The Impact of Studying English in China on Thai University Students’ Intercultural Competence

Abstract

The major purposes of this study aimed (1) to investigate the communication differences and cross-cultural adaptation of Thai university students studying English in China PR., (2) to investigate the problems of the Thai university students’ cross-cultural adaptation, as well as (3) to investigate factors influencing their intercultural competence. A structured questionnaire was conducted across 30 Thai students as the target group studying English at Yu’Xi Normal University China PR, selected by the purposive sampling technique. The results of the study revealed that 1) demographically, there was not much difference in adaptation between male and female target groups in terms of gender, age, and residency length; 2) negative attitudes in Thai university students to Asians caused a separation between Thai and Chinese groups due to the behavioural characteristics of Thai people who were concerned about speaking straightforwardly. In terms of communication ability, language affects communication directly between individuals and groups in everyday life and the classroom. Also, they all are looking to be positive, open-minded, and accepting; moreover, a new culture can be accepted by not setting yourself up, and language contributes to adapting across cultures to create mutual understanding, as well as to build relations with local people. Also, choosing a friend from various groups in different activities is necessary to exchange opinions with each other in the target society.