An exploratory study on intercultural communication research contents and methods: A survey based on the international and domestic journal papers published from 2001 to 2005

With the progressive acceleration of globalization in the world, the study of intercultural communication is accordingly flourishing day by day on both domestic and international levels. In order to discern the current trends of intercultural communication research in China and abroad and furthermore provide suggestions for future research, the present study has made an analysis of 368 intercultural communication articles published between 2001 and 2005 in 11 major international and domestic academic journals, among which 203 articles are from 10 major domestic academic journals and 165 ones from the American journal entitled International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Each article is analyzed from two perspectives: the research contents and research methods. The results indicate that intercultural communication research in China is sharply different from research abroad with regards to research contents and methods. The main concern of researchers abroad is intercultural adaptation and intercultural training while the Chinese researchers are mainly concerned with cross-cultural pragmatics. As far as research methods are concerned, most studies abroad are conducted using empirical research methods, the majority of which adopt the quantitative research method. On the contrary, most studies in China are non-empirical research. Of the small number of empirical studies, considerable attention is paid to the mixed use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. At the end of the paper, constructive suggestions are made for future research.     

Intercultural communication for health personnel

In order to develop successful health care delivery systems, both in the United States and abroad, health service workers need to understand various cultural orientations and to communicate effectively within the cultures. The authors discuss the cultural implications of health problems in three countries, the need for training health science professionals in intercultural communication, and describe an intercultural communication course designed especially for health science students at California State University, Northridge.     

A First-Year Seminar Course that Supports the Transition of International Students to Higher Education and Fosters the Development of Intercultural Communication Competence

Colleges and universities in the United States and in other countries are admitting and educating an increasing number of international students. This trend creates both challenges and opportunities for modern higher education. While much of the early scholarship focused on understanding the various academic and social challenges faced by international students, both researchers and practitioners have recently shifted their focus to program development and assessment. This paper, then, examines a specialized first-year seminar course, which includes an out-of-class engagement component that allows international students to interact directly with host country peers. The course and the engagement component were designed to address the transitional academic and social needs of international students. More specifically, this is a report on a three-year study of cohorts of first-semester international students (N = 58) which examined the effectiveness of the specialized first-year seminar within a framework of intercultural communication. The results show that the program was not only a way to support students’ transition to the university, but also facilitated their development of intercultural communication competence.     

Sensation seeking and intercultural communication competence: A model test

Following findings from previous studies, the present study further explores the relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural communicative behaviours, specifically by investigating the relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural communication competence and re-testing a model introduced in a previous study. It was hypothesised that: (1) when mediated by variables associated positively associated with intercultural communication competence, there is a positive relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural communication competence, and (2) even in the presence of variables that are positively associated with intercultural communication competence, there is a negative relationship between ethnocentrism and intercultural communication competence. Survey data were gathered from participants (N = 231) and structural equation modelling was performed. The results supported both hypotheses, as well as findings from previous studies. The implications are discussed.     

Developing intercultural competence in college business English students: A study of innovative teaching in China

Despite the increasing need to develop students' intercultural competence in China, the relationship between the approaches used to teach the English language and the cultivation of students' intercultural competence remains largely under-researched. Based on Byram's intercultural model and the intercultural language teaching framework, using action research we developed and implemented new teaching approaches to cultivate intercultural competence among students using a quasi-experimental design that combined qualitative and quantitative methods. Two classes of undergraduate students majoring in Business English were randomly selected, with one being assigned as the treatment group (n = 33) and the other as the control group (n = 32). The primary data consisted of questionnaires, journals, and interviews. After participating in a three-month intercultural speaking course where the treatment group students were guided through an intercultural learning process of noticing, comparing, and reflecting, findings revealed that they developed intercultural competence regarding their attitudes, knowledge, skills, and awareness. Implications for facilitating students' intercultural competence are discussed.     

An analysis of sociocultural miscommunication: english, spanish and german

Nowadays, the significance of linguistic analysis applied to cross-cultural communication is enormous due to the heterogeneity of societies and the increasingly cross-cultural nature of commerce, politics, education etc. The application of linguistic theory, therefore, means the study of sociocultural communication since analysing the pragmatics of intercultural communication is the analysis of language itself. By observing the range of aspects of communication that can vary from culture to culture, we will exemplify levels of difference in habits and expectations in signalling how speakers mean what they say.     

Cross-cultural training effects on cultural essentialism beliefs and cultural intelligence

The study reports on the implementation of a brief intercultural training intervention as part of a university course. The intervention consisted of a series of six lectures, one simulation game and one behaviour modification session, administered over a period of four weeks. Measures of cultural essentialism and cultural intelligence (CQ) were obtained prior to the first lecture and one week after the completion of the last training session. A total of 107 students participated and pre-post test scores were matched for 49 participants. The findings show that cultural essentialism increased, but cognitive and meta-cognitive scores decreased following the intervention. Personality moderated the trainings’ effectiveness: more open-minded students at Time 1 were more likely to report increases in motivational CQ at Time 2. Challenging claims about negative effects of psychological essentialism, cultural essentialism beliefs were positively related to both open-mindedness and cognitive CQ over Time. Implications for brief intercultural training interventions are discussed.     

International Faculty in Chinese Universities’ Foreign Language Teaching Preferences

ABSTRACT

International college faculty in China are stakeholders in foreign language teaching. This project was designed to find out what international instructors’ pedagogical choices were in regards to English as a Foreign Language instruction. Twenty-eight international college instructors who taught oral English or English writing participated in interviews. Interviewees were employed at various tertiary institutions in large and small cities throughout China. Some interviewees described an audiolingual approach to foreign language teaching. Most interviewees took a situational approach to teach English as a Foreign Language. Finally, remaining international faculty described an intercultural approach when delivering EFL instruction.     

American and South Korean Engineering Students’ Communication Motives and Their Student–Instructor Communication Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was twofold. The first purpose was to compare American and South Korean engineering students’ motives (i.e., relational, functional, excuse-making, participatory, and sycophantic) for communicating with their instructors and their student–instructor communication satisfaction. The second purpose was to examine the extent to which both American and South Korean engineering students’ motives for communicating with their instructors are related to their student–instructor communication satisfaction. Undergraduate students (N = 168) recruited from public universities in the United States and South Korea participated in this study. The results of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), an independent sample t-tests, a series of zero-order Pearson correlational analyses, and Fisher z-tests revealed significant cultural differences and that the relationship between students’ communication motives and their student–instructor communication satisfaction largely are consistent between the two cultures.     

Narrations on intercultural experiences in South African contact zones

The study is anchored in Pratt’s theory on ‘contact zones’ (CZ) and explores CZs in Gauteng-Province in Post-Apartheid South Africa, where experiences are influenced by highly diverse and hybrid cultural and language backgrounds. This article presents autoethnographic narrations of experiences of South Africans, addressing the void of emic perspectives in CZs in South Africa.Methodologically, the study follows a qualitative research design and is anchored in the social constructivist research paradigm, using 19 narrations of individuals. Four narrations, which mirror the experience of individuals from South African minority groups (Coloured and Indian) are presented in more depth in this article. Findings are analysed through content analysis. Limitations and ethical considerations are highlighted.Findings show the described experiences in CZs with regard to four categories: intercultural conflict, intercultural identity development, intercultural communication and its barriers, and intercultural non-verbal communication. They mirror predominant themes in South African contemporary society with specific focus on CZ experiences of minority group members, present boundaries created through the experience and narration of difference and possible ways to deal constructively with diversity within selected CZs. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations for future theory and practice are given, not only for the South African context, but also for constructive intercultural relations elsewhere.     

Intercultural sensitization with synthetic cultures: Evaluation of a computer-based multimedia learning tool

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate a new computer-based multimedia learning tool for intercultural sensitization that is based on synthetic cultures. The learning tool named “Culture Awareness Training” (CAT) is targeted at learners with few intercultural experiences, and its aim is to sensitize participants to cultural influences on behavior and to intercultural differences, and to enhance perspective taking. Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the CAT. Study 1 (N = 107) showed that participation in the CAT led to higher intercultural awareness and higher intercultural interest compared to a control group. In Study 2 (N = 46), the CAT was compared to a simulation game for intercultural sensitization. Participants were students shortly before their stay abroad. Results showed that both the CAT and the classical simulation game enhanced participants’ cultural awareness.     

Intercultural communication problems as perceived by Saudi Arabian and American managers

Research on Saudi Arabian communication patterns is inadequate. The present study reviews the literature on Saudi Arabian cultural and communication patterns and reports the results of data collected in Saudi Arabia on the perceived problems of Saudi Arabian businessmen when communicating with Americans. While large differences exist in the perceptions of the communication problems, both the Saudi Arabians and the Americans targeted differences in the patterns for organizing ideas as a major intercultural problem. Implications for intercultural training are provided.     

Research into Ethnocentrism and Intercultural Willingness to Communicate of Iraqi and Iranian Medical Students in Iran

ABSTRACT

Ethnocentrism and intercultural willingness to communicate (IWTC) can contribute to the success or failure of intercultural communication in the context of health care. The present study aims to survey and compare the levels of 180 Iraqi and Iranian medical students’ ethnocentrism and IWTC based on the participants’ nationality and gender, in Iran. The findings of this study revealed that Iraqi medical students were more ethnocentric and less willing to communicate interculturally than their Iranian counterparts. Both Iraqi male and female students were significantly more ethnocentric than Iranian male and female medical students. Iraqi male students were significantly less intercultural willing to communicate than their female compatriots and Iranian male and female peers. These findings were explained considering the context of Iraq and Iran, participants’ degree of religious practice, and their degree of foreign language proficiency. Practical implications, direction, and limitations are discussed.     

Mindsets about language learning and support for immigrants’ integration

People rely on their lay theories, or mindsets, to make meaning of their experience in intercultural contact. Given that proficiency in the local language is a crucial social marker of immigrants’ integration, we argue that language mindsets (i.e., beliefs about whether language learning ability is fixed or changeable) guide members of the receiving society to make inferences about immigrants’ language ability (e.g., “can immigrants improve their language ability?”). This social inference, in turn, predicts their willingness to interact with immigrants and support immigrants’ language education. In a correlational study (n = 231) and an experimental study (n = 106), we investigated whether and how language mindsets influence participants’ support for immigrants’ intercultural contact. We found that trait and experimentally-induced fixed (vs. growth) mindsets led to negative judgments of immigrants’ potential to develop their skills in the local language, which in turn predicted avoidance of contact with migrants and opposition to governmental funding of immigrants’ language education. The effects held even after controlling for participants’ political orientations, perceived difficulties of the English language, and judgments of target immigrants’ language fluency. These findings suggest that promoting growth mindsets about language ability can lead to more positive intercultural attitudes that impact the acceptance of migrants. We discussed the implications of language mindsets for understanding the processes of intercultural communication and forming positive intercultural relations.     

The “learning how to learn” approach to cross-cultural orientation

Since no amount of specific cultural information can prepare sojourners for every eventuality, orientation participants would benefit from “learning how to learn” about intercultural interaction. This paper discusses how to set goals, design curricula, and organize instruction for orientation programs wishing to teach participants to “learn how to learn.” An adaptation of Kolb's “Learning Cycle” is suggested as a format to assist program planning. The author would like to thank Judith Martin and R. Michael Paige for their suggestions on a draft of this paper.     

Measuring intercultural contact and its effects on intercultural competence: A structural equation modeling approach

This study utilizes a structural equation modeling approach to construct a scale to measure Chinese college students’ intercultural contact and to explore the pathways from intercultural contact to intercultural competence and their significance. Through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, the study conducted a series of reliability and validity analyses. The results indicate that the intercultural contact scale for Chinese college students has good reliability and validity. Moreover, a path analysis with the structural equation model was performed and reveals that the pathways of intercultural contact are beneficial for improving Chinese college students’ intercultural competence. In terms of direct contact, domestic social media is the most important, whereas for indirect contact, cultural products are relatively more important than multimedia and courses. The implications for the theoretical development of intercultural contact could be significant for scholars engaged in intercultural communication as well as for planning international education training programs.     

Intercultural conflict: A case study

This paper takes a case study approach to intercultural conflict. The particular case in question is the controversy which began with the publicized killing of over one thousand dolphins at the island of Iki. The paper explores key symbols in the conflict and posits community specific notions of emotion, personhood, and communication as fulcrums of conflict which can assist in the understanding and managing of intercultural conflicts. The paper seeks not only to account for this specific conflict, but to raise telling issues which get at the heart of any intercultural conflict.     

Theorizing difference and difficulty: “wreading” Asian American poetics in South Korea*

ABSTRACT

Reflecting on a personal experience teaching and studying Asian American poetry in South Korea, this paper examines how and why Asian American poetry in South Korea has been marginalized in the academia and argues that Asian American poetry needs to be newly dealt as a frontier that vigorously experiments the role of cultural poetics and humanities in and out of the university programs. The reception of Asian American poets and their poetry in South Korea is inseparable from the interpellation and understanding of Asian Americans as subject. This essay, rather than inscribing Anglo American critical frame that has focused on the reductive reading of essentializing racial traits and minority identities, tries to build a platform for inviting inter/cross-cultural thinking under the umbrella of poetry reading. Through the process of “wreading” Asian American poetry, I argue that difficulty and difference can be reinterpreted as practical monitors for alternative reading of Asian American poetry against the grain of the white Anglican national self of America.