Participation in Discussions

The third area of advanced study

WShich presents particular problems for Asian students is participation in academic discussion. Even 'in discussions between the supervisor and his student there can be problems of communication. One supervisor has described this difficult as follow

My colleagues and I find overseas students to be far more dependent [than local students] on their supervisors for guidance and support. In part this is related to the handicaps noted earlier (language lack of facilities in home universities, etc.) but is perhaps more associated with the cultural differences between overseas and Australian stu­dents. The culture of most ASEAN countries requires a polite defer­ence to and agreement with seniority, whether deserved or not, and this can be a problem in debating research issues.

So this problem is, in part, linguistic. When you are in a dis­cussion with your supervisor or at a seminar, you will find that every o­ne else seems to speak English fluently and can find the right word r phrase with ease. They also talk fast, colloquially and confidently - and often with a puzzling English accent. But the problem is also : part cultural, as it raises the whole question of attitudes of polite­ - :as and respect. Your supervisor is keen that you should ask ques­tions, criticize the ideas of others, and risk trying out new ideas and alternative interpretations in discussion with colleagues. Here is .mother academic expressing his view on the importance of critical discussion:

There is still, in 1980, too much evidence among Asian students in particular that training is based on lecture courses without adequate supporting analytical or critical study. Even more fundamental, the student often has no academic tradition of criticizing facts as they are : , resented verbally or in print . . . The foreign student is often reluctant at first to enter into debate with his fellows or with staff members but I like to think that the experience of hearing a lowly Master's degree student disagree with the professor at a seminar will help to courage freedom of thought and expression.

perhaps more associated

training grounds postgraduates