Expectations regarding teacher-student relationships, classroom interactions, testing and evaluation, and academic integrity vary widely around the world. Understanding these differences can be critical to enhancing the academic success of ESL (English as a Second Language) college students. Faculty working with ESL students often ask: "Why won't my students participate more in class?" "Why do my students only repeat back what I've said?" "Why won't they tell me what they think?" "Why don't they ever know what courses they want to take when they come to registration or advisement?" Students often ask: "Why does my professor keep asking me to talk about my personal experiences? We never had to do that in my country. Why is it such a big deal to do that here?? There are a lot of "why's" floating around the campus. This article addresses some of these questions.