scholarly journals Intercultural Sensitivity Assessment of the Postgraduates Majoring in English: A Case Study of Guangxi Normal University

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Guangcun Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Work Experience ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Intercultural Sensitivity ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
Intercultural Communication Competence ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Sensitivity Assessment ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Normal University

This study is using Chen and Starosta’s Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS hereafter) to assess the intercultural sensitivity (ICS hereafter) level of postgraduates of Grade 2016 majoring in English from the College of Foreign Studies in Guangxi Normal University (GXNU hereafter) and try to discover what individual factors, such as Work Experience, Work Types and so on, influence their ICS level. The research questions are: 1) what is the postgraduates’ ICS level like? 2) What individual factors influence the postgraduates’ ICS? By analyzing the 102 copies of valid questionnaires, this study gets the following findings. 1) The subjects’ general ICS level is moderate for their mean ICS total score is 88.63, within the range of 80-100. 2) Among the five factors of ICS, the value of Respect for Cultural Difference is the highest while Interaction Confidence is the lowest. 3) Among the subjects’ individual factors, Work Experience, Having Friends from Different Cultures and Having Passed TEM8 exert significant influence on the subjects’ ICS level, while factors such as Work Types, IC Courses Offered during the Undergraduate Study, Working as Volunteers, and Work Length, have no significantly statistical effect on the subjects’ ICS level. The above findings successfully answer the two research questions. Then, based on the subjects’ real situations, this study analyzes the underlying causes for the findings from two perspectives. Firstly, Chinese students are greatly affected by the collectivism-oriented cultural value. Secondly, the subjects lack chances of intercultural practice and experience. In the end, four tentative suggestions are put forward to improve the subjects’ ICS level and intercultural communication competence.

scholarly journals Intercultural sensitivity: A comparative study among Business English Undergraduate Learners in two Countries of Iran and China

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Elahe Moradi ◽  
Zargham Ghabanchi
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Intercultural Sensitivity ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Business English ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Intercultural Communication Competence ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Chinese Male

One of the major aspects of intercultural communication competence is intercultural sensitivity which is gaining increasing attention in different disciplines. Intercultural sensitivity is important because it reduces cultural barriers between people interacting from different cultures. This paper focuses on the importance of intercultural sensitivity and shares the results of a comparative study on the intercultural sensitivity among two countries of Iran and China.  For this purpose, 40 Iranian and 40 Chinese male and female undergraduate Business English students completed the intercultural sensitivity questionnaire comprising five factors with 24 items developed by Chen and Starosta (2000). The results showed that in all five dimensions of the intercultural sensitivity including “Interaction Engagement”, “Respect for Cultural Differences”, “Interaction Confidence”, “Interaction Enjoyment”, and “Interaction Attentiveness”, Iranian participants had greater scores compared to Chinese participants. For both countries by increasing the age, the scores of all five dimensions of intercultural sensitivity increased too. Also, the results indicated that both Iranian and Chinese male participants had greater level of intercultural sensitivity in dimensions of “Interaction Engagement”, “Respect for Cultural Differences”, and “”Interaction Confidence” compared to female ones. However, gender did not have any impact on two intercultural sensitivity dimensions of “Interaction Enjoyment” and “Interaction Attentiveness”.   

scholarly journals Strategies for caring for the peaceful death of cancer patients at home in Japan – A meta-synthesis of the literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Rieko Kondo ◽  
Makiko Kondo
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Medical Staff ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Dying Patients ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Dying Patient ◽  
At Home

This study aimed to identify strategies that enable the provision of high quality home care for dying patients with cancer. We searched the NPO Japan Medical Abstracts Society database through Ichushi-Web and selected literature that focused on home care for dying patients with cancer of Japanese origin. In particular, we chose research papers published between 2005 and 2015 that used the qualitative research methodology. The research subjects comprised patients (excluding children), family members of patients, and medical staff who were primary caregivers. We identified the following four research questions by reviewing 13 articles: “A. What enables patients to live at home until they die?”, “B. What difficulties does a dying patient encounter while living at home until death?”, “C. What represents effective support for patients living at home until they die?”, and “D. What represents ineffective support for patients who live at home until they die?”. All results were grouped depending on their relevance to these research questions. We identified 4 categories each pertaining to Research Question A (RQ-A) and RQ-D, and 3 each pertaining to RQ-B and RQ-C. We identified the following five factors that can promote the peaceful death of patients with cancer at home: 1) strong family bonds; 2) caring for the dying patient by the family, according to a framework provided by the medical staff; 3) a guaranteed unconstrained daily life; 4) support for the family’s range of emotions; and 5) systematic support from visiting medical staff and the hospital.

Engaging the Discourse of Diversity: Educators' Frameworks for Working with Linguistic and Cultural Difference

2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw ◽  
Sandra Schecter
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Intercultural Sensitivity ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Public Schooling ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Pedagogic Tool ◽  
Four Discourses ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Interpretative Framework

Although plurality and diversity are often taken as givens in the ongoing conversation on the role of public schooling, practitioners do not necessarily share the same understandings of these sociological facts. This article explores ways in which teachers who are committed to working within ethnically and linguistically diverse settings make sense of their professional missions. We examine these ways through the lens, or interpretative framework, of scholarly discussions on discourse and subjectivity. We present four discourses for understanding diversity that we encountered in our professional development work with teachers in two urban school settings in Ontario, Canada. To represent the core narratives associated with these discourses, we use the following templates: difference as deficit; preparing minority students and families to facilitate the school's agenda; intercultural sensitivity as a pedagogic tool; and diversity as curriculum. The respective different understandings and rhetorical practices aligning to these templates impacted classroom curriculum, students' socialisation within the school, and the relationship between school, home and community.

scholarly journals Investigation on the Intercultural Sensitivity of English Teachers in Chinese Elementary Schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Xinglei Jia
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Sensitivity ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Intercultural Communication Competence ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Globalized World

The development of technology has driven human beings into a globalized world, which requires intercultural communication competence (ICC). As its affective aspect, the subject of intercultural sensitivity (IS) is being heatedly discussed nowadays. This study focuses on the importance of intercultural sensitivity (IS) among Chinese EFL teachers and attempts to explore their current level and the possible reasons for it. For this purpose, questionnaires were distributed to 29 Chinese elementary school English teachers, and the results from the questionnaire showed that the IS level of these teachers is satisfactory, scoring high in five dimensions: interaction engagement, respect for cultural differences, interaction confidence, interaction attentiveness, and interaction enjoyment. The follow-up interview suggested that the high IS level may be a result from intercultural communication training. Moreover, this research found that Chinese teachers were more engaged and enjoyed less in view of scarce opportunities for communication in authentic cross-cultural contexts. Several suggestions and implications for further research have also been included in this article.

scholarly journals Summer Study-Abroad Program as Experiential Learning: Examining Similarities and Differences in International Communication

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-187
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Levine ◽  
Michelle E. Garland
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Sensitivity ◽  
International Communication ◽  
Intercultural Communication Competence ◽  
Communication Competency ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Study Abroad Program ◽  
Summer Study

This paper examines how the study-abroad experience enhances intercultural communication competence. This study used Bennett’s (1986, 1993) model of ethnorelative typology of acceptance, adaptation, and integration to explore intercultural communication competency. Central to intercultural communication competency is intercultural sensitivity and modified perceptions of cultural differences. A pre-test/post-test open-ended questionnaire design was utilized to uncover what was learned by students while participating in a four-week summer study-abroad program in Paris and Brussels. Based on 110 participants over 16 years, results indicated that both sensitivity to and understanding of cultural differences are heightened as a result of the study-abroad experience. Further, these findings provided support for outcomes showing attainment of intercultural communication competency learning objectives.

scholarly journals Impact of a service learning experience on the intercultural sensitivity of nursing students

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Catherine S. Thomas ◽  
Leona Konieczny
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Sensitivity ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Clinical Practicum ◽  
Intercultural Communication Competence ◽  
Social Contributions ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
The Impact

Service learning (SL) is an educational strategy to develop intercultural sensitivity. Nursing students benefit from the opportunity to care for persons from diverse cultures. Social awareness and making significant social contributions is part of professional nursing. Nursing students are educated to provide culturally sensitive, person-centered care incorporating the values of social justice, diversity, and global awareness. The SL experience was independent from a specific nursing course and exclusive from a designated clinical practicum. This descriptive quantitative study examines the impact of a SL experience in Appalachia on intercultural sensitivity. Intercultural sensitivity is in the affective domain of intercultural communication. Appalachia has distinct cultural differenences related to both geographical and socioeconomic factors. Intercultural sensitivity is in the affective dimension of intercultural communication competence. The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS), developed by Chen & Starosta, was the instrument used for measurement. Study findings demonstrate an impact on interaction engagement and interaction attentiveness for study participants.

‘Being the bridge’: News fixers’ perspectives on cultural difference in reporting the ‘war on terror’

Journalism ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Professional Relationships ◽  
Local News ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Foreign Correspondents ◽  
Cultural Mores ◽  
Research Questions

This article examines some of the cultural differences between news ‘fixers’ and foreign reporters, focusing specifically on the expectations and experiences of the fixers, rather than the correspondents whose own perspectives have already been fruitfully explored. Drawing upon qualitative, semi-structured interviews I conducted with 21 news fixers, I will answer three research questions: (1) How do fixers understand and value the work they do? (2) How do fixers view the cultural, ethnic, or racial differences that inevitably play into the professional relationships between local news staff and foreign news outlets? (3) How do these cultural differences impact the safety of foreign correspondents and fixers, most especially at sites of conflict? The study ultimately shows that fixers take issue with foreign journalists’ lack of background on the countries they visit and with journalists’ lack of attention to disparate cultural mores in the newsgathering process. Furthermore, the inattention to cultural difference in the field can endanger the lives of the foreign reporters as well as the lives of the fixers.

Cross-Cultural Learning in Gameplay: BAFÁ BAFÁ, Persuasive Technology, and the Exploration of Intercultural Sensitivity

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 848-859
Author(s):  
Jessica Wendorf Muhamad ◽  
Fan Yang
Keyword(s):  
Serious Games ◽  
Intercultural Sensitivity ◽  
Communication Competence ◽  
Simulation Game ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Simulation Games ◽  
Intercultural Communication Competence ◽  
Cultural Schemas ◽  
Entertainment Value ◽  
And Control

Background. Serious games have the potential to provide benefits that beyonds entertainment value. Recent growth in the empirical research of serious games shows their abilities to deliver prosocial messages. Aim. This study aims to examine the use of games in the management of cultural schemas as well as moderating intercultural sensitivity and intercultural communication competence. Moreover, this study explores how and why simulation games, such as BAFÁ BAFÁ, function as persuasive technologies (PTs) effectively motivating individuals into behavior change. Method. An experimental study with three conditions (game, reading, and control) was conducted to examine the effects of BAFÁ BAFÁ on enhancing participants’ intercultural sensitivity as well as communication competence compared to reading intercultural materials or regular activity. Results. Both intercultural sensitivity and communication competence were measured with multi-dimensional scales, and the results of the multi-variate analyses indicated that the intercultural simulation game BAFÁ BAFÁ can facilitate the increase of participants’ intercultural sensitivity and communication competence.

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