ABSTRACT
The chapter examines the practical understandings involved in teachers’ Doing & Saying of international education. The author proposes the core notion of academic literacy, using this model to identify and explicate the tacit knowledge and expectations shaping international educators’ perception of student performances. The first section addresses roles and routines in the classroom. A distinction is made between student-centred and teacher-centred pedagogies, which is discussed in relation to lecturers’ reflections on student–staff interaction. A second part zooms in on the question of student participation vs. silence. The predominant view of Asian learners as ‘silent’ is challenged initially, leading to a consideration of pedagogic strategies adopted by teachers to facilitate interaction in international education. A final section looks at the ideological principle of ‘critical thinking’. It is argued that this understanding of learner practice is normative in the sense that teachers use it as their reference point when criticising students perceived to deviate from this norm. As a contrast, lecturers offer the idealised image of the ‘critical’ learner who is presented as egalitarian, independent-minded, autonomous, and willing to challenge teachers in class or during supervision.
