Intercultural Communication Course Research Articles

“Doing” and “Undoing” power as critical intercultural assessment: Original teaching idea—semester for the core intercultural communication course

ABSTRACT This essay highlights a critical assessment approach for intercultural communication courses that engages in a “doing–undoing” practice for instructors, with the aim of “doing” culture as learned through society and traditional intercultural communication instruction with the limited, romanticized, and settler colonial presumptions and representations about culture and then subsequently “undoing” these constructions of culture. Students engage in a traditional intercultural communication assignment staple—the cultural interview—in order to traverse and trace how culture is framed and the presumptions and ideologies based in power are deeply embedded. This essay seeks to share this “doing–undoing’ practice via an explication of this original teaching idea for a semester through one activity.

THE EFFECT OF DIGITAL DRAMA ON EFL STUDENTS’ SKILLS IN THE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COURSE AT THE UNIVERSITY

<p>Intercultural communication is concerned with the sharing of information between different cultures and social groups, including individuals with religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. Cultural factors have a great impact on how people conduct diplomatic, economic, and educational activities in the era of international integration. The application of innovative methods in teaching Intercultural communication courses at universities is extremely necessary in order to break down cultural barriers and build awareness of cultural norms, as well as to enhance self-awareness, language skills and communication skills in a multicultural environment. At the same time, it helps learners to explore, preserve and promote the national cultural identity. The theatrical (drama) technique has been recognized as one of the powerful means of education and propaganda. One of the proposed methods is integrating drama in the context of digital transformation. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of applying theatrical integration and online teaching tools via Zoom in teaching the Intercultural module to create a borderless cultural class. The quantitative method was conducted through experimental convention and questionnaires with the participation of students majoring in English at a university in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Specific steps have been taken to improve intercultural communication skills and intercultural interaction will enhance the ability to communicate and promote personal image as well as showcase national culture. The research has shown that using the digital drama model in the classroom as a teaching method not only helps learners academically but also provides knowledge about socio-cultural development.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/lit/0057/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Research on the Teaching Strategies of Intercultural Communication Courses in Higher Vocational Colleges under the Initiative of “The Belt and Road”

Research on the Teaching Strategies of Intercultural Communication Courses in Higher Vocational Colleges under the Initiative of “The Belt and Road”

翻译专业文化类课程群思政教学设计与实践

The culture courses for translation majors are a main communication channel for students to be comprehensively exposed to western ideology and an important social field for students to experience the struggle of different cultural values, so it is urgent to strengthen the systematic and scientific construction of ideologicalpolitical instruction. Taking Intercultural Communication Course as an example, this paper discusses the design and practice of ideological-political instruction in the culture courses for translation majors, and systematically constructs three progressive stages which are the instructional design, teaching practice and teaching mode for ideological-political instruction, so that ideological-political instruction can be truly teachable, assessable and replicable.

A Research on Needs Analysis from Students for Developing an Intercultural Communication Course

Background and aims: This research aims to investigate the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) of English major undergraduate students at Heilongjiang International University. It delves into students' attitudes, knowledge, skills of interpreting and relating, skills of discovery and interaction, and critical cultural awareness to improve the students’ ICC. The research reveals that while students possess some level of ICC, there are areas where they lack confidence and knowledge. Materials and methods: The study draws on questionnaires to gather data from 181 participants and utilizes a five-point scale for interpretation. Results: Results indicate that students are unsure about their knowledge of cultural aspects, specifically the history, etiquette, and lifestyle of English-speaking countries. Similarly, they exhibit uncertainty in their skills of interpretation and relating, especially regarding sensitivity to intercultural differences and their language capabilities. However, they show confidence in their skills of discovery, interaction, and critical cultural awareness. For attitude, students display a willingness to engage in intercultural experiences, although they lack confidence in suspending their perspectives in conversations. Cultural awareness is apparent, but some students recognize the influence of their cultural identity on communication. The study also explores students' experiences and difficulties in learning English, such as language barriers, cultural gaps, and limited exposure to foreign cultures. Conclusions: The study concludes that while students have ICC potential, targeted interventions are necessary to improve their overall competence. Recommendations include enhancing language proficiency, cultural knowledge, and exposure to authentic language use and cultural references. Finally, students express their desire to improve listening skills, vocabulary, oral communication, grammar understanding, and intercultural competence, which should guide curriculum design and educational strategies.

A Blended Learning Practice of "Flipped Classroom" Mode in Intercultural Communication Course

This paper examines the flipped classroom models used in the online intercultural communication course that was created by instructors and students. Teachers adjust to a blended learning approach created by integrating online and in-person instruction. The secret to providing students with a good education is to put them first when developing the curriculum because of the unique aspects of online learning. To help students, develop practical intercultural communication skills, instructors apply the case analysis method with their class. A useful and efficient teaching plan that included teaching goals, content knowledge, and teaching techniques after considering the comments from the students was created. Students were assisted in taking part in the entire experience of examining genuine instances and finding solutions. Students are taught about the "Performance Culture Approach" methodology and urged to discuss real-world issues in the classroom. Students can identify a workable solution to the issue to minimize communication barriers and successfully conduct multicultural conversations by examining and debating real examples.

Building Intercultural Communication Competence in Translator Training: A Metacognitive Approach

Intercultural communication competence and skills have become increasingly essential for translators to succeed in the global language industry. While some university translation programs offer a specific course explicitly covering intercultural communication, others teach it implicitly, embedding it in other practical courses. The main aim of the study is to shed light on the ways of adapting intercultural communication courses for translation and interpreting students by uncovering student perceptions of the relationship between intercultural awareness and translation and discussing the role of cross-cultural interaction-oriented assignments with a metacognitive approach, giving impetus to the aspiration of self-improvement and life-long learning. For this purpose, we conducted this research at a state university in Turkey during a 14-week Intercultural Communication course in the 2021/2022 spring semester. Our data-gathering method is based on focus group discussions and qualitative content analysis on student assignments using MAXQDA 2020. Following the analysis, three main themes have been identified: experiencing intercultural interaction, building intercultural awareness, and developing intercultural competence and skills. The results of the study show that an interpersonal and practical assignment contributes to translation students’ intercultural competence in several aspects: gaining self-confidence, improving their intercultural sensitivity and mindfulness, noticing cultural stereotypes, and reflecting on cultural similarities and differences. Furthermore, benefiting from a self-reflexive approach, students realized that being aware of the effects of cultural differences, as well as commonalities in mindset, language, and certain behaviors is a necessary skill for future translators.

FEATURES OF CONDUCTING PRESENTATIONS IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION CONDITIONS

The article is devoted to the analysis of the peculiarities of the development of communicative competence and intercultural abilities and skills of students of higher educational institutions of Ukraine in the conditions of international academic mobility and cross-cultural communication. Emphasis is placed on the need to introduce intercultural communication courses in the curriculum at the tertiary level in Ukraine, in particular, on the peculiarities of conducting presentations using modern multimedia tools. The urgency of this issue is due to the need for Ukrainian students to be aware of the values, traditions and norms of verbal and nonverbal cross-cultural communication in order to be successful in their academic and professional environment. The aim of the article was to highlight the specifics of intercultural aspects in the classroom using modern multimedia technologies. In our research we used interdisciplinary approaches, as well as theoretical and empirical methods: observation and generalization, and methods of deduction and systematization. Modern students represent a generation characterized by openness to the outside world and academic mobility. This means that awareness of differences in cultural norms, values, attitudes to the environment is absolutely necessary for effective interpersonal and cultural communication. Graduates of Ukrainian technical universities who have such skills will be especially valuable, as they will be able to use effective communication tools to present products created by Ukrainian companies and make them useful in foreign countries and vice versa. It is necessary to teach future professionals to use information technology in planning, organizing, editing materials for presentations of new products and especially when conducting them for different cultures.

Guided disorientation for transformative study abroad: impacts on intercultural learning

ABSTRACT This study examines what factors contribute to intercultural learning during the study abroad experience, drawing on Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning and data from the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Using data from 1,858 US students studying abroad in 27 countries over 6 years (2014–2020), this study constitutes the largest of its kind to date. Additionally, a powerful matching method is used to compare a sample of students enrolled in an Intercultural Communication and Leadership (ICL) course developed by the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE) with a control group of study abroad students not enrolled in the course. Findings show that cultural mentorship via trained, skilled instructors is more important than other factors associated with intercultural learning while abroad. Furthermore, the findings highlight why international education faculty and administrators should advocate for study abroad in non-English-speaking locations and immersion in cultures that are more dissimilar to the dominant cultural context of US students. The highest learning potential in study abroad occurs when students experience heightened moments of cultural disorientation in unfamiliar cultural contexts and have experienced facilitators to guide them through reflection around intercultural differences.

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.

Collaborative online international learning for design education: A framework for studio-based learning

The ability to think beyond disciplinary and geographical boundaries is essential for future designers to approach complex challenges and make a meaningful impact. Traditionally, these skills are developed in a studio environment where students can participate in mobility programmes and connect with peers from other disciplines; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has limited these opportunities due to social distance requirements. This article presents a framework for collaborative online international learning (COIL) for studio-based courses as an alternative for educators who want to foster interdisciplinary and intercultural learning in online and hybrid environments. The framework emerged from the development and delivery of a COIL initiative for an experience design studio course offered at an Australian University, in partnership with consumer behaviour and intercultural communication courses at a Brazilian University. The collaboration involved peer-to-peer online interactions between 43 undergraduate students enrolled in the three courses. Despite the renewed popularity of implementing COIL in higher education to overcome pandemic barriers, there is little documentation of applying the method in design disciplines and less evidence on how it corresponds to studio pedagogy. This type of computer-mediated collaboration offers an accessible and more inclusive alternative to mobility programmes and can continue to expand the opportunities for students to experience the world during and after the pandemic. The article focuses on the perspective of design education, reflecting on the benefits and challenges of online international collaboration, and provides new insights into the adaptations required to integrate the COIL and studio models.

Effects of Community of Practice on College English Teacher Professional Development: Case Study of English Teaching of Featured Chinese Culture Faculty Development

Teacher professional development plays an important role in improving teaching efficiency and upgrading talents cultivation, while community of practice is an effective platform for teacher professional development. To explore a feasible approach to its faculty professional development, English Teaching of Featured Chinese Culture, a college English intercultural communication course, adopted Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle Theory to construct and operate communities of practice on teaching and researching projects, aiming to encourage “mutual engagement”, “joint enterprise” and “shared repertoire”. The follow-up case studies with teacher professional development outcomes, reflective journals, and interviews revealed that communities of practice exerted different but positive effects on the professional development of its faculty members in the aspects of conducting teaching reflections, renovating teaching practices, and implementing teaching researches, the findings of which were expected to shed some light on teacher professional development practices.

Developing College Students’ Intercultural Competence in the Context of Chinese Culture Inheritance and Dissemination—A Case Study of the Intercultural Communication Course Design for ESL Students

Inheriting Chinese cultural genes and disseminating excellent Chinese culture has nowadays become important moral education goals of the new liberal arts in China’s colleges and universities, and intercultural competence is the prerequisite for inheriting and spreading the excellent Chinese culture. The development of intercultural competence among college students, therefore, becomes the contemporary mission of foreign language education in China’s colleges and universities. Moral education, or the ideological and political education construction of foreign language courses mainly involves the following aspects: the analysis of the course’s basic situation, the setting of teaching aims and objectives, the design of teaching philosophies and ideological and political contents, the application of teaching materials and technologies, the design of the teaching process and instructional strategies, and the assessment and reflection of teaching. This paper, by taking the design of an Intercultural Communication course from the above aspects for ESL students in a Chinese university as an example, discusses the development of college students’ intercultural competence in the context of Chinese cultural inheritance and dissemination.

Intercultural Communication in An Undergraduate English Coursebook in Mainland China: A Discourse Analysis Perspective

In recent years, intercultural communication education is occurring frequently in Chinese English textbooks. However, there is a lack of study on how these textbooks present the knowledge of intercultural communication and competence. To fill this gap, this article proposes to conduct a qualitative analysis of one English textbook (College English Intercultural Communication Course) published in mainland China. With Derrida’s deconstructive thinking, the topics, characters, contents, exercises and point of view provided by the textbook are evaluated via discourse analysis. Based on the deconstructive reading of the textbook, two cultural problems are found: (1) western-centric ideas; (2) essentialism and othering. There is an internal conflict between the deconstructive method of presenting intercultural communication and competence claimed by the textbook and an inner-circle unitary cultural center it actually constructs.

PENGEMBANGAN MODUL MULTIMEDIA INTERAKTIF BERBASIS SKENARIO PADA MATA KULIAH KOMUNIKASI ANTARBUDAYA & RESOLUSI KONFLIK

This development research aims to produce an interactive digital multimedia module in the Intercultural Communication and Conflict Resolution Course at Universitas Multimedia Nusantara. This development research uses the ADDIE model which consists of five stages, namely analysis, design, develop, implementation, and evaluation. The resulting product is an interactive digital module that uses scenario-based and is compiled on the elearning.umn.ac.id moodle platform. Data collection in this study used interviews, questionnaires, and tests which were then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The trial process in this study involved experts and users. The experts involved are material experts, learning design experts, and instructional media experts. The user trial was carried out by involving students from the Communication Studies Program. Experts and users are given the opportunity to use interactive multimedia products and provide responses to the given questionnaire. The results of the final analysis show the level of product validity and feasibility is 84%. Furthermore, an evaluation test was carried out using the n-gain score to measure the effectiveness of the product by using a test of 20 questions pretest and posttes. The result is an n-gain score of 71%. Based on these data, it can be said that the product is feasible to use and effective enough to be a medium of learning in intercultural communication and conflict resolution courses.

EFL STUDENT’S PERCEPTIONS OF USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS AS MEDIATORS TO DEVELOP THEIR INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE IN LEARNING ENGLISH: A CASE AT A SCHOOL IN A UNIVERSITY, THE MEKONG DELTA REGION, VIETNAM

This article describes a research undertaken at a Mekong Delta university's foreign language school. Its goal is to determine the significance of authentic papers based on cultural themes in the development of intercultural competency in English language students. The pedagogical implementation of activities is planned in accordance with the specified criteria for assessing culturally relevant material. In terms of intercultural competence, Byram's (2002) part of intercultural competence (ICCo) is assistance for task planning and execution. Two surveys, a questionnaire, and an interview were used to collect data in this qualitative action research project. The subjects of the survey included 80 students and four fourth-year students majoring in English Studies and Translation and Interpreting and three lecturers of English, teaching Intercultural Communication (ICC) courses from School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University. The findings demonstrate that students comprehend diversity, appreciate other cultures, and are interested in learning about different societies. Similarly, the students stated that they were open to discussing cultural issues. Furthermore, elements from other English classes help students learn and become more interested in culture. Finally, recommendations will be offered to assist instructors in improving intercultural communication. When using authentic materials as mediators to develop their intercultural competence in learning English, the initiative seeks to assist students to get a different viewpoint and higher awareness. Finally, the researcher will provide suggestions for further research.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0251/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Teaching Design and Practice of Intercultural Communication Course Based on BOPPPS

Teaching Design and Practice of Intercultural Communication Course Based on BOPPPS

Curriculum Design for a World Englishes and Intercultural Communication Course: Survey Research

With the current position of the English language in the globalized world, individuals from different backgrounds meet on the common ground of English, which serves the function of lingua franca. In this connection, currently, a variety of Englishes are in sight, and each speaker contributes to these varieties with his or her cultural being. Considering the limited number of research studies focusing on curriculum design in the field of world Englishes and interculturality, the present study aims at designing a curriculum for a potential world Englishes
 and intercultural communication course by obtaining the views of ELT academics and ELT undergraduate students. Survey research model was adopted in the current research study, and data were collected through two online questionnaires. The initial questionnaire was the primary data collection tool and filled by 28 ELT academics and 25 undergraduate students, whereas the follow-up survey was administered to 2 ELT professors, 2 EFL instructors and 3 ELT undergraduate students. Descriptive statistics were computed to analyse the quantitative data, and the qualitative data were analysed using the bottom-up approach. The items selected by more than half of the participants in each group were included in the course curriculum.
 than half of the participants in each group were included in the course curriculum.

Learners’ Perspectives on Promoting Cultural Literacy via an Alternative Assessment: A Classroom Approach

In the 21st century learning landscape, arguably few features of teaching and learning are void of technology. Palpably, the pandemic has also revamped our teaching and learning approaches by imposing the use of technology in the remote format. The design and delivery of assessments are no exception, as necessity is the mother of all inventions. Nonetheless, the significance of devising fitting online assessments is not only fundamental to achieving course outcomes but also focal to developing 21st century real world skills. One such assessment that was borne out of necessity is the Virtual Cultural Exhibition (VCE). Within this backdrop, the study explores the experiences of students who were tasked to plan, propose, design, and stage the VCE as part of an alternative assessment initiative. The main purpose of this study was to obtain feedback on the VCE introduced in the Introduction to World Cultures course and improve assessment practices. Specifically, this study was designed to examine how the learners perceived the alternative assessment in helping them (VCE) (a) develop social responsibility and respect for global cultural identities in line with the course learning objectives, (b) develop 21st Century skills and (c) identify the challenges and issues faced by them. To accomplish these objectives, a total of 100 students from five different groups were selected. Different data collection methods (student survey and semi-structured interviews) were used, and the data were analyzed using mixed method approaches. The findings reveal that although the VCE is a promising approach to develop learners’ cultural literacy and promote creativity and collaboration, there are challenges in terms of the distribution of workload among learners. Adjustments were made to the VCE specifically in terms of task specifications in response to the learners’ feedback. This study provides a foundation for improving the design and implementation of online assessments in intercultural communication courses to promote real world skills.

Development and Application of MOOC System for English Intercultural Communication Courses Using Neural Network

Presently, many researchers are focusing on the English intercultural communication course. However, these courses face serious challenges, such as individual student variances in conventional English cross-cultural teaching, fostering students’ cross-cultural communication abilities, and enhancing teaching quality. These problems need to be solved; therefore, this paper aims to explore the development and application of the Massive open online courses (MOOCs) system in the English cross-cultural communication course based on neural networks. Firstly, the overall function modules of the MOOC system for the English intercultural communication courses are described, with emphasis on the student function module, teacher function module, administrator function module, and system database design of the MOOC system. Second, the MOOC system’s teaching technique in an English intercultural communication course is based on a genetic algorithm, and the MOOC system’s teaching quality index in an English intercultural communication course is chosen using principal component analysis. We conducted several tests to demonstrate that the MOOC system of the English intercultural communication course using the neural network suggested in this work is resilient and may successfully increase teaching quality. The experiment proves that the MOOC system of the English intercultural communication course based on the neural network developed in this paper has efficient results as compared to existing studies. In addition, it can effectively improve the teaching quality and can train students’ intercultural communication skills and their ability to adapt to intercultural communication.