• Fariba Chamani

  Author

In the recent EFL/ESL literature, the common assumptions about Asian students,
which describe them as reticent, passive and obedient learners, have been widely criticized as
invalid overgeneralizations that may lead to dangerous cultural stereotypes. These assumptions
have been mostly questioned based on the attitude surveys of East Asian students and teachers.
The present study, on the contrary, provides evidence for these assumptions based on the data
obtained through Littlewood’s (2001) questionnaire as well as classroom discussions with
participants. The data obtained through questionnaire partially questioned validity of common
stereotypes yet since there was an apparent discrepancy between the collected data and the
author’s expectations and observations, a series of discussions was hold with participants that
provided evidence for the existing stereotypes rather than the questionnaire generated data.
Results of this study were also compared with Littlewood’s (2001) findings about the students’
attitudes to classroom English learning in East Asia and Europe that showed significant
differences between students’ attitudes in Iran, East Asia and Europe. It is concluded that
cultural stereotypes need to be investigated with different methods in different contexts in order
to find out to what extent they are valid.

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