The effects of teacher immediacy and clarity on instructional outcomes: An intercultural assessment

Abstract

The present investigation examined: 1) the correlations between teacher verbal and nonverbal immediacy and teacher clarity for ethnically diverse students, and 2) the correlations of verbal and nonverbal immediacy and clarity with four instructional outcomes for ethnically diverse students. A unidimensional measure of teacher clarity was developed for the present investigation. Cultural differences were found in the relationships among verbal and nonverbal immediacy and teacher clarity. The results also indicated that teacher clarity, teacher verbal immediacy and teacher nonverbal immediacy significantly correlated with instructional outcomes for each group in all but one case. The implications of these findings and suggestions for further research are discussed.