Impact of immediate faculty behaviors on the learning of Japanese undergraduates in a U.S. distance education program: Immediacy in cross-cultural instructional communication

Immediacy is the closeness expressed by communicators which maybe observed in teachers as they try to engage students. Teacher immediacy may take nonverbal and verbal forms. U.S. studies have concluded that immediacy has positive effects on U.S. college students' learning. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of American faculty's immediate behaviors on the learning of Japanese undergraduates in a U.S. distance education program.The current study combined a quantitative method using a survey and a qualitative method using focus groups to address three primary research questions: (1) Do some or all immediate behaviors show positive associations with learning? (2) Does the immediacy-learning relationship change as the students become acculturated? (3) Do some of the confounding factors, such as teacher traits and use of ITV media technology, influence immediacy or learning?A questionnaire was compiled in Japanese to include previously established scales, the Revised Nonverbal Immediacy Measure (McCroskey, Sallinen, Fayer, Richmond, & Barraclough, 1996) and the Verbal Immediacy Measure (Gorham, 1988). All 26 students in the program completed the surveys in six courses. Students also provided self-assessed learning and the potential learning rating imaginary ideal instructors. The differences of the two scores enabled the computation of the Learning Loss measure. Ten juniors and participated in focus groups to discuss their early courses, and an ITV course. Five seniors met and discussed the last course.Significantly positive correlations were found between overall nonverbal and verbal immediacy, and as well as twenty specific behaviors and learning. Statistics showed the immediacy-learning correlations to be unexpectedly strong at the beginning but moderate at the end. The qualitative data explained this pattern as a honeymoon period and the subsequent struggles to live up to the new ideal. Learning also shifted from affective to cognitive.A greater understanding of an interaction such as this can benefit any educators who face Japanese students in their classrooms.