Why Are Online Learners Invisible? Self-presentation of International Students in Online learning—A Case Study of Asian Students at German Universities

Against the backdrop of international higher education, one characteristic of Asian students’ online learning is their invisibility. Culture is an important influence on this behaviour, and this study makes use of Goffman’s dramaturgical theory to analyse Asian students’ invisible online learning at German universities. A qualitative research method was applied to explore those students’ online learning experience. The manifestations of Asian students’ invisible online learning included the mystification of personal learning, weakened classroom interaction and dissociated classroom presence. The reasons that influence online learners’ invisibility include changes in the outside, interference from the back, the stage fright of actors, audience exit, and disbandment of the team. This study suggests that university teachers should improve their teaching abilities and help students build a diverse online learning community.

This study borrows Goffman’s dramaturgical theory to analyse Asian students’ online learning interactions at German universities. Goffman is interested in making sense of human interaction from a sociological perspective, and with this in mind, the special human interaction – students’ invisible interaction, including their learning behaviour, learning willingness, and learning recognition – during online learning is framed here from the perspective of Goffman’s theory.

The investigation was conducted at the University of Tübingen, Germany, which is a well-known international university with many international students. Purposive sampling was adopted for sample selection, and the inclusion criteria were: (a) participants were college students at that moment; (b) they came from Asian countries before entering the university; (c) they had online learning experience at a German university for at least one semester; (d) both female and male students were included; and (e) their majors were diverse, including the social sciences (sociology, policy science, education science, economics, linguistics), natural sciences (astronomy, geography, archaeology), and engineering. Sampling continued until the interview data were saturated. A total of 17 Asian students participated in the interviews; there were eight Chinese students, three Korean students, three Malaysia students, two Japanese students, and one Indian student. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, and all interviews were conducted from February 2021 to February 2022. The main interview question asked participants to describe their perceptions and experience of online learning at a German university; each interview lasted around 90–120 minutes. This investigation occurred at the end of the COVID-19 period, so all interviews were conducted online with Zoom to ensure the health of all participants. To allow accurate and timely interactions that would be comparable to face-to-face interactions and to observe participants’ reactions, all students were asked to keep their cameras on throughout the online interview. Informed consent forms were sent to the participants in advance; these forms explained the research purpose and participants’ anonymity. All of the interviews were audio recorded; the recordings were sent to participants to confirm their meaning. All participant information has been kept confidential.

To understand the manifestations of and reasons for Asian students’ tendency to seek invisibility in online learning in higher education, this study provided a social-cultural perspective to explore the characteristics of that invisibility and why they chose to become invisible online learners. A qualitative methodology was used to explore Asian students’ online learning experience at a German university. The findings indicate that manifestations of Asian students’ invisible online learning include the mystification of personal learning, weakened classroom interaction, and dissociated classroom presence. Within Goffman’s dramaturgical theoretical framework, the reasons that influence online learners’ invisibility include external changes, interference from backstage, stage fright, audience exit, and disbandment of the team.

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