A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Teacher Immediacy in American and Japanese College Classrooms

Abstract

Cross-cultural perceptions of teacher immediacy of American and Japanese college teachers were compared. American (n = 191) and Japanese (n = 227) college students completed versions of the Teacher Immediacy Scale and indices of cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning. Consistent with the general hypothesis guiding the study, perceptions of teacher immediacy were higher for the American sample than Japanese sample. Significant positive correlations between immediacy and measures of cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning were observed for both groups, but the correlations were significantly greater for the Americans. Regression analysis revealed that nonverbal immediacy was more predictive of learning outcomes than verbal immediacy for the Japanese sample, whereas verbal immediacy was more predictive of learning outcomes than nonverbal immediacy for the American sample.