Intercultural Communication Class Research Articles

Teaching tools in the intercultural communication class – authentic materials

Specialists in intercultural communication seek to capitalize on authenticity so as to enable learners acquire the skills necessary to cope with the challenges of multicultural working environments. We have devised a complex activity plan aimed to promote interdisciplinary learning, cultural awareness, and other professional skills among master level students. The authentic materials which set the “real world” context of the activity are the answers provided in an interview carried out in 2023 aboard a merchant ship, with seamen with different cultural backgrounds (British, Indian, Ukrainian, Filipino). The paper describes the methods and materials used and draws some conclusions on the effectiveness of the experiential approach in the context of teaching intercultural communication to master level students at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania.

“I think I am bilingual, but…”: Teachers’ practices of and student’ attitudes toward translanguaging in a Chinese intercultural communication class

AbstractTranslanguaging encourages active and integrated usage of varied languages and other resources and exploitation of students’ whole linguistic repertories and cultural resources in teaching and learning. Zooming into an intercultural communication class in an English‐as‐a‐medium‐of‐instruction (EMI) fashion, the present study intends to discuss the teacher's pedagogical translanguaging practices used in class, the possible influences of these practices on students’ intercultural communication competence (ICC) and students’ attitudes toward these translanguaging practices by adopting a mixed‐method approach of in‐class observation, questionnaires, and semi‐structured interviews. The findings suggest that translanguaging was practiced to serve various purposes in class, namely concept explanation, engagement check, context knowledge reorientation, and maintenance of classroom relationships; the teacher's translanguaging practices could help to promote students’ ICC; students demonstrated positive attitudes toward translanguaging utilized by teachers, while some were concerned about the students’ use of translanguaging in the EMI class where the monolingual ideology was expected to be dominant. Therefore, students’ awareness of translanguaging and multilingualism should be fostered to make full use of their bilingual and multilingual advantages, which will further contribute to cultivating their ICC.

Reflecting on Teaching a Collaborative Online International Learning Course: Connecting Classrooms in the United States and Brazil

The purpose of this reflective practice was to critically examine a revelation discovered after facilitating a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course. COIL is an andragogical teaching strategy that uses innovative technology to connect classrooms worldwide. This reflection will highlight a COIL opportunity that brought together students from classes in the United States of America and Brazil. After facilitating COIL in our intercultural communication classes, we discovered that these global virtual exchange courses or units could be incorporated into various other disciplines. There were two distinct reasons why this knowledge was surprising. First, during our COIL training, we directed our attention to the course we planned to facilitate. Second, we had never taught COIL classes before, so we were unsure how to include this teaching method in other areas of study. We used Stephen Brookfield’s model of reflection to critically examine our assumptions and pre-conceived notions about COIL and left with takeaways that can be shared with our colleagues.

BENEFITTING STUDENTS WITH KNOWLEDGE-SHARING PRACTICES IN CULTURAL-BASED EDUCATION

The majority of students in higher education find it challenging to understand cultural differences and communicate in English. In reality, students' enthusiasm wanes as a result of distractions like poor internet connections and challenging coursework. Using knowledge-sharing techniques in this situation is a solution to overcoming these challenges. The purpose of this study is to describe how students feel about using knowledge-sharing techniques in an online intercultural communication course. Three English Department students who participated in the research's Knowledge-sharing Practice in Intercultural Communication Learning at a university in Bogor were the main subjects of the study. Students in intercultural communication classes at higher education institutions range in age from 20 to 22 and academic standing. Focus groups discussion, interviews, and other forms of narrative inquiry were used in this qualitative study. This study discovered that implementing knowledge-sharing practices in online learning aids students in removing confusion from Intercultural communication classes, encourages higher education students to voice their opinions, aids higher education students in showing respect for cultural differences, stimulates students to think critically, encourages students to participate in the discussion, and inspires students to study abroad, but it is still challenging for them.

Insights into intercultural communication from a global citizenship framework: Voices of South Korean university students

ABSTRACT The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore South Korean university students’ views of the importance of intercultural communication. It also sought to obtain participant recommendations on how to improve awareness of intercultural communication in their personal lives, on campus, and in society. Intercultural communicative competence is becoming increasingly important as the world becomes more interconnected online and through intercultural exchanges that take place in a variety of capacities. This study was conducted during the spring semester of 2020 at a university in central South Korea. Participants included 14 South Korean university students who were enrolled in an intercultural communication class that was conducted online and designed for English language learners. Data comprised individual interviews, a focus group, and essays. Data analysis centred on examining commonalities and key statements made by participants. In terms of why it is important to study intercultural communication, results highlighted the need for people to be understanding and knowledgeable about diverse cultures, have respect for other people and cultures, and ensure that past intercultural conflict does not happen in the future. Students provided a wide range of recommendations for improving their awareness of intercultural communication. This paper concludes with practical implications.

College Students' Learning Performance, Teaching Skills, and Teaching Innovation in Intercultural Communication Class: Evidence Based on Experiential Learning Theory.

In China, the improvement of the learner performance is critical a challenge for the teaching staff and the management in intercultural communication class. Indeed, the administration of the Chinese schools is failed to provide effective learning to the students with innovative methods. The objective of this study was to identify the role of college students' learning performance, teaching skills, and teaching innovation in intercultural communication class. This study is based on the quantitative data collected on a five-point Likert scale from the target respondents who were the students of different colleges and 700 questionnaires distributed for it. The study concludes that there is a significant relationship among abstract conceptualization, active participation, and reflective observation in students' learning performance. Furthermore, this study highlights that the mediating role of teaching innovation is critical for students' learning performance. This study contributes to the literature with a significant theoretical framework. Finally, this study provides significant theoretical implications and practical implications which are key game-changers for improving the performance of the students in the intercultural communication class.

Shaping the teaching and learning of intercultural communication through virtual mobility

The globally mobile reality of today’s world has made the field of intercultural communication increasingly relevant as people more often find themselves in intercultural situations. As a result, language teachers must be more prepared to work in intercultural contexts, and to teach their own students how to communicate across differences in intercultural situations both physically and virtually. The present paper examines this special issue’s topic of physical and virtual mobility and intercultural competence through the lens of teacher education. Using narrative inquiry, two teacher educators in very different geographic and socio-economic contexts (US and Colombia) explore their own attempts at developing intercultural communication in teacher learners through a WhatsApp pen pal exchange project in their intercultural communication classes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings reveal different ways in which virtual mobility and other affordances of WhatsApp can be harnessed to achieve various aims of intercultural education, but also how activities such as the pen pal exchange can be improved in order to align more with current theories of intercultural communication.

Undoing the “non’s” within English hegemony: Teaching intercultural communication as a transnational teacher

Talking about the concept of double consciousness in my intercultural communication class, I read: It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self ...

Primary School Students Perception of Intercultural Communicative Class based on Blended Learning

This study attempted to investigate how primary students perceived intercultural communicative classes which were mainly conducted based on blended learning. The study employed Byram’s model to analyze students’ perception of the intercultural language learning process. To obtain an in-depth understanding of students’ perception of intercultural learning, the content analysis was conducted with the data collected from semi-structured group interviews and reflective notes in a qualitative research method. The data consisted of 62 Korean primary school students’ reflective notes and semi-structured interviews with 13 students with two extra comments from American primary school students. The result of the study found that Korean participants intercultural attitudes were affected and their awareness of intercultural interaction was raised after taking various cultural lessons. Concerning the result of this study, further research has been suggested for intercultural communicative learning.

Examining intercultural transition and history through service learning

This paper documents a half-semester service-learning teaching activity for engaging students to think critically about intercultural communication theory. In collaboration with a community partner, students in my intercultural communication class researched the influence of the Great Migration on U.S. society, producing five books summarizing academic research and interviews students conducted with community members who had migrated to the Kansas City area during this time period. The students presented their work to the community at the end of the semester. Variations of this assignment are also proposed for instructors who might want to do something similar in their classes. Courses Intercultural Communication. Objectives: (1) Apply, analyze, and evaluate cultural transition and collective memory theory. (2) Produce an original work on a topic of interest to a community partner.

Code Mixing in College Students’ Presentation: A Case in an Intercultural Communication Class

Studying the second language (L2) was happens around the world because of some reasons such as education. Studying another language can be important in intellectual human activities after studying first language (L1). However using L2 is quite hard because some of them use L2 just for some their activities, not for the whole of their activities, such as students who use English only when studying English subject only or on the contrary. Nowadays, some people use two language at the same time, which is called code mixing. The use of two codes for communication can help them to make clear their explanation from another language that they used. The purpose of this research is concerning on the use of code mixing in college students’ presentation in Intercultural Communication class. Apart from that, there is an attempt to find out the language dominate in their presentation, the reasons of code mixing use in their presentation and the response of the audience about code mixing in presentation. The Method use is qualitative by using class presentation as the instrument, the writer collected the data of the college students’ presentation, questionnaire to the audience and interview to the presenters. The research findings showed that the languages dominate in the presentation are English language and Bahasa Indonesia equally. The reasons’ student in use code mixing is to make the explanation clear, and the response of the audience is 56.83% of the students give positive response in using code mixing of the presenter.

Examining South Korean University Students’ Interactions with International Students

This mixed method case study examines South Korean university students’ interactions with international students. Data included a closed-ended survey, an open-ended survey, and a focus group. Participants comprised university students studying at a mid-sized university in central South Korea. Results indicate that students generally feel indifferent about interacting with international students and stated that communication barriers and lack of contributions of international students on assignments leads to less interaction. Quantitative data also reveals a lack of interest in interacting with international students. To improve interaction, students recommended providing more opportunities to communicate in the classroom and taking intercultural communication classes to increase understanding of diverse cultures. Additionally, students recommended sharing dorm rooms with international students, creating more social activities for interaction, and developing language, culture, and mentoring programs. Various practical and theoretical implications are discussed to help improve social interactions and increase intercultural communication on campus.

Journey to explore identities through lived experiences

Courses: This single-class activity is designed for an intercultural communication class. It is suitable for any course that requires a discussion about identities. Objectives: This activity helps students enhance their understanding of the concept of identities. It allows students to comprehend multiple identity markers (e.g. race, gender, and age). Through this activity, students will learn that identities can be: (1) created by the self; (2) shaped through interaction with others; (3) formed through social structures; and (4) static and dynamic, as well as personal and contextual.

Integrating Divine Values in Intercultural Communication Class

<p><em>This research focused on integrating the divine values in Intercultural Communication Class. One of the aims of this subject is to hindrance the communication problems in doing intercultural communication because everyone has different ways of thinking, feeling and doing with their own culture. There are many problems appear in communication if there is no understanding among culture, just like prejudice, racism, or even ethnocentrism. This was descriptive qualitative research, and the data got from observing and interpreting the lecturer’s ways of teaching in Intercultural Communication class especially in integrating the divine values on</em><em> stereotyping</em><em>. The result of this research shown that understanding about the negative impact of stereotyping is needed for the students to be a good communicator. In integrating divine values is a must in intercultural communication class in order to the students can create the convenience environment and effective communicator in talking to people which has different culture</em><em>.</em><em></em></p>

Chinese university students’ attitude towards self and others in reflective journals of intercultural encounter

Journal writing involving guided reflections on intercultural experiences has a potential in facilitating intercultural communicative competence (ICC). However, most of the research on reflective journal writing relied on content-based thematic analysis alone and neglected the use of language that reveals, complements or even distorts the true meaning of the content. Using linguistic tools provided by appraisal theory, the study investigated the attitudinal changes towards self and others in the reflective journals of intercultural encounter written by 41 undergraduates in an College English Intercultural Communication class in a Chinese university. Positive attitudinal changes were found, including the extension of reflection from people in the incidents to cultures they represented, more appreciation of the intercultural experience, more objectivity and empathy for others, and critical reflection on one's own behaviour in intercultural experience and one's initial ethnocentric interpretation of it. Problematic tendencies included outgroup-favouritism, non-judgement on the surface and overgeneralisation. Suggestions were provided for teachers who intend to use reflective journals in facilitating students' ICC growth.

Language Attitude Education as ICC Facilitation: An Explorative Class

AbstractThis paper reports the design, implementation, and outcome of an action research. The research aimed to examine and improve college students’ attitudes towards varieties of World Englishes through a mild intervention in an intercultural communication class. Viewing education as a means to facilitate Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC), of which language attitude was an integral part, the study designed a four-step pedagogical intervention to help students become more open and critical of their attitudes. The four pedagogical steps included language attitude elicitation, deconstruction, reconstruction, and creative solutions to communicative problems. The study found that students largely had conservative language attitudes and prejudices to start with. After the intervention, over 40% of the students acquired more open language attitudes, while some remained ambivalent about embracing linguistic diversity, and a small number of students maintained their previous conservative attitudes. Challenges of attitude change and language attitude education are discussed.

Attending to the “face of the other” in intercultural communication: Thinking and talking about difference, identity, and ethics

ABSTRACTThis essay contributes to the discussions in intercultural communication scholarship on key intercultural urgencies, issues, and challenges in today's world through the ethical framework of Emmanuel Levinas and his discussion of “absolute otherness” that informs and expands the dialogue on interculturality, cultural humility, and ethics. Levinas's discussion of “absolute otherness” aims to preserve difference—the otherness of the other—by asserting the ethical relation prior to the ontological relation and carries significant communicative implications in terms of the relation of the self and the other as well as making sense of difference and identity, and offers a new way of talking about these issues in the field of communication studies, specifically in intercultural communication. An illustration of attending to the other beyond reduction to the same is offered through a pedagogical application of the Levinasian framework in the intercultural communication class.

Using web-based exploratory tasks to develop intercultural competence in a homogeneous cultural environment

This study adapted web-based exploratory tasks using WebQuests as a means of enabling students to understand and reflect on both the target and their own culture. Learners actively used various authentic resources selected to meet their linguistic and cognitive needs to complete the tasks. The aim of this study was to help Japanese university students in a homogeneous cultural environment enrolled in an intercultural communication class to understand various cultural contexts through a systematic inquiry-based approach using WebQuests, with the goal of eventually improving their intercultural competence. Quantitative data were collected through pre- and post-surveys and an adapted version of the Generalised Ethnocentrism-scale questionnaires, whereas qualitative data included analyses of students’ reflection in weekly online forums and a final essay. The results of the study showed students’ reduction in ethnocentricity and suggested students had acquired a deeper understanding of both their own culture and other cultures.

Untethering Education: Creating a Pilot Hybrid Class to Enhance Learning in Intercultural Communication

Improvements in educational technology in the past couple of decades have led institutions of higher learning to encourage and implement various types of distance education courses. This article reports on the conversion process of a face-to-face Intercultural Communication class at a mid-Atlantic university in the USA. First, the impetus for its creation is described, followed by the process of creating this course. Then a description of the course is presented, followed by the assessment design and results comparing the hybrid course to its face-to-face version offered in the past in terms of cognitive, behavioural, and attitudinal measures. The assessment results show that students enrolled in the hybrid course performed as well or better on knowledge questions. Students in the hybrid course outperformed face-to-face students in terms of attendance, but performed similarly for other behavioral measures. Overall, students in the hybrid course had positive attitudes toward the course.

Preparing TESOL Students for the ESOL Classroom: A Cross-Cultural Project in Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication classes for TESOL students give them a solid foundation for their work with their own ESOL students. This article presents the cross-cultural project that TESOL students have to complete in a required intercultural communication class at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the case study that was used to assess the project. The project requires that students learn from and share with someone from a different culture while they are exploring their cultural selves and the workings of culture in themselves and others. Specifically, there are four learning outcomes: Students are expected to: (1) reflect on and deepen their understanding of themselves and others as cultural beings, (2) put newly acquired intercultural knowledge into practice, (3) develop and enhance their intercultural competence, and (4) develop confidence in their ability to talk to people from different cultures. The study found that all four expected learning outcomes were met.