Dimensions of Teacher Immediacy as Predictors of Student Learning: A Chinese Perspective

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to use the Chinese Teacher Immediacy Scale to examine the relationship between teacher immediacy and affective and cognitive learning, and (2) to investigate which dimension of teacher immediacy was the most effective predictor of affective and cognitive learning in Chinese classrooms. The study suggested three findings: first, teacher immediacy was correlated strongly with affective and cognitive learning in Chinese classrooms; second, all three dimensions of teacher immediacy (personal, relational, and instructional) were effective predictors of affective learning; and third, personal and relational immediacy were found to be effective predictors of cognitive learning, but instructional immediacy was not. Although the three dimensions differed in the magnitude as predictors of affective learning, the differences were found to be nonsignificant.