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Running Head: AUTOETHNOGRAPHY ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE AS AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT 0

Autoethnography about My Experience as an International Student

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I always think about it and know that I was sophomoric. I was overconfident and conceited. There was, however, a better side of me. I was very diligent, organized, and hardworking. I was mostly reserved…and many people thought of me as intelligent. The day put to test my abilities in a general, and what I would call an unfairly fate-filled manner. I…we had longed for the day to come for the past three months. Here it came. This was going to be my last class as a sophomore, there is a final semester examination.

Comparatively, the class activity was simpler for me compared to the previous ones. All the other six members of Group B, except me, were already seated in the classroom. They were patiently waiting for me to arrive because I was their only hope. As the general rule, the international law lecturer had given each of the six groups a question to research work on as part of the continuous assessment test (CAT). We were then to choose one member to do a class presentation while others provided a supportive role. Unfortunately for me, I was both the group leader and the presenter.

Now, most students never take group work that seriously. Everyone took a component of the question, read, poorly scribbled something on it, and passed it for me for compilation. The night before, I had to stay awake the whole night to work on the final draft to send to the members for approval, awaiting the presentation at 10.00 am on a fateful day – the 7th day of May 2017. Since I knew that I still had about 50 minutes before the start of the presentation, I foolishly went back to sleep, and that is how my trouble began.

The next thing I heard was my phone ringing at exactly 10.02 am. On the line was Becky.

‘‘Where are you?’’ He desperately enquired.

‘‘I am coming?’’ I half-heartedly responded. I took my bag and started to run.

As I approached the classroom, I could see Becky, Sammy, Jorge, and Stephen seated on one side of the corner through the half-open door. They stared at me with much concern and desperation at the same time. I could never tell whether they sympathized with me or them. I never cared anyway. The classroom was dirty, with papers sticking everywhere on the wall. I picked my way through the empty spaces and took a seat near Becky. I could hear scanty laughter in the background. I did not care either. The humid airs swept through my nostrils and swarm my lungs and caused my veins to tingle as if they were being chocked. I did not care.

‘‘Why are you late? You know you are late, and we needed to discuss a few points’’ Becky inquired again. I thought that her concerns were inconsequential. I was confident.

‘‘Group B…it is your time, ten minutes,’’ the strong voice swept through the room.

As I took to the front of the class, I could feel warm rolls of sweat stream from my face and watered my shirt. My armpits and pants were already soaked. Stage fright and anxiety can destroy a student’s performance. Everyone stared at me in awe. It was the greatest and most memorable day on campus.

However, being an open-minded student, I realized that I needed to start a journey of acquiring oral presentation skills and learning how to deal with overconfidence. It is quite inspiring to look back at what I have been able to achieve over the years in my college education. This personal experience inspired me to conduct an autoethnographic research to explore how personal experiences relate to the wider social, political and cultural understandings. While my personal experience may not reflect what other students undergo in the classroom environment, I believe it reveals important aspects of oral presentation skills and overconfidence.

Oral presentation skills have received little attention from researchers over the past few years with many studies focusing on development of evaluation instruments. Some other studies focus on the issue of anxiety in public speaking. Nevertheless, these skills are essential for effective public speaking. As a matter of fact, people with good oral presentation skills are able to handle anxiety effectively. De Grez, Martin and Irene (2009) noted that the mastery of oral presentation skills is not only important in college but also in professional life. De Grez, Martin and Irene (2009) suggested that an innovative instructional approach can help learners to develop oral presentation skills.

The social cognitive theory explains how oral presentation skills develop. According to the theory, human behaviors are learned through observation. In early childhood, people prefer certain social models. These models are viewed in the acquisitions of knowledge and skills. These models persist to adulthood in the view of knowledge and skills acquisition. The first step in the process of social cognitive learning is the observation of social models (De Grez, Martin and Irene, 2009). Repeated performance is the next step of the social cognitive process. According to De Grez, Martin and Irene (2009), “learners evolve from a - social – guided stage to a self-controlled stage, and finally to a completely self-regulated final stage”.

Once learners have gone through the stages of social cognition, they can ultimately regulate their performance effectively. This theory suggests that human beings form expectations by observing others and based on earlier experiences. The earlier is based on the assumption that students in higher institutions have already delivered oral presentations before. The feedback received influences the students’ expectations about their presentation skills. This implies that future behaviors are influenced by earlier presentations. It is also assumed that university students have already attended various presentation sessions of experts and other students. As a result the students have observed the sequence of oral presentation (De Grez, Martin and Irene, 2009).

Based on this theory an innovative instructional intervention was developed to help learners develop oral presentation skills. It is assumed that oral presentation skills can be developed through observational learning. This type of learning can be described in four processes. Based on this learning cycle, the student has needs to pay attention to the instructions and process it effectively. Once the information has been stored the learner has to apply the knowledge and skills that have been acquired. According to De Grez, Martin and Irene (2009), the first process of observational learning is attentional processes. This involves using a multimedia format to create attention. Learners can be rewarded for behavior that is in tandem with the expected criteria for oral presentation.

The next sub-process is retention processes. The behavior demonstrated by the learners is processed and stored. According to Elliott, Carole and Michael, (2014), instructions can play a significant role in the storage and processing activity. The cognitive multimedia theory emphasizes the significance of presenting information in an auditory and visual way. Retention can only be enhanced when instructions present both audio and visual cues (De Grez, Martin and Irene, 2009). Learners need to have control over the video models. This helps them to adapt it to their cognitive needs.

The production processes is the third process of observational learning and emphasizing on practicing to enhance oratory skills. This process promotes behaviors that elicit feedback. For these reason, learners have to be given an opportunity to perform specific behavior. Emphasis is put on the feedback. Instructions provide feedback that can help learners to become self-monitoring. Effective monitoring occurs when a student compares himself/herself to set standards of presentation. Meta-cognitive monitoring allows students to prepare what they will do in advance. De Grez, Martin and Irene (2009) reported that accurate feedback plays a significant role in enhancing calibration.

The fourth process in observational learning is motivational processes. This is closely linked to the previous process. Evidence suggests that production is enhanced by providing feedback about the behavioral performance of an individual. Both internal motivators and external incentives can be used (De Grez, Martin and Irene, 2009). Learners can easily remember what they have observed of it leads to positive outcomes. Goal setting is an important concept in motivational processes. The earlier three processes have significant impacts the ability of learners to set personal goals. People are likely to be motivated when they set achievable goals. Using this instructional format, learners can be able to improve their oral presentation skills.

Moore, Don and Paul (2008) suggested that overconfidence can have negative effects on a student. Overconfidence has been explored widely in research as an explanation of stock market bumbles, entrepreneurial failure, litigations, strikes and wars. Overconfidence occurs in three different forms. The first form occurs when an individual overestimates their chance of success, control, performance or actual ability. This can be referred to as overestimation. The second for occurs when a people consider themselves better than others. The third form occurs when one has excessive certainty about his/her beliefs. This is also referred to as over precision.

All the three forms of overestimation have significant negative consequences. People normally do not have accurate information about their abilities, performance and chances of success. In addition, people imperfect information about others. Consequently, the estimates of people about themselves and about others are regressive. As a result, when performance is low, people will tend to overestimate themselves. In a similar manner, people will underestimate their abilities and those of others when performance is high. Moore, Don and Paul (2008) reported that people will overestimate themselves on difficult tasks and underestimate their performance when they face easy tasks.

According to Moore, Don and Paul (2008), people tend to believe what they are doing is correct without even verifying. This overestimation makes people to excessively believe in themselves and in their performances. On the other hand, performance underestimation is likely to occur when the task is easy and the person doing it is highly skilled. When control is high, people tend to overestimate their control. In addition, when the time to complete a task is long, people are likely to underestimate their performance. People may also overestimate their abilities and performances based on comparison with others (Moore, Don and Paul, 2008).

When people are faced with difficult situations such as unicycle riding or juggling they underestimate themselves. Contestants may also become pessimistic about winning when they take part in difficult competitions. People may also become more pessimistic in difficult competitions even if all participants share the same problem. The concept of comparative pessimism comes into play in underestimation of one’s abilities and performance. People tend to believe that rare events are less likely to happen to them as compared to others. Inconsistency is the other problem associated with overconfidence. According to Moore, Don and Paul, (2008), easy task are likely to cause inconsistency.

By using the social cognitive theory to reflex my experience in oral presentation, I realized that the theory resonates well with my experience as in the beginning I was not able to present effectively. I realized that all the stages of social cognitive theory are very essential in helping students to develop effective oral presentation skills. This has helped me to develop effective oratory skills. By using the innovative instructional intervention, I have been able to develop good oral presentation skills. Unlike when I was a sophomore, I have been able to adjust myself and become a better orator.

This theory also helped me to realize the problems associated with overconfidence among many students in American institutions of higher learning. In my sophomore years I used to be overconfident and this had significant impacts on my oral presentation performance. Most international students are also overconfident about their presentation abilities and performances. As a result, the face the challenges associated with overconfidence. I have however realized that it is easy to avoid being overconfident by preparing effectively early enough before making a presentation. The social cognitive theory explains how oral presentation skills develop. In order to succeed in our academics, we need to adopt new approaches for developing oral presentation skills and understand the problems if overconfidence.

References

De Grez, L., Valcke, M., & Roozen, I. (2009). The impact of an innovative instructional intervention on the acquisition of oral presentation skills in higher education. Computers & Education, 53(1), 112-120. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2009.01.005

Elliott, C. J., & Reynolds, M. (2014). Participative pedagogies, group work and the international classroom: an account of students' and tutors' experiences. Studies in Higher Education, 39(2), 307-320. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2012.709492

Moore, D. A., & Healy, P. J. (2008). The trouble with overconfidence. Psychological review, 115(2), 502. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0033-295X.115.2.502