Thesis
Understanding and enhancing intercultural interaction in TESOL : a study of Chinese students and their lecturers
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2026
- Thesis identifier
- T18026
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 202283257
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- With the internationalisation of higher education, TESOL classrooms have become important sites of multicultural interaction, especially with the increasing presence of Chinese students. While their inclusion enriches classroom diversity, cultural and educational differences pose challenges for lecturer–student engagement (Zhu & O’Sullivan, 2022). This study explores how intercultural lecturer–student interaction in TESOL is perceived, experienced, and interpreted by Chinese students and lecturers, moving beyond static and one-dimensional accounts of culture and communication. The study is informed by small culture (Holliday, 1999), cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 1986), rapport management theory (Spencer-Oatey, 2000), the Teaching Through Interaction (TTI) framework (Pianta, 2017), and the Comprehensive Model of Intercultural Communication (CMIC) (Nadeem & Zabrodskaja, 2023a). Together, these perspectives provide a multidimensional framework for examining cultural influences, relational management, pedagogical interaction, and processes of adjustment and adaptation in intercultural lecturer–student interaction. This study adopts a qualitative methodology. Data were collected through focus group interviews with Chinese students, open-ended questionnaires, and in-depth interviews with lecturers. Participants included 18 Chinese students and 13 lecturers from TESOL Programmes in Scottish universities. The findings draw on participants’ accounts of their experiences, interpretations, and responses to intercultural interaction in these settings. The findings suggest that intercultural lecturer–student interaction in TESOL was often perceived as characterised by surface harmony alongside underlying tension. Participants’ accounts also indicate that these interactions were understood as complex, dynamic, and strongly shaped by contextual conditions. Both structural and non-structural factors were described as influencing engagement and interaction. The study also identifies practical implications for supporting more responsive and effective intercultural lecturer–student interaction in TESOL. Overall, this research contributes to understanding intercultural lecturer–student interaction as a perception-based, contextually constructed, and relationally negotiated process in higher education.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Tomasz, John
- Roxburgh, David
- Resource Type
- DOI
Relations
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