Intercultural Communication and Cultural Learning: The Experience of Japanese Visiting Students in the U.S.

Abstract

This study seeks to uncover meanings embedded in the feelings and reflections of visiting Japanese students' accounts of their daily activities in the United States, especially their experience with the U.S. hosts. It aims also to conceptually delineate the communicative process of cultural learning. Seven themes emerged as important factors for cultural learning in intercultural interaction and are labeled as (a) preparedness, (b) expectations, (c) anxiety, (d) enjoyment/discomfort, (e) communication (success, problems, strategies), personality, and (f) "Japaneseness." These factors provide insight into their interactive relationships in cultural learning as part of intercultural adaptation and demonstrate the communicative nature of the process. On the basis of the 7 factors, the article proposes a grounded theory model of cultural learning.