Namaste! to all Sajhaties.I'm doing a survey on "Why do most of the International Students hesitate to communicate in the class or participate less in class activities??? Is it because of a communication barrier??? And what are the other factors you people think that may force students to remain wordless in the class??

Please...Give your opinion...Its just a survey..

Please feel free to give your opinion.

And....you may share your own experience....How was it before and How is it right now/..

Communication ! communication!! communications !!!
In fact we had a conference on this topics in my university. I will never forget a purtorican girl( whose english is as good as US born Citizen). she presented a paper saying she has to think everything in spanish and translate it to english in fraction of seconds. I think it happens to everyone, For nepali however good your english is you think in Nepali and translate and talk in english. These things slows down the process and I guess they dont want to be as interactive as they have to be.

Thanks

सामाजिक सँरचना नै तेस्तै छ। सानो मान्छे ले ठुलाका अगाडि बोल्न नहुने, आफू भन्दा जेठा लाइ सम्मान गर्ने, उनिहरुले बोलेको कुरो नकाट्ने यीनै खाले प्रब्रीत्ती ले गर्दा नेपाल छोदे पनि नेपाली सँस्कार ले छोद्ड्या छैन् झन तेस माथी गुरु ले भनेको कुरो त काट्नै भएन। साथीहरु, कुनै एक जना ले भन्नुस त तपाइहरुको इस्कुल मा मास्टरले विद्यार्थी लाइ प्रश्न सोद्धन कहिले प्रोत्साहित ग-यो? मेरो मास्टरले त केही सोध्यौ कि त झपारी हाल्ने। जसरी हुन्छ "घोकन्तम् साफलम् भयेत" ।
आर्को चैँ नेपालीको दास प्रब्रीत्ती। खैरे ले भनेको कुरो कसरी काटने? झन् किताबमा लेखेको कुरो लाइ कसरी अविश्वास गर्ने? स्लेभ मेन्टालिटी हो केही हैन।

I don't know hon, I keep talking a lot, about topic or not, and my roomie said, I should let others talk too :(

I disagree with lato. Yes, lato is right for those who come from government school whose english is generally weak, especially spoken. But most of th4 students in USA or Britain, or whereever, for that matter, come from "Private English Boarding School". They have a good command of English and they do not have to translate a question, especially a one or two sentence long question from Nepali to English. Even a Hawker in Basantapur can speak english fluently...

I think shree5 is right. I once questioned the authority on a topic of my high school english teacher, well i got a good reprimand for my troubles. the teacher took such an offence that she wan not satisfied by outting me down, she had to go ahead and make an example of me on other classes too..... i stopped asking questions after that.

Another factor that stops me asking question is the fear of appearing stupid in front of the class.... hehe i guess that happens to a lot of other people too......

eso bhanda mailey ewuta kuro samjhi.............

tyo nilo aankha bhako manchhey haru lay haamlai yaso kaam saam garda .." timaru nepaliharu kina kum bolchawu yasrai ?" bhanera soddhthey......

musukka hansyo...arulay gilaas phodey ni " I am sorry " bhanyo....

bhitra ta laagthyo..tailey jasto pharara bolna awuni bha bhey dekhai dinthey bhanya jasto.....jamana ma tirtha sir lay halla garyo bhanera nikaalya malai nai ho......

bhanna bhayena kyara

Personally, my main problem is accent. I have gotton used to speaking American english quite a bit. Still, sometimes I feel like perfection can never be reached when it comes to damn accent and second language. At my school, international students DO participate in class activities all the time but it definitely can not be compared to the whites.

Thanks for sharing ideas and experiences.I'll try to summarize your views and thoughts...Still...Looking for more comments, ideas and experiences.

communication and interacting with people does not come naturally. it all depends whether you are an introvert or an extrovert person. especially when english is becomes our second language. well, i suppose even if we have been speaking enlish all our lives when it comes time to participate in speaking it does freeze us up. so, please don't blame the society.

I know..being introvert or an extrovert affects communication.But thats no the only thing...there are many more other factors that forces students to remain speechless in the class...so what do you think is the reason for that?? Is it just because English is their second language???

It called a god damn confidence...

intls' think the info they got is POOR, when -- in reality -- the truth is stubbornly the opposite !!

The one class I dont really talk in is my government class because I dont like anything related to government and politics and I have no interest in talking about the Texas and US government. Plus I hardly know how the system works. I think one other class that makes me awkward is a media commentary class where they go on and on talking about the different TV shows (a lot which I am not aware of) and they also talk about the American people and their views (being a non American I am at lack of words when I am faced with this topic). so I guess we could say interest and knowledge of the topic are 2 important factors that might make an international student speechless in class.

Good dammn... govt and politics were always one of my fav. topics..Few years later when I came to Canada, a high school teacher at a Toronto suburb highschool told me, "People on the streets of Toronto dont know who Brian Mulroney is yet you seem to know which Canadian PM signed NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)".

He immediately became my friend when I told him it was Brian Mulroney. The funny thing is he is at least 30 years older than me.

.
I was just tired from working in the night.
What to do?
Without the money in your pocket school bell does not ring.
This was my situation.
I did all my homework or reading while at work in a Texaco Gas Station on Las Vegas Trail in Fort Worth. I slept from 7PM to 11PM.
I wanted to communicate or take part in extra activities:
bUT i wAS jUST tIRED tO aNYTHING eLSE tHAN wHAT i rEALLY nEEDED tO dO:
I am happy that It is all over now. My life is pretty comfortable now and
have time for all those international things.
.
.

Thanks people.....Still looking for more...

I was like that, initially. My biggest fear was that my questions or queries might be considered substandard or I might ask something that everyone already knows. I came from public schools in Nepal. I was under impression that my education was not up to par. It took me a semester to realize that my questions are just as good or even better. I used to save my questions and ask professors later after class. After constant encouragement from my professors to ask questions during class, I started it with hesitation but it is different now, I speak up when I have to.
Hope this helps.
-Shiv