Page 234 - Silence in Intercultural Communication

appendix 1

Questions for interviews with 19 Japanese
students (translated from Japanese)

1. What are you studying?
2. What made you choose that field?
3. How long have you been enrolled in the current program?
4. Have you studied abroad anywhere outside Japan before starting your studies here?
5. Have you studied in programs which are run in the English medium before?
6. Have you lived overseas before starting your studies here?
7. Can you tell me about your educational background? What type of school/college/univer-
sity did you go to?
8. What is your occupation in Japan? What kind of jobs have you had?
9. What made you study in Australia?
10. What did you think it would be like to study at university in Australia? What were your
expectations?
11. Can you describe your typical day at this university?
12. How different is it to study here from studying in Japan?
13. Can you describe typical classes at this university? What are the typical procedures of these
classes? How many students are there? What proportions of overseas students are there?
14. How different are classes here from those in Japan?
15. Can you describe typical tutorials? What are the typical procedures of these tutorials? How
many students are there? What proportions of overseas students are there?
16. How different are tutorials here from those in Japan?
17. What do you think of university education in Australia?
18. What courses do you like? What courses do you think are of good quality? What courses
do you dislike? What courses do you think are of poor quality?
19. Who is your favourite lecturer? What is he/she like?
20. Who is your least favourite lecturer? What is he/she like?
21. Who are the students with whom you are closest? Can you tell me about your friends at
university?
22. What do you think of Australian students? Do you have Australian friends? How do you
socialise with them?
23. What do you think of students of other backgrounds? Do you have any particular ethnic/
cultural groups with whom you tend to form friendship more easily than others? How do
you socialise with them?
24. Do you think classes here are different from those in Japan? Can you tell me how different
they are?
25. Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable or doubtful about communication in the class-
room? How about in personal contact with lecturers? Do you sometimes feel gaps between
yourself and lecturers? Between yourself and your Australian peers?