scholarly journals Intercultural Competence and Study Abroad Programs-A Mixed Method Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Liqin Tang ◽  
John Matt ◽  
Patty Kero

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate the intercultural competence (IC) level of college students, explore whether there is a statistically significant difference in the IC level between students with study abroad (SA) experience and those without SA experience, and examine their attitudes, ideas and experiences about SA programs and intercultural communication. Data collected from online questionnaires and Zoom interviews were examined through the lens of Hall’s the Iceberg Analogy of Culture and M. J. Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), which were also used as the conceptual framework in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative results indicated the IC level of college students was high, reaching up to the acceptance stage or/and adaptation stage of Bennett’s DMIS. Quantitative study showed that the IC level of students who participated in SA programs was higher than those who didn’t.

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingjie Liu ◽  
Thomas Shirley

While all higher education was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, study abroad programs were uniquely challenged by the associated restrictions and limitations. This case study integrates a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) pedagogy approach and virtual reality (VR) technologies into the curriculum redesign process to transform a business study abroad course into an online format. Using VR technology, U.S. students and their international partners in Germany, Brazil, and India created and shared cultural exchange virtual tours. The redesigned online study abroad course engaged students in active learning activities and cultivated students’ intercultural competence development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-60
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle S. Chiocca

With the growth of short-term study abroad programs comes the need to develop impactful curricula and to provide supportive environments for deep learning abroad that is more than “upgraded” tourism but rather focused on educational outcomes. This qualitative case study investigates the experiences of five study abroad participants in Israel. Drawing from multiple data sources within an interpretive framework, the purpose of this study is to understand student experiences abroad. Data was analyzed inductively and thematically. Findings suggest that the holistic experience was anchored by (1) directed and diverse conversations, (2) hermeneutical reflections, (3) emotional disequilibrium, (4) intercultural competence development, and (5) student engagement in a classroom culture, which acted together as a gestalt. Results highlight the importance of dialogue, both with locals and within the classroom community, for transformative learning. These findings encourage international educators to provide instructional frames that encourage students to engage with local communities in critical ways.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Jackson

As internationalization efforts intensify, institutions of higher education (HE) across the globe are increasing participation rates in study abroad programs. In this paper I argue that international experience alone is often not enough to propel students to higher levels of second language (L2) proficiency, global-mindedness, and intercultural sensitivity. Challenging the ‘immersion assumption’, contemporary study abroad research findings point to the need for interventions to deepen and extend the language and intercultural learning of student sojourners. To optimize the potential of study abroad, it is imperative that more efforts be made to bridge the research–teaching nexus. To underscore this point, I offer examples of two courses for student sojourners that have been inspired by my own research. While both interventions were developed in an Asian context, the approach and methodology may resonate with educators and students in other regions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Джавад Агмаді Фаталакі ◽  
Рунган Жанґ

The major aim of the present study is to find connections between global-mindedness and some important factors such as gender  and level of proficiency. To this end, 182 language learners, 92 females and 90 males, participated in the study. These students were selected and categorized based on one-stage cluster sampling from 16 branches of different language centers, namely Safiran, Shoukoh, and Kish. The main phase of the study was conducted through the use of Google Docs platform that provides the researchers with the well-organized data. Language learners were asked to answer all the demographic information by considering their anonymity during the process of data collection. The result of the study, through t-test, showed that there was a significant difference between male and female language learners regarding their level of global-mindedness. The result also showed that the level of proficiency of the female language learners does not influence their level of global-mindedness. References Byram, M., Zarate, G., & Neuner, G. (1997). Sociocultural competence in languagelearning and teaching: Studies towards a common European framework of reference forlanguage learning and teaching. Strasbourg, France: Council of Europe. Deardorff, D. K. (2011). Assessing intercultural competence. New Directions forInstitutional Research, 149, 65–79. DeMello, M. A. (2011). The impact of study tours in developing global-mindedness amongPK-12 educators in Southeastern Massachusetts (Doctoral dissertation, NortheasternUniversity, Boston) Duckworth, R. L., Levy, L. W., & Levy, J. (2005). Present and future teachers of theworld’s children How internationally-minded are they?. Journal of Research inInternational Education, 4(3), 279–311. Earley, P. C. and Ang, S. (2003). Cultural Intelligence: An Analysis of IndividualInteractions Across Cultures. Palo Alto (CA): Stanford University Press. Fantini, A. E. (2009), Assessing Intercultural Competence: Issues and Tools. In Deardorff,D. K. (ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence. Thousand Oaks (CA):Sage, 456–476. FitzGerald, H. (2003). How Different Are We? Spoken Discourse in InterculturalCommunication. Clevedon – Buffalo – Toronto – Sydney: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Gaudelli, W. (2003). World class: Teaching and learning in global times. Mahwah, NJ:Erlbaum. Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and Self-Identity. Cambridge: Polity. Gillian, K. J. (1995). A measure of global-mindedness at the University of NorthernColorado: An assessment of students, faculty, and administrators (Doctoral dissertation,University of Northern Colorado, 1995). Dissertation Abstracts International, 5,08. Hett, E. J. (1993). The development of an instrument to measure global-mindedness(Doctoral dissertation, University of San Diego). Hill, I. (2007). International education as developed by the International BaccalaureateOrganization. The SAGE handbook of research in international education, 25–37. Johnson, J. P., Lenartowicz, T., & Apud, S. (2006). Cross-cultural competence ininternational business: Toward a definition and a model. Journal of International BusinessStudies, 37(4), 525–543. Kehl, K., & Morris, J. (2007). Differences in global mindedness between short-term andsemester-long study abroad participants at selected private universities. Frontiers: TheInterdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 15(1), 67–79. Lakoff, R. (1973). Language and woman's place. Language in society, 2(01), 45–79. Muller, G. C. (2012). Exploring characteristics of international schools that promoteinternational-mindedness (Doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University). Olsen, M.E., Lodwick, D.G., & Dunlap, R.E. (1992). Viewing the World Ecologically.Boulder: Westview. Sampson, D. L., & Smith, H. P. (1957). A scale to measure world-minded attitudes. TheJournal of Social Psychology, 45(1), 99–106. Sercu, L. e.a. (2005). Foreign Language Teachers and Intercultural Competence. AnInternational investigation. Clevedon–Buffalo–Toronto: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Smallman, S. C., & Brown, K. (2011). Introduction to international & global studies.Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Wardhaugh, R. (1992). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. USA: Blackwell PublishersLtd. Zhai, L., & Scheer, S. (2004). Global perspectives and attitudes toward cultural diversityamong summer agriculture students at the Ohio State University. Journal of AgriculturalEducation, 45(2), 39–51.


Author(s):  
Sven Tuzovic

Study Abroad (SA) education has become an increasingly important educational program for teaching global learning and intercultural competence, maturity, and sensitivity of students. Since the price tag attached to SA programs can be daunting, the question arises how value can be defined and, more importantly, how value is created. Some scholars have used the principles of service-dominant logic proposed by Vargo and Lusch (2004) to suggest that students should be engaged as an active co-creator of the university experience. Utilizing a qualitative research approach this chapter proposes that the value process of SA programs consists of three stages: (1) value proposition and potential; (2) resource integration and value co-creation; and (3) value realization evaluation. This study identifies key roles of the participants and their operand and operant resources that guide the value co-creation process. The framework provides faculty with a way to understand, adapt, and manage resource integration and influence students' SA value realization processes.


Author(s):  
Susan Oguro ◽  
Angela Giovanangeli

Although student international exchange programs commonly claim to facilitate participants' intercultural competence, questions remain as to how this competence might be adequately and validly assessed. In this article, the notion of Cultural Responsiveness is used to assist in interpreting and categorizing students' experiences and intercultural learning through study abroad programs. Data on the Australian undergraduate student participants' unique backgrounds, experiences and perceptions was collected after they had completed an exchange program in Switzerland or France. Using the Cultural Responsiveness categorization developed through this study, three parameters of students' intercultural experiences emerged: Awareness, Engagement and Bringing Knowledge Home. Using these three parameters, this article proposes that the notion of Cultural Responsiveness provides a useful method for identification of students' responses to the experiences of study abroad programs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina A. Novikova ◽  
Marina V. Gridunova ◽  
Alexey L. Novikov ◽  
Dmitriy A. Shlyakhta

The search for predictors of intercultural competence (ICC) development is one of the important challenges of modern psychology in connection with globalization in all the spheres of modern life, including university education. The purpose of the present research is to show that the ethno-national attitudes (ENA), which Khukhlaev et al. consider as an individual’s predisposition to assess the nationality/ethnicity can determine the severity of ICC features in male and female university students. The sample includes 219 (75% female) first–third year Russian university students. ICC was measured with the author’s modification of the intercultural sensitivity scale (ISS) by Khuhlaev and Chibisova. ISS is based on the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, (DMIS) by Bennett and includes 4 subscales: Minimization, Absolutization, Ambivalence, Acceptance. ENA (Nationalistic, Patriotic, Neutral, Negativistic) were determined with the “Scale of ethno-national attitudes” by Khukhlaev, Kuznetsov, and Tkachenko. Descriptive statistics methods, Wilcoxon W-test, and multiple regression analysis were used for statistical analysis in the R software environment, version 3.5.2. The findings of our research showed that Nationalistic and Patriotic ENA are the strongest predictors of studied ICC scales and have an opposite negative impact on Acceptance and Absolutization in both male and female students. This fact should be taken into account in the context of ICC developments.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serife DEMIRCIOGLU ◽  
Cemal CAKIR

<p class="apa">This study investigates intercultural competence of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) students and non-IBDP students and whether it is affected by some variants such as grade, gender, nationality, being a native speaker of English, living in an English speaking country and travelling abroad. The data is gathered from the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) and the demographic part. The results reveal that there isn’t a significant difference in ISS scores of IBDP students, but there is a significant difference in ISS scores between IBDP and non-IBDP students. The ISS scores differed in gender, grade and living in an English speaking country.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-235
Author(s):  
Joan Barnatt ◽  
Lisa Andries D’Souza ◽  
Ann Marie Gleeson ◽  
Kara Mitchell Viesca ◽  
Jessica Wery

This mixed-method study utilizes survey and interview data reflecting teacher candidates’ beliefs about intercultural competence to identify areas of targeted support in teacher preparation. Intercultural competence is operationalized by performance on the Cultural Intelligence Survey (CQS) identifying relative areas of strength and weakness in four dimensions. Participants reported awareness of cultural differences and motivation to interact with those from other cultures, with less confidence in their knowledge base and ability to adapt behavior in intercultural interactions. Qualitative data provided explanatory support for understanding how program elements influenced intercultural competence along a developmental trajectory of learning.


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