Intercultural Adaptation Research Articles

Foreign student guest lecture and Indonesian EFL students' motivation in cross-culture understanding course

This study explores an innovative way to increase students' learning motivation in a cross-culture understanding (CCU) class at an English Language Teaching study program in a private university in Indonesia. The lecturer assigned EFL students to find international students to share their cultures to solve students' lack of motivation in indoor learning activities. From observation, interview, and an online survey to 94 students (four classes), 98.9 % agreed that the international students' guest lecture method could increase EFL students' motivation to learn CCU. The Indonesian lecturer exposed to global culture and international students exposed to Indonesian culture becomes the primary resource for Indonesian EFL students to get insight and inspiration for their intercultural communication and adaptation practices.

The adaptation of newly arrived immigrant students to education: Evidence from Turkey

In general, it can be said that the problems experienced by immigrant students are due to cultural differences. Language problem arising from cultural differences also raises the problem of adaptation. In the report prepared by the European Commission, there are supports that can be stated as language support, academic support, family participation, intercultural adaptation and peer learning. The research aims to determine the adaptation model implemented by Turkey for newly arrived immigrant students. Within the scope of this research, interviews were held with school administrators and the support provided for newly arrived migrant students was determined, and Turkey-specific adaptation model was tried to be established.

The Role of Social Media in the Intercultural Adaptation of Pekanbaru Immigrants

The role of Social Media in the process of cultural adaptation plays a very important role. Immigrants to foreign cultures have applied various technologies to assist them in cultural adaptation and acculturation processes. In recent years, the most common technique and useful that newcomers use is social media, which plays a role important in connecting people around the world together to share and exchange knowledge and cultural traditions. This research aims to find out the role of Social Media on the intercultural adaptation of Pekanbaru immigrants. By using the method qualitative descriptive through interviews with immigrants at the Pekanbaru Rudenim. Results from this study is that in the adaptation process carried out by immigrants going through several phases, honeymoon phases, culture shock, resolution and integration. Social media It has been used among migrants to maintain contact with family members and friends in their home country

Beach Resorts’ Contribution to the Triple Bottom Line: Economic, Environmental, and Social

This investigation utilized the blended method of research using researcher-designed survey tools. This study was conducted in Anda, Bohol. Using the random sampling technique, sixty respondents provided information on the contribution of the operation of the beach resorts. The study also had nine informants interviewed on the challenges encountered by the beach resorts' operations in their locality. For the analysis of quantitative data, frequency count, percentage, and weighted mean, and thematic analysis for qualitative data. The operation of beach resorts had a high contribution towards economic growth and social development and a moderate contribution towards environmental protection. Lastly, challenges encountered by the stakeholders in the operations of beach resorts in terms of ensuring economic growth were Poor Service Quality, Decreases Guests’ Loyalty, Lack of Transparency in Financial Report, Local Guest Outnumber Foreign Visitors, Marketing Disadvantage due to Inaccessible Location, Unstable Employment, Failure to Comply Legal Obligations and Fishing Ban. In contrast, the challenges in attaining social development were Negative Intercultural Adaptation, Culture and Heritage Disturbance, Inequalities of Resources, Lack of Community Involvement, and Low Public Health Protection. Further, the challenges in ascertaining environmental protection of the beach resorts’ existence in the locality were Weak Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement, Rejecting Environmental Policy, Additional Burden, Minimizes Financial Growth Opportunities and Excessive Fees Discourages Tourists to Return. The beach resorts in the rural location were fully compliant with the proper solid waste management since there are standard operating procedures that they need to perform to ensure customer satisfaction.

Linguistically-Limited Intercultural Adaptations of Independent Western Migrants in Thailand: “Taxi Thai” Communication Strategy

ABSTRACT This article examines the cultural-linguistic adaptations of independent long-staying Western migrants (IWMs) in Bangkok, Thailand, focusing on the dynamic relationship between their learning and use of Thai language and adaptations to Thai cultural norms. Through intensive interviews with 24 IWMs, we gained insights into complex experiences of the participants in which gaining cultural knowledge often forestalled their language learning and use instead of these two mechanisms acting to mutually reinforce host communication competence. The result was linguistically-limited intercultural adaptations with “Taxi-Thai” serving as a communication strategy that allowed the IWMs to accomplish effective functional relationships with Thais and psychological wellbeing.

Adaptasi antarbudaya di kalangan satuan Nindya Praja Institut Pemerintahan Dalam Negeri (IPDN) di Jatinangor

The interactions that occur between one another cannot be separated from life, because human life is a social creature that requires interaction with another. In the interactions that occur, there must be cultural differences between one another, because of these cultural differences, the process of intercultural adaptation. One of them happened at the Institute of Domestic Government (IPDN). IPDN itself has students from 34 provinces in Indonesia and has different ethnicities from one another so that in carrying out education at IPDN, the IPDN Praja undertakes an intercultural adaptation process to eliminate the gaps that occur, making it easier for them to communicate. The focus of this research is to provide an overview of the intercultural adaptation taking place between the IPDN Nindya Praja Units in Jatinangor, as well as to identify the intercultural communication between the IPDN Nindya Praja Units in Jatinangor. The research method used in this research is a qualitative method with a phenomenological. The data obtained through in-depth interviews, observation, and literature study using a variety of literature which is the source of the research. The results obtained indicate that Nindya Praja IPDN has experienced an intercultural adaptation process that differs from another, in differences of language and speech style. Besides, environmental factors and communication factors also influence the intercultural adaptation process of Nindya Praja IPDN.

The culturally intelligent way of acculturating: Examining cultural intelligence and acculturation orientations among foreign workers in the Danish context of reception.

In contemporary globalized societies, the number of foreign workers is increasing, resulting in greater intercultural contact and adaptation. Foreign workers apply their cultural intelligence when adapting to and working in multicultural environments, resulting in affiliations with both their cultural heritage and their destination cultural stream. We examined foreign workers' (N=264) intercultural adaptation in the globalized context of Denmark. We found that cultural intelligence was directly and positively linked with adaptable work performance. Furthermore, cultural intelligence was indirectly and negatively associated with sociocultural adaptation difficulties through endorsement of Danish culture. Likewise, perceived negative context of reception was indirectly and positively associated with sociocultural adaptation difficulties through low endorsement of Danish culture. Additionally, perceived stress predicted adaptable work performance, whereas perceived context of reception and sociocultural adaptation difficulties did not. Overall, our results suggest involvement in the destination culture as a culturally intelligent way of applying one's cultural capabilities, suggesting that the perceived context of reception is of great importance for helping foreign workers adapt to their destination cultural environments.

Розроблення української версії індексу неповносправності Освестрі – міжкультурна адаптація та валідизація інструмента

Tools based on patient assessment (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures, PROMs) have significant interest in rehabilitation practice. Nowadays, this approach is considered reliable, trustworthy, and reasonable. Tools that have undergone all stages of adaptation and validation are highly proven and meet international standards, which, in particular, is a guarantee of high-quality survey results. The purpose of the study was to conduct an intercultural adaptation of the Oswestry Disability Index to the Ukrainian language and further verify the validity of this version of the instrument. Materials and methods. The study included individuals who had complaints of back pain (n = 104, 60.6 % females; age (M±SE) – 36.9±1.6 years old). Three different tools were used to assess pain (Oswestry Disability Index, Visual Analogue Scale) and various parameters of life quality (“The MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey”). The internal consistency of the Oswestry Disability Index questionnaire was evaluated (the α-Cronbach’s index was determined), its reliability was studied (according to the test-retest procedure), and correlation and regression analyzes were used to check the constructive validity. The structure of the questionnaire was studied using exploratory factor analysis. Results and discussion. The proposed Ukrainian version of the questionnaire passed all stages of translation and intercultural adaptation, which meets the international standards and requirements of the MAPI Research Trust. In addition to the scientific coordinators, a sufficient number of translators, editor of the scientific literature, and a group of patients were involved in these processes. The questionnaire has high internal consistency (α-Cronbach = 0.931) and reliability (Spearman’s rho = 0.94, p < 0.01). In the structure of the tool, two factors explain 69.165% of the total variance. Issues related to walking and social life were related to the first factor, sitting, standing, traveling – to the second factor, the intensity of pain, self-care, lifting objects, and sex life – were related to both the first and second factors. The questionnaire has a sufficient level of constructive validity. An average correlation with the value of the Visual Analogue Scale (r = 0.547, p < 0.001), a strong correlation with the life quality scale “Physical Functioning” (r = -0.871, p < 0.001) were identified. Conclusion. The Ukrainian version of the Oswestry Disability Index questionnaire can be used to assess the level of pain, physical well-being, and physical component of the life quality of patients who have complaints of back pain

Transcultural Adaptation of Tibetan Nursing Trainees: A Case Study of "9+3" Vocational Technical Students in Sichuan Province, China.

BackgroundNursing education is an important part of the “9+3” vocational education program led by Sichuan Province. In the internship stage, nursing students of Tibetan ethnicity may have problems of intercultural adaptation in the process of getting along with patients, which may affect the effective nursing outcome. The purpose of this study was to clarify the current situation of transcultural adaptation of Tibetan trainee nurses and to provide more theoretical support and guidance.Material/MethodsWe collected 237 valid survey questionnaires, based on Ward’s acculturation process model, from a total of 363 Tibetan trainee nurses in the “9+3” free vocational education program in Chengdu, Luzhou, and Nanchong of Sichuan Province. The SPSSAU project (2020), an online application software retrieved from https://www.spssau.com, was used for data coding and archiving.ResultsThe results of questionnaire and data analysis showed that the overall level of transcultural adaptation of Tibetan trainee nurses was that the number of people with poor adaptation was slightly higher than those with good adaptation, and most Tibetan trainee nurses were in the middle level. Meanwhile, sociocultural adaptation was better than psychological adaptation. There were no statistically significant differences among the 4 grouping variables: gender, student home region, the city where the internship hospital was located, and whether they were from a single-child family or not.ConclusionsThe results revealed that there was still transcultural maladjustment among Tibetan nurses in the internship stage, and the psychological maladjustment was more obvious than the sociocultural maladjustment. We provide countermeasures and suggestions to solve the problems of transcultural adaptation reflected in the research.

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN THE METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

The article considers one of the creative approaches to teaching a foreign language for special purposes – the case study method, the essence of which is the independent foreign language activity of students in an artificially created professional environment. It is noted that the cases are extremely rich in content and have the potential to take into account the knowledge already acquired by the student to study the language of the specialty and develop management skills. According to the results of the applied research conducted by the authors, it is established that this method can be used as an extremely effective method for achieving the goals of teaching a professional foreign language and intercultural adaptation.

Perception of L2 Spanish polite requests and impolite commands by Chinese migrant workers living in Spain

Politeness plays a key role in cross-cultural communication and intercultural adaptation (Spencer-Oatey and Franklin 2009). Therefore, knowledge about (im)politeness and the acquisition of politeness strategies is central in the integration of immigrants and the achievement of social cohesion. At the same time, prosody is already known to directly affect politeness judgements in all studied languages, including L1 Spanish (Hidalgo 2009; Devís 2011; Albelda 2012). However, the prosodic cues on which L1 speakers rely when judging politeness seem to be different for each language. While L1 Spanish speakers seem to rely more on intonation when judging politeness (Devís 2011), L1 Chinese speakers tend to rely more on other prosodic cues when judging politeness in Chinese (Fan and Gu 2016). This study investigates whether Chinese immigrants in Spain perceive the difference between polite requests and impolite commands the same way L1 Spanish speakers do, when the only difference between the commands and requests is at the prosodic level. Chinese immigrants (N = 22) and L1 Spanish speakers (N = 26) listened to and judged the degree of politeness of 20 pairs of commands and requests produced by 4 L1 Spanish speakers (2 male + 2 female) from Madrid. Pairs of commands and requests had the same lexico-grammatical features and onlydiffered at the prosodic and pragmatic levels. Statistical analysis revealed that while commands were perceived very similarly by chinese immigrants and L1 Spanish speakers, Chinese speakers had problems perceiving the intention in polite requests, which were rated as more polite by Spanish native speakers than by Chinese immigrants.

Intercultural Relations Among Guinean Immigrants Living in Portugal: Testing Multiculturalism, Contact, and Integration Hypotheses

This study tests several specific predictions derived from three general core hypotheses of intercultural relations (multiculturalism, contact, and integration hypotheses). The participants were 405 migrants from Guinea-Bissau (51 percent women). Their average age was 38 years. The average length of stay in Portugal was 18 years. Data collection involved the completion of questionnaires to measure multicultural ideology, security, cultural identity, contact, perceived discrimination, acculturation strategies, mental health problems, sociocultural adaptation, and tolerance. In concert with the multiculturalism hypothesis, security and cultural identity positively predicted multicultural ideology. The contact hypothesis was partially confirmed given that intercultural contact did not predict perceived discrimination, although contact predicted national identity. Regarding the integration hypothesis, integration strategy predicted psychological and intercultural adaptations, while the predictors of sociocultural adaptation were assimilation and marginalization. Hence, the integration hypothesis obtained partial support for migrants from Guinea-Bissau residing in Portugal. Finally, some implications of the findings are discussed. This study contributes to extending the integration hypothesis to a recently suggested new form of adaptation, intercultural adaptation. Feelings of being secure in the larger society and one’s identity contributes to higher acceptance of diversity.

Cultural competence in modern global world: Applications for mental health

IntroductionCultural competence and related terms began to appear in the 1960s in the context of the development of civil rights movements in many countries. The importance of research of cultural competence among mental health professionals is raised with the globalization trends of the modern world, when the growth of ethno-cultural diversity, internal and external migration, temporary movement of people lead to intensification of intercultural interaction.ObjectivesThe current study aims to reveal contemporary tendencies in cultural competence understanding and development.MethodsTheoretical analysis and systematization of research publications in order to clarify concepts, models and applications of cultural competence.ResultsThe following tendencies were revealed. Cultural competence continues to attract significant attention of researchers and practitioners, especially among the mental health specialists (psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists) who work with representatives of different cultures. A number of similar concepts and their components have been proposed: cultural competence, intercultural communicative competence, cross-cultural competence, cultural intelligence, cultural awareness, cultural acceptance, intercultural sensitivity, intercultural adaptation, multicultural competence, multicultural orientation. The difficulties and limitations of existing models noted: a shift of attention to a specialist, but not to a client; borrowing static and absolutistic ideas about cultures, without consideration of cultures development and interaction.ConclusionsThere is a trend in contemporary global world for broad research and development of cultural competence that improve professional qualities of healthcare professionals and provide psychological assistance to representatives of different ethnic and culture groups, confessions and minorities. The reported study was funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project number 17-29-02506.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Framing Lear’s fool in Indian films: ‘Doth any here know me?’

This article examines three Indian films based on King Lear through their reconfigured framing of the Fool: Gunasundari Katha (Tale of the Virtuous Woman, 1949, Telugu), Rui Ka Bojh (Weight of Cotton, 1997, Hindi), and Natsamrat (Actor King, 2016, Marathi). Though the nature and role of the Fool in the play is much debated, this essay argues that he is central and his treatment reflects the divergent views the films take on Shakespeare’s tragedy. The fact that the Fool is also a familiar figure in Indian drama, from the classical Sanskrit, medieval folk and modern plays, conditions the transpositions of the intercultural adaptations.

THE MODEL OF THE INTERCULTURAL ADAPTATION ECOSYSTEM OF UNIVERSITIES AS AN ELEMENT OF STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

The tasks of increasing the international competitiveness and export of Russian education within the framework of national development priorities are inextricably linked with the need to create a favorable environment for the adaptation of international students based on ecosystem and stakeholder approaches. The development of an integral and multidimensional model of the Russian intercultural adaptation ecosystem for universities and other educational organizations should take place with full recognition of the values of external and internal internationalization in all activities in order to form long-term key competencies. The model of the intercultural adaptation ecosystem should become a matrix and, in a way, a framework solution from the point of view of the strategic development of universities in the global world, taking into account rethinking and sophistication of their mission as a social institution in global partnership.The article offers a comprehensive vision of a model of an intercultural adaptation ecosystem of the educational organization with two contours – internal and external. The internal contour includes four components: values, practices, processes and structures. The external contour of the intercultural adaptation ecosystem of an educational organization also includes four components: inner Russian educational collaborations, international cooperation, interaction with national and cultural communities, and recommendations for authorities.The authors offer a detailed analysis of the factors and priorities of the necessary organizational changes in Russian universities in the context of the tasks of intercultural literacy skills’ strategic development for all participants and stakeholders of the educational process with further transformation into the competence of cultural intelligence.

Intercultural Adaptation of Undergraduate Students in Germany under the Framework of Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education: An Empirical Study

With the advancement of higher education internationalization, an increasing number of Chinese students choose to study abroad for higher education. However, differing socio-cultural and educational contexts in host countries bring great challenges to their intercultural adaptation. Taking a double first-class university in Shanghai as an example, by using anonymous online questionnaire and interviewing approaches, this study explored the features and challenges of intercultural adaptation encountered by the selected Chinese undergraduate students in this university’s Sino-foreign cooperative education programs.

Independent Learning, Friendships, and Fate in Intercultural Adaptation Among International Chinese Graduate Students in the United States

Independent Learning, Friendships, and Fate in Intercultural Adaptation Among International Chinese Graduate Students in the United States

Intercultural adaptation of students in a foreign language and multicultural society of a metropolis

Theoretical and practical development of the problem of students’ adaptation in a foreign language and multicultural society is one of the key problems of the academic mobility development of the individual throughout life. The need to solve this problem is determined by the socio-cultural dynamics of education development in the context of its global shifts, transformations, and systemic changes. The purpose of the article is to conduct a theoretical analysis of the problem of students' adaptation in the foreign language and multicultural society of the metropolis. The article deals with the problem of cross-cultural adaptation of foreign students in Russian universities to the foreign language and multicultural social medium of the metropolis. The phenomenon of cross-cultural adaptation is studied on an interdisciplinary basis. The authors consider the theoretical approaches to the study of various aspects of cross-cultural adaptation of a person to a foreign language and multicultural society, as well as analyze the educational opportunities and potential of intercultural interaction based on the dialogue of cultures as a mechanism underlying the process of adaptation of students in the foreign language and multicultural society of the metropolis. According to the authors, the success of foreign students’ education is also determined by their readiness to accept the entire cultural diversity of the foreign-speaking world and foreign language culture, as well as their tolerant attitude toward them. The article highlights and characterizes the main directions and specific content of students’ adaptation to foreign language and multicultural society. The authors conclude that cross-cultural adaptation can be an effective way for foreign students to enter the new socio-cultural conditions of the foreign language and multicultural society of the metropolis.

Features of the Transfer of Greek Syntax into Russian in the Intercultural Adaptation of Aesop’s Fable Texts

Features of the Transfer of Greek Syntax into Russian in the Intercultural Adaptation of Aesop’s Fable Texts

Intercultural Adaptation and Acculturation Strategies of Overseas Chinese Teachers — A Survey Study on Volunteer CPKI Chinese Teachers of 2019-2020 Term in South Korea

With the increasing demand for native Chinese teachers from all over the world, more and more Chinese teachers are going abroad. As the intercultural adaptation and adaptation strategies of these teachers directly impact the promotion of overseas Chinese education, this survey study explored the intercultural adaptation and adaptation strategies of a sample of 170 CPIK (Chinese Program In Korea) volunteer Chinese teachers of 2019-2020 term in South Korea by the approaches of interview, questionnaire and statistical analysis.<BR> Drawing upon the Integrative Theory of Cross-cultural Adaptation (Kim, 2005) and the Theory of Acculturation Strategies （Berry, 1992), this paper developed 3 questionnaires and initiated an online automatic assessment system to implement the investigation. By applying statistical software such as SPSS23.0 and AMOS 24.0, quantitative analyses were explored and findings revealed that the overall intercultural adaptation of CPIK Chinese teachers was pretty good and the group with male gender, higher education background and higher Korean proficiency evidently achieved better intercultural adaptation. Among the 7 scopes of intercultural adaptation, the Chinese teachers generally performed best in the scope of Ethic Social Communication, while performing worst in the scope of Host Social Communication. The levels of Host Social Communication and Teaching Adaptation were positively related to the status of intercultural adaptation，and the Predisposition could predict whether or not the Intercultural Transformation could be achieved. The Chinese teachers showed an evident preference to integration strategy followed by separation strategy, and those who had integration strategy preference performed best in intercultural adaptation. The findings can not only provide empirical evidence for how to improve CPIK Chinese teachers’ cross-cultural adaptability, but also offer the potential professional value for helping to train overseas Chinese teachers conveniently on a large-scale service by the online automatic assessment system developed by this research.