This study inquired into the potential sources of the problems encountered by expatriate English language teachers in China. A case study was conducted in 1997 in nine Chinese tertiary institutions in a southwestern province in China. Expatriate English teachers, Chinese university students, teachers, and administrators participated in the survey. On investigation, it seemed that the conflicts arose from the significant perceptual differences between Chinese students and expatriate teachers in some fundamental conceptions about language learning and teaching. Cultural incompatibilities...