A Study of Coping with Intercultural Interaction Obstacles Between Global and Local Students in International Schools

Abstract

Intercultural communication has become a vital element in the world today due to globalization. Students are increasingly seeking education in foreign institutions and regions with different cultures. This is a qualitative secondary research with the aim of identifying steps that schools can undertake to cultivate positive intercultural communication between global and local students. Thirty-one peer-reviewed articles were selected after purposive sampling from many sources using desk research using online sources, Google Scholar, the Journal of Communication, and the Journal of Applied Communication Research. The research aimed to answer the general question of: what steps can schools undertake to cultivate positive intercultural communication between global and local students. Therefore, data were collected, and content analysis was conducted to acquire results that were interpreted using the grounded theory. Data analysis was conducted by putting the data into groups based on the questions asked. This ensured that the findings generated were significant and sufficient to make viable and reliable conclusions. The results will be significant in guiding schools and individuals on ways to ensure effective intercultural interactions. These results will ultimately improve the experience for both local and global students. The findings indicated that stereotypes and anxiety are the major obstacles hindering intercultural communication between global and local students. However, learning how to initiate interactions, recognizing cultural differences, and giving more meaning to intercultural social interactions were identified as steps that schools can implement to enhance effective coping.