perceived by Chinese students and German teachers in Germany...................................................................................................... 160 Table 4.12: Differences and similarities of communication concerns between Chinese students and German teachers in Germany........................................................................................161 Table 4.13: A summary of significant relationships of communication concerns domains within each research group....................................................................................................... 163 Table 4.14: Communication concerns related to knowledge-related barriers perceived by Chinese students and German teachers in Germany...................................................................164 Table 4.15: Communication concerns about perception-related barriers perceived by Chinese students and German teachers in Germany...................................................................166 Table 4.16: Major results and differences of the comparison between Chinese students and German teachers in Germany........................................................................................172 Table 4.17: Different interpretations of perception-related concerns based on the Chinese and German leaning contexts............................................................................................... 178 Table 4.18: Different interpretations of knowledge-related concerns based on Chinese and German leaning contexts............................................................................................................. 181 - vi - Chapter 5 Table 5.1: Items of communication concerns in ranking order between Chinese students in Germany and in China...................................................................................................200 Table 5.2: T-test results of communication concerns perceived by Chinese students in Germany and in China...................................................................................................................201 Table 5.3: Paired t-test results of communication concerns perceived by Chinese students in Germany and in China...................................................................................................203 Table 5.4: Comparison of the findings between Chinese students in Germany and in China....... 204 Table 5.5: Effects of language-related concerns on Chinese students in Germany and in China..219 Table 5.6: Frequency distribution of the responses to the third question in section V of the questionnaires................................................................................................................ 220 Table 5.7: Frequency distribution of the responses to the first question in section V of the questionnaires................................................................................................................ 227 Table 5.8: Frequency distribution of the responses to the second question in section V of the questionnaires................................................................................................................ 228 Table 5.9: Frequency distribution of the responses to the fourth question in section V of the questionnaires................................................................................................................ 229 Table 5.10: Frequency distribution of the responses to the fifth question in section V of the questionnaires................................................................................................................ 235 Table 5.11: Invariant and variable factors of Chinese students and German teachers................... 245 Table 5.12: Analyses of variance for the concerns of Chinese students in Germany with respect to gender............................................................................................................................ 247 Table 5.13: Analyses of variance for the concerns of German teachers with respect to gender.... 248 Table 5.14: Analyses of variance for the concerns of Chinese students in Germany with respect to the study field................................................................................................................ 253 Table 5.15: Analyses of variance for the concerns of German teachers with respect to academic fields ............................................................................................................................ 255 Table 5.16: Analyses of variance for the concerns of Chinese students in Germany with respect to the language of communication.................................................................................... 257 Table 5.17: Analyses of variance for the concerns of German teachers with respect to the language of instruction..................................................................................................................258 Table 5.18: Analyses of variance for the concerns of Chinese students in Germany with respect to age (four categories)...................................................................................................... 267 Table 5.19: Analyses of variance for the concerns of Chinese students in Germany with respect to age (two categories).......................................................................................................268 Table 5.20: Analyses of variance for the concerns of Chinese students in Germany with respect to academic levels..............................................................................................................269 Table 5.21: Results of Scheffe’s method of concerns relationship among four academic levels.. 270 Table 5.22: Analyses of variance for the concerns of German teachers with respect to advising experiences.................................................................................................................... 271 Table 5.23: Analyses of variance for the concerns of Chinese students in Germany with respect to the length of residence...................................................................................................275 Table 5.24: Results of Scheffe’s method of concerns relationship among the length of residence ............................................................................................................................... 276 Table 5.25: Analyses of variance for the concerns of Chinese students in Germany with respect to work experience.............................................................................................................277 - vii - Table 5.26: Analyses of variance for the concerns of Chinese students in Germany with respect to living status (two groups).............................................................................................. 279 Table 5.27: Analyses of variance for the concerns of German teachers with respect to overseas experiences.................................................................................................................... 280 Table 5.28: Summary of the findings of the fifth and sixth research questions............................. 288 Chapter 6 Table 6.1: The “checklist” for foreign students of establishing contacts at German universities (Mehlhorn, 2005:21, English translation)..................................................................... 314 Table 6.2: Summary of the interpretations, inspirations, and suggestions of the research findings ....................................................................................................................................... 326 List of Figures Chapter 3 Figure 3.1: Comparative analysis among the three objects.............................................................. 70 Figure 3.2: The two-fold classification system.................................................................................98 Figure 3.3: Framework of the research........................................................................................... 112 Chapter 4 Figure 4.1: Communication concerns distribution in all domains of the three groups.................. 127 Figure 4.2: Differences of mean in the three categories of concerns between Chinese students and German teachers............................................................................................................142 Figure 4.3: Cultural communication contexts of the communication between Chinese student and German teachers in Germany........................................................................................155 Chapter 5 Figure 5.1: Cultural communication contexts of the communication between Chinese students and German teachers in Germany and in China.................................................................. 198 Figure 5.2: Comparison of means of communication concerns in all domains between Chinese students in Germany and in China................................................................................ 202 Figure 5.3: Influence of variable and invariable personal factors on the communication between Chinese students and German teachers......................................................................... 244 - viii - Abstract With the increase in educational exchanges and cooperation between China and Germany, the growing number of Chinese students in Germany has given rise to considerable research addressing their various needs, which is becoming a prominent interest among scholars in Germany, as well as in China. Although there has been much research on Chinese overseas students in the field of intercultural adjustment and integration, it rarely specifically concentrates on the communication of Chinese students with their German teachers at German universities. Against this background, this study employed a mixed research method in form of questionnaires and interviews, aiming at investigating the communication between Chinese students and German teachers in academic settings, namely, in class and in one-to-one conversations. Three research groups, Chinese students in Germany, Chinese students in China, and German teachers in Germany, participated in the practical research investigation. Inspired by the Communication Concerns Model developed by Staton-Spicer and Bassett (1979) and the subsequent adoptions, the current study explored the perceived intercultural communication concerns from the perspectives of both Chinese students and German teachers. All the quantitative data obtained in the questionnaires were classified based on a two-fold classification system, which consists of three categories of concerns: concerns about self as a communicator, concerns about the task of communicating, and concerns about the impact of one’s communication on others; and four types of communication barriers: barriers caused by language ability, academic knowledge, personal emotion, and perception. The achieved qualitative data in this study were applied to clarify and explain the communication anxieties identified in the questionnaires. The results indicated that the major concerns in the communication between Chinese students and German teachers were caused by Chinese students’ face-saving, reserved behaviors resulted from their respect for teachers, the doctrine of moderation, - ix - and their insufficient language proficiency. Focusing on Chinese students and German teachers in Germany, the results showed that German teachers often wished that Chinese students could participate in class actively with sufficient background knowledge. However, the reality was that Chinese students normally behaved passively and submissively in communication. The most of Chinese students concerned about the impact of their communicative approaches on German teachers and whether their own behaviors were appropriate to the German academic settings. Based on the statements of Chinese students, their concerns mainly came from the different teaching and learning approaches between German and Chinese universities. This resulted in that some behaviors, which were regarded as correct for Chinese students, turned out to be incorrect in German academic context. Additionally, the high academic pressure of Chinese students resulted from the Chinese education system, society, and families, also contributed to the submissive behavior of Chinese students, which finally resulted in the concerns of both students and teachers in communication. Results of the comparison of the concerns reported by Chinese students in Germany and in China showed that Chinese students in Germany expressed a generally higher level of concerns than students in China did. The changes of their concerns mainly embodied in the concerns related to the language and cultural background. Chinese students in Germany worried more about their language ability, while students in China expressed the opposite opinion. Both students in Germany and in China stated more culture-based concerns than personal capacity-related concerns. The findings also displayed that the change of cultural environment changed the major types of concerns of Chinese students in Germany and led to the growing degree of their concerns. Moreover, the results reported that the personal-based factors of Chinese students and German teachers involved in this study had an impact on their communication to a greater or lesser extent. Briefly to say, it appears that the more frequent and longer contact with the German culture Chinese students have, the fewer - x - concerns they have in communication. Likewise, some knowledge of the Chinese culture can also help German teachers to improve the quality of communication with Chinese students. Additionally, this study discovered that female Chinese students expressed more communication concerns than male peers did. German teachers were not affected by their gender in communication with Chinese students. Moreover, Chinese students and German teachers working in the fields of sciences (natural sciences, agriculture, medicine and engineering) experienced fewer concerns in communication than those working in the areas of non-sciences (humanities and social sciences). On the basis of the communication concerns discovered in this study, some suggestions and countermeasures were put forward for prospective Chinese students and German teachers in order to reduce their communication concerns and improve the quality of their communication with each other. Keywords: Intercultural Communication, Teacher-Student Communication, Communication Concerns, Chinese Students, German Teachers, Academic Settings - 1 - Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Research background Since the introduction of the economic opening-up policy of China in 1978/1979, the economic exchange between China and the western world has intensified (Guan, 2007; Song, 2009; Liu, 2010). In particular, transnational higher education has become a new education trend in Chinese higher education in the last few years with the driving impetus of globalization in economics. Studying overseas has gained increasing attention by young Chinese students and become more and more important for their personal development. As a country well-known in the world for its high level of development in technology, science, and culture, Germany has been becoming one of the most attractive countries to study in for Chinese students for some years now (Schneider, 2007). The last decade of the 20th century witnessed rapid growth in the enrollment of Chinese student in Germany. Recent data indicates that about 30,500 Chinese students were enrolled in German universities in the winter semester 2015/2016 and that Chinese students made up one of the largest groups of foreign students in Germany1. As with the strengthening of bilateral relationship and cooperation between China and Germany, the number of Chinese students studying in Germany will continue to increase in the future. There are several reasons for the strong increase of the Chinese student population in Germany. The rapid economic growth in China and the associated increase of private incomes over the past decades is the major contribution to this phenomenon (Günther, 2007:7ff). In addition, a German graduation certificate and learning experiences in Germany can give many advantages to Chinese students in the Chinese labor market (Freyeisen, 2008). If the financial situation permits, most Chinese parents want to make a larger investment for a better education and professional future of their children (Guan, 2007; Zhou, 2009). Particularly, due to the 1 Source: Statistisches Bundesamt: https://www.destatis.de/DE/Publikationen/Thematisch/BildungForschungKultur/Hochschulen/StudierendeHochsch ulenEndg.html https://www.destatis.de/DE/Publikationen/Thematisch/BildungForschungKultur/Hochschulen/StudierendeHochschulenEndg.html https://www.destatis.de/DE/Publikationen/Thematisch/BildungForschungKultur/Hochschulen/StudierendeHochschulenEndg.html - 2 - widespread and profound influence of the one-child policy2, which has been carried out in China since 1978, most Chinese families currently have only one child. Since studying abroad, especially in the western countries, holds great appeal for Chinese youngsters and for their families, those Chinese parents and families are willing to make any sacrifice to help their single child to build a successful future3. However, in addition to the enthusiasm of enriching personal experiences and the hope for a professional future, young Chinese students are confronted with a series of challenges during their studies at foreign countries. Studying in Germany for Chinese students means not only a transformation of learning place from the eastern world region to the western world region but also the change of the cultural, language, educational, and social environment (Dai, 2006). Their accustomed learning habits, values, and beliefs in China can in many cases not easily be integrated with the requirements and circumstances of the studying in Germany. For example, Chinese students come from a centralized education system4, in which learning is predominantly collectivism-oriented5 (Ding & Fluck, 2001; Lin-Huber, 2001). On the contrary, German education advocates self-management skills and the sense of self- responsibility of students (Müthel, 2006). The confrontation with the different educational ideas and unexpected changes in teaching and learning make Chinese students feel frustrated and nervous, which generally reduces their self-confidence during their study. In addition, given the influence of the one-child policy, most of the Chinese students are very well taken care of and protected by their parents. These students almost have no experience with living separately from their parents before studying abroad alone. Therefore, the feeling of isolation and helplessness in a foreign country is also a factor in enhancing the learning difficulties of the Chinese students studying in foreign countries. One of the challenges of studying in Germany can be embodied in teacher- student communication, which is considered as an essential part of education. Although nearly all international students experience various amount of difficulties 2 The influence of the one-child policy on Chinese students and their families will be discussed in chapter 2, section 2.3.1.1. 3 Family and social expectations toward Chinese students will be discussed in chapter 2, section 2.3.1.2. 4 Features of Chinese educational system will be discussed in chapter 2, section 2.3.2.2. 5 The “collectivism-oriented” here refers to students’ study and campus life as under centralized and unified management of universities (detailed explanation see section 2.3.2.2). - 3 - when communicating with German teachers, it appears that, when compared with students from Indo-European language6 backgrounds, students from other language backgrounds often express a higher level of language- and cultural-based concerns in interaction with German lecturers (Zeile, 1991; Motz, 2005; Esser, 2010; Schäfer & Heinrich, 2010). Particularly, Chinese students, as speakers of non-Indo-European languages, often experience language- and culture-based problems when communicating with German teachers. For instance, Chinese students value highly the modest, restrained, and collectivism-oriented communication style7 (Mitschian, 1991; Schneider, 2007; Liu, 2012). Thus, they believe that the behaviors, such as remaining quiet in class and seldomly questioning teachers’ teaching, are the proper state of a good student. However, in German classrooms, where the active interaction with teachers and initiative expression of personal opinions are encouraged and often praised. Therefore, Chinese students may be at a disadvantage and their Chinese-style communicative habits may be wrongly understood as inactiveness and passiveness by German teachers. Such kind of intercultural communication concerns have become an important variable that influences the instructional effectiveness and quality of international education. The increase in the number of Chinese students in Germany has given rise to considerable research addressing their various needs, which is becoming a prominent interest among scholars in Germany, as well as in China. For instance, prior research on intercultural teaching and learning at German universities have explored Chinese students’ language ability and speaking skills (e.g. Wang, 2007; Chen, 2012; Liu, 2015), psychological and social pressure (e.g. Guan, 2007; Zhou, 2009; Chu, 2017), academic adjustment and integration (e.g. Guan, 2007; Zhu, 2012), perceived needs (e.g. Song, 2009), acculturation (e.g. Sun, 2010), culture-based strategies of learning (e.g. Luo & Kück, 2011; Liu, 2012), and cultural ethics in communication (e.g. Günthner, 1993; Liu, 2010)8. Scholars have realized that support for Chinese students for coping with adjustment difficulties and adapting to the new cultural and academic environment are critical factors in fully realizing and securing educational benefits of 6 The Indo-European languages are a language family of several hundred related languages and dialects, which include most of the modern languages of Europe and are spoken by almost 3 billion native speakers across all inhabited continents (Auroux, 2000:1156). 7 The features of Chinese communication style will be discussed in chapter 2, section 2.2.1. 8 Section 2.4 in chapter 2 presents the summary of research on Chinese students studying in Germany. - 4 - their overseas learning experiences. Although there has been much research on Chinese students studying in Germany in the field of intercultural adjustment and integration, it rarely specifically concentrates on the problem of teacher-student communication at German universities. The few studies on the communication of Chinese students in Germany either focused on the level of student-student communication or introduced communication problems of Chinese students as a part of their difficulties in studying in Germany without thorough analysis. In general, the previous research reports that, as a result of their own concerns and perceived unsuccessful performance in interaction with others, Chinese students are aware of their communication problems and sometimes feel frustrated in communication in German academic settings (e.g. Song, 2009; Liu, 2010; Zhu, 2012). These studies have an insight into the communication problems from the perspective of Chinese students, however, there still remains a great potential for research in this research area. For example, they have yet to comprehensively explore the demonstrations and the underlying causes of Chinese students’ concerns in communication with German teachers, nor have they probed into the issues from the perspective of German teachers. In brief, the problems remaining to be researched can be summarized as the following aspects: (1) According to the results of previous studies, the lack of language proficiency and the different communication principles between Chinese and Germans are identified as the main obstacles of Chinese for establishing a successful academic career in Germany9 (e.g. Günthner, 1993; Nagels, 1996; Müthel, 2006; Wang, 2007; Liu, 2010). Some researchers focused their studies on the communication between Chinese and Germans based on the different cultural and social identities (e.g.; Zinzius, 1996; Rolle, 1999; Zhang, 2006; Guan, 2007; Zinsmeister, 2009). Nonetheless, the nature of communication difficulties and specific individual feelings, that Chinese students and German teachers experience during their communication in different communication situations, has not been thoroughly observed. In addition, the communication problems of Chinese students in Germany reported in previous research are mainly of a general nature. Their worries and concerns in communication with German teachers need to be specifically focused on 9 A brief review of the research on communication between Chinese and Germans will be discussed in chapter 2, section 2.2. - 5 - and analyzed according to the communicative objectives and settings. (2) The aforementioned research on Chinese students’ communication in Germany mainly emphasized on exploring the concerns on the side of Chinese students and relatively little involved the perspective of German faculty members. Danckwortt (1984:27) suggests comparing academic staff’s comments and opinions with study difficulties of international students in order to find out the factors, which imped or support international students’ concerns of studying at German universities. “Who decides what a successful study is? The student or the university? (ibid:27)10” Danckwortt raised these questions so as to obtain a wider perspective, that transcends culture-bound principles and norms of good understanding and learning. Volet (1999a) also points out that research on communicating and learning cross-culture should be composed of subjective perceptions of both lecturers and students, although lecturers play a relatively more active instructional role. A few studies have been carried out in order to explore Chinese students’ communication from both perspectives of lecturers and students, such as in Australia (e.g. Samuelovicz, 1987; Gao, 2013), in the UK (e.g. Wisker et al., 2003; Turner, 2006; Kingston & Forland, 2008; Durkin, 2011) and in the U.S. (e.g. Huang, 1997; Liu, 2001). Since teacher-student communication is a mutual process of exchanging information and feelings, more studies on Chinese students’ communication from the perspective of teachers are still called for. Responses of teachers would complement or explain those relating to students’ perceptions of teacher-student interaction, which might help to improve the communication between students and teachers from the standpoint of teachers. (3) The intercultural communication between Chinese students and German teachers has not been studied thoroughly. As intercultural communication happens against an intercultural academic background, it is more than just a communication process (Cai, 2010; Scollon, Scollon, & Jones, 2012). Neither interacting with German teachers in an isolated academic environment nor obtaining knowledge by means of a book-to-brain mode are Chinese students exposed to a face-to-face interactive learning environment in the German academic culture. In order to survive in the German learning milieu and establish successful communication with teachers, Chinese students must learn to coordinate their accustomed Chinese learning style 10 The original German expression is: “Wer bestimmt, was ein Studienerfolg ist? Der Student oder die Hochschule?” (Danckwortt, 1984:27) - 6 - with the unfamiliar German studying methods and try to find the right balance in between. For instance, they need to switch to the new language environment, adjust to the new communication standards, rebuild the personal network, and pursue a new cultural and social identity at German universities. Therefore, the changes that Chinese students need to experience in the German learning context are inevitable and the consequent challenges that they need to conquer cannot be ignored. Although the previous researchers have extended a broad scope of the topics related to the learning status and communication of Chinese students at German universities, most of the studies only focused on the situation in Germany, and not much research has deeply explored the differences between “communicating with German teachers in China” and “interacting with German teachers in Germany”. Very little research has involved both Chinese students in China and in Germany (e.g Liu, 2010) in order to explore their different perspectives of communicating with German students. However, similar investigations on the teacher-student communication remain to be further developed. The changes of Chinese students’ mentality and behavior in communication resulted from the change of cultural and language environment may promote a deeper understanding of their communication concerns and provide a fresh point-of-view to the research on intercultural teacher-student communication. (4) Individual differences, such as gender, age, academic level, and personal experience, sometimes can affect and even change the outcomes of interpersonal interaction, especially in the field of intercultural communication (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2005; Dow & Wood, 2006; Cai, 2010; Taguchi, 2012). For example, different academic levels possess different teaching and learning expectations, which results in different methods and requirements in teacher-student communication. At the undergraduate level, given that the number of students is large, students normally listen to lectures in class and do not have many opportunities to interact with teachers (Stefanou & Salisbury-Glennon, 2002). In contrast, at the post-graduate level, the learning competence, such as the independence and creativity in communication, are highly expected (Ford, 1985; Wisker et al., 2003). Therefore, teacher-student communication in different academic levels might have different features and appear with different levels of concerns. However, such influencing factors of - 7 - communication in relation to individual differences and experiences were overlooked in the past studies and deserve to be explored in this study. Against this background, the current empirical study concentrates on the communication between Chinese students and German teachers in the German educational settings. By applying the methods of quantitative, qualitative, and comparative analysis, this study attempts to explore both objective and subjective concerns of Chinese students and German teachers, which influence the process of their communication, and further to discover the underlying reasons behind their concerns. 1.2 Research objectives and significance In response to the research background mentioned above, technically, four research groups were involved in this study, namely Chinese students and German teachers in China and in Germany. Among them, three research groups (Chinese students and German teachers in Germany, and Chinese students in China) participated in the practical investigation of the current study. The primary objective of the present study is to investigate the communication between Chinese students and German teachers in academic settings, which in this study refers to communication in class and in one-to- one conversations, by assessing the perceived communication concerns from the perspectives of both parties11. The purpose of involving Chinese students in China in this study is to compare the concerns of Chinese students regarding their communication with German teachers in China and in Germany. The results of the comparison serve a valuable reference to better inquire into the causes of the communication concerns expressed by Chinese students in Germany. To be specific, the objectives of this study can be summarized in five points: The first point is to identify the major concerns of Chinese students and German teachers in their communication. The current study first analyzed the overall results of the concerns indicated by Chinese students and German teachers and then 11A detailed explanation of the research participants and methodology of this study is presented in chapter 3. - 8 - examined the concerns appearing with the highest frequency of occurrence among the overall results. In this way, the major concerns in the communication between Chinese students and German teachers can be identified and the reasons behind these concerns can be discovered. Additionally, on the basis of the distribution of their communication concerns in class and in one-on-one conversations, the levels of each group’s concerns in different academic settings can be examined. The second point is to further explore the specific concerns that existed in the communication between Chinese students and German teachers in Germany. Since Chinese students and German teachers have different cultural and language backgrounds, it is important to understand what kind of concerns each group had in their communication and whether they express same concerns about each other. The potential results can help to provide targeted solutions to improve the quality of their communication. The third point is to discover the changes of Chinese students’ concerns regarding their communication with German teachers in China and in Germany. The changes of Chinese students’ concerns can help to understand the features of teacher- student communication in China and in Germany, which is beneficial to discover the influence of different cultural and language environments on their communication. The fourth point is to examine the relations between some specified personal factors and the improvement of individual ability in communication. As mentioned in section 1.1 (4), some individual factors and experiences of Chinese students and German teachers, such as their genders, fields of study, and overseas experiences, might have a certain influence on their communication with each other. Thus, it is necessary to verify the relationships between communication skills and individual experiences in order to discover the potentiality of Chinese students and German teachers in their communication. Finally, based on the empirical findings of the present study, this dissertation aims to draw implications for the improvement of the communication between Chinese students and German teachers. Specifically, according to the concerns and the related underlying reasons discovered in this study, the corresponding suggestions are put forward for both students and teachers in order to minimize the problems in their - 9 - communication. On the basis of the above-mentioned points, the detailed description of the research questions of this study will be put forward in chapter 3. Furthermore, the results regarding the first and second points will be discussed in detail in chapter 4. The findings with respect to the third and fourth points will be specifically illustrated in chapter 5. In the end, the implications of the findings and the relevant inspirations for Chinese students and German teachers will be provided in chapter 6. In sum, this study attempts to shed light on a new line of research on the communication between Chinese students and German teachers in Germany. The findings would be significant for Chinese students, German teachers, and related research in Germany, as well as in China. For Chinese students studying in Germany, they can have a better knowledge about their own communication concerns, as well as the teacher-student communication process and requirements at German universities, which can guide them to adapt to the communication in the German academic context more quickly. Since effective communication with teachers is a key element in any successful study experience (Turecek & Peterson, 2010; Nünning & Zierold, 2008; Behmel, 2005), the information offered in this study can help Chinese students not only to improve their communication with German teachers but also to make greater academic achievements with minimal hardship. Although the findings of this study cannot be generalized to all Chinese students in Germany, it may further the understanding of certain issues in their academic transition and adjustment. Additionally, the information offered in this study might also contribute to better preparation of prospective Chinese students, who plan to pursue their studies in Germany. German teachers who teach or intend to teach Chinese students could also benefit from this study. The findings of this study may provide German teachers a more comprehensive understanding of Chinese students’ concerns in communication and the underlying cultural and linguistic causes, which might enable German teachers to communicate with Chinese students in a more efficient way. In addition, German teachers could also gain inspiration from the current study to better - 10 - communicate with the other students from the East Asian cultural sphere12. Last but not the least, under the background of globalization of higher education, the results presented in the present study could, on the one hand, offer some implications for better understanding the communication between German teachers and Chinese students, and on the other hand, may provide a meaningful reference to future research for promoting cross-cultural exchanges and enhancing educational cooperation between China and Germany. 1.3 The organization of the dissertation This dissertation consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 presents the general introduction of the current study by presenting the research background, aims, purposes, and an overview of chapters. Chapter 2 provides the theoretical background for the present study. It first reviews the related studies in the field of intercultural communication in teaching and learning, then, focuses on the features of Chinese and German communication style. Additionally, this chapter also reports the socialization of Chinese students regarding their family influence and educational background in China in order to provide a full overview of the relevant factors of Chinese students for this study. Chapter 3 is dedicated to the methodology and research design, in which the methodology, research design, detailed research procedures, reliability, and validity are described. Chapter 4 and chapter 5 demonstrate the findings of this study based on the research questions. It first reports the verification results of the hypotheses of each research question. According to the obtained qualitative data, the potential causes of the discovered communication concerns of Chinese students and German teachers are discussed afterwards. Chapter 6 summarizes the major findings of this study. The inspirations and suggestions based on the findings for each research group are provided. In addition, the limitations and directions for future research are also put forward in this chapter. 12 "East Asian cultural sphere (in Chinese:东亚文化圈)" refers to a grouping of countries and regions in East Asia that were historically influenced by and still share the culture of China, which mainly includes Mainland China (PRC), Taiwan Island (ROC), North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Ryukyu Islands and Mongolia (Choi, 2010; Kornicki, 2011; Preston, 2016). - 11 - Chapter 2: Theoretical Principles of the Study As indicated in Chapter 1, the purpose of this study is to explore the communication concerns of Chinese students and their German teachers in class and in one-to-one conversations. In this chapter, a research overview is given on the topics relevant to this work. The literature related to this study are classified into three categories, which include an insight into the intercultural communication in teaching and learning (section 2.1), the intercultural communication between Chinese and Germans (section 2.2), and the socialization of Chinese students in China (section 2.3). Finally, a summary of the selected literature and the intended contribution to this study are presented. 2.1 Intercultural communication 2.1.1 Intercultural communication As a research area, Intercultural Communication flourishes nowadays in many research fields, such as cultural studies, ethnology, anthropology, linguistics, foreign languages philology, communication science, and psychology, and its concept is understood and defined differently based on the different research fields. Himenkamp (1994:3) points out that “there is so far no interdisciplinary consensus” about the term of Intercultural Communication. Considering that the central investigation of this study, as introduced in chapter 1, focuses on a research topic regarding the intercultural communication between Chinese students and German teachers, it is sensible to describe the research approaches of Intercultural Communication in a goal- and application-oriented manner. Therefore, as the basis and import of the present study, the concept of Intercultural Communication is primarily discussed based on the research context of interpersonal encounter. - 12 - Apeltauer (1997:17) defines Intercultural Communication as “the understanding between two persons from clearly different groups1”. Although this definition is too crude and simplified, it directly expresses one of the main characters of intercultural communication, which is interpersonal communication. In addition, the term of Intercultural Communication not only emphasizes the communication between people but also embodies the recognition of the discrepancy of cultures and the resulting influence on people (cf. Maletzke, 1996; Casmir, 1998; Knapp, 2003; Hess-Lüttich, 2003). As Hinnenkamp (1992: 142) describes, “cultural participation, which refers to culture-specific ways of communication, reflects in the communication” and “common cultural participation facilitates communication, while different cultural participation makes it difficult”. Thus, the diversity of cultures is an unavoidable issue that cannot be ignored in intercultural communication. In consideration of the above aspects, according to Gudykunst (2002:179), “intercultural communication, in general, is conceptualized as communication between people from different national cultures”. A more comprehensive concept of Intercultural Communication can be understood as “the communication process that takes place in a circumstance in which communicators’ patterns of verbal and nonverbal encoding and decoding are significantly different because of cultural differences”, as pointed out by Kim and Gudykunst (1988: 305) in their early research on Theories in intercultural communication. Since culture is a whole concept, its variables and characteristics, such as gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, dialect etc., can also be considered as a resource for studying intercultural communication (e.g. Bradford, Kane, & Meyers, 1999; Dean & Popp, 1990; Oetzel et al., 2002). Thus, communication between people who speak the same language but have different cultural origins is regarded as intercultural communication. In addition, in the vast majority of cases in the area of linguistic research, intercultural communication is understood in a narrower sense as communication between interaction partners of different cultural origins, in which at least one of the interaction partners speaks a language other than his mother tongue 1 The original German expression is: “Die Verständigung zwischen zwei Personen aus deutlich verschiedenen Grupppen” Apeltauer (1997:17). - 13 - (e.g. Günthner, 1993). This also includes situations in which all communication partners speak in a foreign language other than their mother tongues (e.g. Keles, 2013). Focusing on the present study, Chinese students and German teachers as two target groups have different cultural origins (the culture of China and Germany) and communicate with each other either in the German language (a foreign language for Chinese students) or in the English language (a foreign language for both sides). Given this background, this study meets all of the above-proposed features of intercultural communication and can be also defined in this category. Research on intercultural communication began in the 1970s. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, the research area of intercultural communication has become increasingly important, which has been reflected in the tendency of systematic subject research to academic institutionalization (Hess-Lüttich, 2003:76, in Liu, 2010:36). This tendency can also be confirmed by the increasing research on interdisciplinary fields of study, which particularly embodies in the fields of intercultural business communication, intercultural communication in foreign language didactic, contrastive linguistics, pragmatic and so on. In general, the main questions of intercultural communication focus on the extent to which the different communication structures and different modes of thinking and behavior influence the communication process, and which difficulties and problems they can cause, and how to solve these “disturbances” in intercultural communication (cf. Jandok, 2009:56). Scholars point out that many barriers may interfere with the process of intercultural communication, such as the barriers of anxiety, ethnocentrism, stereotypes and prejudice, nonverbal misinterpretations, and language (e.g. Samovar et al., 2014:105ff). Particularly, the barriers caused by cultural differences and the resulting distinct ways of thinking and expression have been generally considered as the main disturbances in the process of communication and have been widely discussed (e.g. Scollon & Scollon, 2001; Gudykunst, 2003; Jandt, 2007; Liu, 2010). For example, Jandt (2007:48f) indicates that people from Western and Asian cultures often have the greatest chance of misunderstanding each other, because the cultural values that people hold are very different and affect both their communication decisions and interpretation of what others communicate. However, Jandt (2007:48) - 14 - also notes that some skills not only can eliminate the communication obstacles but also improve the personal ability to prevent the potential disturbances in intercultural communication, such as the skills of cultural awareness (understanding of how people of different cultures think and act), self-respect (being confident in one’s own thinking and behavior), psychological adjustment (ability to adjust to new situations and norms), and acceptance (being tolerant or accepting of unfamiliar things). Following these ideas, the influence of cultural differences on the communication between Chinese students and German teachers and the resulting communication concerns of each group are regarded as key research aspects of this study, which forms one of the leading research questions. In addition, the potential self-adjustment ability of Chinese students and German teachers of coping with their difficulties in communication with each other is also necessary to explore. Nevertheless, although much research focused on cultural and behavioral differences as the main problems in intercultural communication, some researchers also explored intercultural communication from the perspective of cultural similarities (e.g. Norenzayan et al. 2002; Chen, 2003; Church et al. 2010; Li, Patel & Sooknanan, 2011; Scollon & Tov, 2012). For instance, Norenzayan et al. (2002) investigated the social inference practices between Koreans and Americans based on their cultural differences and similarities. Church et al. (2010) studied the perceived affordance or conduciveness of situations for five specific behaviors between Americans and Filipinos and found substantially greater cultural similarities than differences between these two cultures in this regard. Scollon and Tov (2012) examined cultural conceptualizations of emotion and the role of emotion in interpersonal communication by considering the similarities and differences among cultures. Therefore, cultural similarity is a factor that cannot be neglected in intercultural communication studies, which is worth learning for reference of the current study. To sum up, in intercultural communication, one encounters other codes, conventions, attitudes, and behavioral forms. It is a part of common sense that communication processes between members of two or more different cultures are usually far more susceptible to interference than communication among members of a single culture. Even if the members of two cultures are able to communicate fluently in a particular language, it is often the case that irritation and misunderstandings still - 15 - occur. Among the barriers occurred in intercultural communication, culture- and language-based communicative barriers are commonly considered as the major causes for communication disorders. However, not every intercultural encounter undertakes communicative disturbances. In fact, disturbances are first established by the two communicative sides in the interaction. Additionally, it should not be excluded that individuals are also capable of adapting to the communication conventions of other cultures and of applying new forms of communication in intercultural situations. Last but not the least, except for the differences between cultures, cultural similarities are also standpoints in intercultural communication research. The theoretical basis introduced in this section serves as the source of the development of research questions and is also used for reference in the empirical analysis of this study. 2.1.2 Intercultural teacher-student communication in teaching and learning As mentioned in section 2.1.1, the concept of Intercultural Communication in this study is primarily discussed based on the research context of interpersonal encounters. Moreover, given that the communication settings involved in this study belong to the academic context, research on intercultural teacher-student communication in teaching and learning is worth briefly reviewing. 2.1.2.1 Intercultural communication between teachers and students As an essence in teaching and learning, two-way communication plays a crucial role in the educational process, because, in addition to the formal classroom instruction, students learn through hands-on experiences with teachers as well, which also has a great help to students’ study (Wang et al., 2010:220). Thus, successful and effective communication between students and teachers is considered as a critical determinant of the high-quality instruction (Jacob, 2001; Atkins et al., 2002). Especially for international students, in view of their different cultural and language backgrounds, effective communication with teachers in host countries appears to be more important for them, which turns out as a focus of this study. The importance of intercultural teacher-student communication has been recognized by scholars in a considerable amount of research. However, as mentioned - 16 - in chapter 1 (see section 1.1), studies pertaining to international students have usually treated the teacher-student communication as one factor in a broader range of research concerns, such as international students’ adjustment problems (Mehlhorn, 2005; Schäfer & Heinrich, 2010; Zhu, 2012), their educational needs (Albert et al., 1990; Ender & Wilkie 2000; Motz, 2005), and effective teaching for international students (Carroll & Ryan, 2005; Biggs & Tang, 2011). Although the findings are fragmentary, they nevertheless provide some information on communication between international students and teachers from both students’ and teachers’ viewpoints. Most international students perceive their communication with teachers to be of critical importance in their studies (Molla & Sedlacek, 1989; Mitschian, 1991; Schneider, 2007; Guan, 2007; Liu, 2010; Wang et al., 2010). As Molla and Sedlacek’s (1989:8) indicates, “contact with faculty is important to academic success”. However, “students from different cultural origins, their perceptions and experiences vary to some extent”, which results in their different needs in communication with teachers (Wang, 2008a:34). For example, according to Ender and Wilkie (2000), European students generally feel that lecturers and professors provide sufficient instructions and exhibit personal interest in them. On the contrary, non-European students have different opinions. For example, as discovered by Meleis (1982, in Wang, 2008a:34) that Arab students thought the reason they had to make their own choices in matters of education was because their teachers did not care for them and did not want to take responsible for the consequences. Some studies also report that Asian students, especially those from origins in China, Japan, or Korea, have a strong desire for the guidance of teachers in the process of their integration into school life and socialization into institution in Western countries (e.g. Toyokawa & Toyokawa, 2002; Yeh & Inose, 2002; Guan, 2007; Wang, 2008a; Wang, 2010). In addition to the studies conducted from the perspective of international students, a handful of research has been carried out from the teachers’ point of view. Not completely congruent with students’ views, teachers tend to place more emphasis on the curriculum design and learning ability of international students. For instance, Timko (1990) found that the faculty members at one American university cared more about whether a course was designed to meet the needs of international students and to help them develop the independent research ability. Wang (2008a) also discovered - 17 - that some American teachers were more concerned with the language and research abilities of their international students based on academic tasks, rather than the relationship with international students. Therefore, it can be recognized that students and teachers have different focuses and expectations on the interaction with each other. Students care more about the relationship with teachers and support offered by teachers. However, the expectations of students on teachers may vary depending on their different understanding of the teacher-student interaction based on different cultures. On the contrary, teachers tend to emphasize on the academic performance and ability of students in the interaction. Based on this conclusion, in addition to the research aspect mentioned in section 2.1.1, another three leading questions enter into the field of thinking of this study: Will Chinese students and German teachers perceive different concerns in their communication? If yes, to what extent are their concerns caused by cultural differences? Do Chinese students have similar concerns in communication with German teachers in China? These leading questions contribute to a part of the research questions of this study, which will be specifically addressed in chapter 3 (see section 3.1.1). 2.1.2.2 Communication concerns model Given that students and teachers have different needs and expectations in communication with each other based on the findings of previous studies, scholars have developed some methods to detect the process of teacher-student communication in order to improve the instructional communication. Among all methods, the “communication concerns model” introduced by Station-Spicer and Bassett (1979), which is to date one of the maturest quantification approaches of teacher-student communication concerns by continuously adapting and developing in the studies afterwards, is worth specifically mentioning. In the light of Fuller’s (1969) study of investigating teachers’ instructional concerns, the communication concerns model was first introduced by Station-Spicer and Bassett (1979). Fuller’ (1969) study provided the broad framework for examining concerns of teachers and conceptualized teacher concerns into a three-phase sequence - 18 - model: concern about self, concern about task, and concern about impact (Borich & Fuller, 1974, in Station-Spicer and Bassett,1979:139). However, Station-Spicer and Bassett (1979) considered that Fuller’s model “investigated teacher concerns in general” and did not focused specifically on communication-related aspect. Thus, recognizing that “the instructional process may be viewed as primarily one of communication”, the purpose of Station-Spicer and Bassett’s (1979:139) study was to “systematically identify teacher concerns about communication and determine if they were distributed in a fashion similar to general concerns (i.e., self, task, and impact)”. For this purpose, Station-Spicer and Bassett restricted the definition of communication to “face-to-face interaction” in their study. In addition, they clearly defined that “a concern was considered a communication concern if it involved participation in face-to-face interactions (ibid:140)”. Based on the study of Fuller (1969), Station-Spicer and Bassett (1979:141) further identified the communication concerns of teachers into three main categories as follows: (1) Concerns about SELF as a communicator: Person expresses concern with self and own adequacy, being accepted by students, parents, supervisors, etc. Person expresses concern about credibility as a teacher, about being liked. (2) Concerns about TASK of communicating: Person expresses concern with teaching and communication performance. The focus is on situational concerns: “how to” give a lecture, lead a discussion, ask various types of questions, use appropriate vocabulary. (3) Concerns about IMPACT of communication on others: Person expresses concern with the effect of communication on others. Statements are about whether pupils understand what is being taught and if they are developing intellectually, socially, and emotionally. The concern is with how students, parents, etc., are affected by the communication. (ibid.) Additionally, according to the obtained data, Station-Spicer and Bassett (1979:141) also employed three new categories to classify data in their study, namely: (4) Not a personal concern about own communication: Person expresses concern about communication in general, or about the communication of someone other than him or herself. (5) Non-communication or non-teaching concern: Person expresses concern about something unrelated either to communication or to teaching. - 19 - (6) No concern: Person expresses that he or she is not concerned about a particular aspect. The results of Station-Spicer and Bassett’s (1979) study were consistent with those of Fuller’s (1969). They argued for “the important of communication concerns for teacher teaching training” and “suggested that the self, task, and impact framework be used as the foundation for the sequencing of communication instruction” (Station-Spicer, 1983:159). On the basis of the previous studies, Staton-Spicer (1983:165) further attempted to develop an objective scored instrument to facilitate examination of the relationship between teacher’s communication concerns and students’ learning and/or satisfaction. Based on the concerns identified by the communication concerns model of Station-Spicer and Bassett (1979), she tested forty-five hypothesized items of concerns by examining the communication of 661 school teachers. As a result, she selected fifteen items of concerns for a final, shortened version of the instrument to measure the self, task, and impact dimensions of teacher communication concerns. The reliability and validity of the instrument were also verified. The study of Station- Spicer (1983) demonstrated that the communication concerns model (Station-Spicer and Bassett, 1979) can be embodied as a research instrument in empirical teacher- student communication concern studies. Additionally, based on the findings, she also suggests more research to “uncover additional correlated of teacher communication concerns” by employing the communication concerns model and “investigate behavioral manifestations of teachers with various levels of concern about communication” (Staton-Spicer, 1983:167). Under the direction of Station-Spicer (1983), this model has been adopted by several researchers to access the face-to-face interaction between teachers and students in a variety of instructional settings. The representative studies are as follows: Bauer (1992) further applied the communication concerns model (Station- Spicer and Bassett, 1979) in her study in order to explore the instructional communication of international teaching assistants in America. She employed the instrument of Staton-Spicer (1983) and expanded the original instrument to twenty- four items rating on a 7-point Likert scale. Particularly, she added both quantitatively- - 20 - and qualitatively-oriented items reflecting the language and cultural proficiency of international teachers in the survey. The findings revealed six instructional communication concerns of international teaching assistants, which were “English language proficiency, two-way process of communication, the establishment of teacher-student rapport, student involvement, intercultural sensitivity, and teaching skills” (Bauer, 1992:110, in Wang, 2008a:47). Moreover, the study of Bauer manifested that the communication concerns model is also valid for investing intercultural teacher-student communication and the combination of qualitative and quantitative instruments is conducive to yield more valuable research data. Based on the research of Bauer (1992), Feezel and Myers (1997:110) refined the original domains of communication concerns into four categories (self, task, impact, and role conflict) to investigate graduate teachers’ concerns in more depth. The results showed that graduate teaching assistants experience “eight somewhat interrelated types of concerns: self, task, impact, role conflict, teaching, area knowledge, procedural knowledge, and time management”. The communication concerns model and the resulting instrument were once again verified to be valid and reliable by the results of their research. Although the communication concerns model was originally developed for investigating instructional concerns of teachers, as the trend of instructional communication has shifted from teacher-centered instruction to teacher-student interaction (Englehart, 2009), researchers have attempted to explore the concerns of students in the instructional process by applying this model. To date, the studies focusing on the communication concerns of students by applying the communication concerns model have been confined to the higher education level. For instance, the communication concerns model was developed and applied by Wang (2008a) and Wang et al. (2010). They focused more on the concerns of students instead of those of teachers and explored the communication between international graduate students and American teachers at an American university. In their studies, the intrinsic structure of the communication concerns model introduced by Station-Spicer and Bassett (1979) was reserved as the framework of the research instrument. On this basis, the adaptation and expansion of the model employed in the previous relevant studies (e.g. Station-Spicer, 1983; Bauer, 1992) were also adopted - 21 - in their studies. The content descriptions of concerns were modified from the perspective of students in order to reflect learner-centered communication. Meanwhile, in view of the feature of intercultural communication, six items in relation to language- and culture-based communication barriers were also utilized in their studies, which can be classified into the three categories of concerns (self, task, and impact) introduced by Station-Spicer and Bassett (1979). The results revealed that the concerns caused by students themselves, the impact of students’ concerns on teachers, and students’ English communication ability were the main concerns of both sides. The communication concerns model (Station-Spicer & Bassett, 1979) was proved to be effective and reliable again by the research findings. The communication concerns model (Station-Spicer & Bassett, 1979) was also applied in other studies to explore the teacher-student communication and achieved the expected results (e.g. Hiemstra & Station-Spicer, 1983; Ivy, 1988; Cakmak, 2008; Dannels, 2015). In the light of the feasibility and reliability of the communication concerns model demonstrated by the previous studies, the current study also adopts this model as the basis for the development of the research instrument. The six concerns categories purposed by Station-Spicer and Bassett (1979) are also applied in this study as the data classification and coding standard. The construction of the instrument and categorical distribution of concerns of this study will be introduced in detail in chapter 3 (see section 3.3.2.2). 2.1.2.3 Strategies for eliminating concerns On the grounds of the communication problems and concerns discovered in the previous studies, some corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are given to teachers, as well as students. However, it would be impossible to present in one portion of this chapter a full methodology purposed by previous studies for developing intercultural teacher-student communication. Thus, some representative methods, which also contribute to interpreting the findings of this study in chapter 6 (section 6.2), are introduced as follows: According to the findings of the previous research (e.g. Ivy, 1988; Bauer, 1992; Cakmak, 2008; Wang, 2008a; Wang et al. 2010), concerns are often found in culturally diverse communication between students and teachers. For example, Wang - 22 - (2008a:123) discovered that Chinese students in American were not confident to express themselves openly to American teachers. In turn, the negative emotions of the students affected the feeling of teachers in communication and ultimately led to the concerns of teachers. Correspondingly, some researchers suggest teachers use empathetic methods to motive students in communication because “empathy can potentially foster openness, attentiveness, and positive relationships” (Jacqueline & Irvine, 2002:434). For instance, Jacqueline and Irvine (2002:434f) points out that teachers’ empathy, from both affective and cognitive concept perspectives, is an important factor in working effectively with culturally diverse students and teachers are better able to modify pedagogy and curricula to fit their students’ needs. Hence, teachers’ empathy is helpful to students in communication. Moreover, since the language proficiency of international students is often considered as one of the critical concerns in their communication with foreign teachers, how to improve the quality of foreign language teaching, aiming at improving the language ability of international students, has been frequently discussed by scholars. Many researchers suggest integrating cultural aspects into foreign language teaching in order to enhance students’ knowledge of the cultural background of a certain foreign language (e.g. O'Sullivan & Rösler, 1999; Harden & Witte, 2000; Hallet, 2002). Intercultural competence is also defined as a “soft skill” of foreign language learners, which enables language learns to cultivate linguistic comprehension and master a foreign language (e.g. Küster, Lütge & Wieland, 2015; Lügte, 2016). In addition, the combination of competence-oriented teaching approaches and intercultural teaching contents is also intensively discussed by domain scholars (e.g. Burwitz-Melzer, 2006; Hallt & Krämer, 2012; Vogt, 2016) and is considered as the teaching direction in foreign language teaching. Thus, it can be seen that, in addition to teachers’ empathy in communication, to improve students’ foreign language ability by combining the language teaching with culture teaching is also one of the methods to facilitate the intercultural communication between students and teachers. In addition, in view of students’ language barriers and their psychological concerns resulted from cultural diversity, the task-based communication approach is purposed by some scholars in classroom instruction, which is derived from the - 23 - instructional approach of task-based language teaching and learning (TBLT) and can be applied to both students and teachers. TBLT was originally adopted by Prabhu (1987) and has been widely applied in language teaching practice over the past 30 years (e.g. Candlin & Murphy, 1987; Brumfit, 1979; Brown, 1991; Eills, 2003; Long, 2004; Shehadeh, 2012; Rozati, 2014). Prabhu (1987) suggests language learners to concentrate on language forms incidentally while completing “a meaning-focused activity” (Ellis, 2003:32). Ellis (2003:334) further stresses that if the task-based lesson is meaningful for students, it can lead to authentic language learning and interaction. In addition, Ellis (2009) concludes that tasks can be designed to “develop communicative fluency while not neglecting accuracy” and promote classroom interaction in language teaching. Against this background, the task-based approach is identified as one of the factors to examine the communication between teachers and students. A few researchers applied task-bask approach to explore teacher-student communication in other fields, such as Gass et al. (2011), who examined the impact of settings of classroom and laboratory on task-based interactions between teachers and students. Thus, the task-based approach provides a different perspective for studying and enhancing teacher-student communication. Above all, although the research and strategies discussed above do not include all the relevant research findings in the field of teacher-student communication, they are representative and helpful for better understanding the findings of the present study. These research and methods mentioned above contribute to part of the theoretical basis of the results inspirations, which are discussed in section 6.2 in chapter 6. 2.2 Intercultural communication between Chinese and Germans Considering that this study focuses on the interpersonal communication between Chinese students and German teachers, section 2.1 only introduced a part of the theoretical backgrounds of the current study. In addition to the feature of intercultural teacher-student communication, as discussed in section 2.1, another primary specialty of this study is embodied in Chinese-German communication. Hence, it is necessary - 24 - to briefly review the development of intercultural communication between Chinese and Germans in this section (see section 2.2). Furthermore, due to originating from the different cultural backgrounds, central features of Chinese and German communication styles are also worth particularly describing (see sections 2.2.1 and 2.2.2). The history of the contact between China and Germany dates back more than 700 years with trade relations and cultural exchange between the two countries taking place for about 400 years. Particularly, since the reform and opening-up policy in China in the end of the 1970s, contacts and exchanges between China and Germany have strengthened with the constant development of the bilateral relations in all areas. Against this background, the Chinese-German communication has attracted a considerable interest of scholars in various research fields. Through a comprehensive study of the literature on the interpersonal communication between Chinese and Germans, the content of this research field can be summarized as the following primary areas: Since the early 1990s, a growing number of researchers have paid attention to the German-Chinese communication in German-Chinese joint ventures, such as Jin (1994), Düerkop (1995), Nagels (1996), Vogl (2001), Shi (2003), Geng (2006), Gülow (2011), and Ma and Becker (2015). An important reason for this phenomenon is the lack of intercultural communication competence of many business specialists and executives working for foreign companies. As Ma and Becker (2015) points out in their study, the great cultural differences between China and Germany are often underestimated in business communication. Moreover, communicative strategies applied in marketing or personnel management are also subject to great cultural resistance. Thus, in order to determine the differences between Chinese and German cultures in business communication, the researchers predominantly presented the distinct communication values, etiquette, standards of behavior, and customs between China and Germany. The purpose of this line of research is to develop theories and methods to facilitate effective Chinese-German business communication and cooperation. In addition to the research on Chinese-German communication in the business field, intercultural communication between Chinese and Germans has attracted great - 25 - attention in academia in over the last half century. The most representative studies are the studies of Susanne Günthner. For instance, Günthner (1993) investigated authentic German-Chinese intercultural communication situations and focused on informal communication situations. She specifically discussed the Chinese cognitive and communicative principles and compared the communication styles between Chinese and Germans. She concludes that the different communicative approaches and principles between Chinese and Germans are the reasons for causing their misunderstanding and unhappiness in conversation with each other. In addition, Günthner also studied the cultural differences between Chinese and Germans in some specific communicative activities and contexts, such as Chinese-German cultural differences in recipient activities (1994a), in informal discussions (1994b), in misunderstanding (1995a), in language performance (1995b), in daily conversations (1999), and in usage of proverbs (2001a). Although the findings of Günthner’s research are various, the differences between Chinese and German communicative cultures are always the basis of her research. Above all, it is can be concluded that studies on Chinese-German intercultural communication are ultimately ascribed to analyze the different cultural factors behind t