Intercultural knowledge development: Evidence from student interviews during short-term study abroad

The goal of this investigation was to examine intercultural knowledge development during a short-term study abroad program focused on language and cultural learning. Interviews with students were conducted at the beginning and end of the program, allowing for a qualitative approach to analysis, supported by quantitative measures. While previous investigations have relied on qualitative data, this is the first analysis of intercultural knowledge development based on a qualitative, pre- and post-program design. Intercultural knowledge development was identified considering the change and growth in student knowledge. Results indicated that students experienced a change in the salience of intercultural knowledge themes over the period abroad, focusing on City life and Schedule differences more at the beginning of the program than at the end. Such shift may be indicative of cultural adaptation during the program. Results also demonstrated intercultural knowledge growth over the period abroad, with the greatest growth being related to knowledge themes of Big C (e.g., culture and history), daily life, food and drink, and values and politics. These results led to a distinction between types of knowledge that traditionally have been included in definitions of intercultural knowledge, an analysis of context as it intersects with knowledge development, and a theoretical consideration of the relationship between intercultural knowledge and intercultural communicative competence. Furthermore, practical considerations for cultivating intercultural knowledge during short-term study abroad programs were discussed.     

New media environments’ comparative effects upon intercultural sensitivity: A five-dimensional analysis

An experimental 2 (channel) × 2 (gender) × 3 (time) mixed factorial design (N = 159) was applied to test and compare how individual dimensions of intercultural sensitivity might be affected by two channels: a virtual environment (i.e., Second Life^®) versus a Web environment. Using a modified version of Chen and Starosta's Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS), the study sought to identify which of the five ISS dimensions played the most influential role in intercultural sensitivity outcomes: interaction enjoyment, interaction engagement, interaction confidence, interaction attentiveness, or respect for cultural differences. Results showed that one's willingness and effort toward understanding an intercultural interaction – interaction attentiveness – played the greatest and most statistically significant role in intercultural sensitivity outcomes, and that this effect was greatest within the virtual environment channel. Gender effects were also found, in which men experienced greater enjoyment but women expressed more attentiveness.     

People's media and communication rights in Indonesia and the Philippines1

This article attempts to investigate the emerging people's media in relation to the development of communication rights in Indonesia and the Philippines. The thrust is to focus on how the Indonesian and Philippine press acquiesced to political and economic control by the governments of the dictatorial regime of President Soeharta and President Marcos. On the other contrary, we look at how people felt that communication rights are their basic rights and that freedom of thought and freedom of speech are essential for democratic rule. Their resistant to violence, imprisonment and murder carried out by state functionaries have brought new forms of media. These are people's media or radical and citizen media which empower as well as transform ‘passive citizens’ into ‘political actors’.     

The Story of Two Big Chimneys: A Frame Analysis of Climate Change in US and Chinese Newspapers

Despite mounting research on how the news media portrayed climate change in developed countries, disproportionately little attention was paid to one of the top greenhouse gas emitters in the world—China. This study systematically examined and compared how the US and Chinese newspapers portrayed climate change. An analytical framework, grounded in framing research traditions, took into account both theoretical and practical challenges in frame analysis by creating a hybrid structure of interlocked generic and issue-specific frames. The results showed both convergent and divergent pictures from the two countries’ newspapers shaped distinctly by the sociopolitical realities in both countries. The research also cautioned against making simplistic explanations of the results and offered culturally informed interpretations. A discussion on better research focus and design was offered for future research in this avenue.     

Peripheral Ritualized Practices—Threads Connecting Decorations to the Cloak of Identity

This is an ethnographic study which investigates the practices of language maintenance and ethnic identity affiliation for immigrant/migrant Nepalese families with primary to middle school children in the United Kingdom. The study presents a comparative case study analysis of three Nepalese immigrant/migrant families. Participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and historical narrative interview were used. The study investigated prior exposure to home country, ethnic, cultural, and social literacy practices that occurred in various contexts during a nine-month period. This analysis revealed a phenomenon I termed peripheral ritualized practices. Exposure to peripheral ritualized practices over time creates positive changes in attitudes toward multilingualism and diversity.     

Let's Make Peace! A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the Effects of Serial Arguing Behaviors in Romantic Relationships: The Case of Malagasy Romantic Partners

This study extends the Western research on serial arguing by replicating that research with a non-American sample: the Malagasy people. Two hundred and twenty-four people were recruited from Madagascar, and from among members of the Malagasy diasporas in France, Québec, and the United States. Consistent with research conducted in the U.S. culture, demand/withdraw conflict behavior was a better predictor of relational outcomes than attempts at reconciliation or the frequency of serial arguing. The study highlighted within-cultural differences. The frequency of serial arguing was positively correlated with vertical individualism and vertical collectivism but negatively correlated with horizontal individualism.     

Somewhere in the Middle: The Measurement of Third Culture

This study explores the concept of “third culture,” which has not been tested by quantified measures since it was introduced. This study develops the 10-item measurement of third culture based on three dimensions—equality, commonality, and transcendence. Two hundred and fifteen international married individuals from 42 countries participated in a self-administered email survey. The findings indicated that the new scale is reliable and functions as a single dimension instead of as three subdimensions. Suggestions for future study as well as several implications on theory and methodology are discussed, drawing on the experience of this study.     

Intercultural Communication Training for English Language Teachers: A Case Study of an Immersion Program for South Korean Teachers

Little research has been conducted that explores connections between the fields of intercultural communication and English-language instruction. To address this gap, we report on an intercultural communication course delivered as an integral part of a short-term professional development immersion program for English-language teachers from South Korea. Study results indicate that intercultural communication training served to enhance participants’ pragmatics awareness along with sensitivity regarding sociocultural influences on communication that they experienced in situ. After the four-week course, most of the participants expressed desire and readiness to integrate intercultural communication into their teaching in South Korea. Intercultural communication training promises to complement pragmatics instruction aiming at improving English-language learning and teaching.