Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions. Cultural characteristics influence what is appropriate and effective communication within the classroom. That is, culture shapes what is considered to be desirable and undesirable classroom behaviors. From the expectations for students interacting with their teachers, to the manner in which they relate with one another, to the language and topics ...

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Cultural characteristics influence what is appropriate and effective communication within the classroom. That is, culture shapes what is considered to be desirable and undesirable classroom behaviors. From the expectations for students interacting with their teachers, to the manner in which they relate with one another, to the language and topics considered appropriate for teachers and students to discuss, to the overall structure of interaction within a classroom - culture affects perceptions of competent classroom interaction.

Students from collectivistic cultures, such as those of Japan, Korea, and China, are generally more accepting of messages about appropriate classroom behaviors and will comply with teachers' requests about classroom management. Even the nature of teachers' persuasive messages differs across cultures. Chinese college teachers, for instance, appeal to the group in gaining student compliance, whereas European American teachers, with a cultural preference for individualism, stress the benefit to the specific student.

Classroom displayed and participation also vary greatly across cultures. Donal Carbaugh, who studies how culture is displayed in people's conversations, makes a comparison between European American expectations for classroom interaction and those of the Blackfeet, one of the Native American tribes in the United States. It is easy to imagine a classroom with a European American teacher and students from both cultures; the European American students would, in all likelihood, feel much more comfortable and would thus have a better learning experience. Similarly, many Native American and Asian American students are unwilling to volunteer, speak out, or raise problems or concerns unless the teacher specifically calls on them by name. Korean students, for instance, are often unwilling to talk with their teachers even when the teachers have incorrectly calculated the students' scores on an exam. Questions for clarification are rarely asked of the teacher directly; to do so might be regarded as a challenge to the teacher's authority and could threaten her or his face should the answer not be known.

Students from many cultures who go to school in the United States sometimes find it difficult to adapt to the verbal style expected of them. Conversely, when U.S. students study overseas, they often experience similar difficulties in understanding the cultural expectations related to the educational context. Yet a willingness to speak in class is a communication characteristic highly valued by European American teachers and students, whose cultural framework celebrates individual achievement and responsibility. However, to students from cultures that emphasize the collective good and the maintenance of face, such behaviors in the classroom are too competitive, as they disrupt the group's harmony and separate people from one another.

Which best serves as the title for the passage?