Keywords
intercultural encounters
intercultural sensitivity
intercultural competence
study abroad
How to Cite
Number of views: 3235
Number of downloads: 1884
Abstract
This paper presents qualitative research examining to what extent sojourns abroad engage their participants in intercultural interactions and whether or not such experience translates into students’ intercultural growth. The results of the study demonstrated that studying abroad did not provide students with ample opportunities to immerse into the local community and fully discover a new cultural environment. However, students surrounded by local and their fellow international students met foreign cultures, which motivated them to explore and interpret the encountered diversity, and thus equipped them with knowledge about foreign cultures, sensitizing them to cultural diversity. Sometimes such contacts challenged students’ preconceived judgments and stereotypes of specific cultural groups, their ways of thinking, valuing and acting, and resulted, to a lesser or greater extent, in rethinking these, leading to changing attitudes and values. International experiences also stimulated students to self-analyze their own cultural identity, and thereby contributed to their growth in self-awareness in this respect. By offering opportunities for experiencing cultural differences and prompting students to develop coping strategies and to make references to the home culture, the sojourn is thus of significant importance for tertiary students, allowing for fostering their intercultural development to a certain degree.
References
Allport, G. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Altschuler, L., Sussman, N., & Kachur, E. (2003). Assessing changes in intercultural sensitivity among physician trainees using the Intercultural Development Inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27, 387-401.
Anderson, P., Lawton, L., Rexeisen, R., & Hubbard, A. (2006). Short-term study abroad and intercultural sensitivity: A pilot study. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 30, 457-469.
Ang, S., & Van Dyne, L. (2008). Conceptualization of cultural intelligence: Definition, distinctiveness, and nomological network. In S. Ang & L. Van Dyne (Eds.), Handbook of cultural intelligence: Theory, measurement, and applications (pp. 3-15). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., Koh, C., Ng, K. Y., Templer, K., Tay, C., & Chandrasekar, N. A. (2007). Cultural intelligence: Its measurement and effects on cultural judgment and decision making, cultural adaptation and task performance. Management and Organization Review, 3(3), 335-371.
Baker, W. (2015). Culture and identity through English as a lingua franca: Rethinking concepts and goals in intercultural communication. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Beaven, A., & Borghetti, C. (2015). Editorial: Intercultural education for student mobility. Intercultural Education, 26, 1-5.
Bennett, J. M. (1993). Towards ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (pp. 21-71). Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
Bennett, J. M., Bennett, M. J., & Allen, W. (1999). Developing intercultural competence in the language classroom. In R. M. Paige, D. Lange, & Y. A. Yershova (Eds.), Culture as the core: Integrating culture into the language classroom (pp. 13-46). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Berardo, K., & Deardorff, D. (2012). Building cultural competence: Innovative activities and models. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
Byram, M. (2000). Routledge encyclopedia of language teaching and learning. London: Routledge.
Byram, M., Golubeva, I., Han, H., & Wagner, M. (2017). From principles to practice in education for intercultural citizenship. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2007). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques (3rd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cushner, K., & Brislin, R. (1996). Intercultural interactions: A practical guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cushner, K., & Karim, A. (2003). Study abroad at the university level. In D. Landis, M. Bennett, & J. M. Bennett (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training (pp. 289-308). Thousand Oak, CA: Sage.
Czerwionka, L., Artamonova, T., & Barbosa, M. (2015). Intercultural knowledge development: Evidence from student interviews during short-term study abroad. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 49, 80-99.
Czura, A. (2017). Student teachers’ recollections of a short-term study abroad experience: Critical incident analysis. Konin Language Studies, 5(1), 135-156.
Deardorff, D. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241-266.
Desforges, D., Lord, C., Pugh, A., Sia, L., Scarberry, C., & Ratcliff, D. (1997). Role of representativeness in the generalization part of the contact hypothesis. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 19, 183-204.
Deutsch, K. (1953). Nationalism and social communication. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT.
Earley, P. Ch., & Ang, S. (2003). Cultural intelligence: Individual interactions across cultures. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Engle, L., & Engle, J. (2004). Assessing language acquisition and intercultural sensitivity development in relation to study abroad program design. Frontiers: The Interdiscipilnary Journal of Study Abroad, X(Fall), 151-163.
Elola, I., & Oskoz, A. (2008). Blogging: Fostering intercultural competence development in foreign language and study abroad contexts. Foreign Language Annals, 41(3), 454-477.
Fang, F., & Baker, W. (2017). A more inclusive mind towards the world: English language teaching and study abroad in China from intercultural citizenship and English as a lingua franca perspective. Language Teaching Research, 22, 1-17.
Fligstein, N. (2008). Euroclash: The EU, European identity, and the future of Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gaertner, S., Dovidio, J., Anastasio, P., Bachman, B., & Rust, M. (1993). The common ingroup identity model: Recategorization and the reduction of ingroup bias. European Review of Social Psychology, 4(1), 1-26.
Halse, C. (1996). Cultures of curriculum change: Teachers’ stories of implementing studies of Asia. Nepean: University of Western Sydney.
Halualani, R. T. (2008). How do multicultural university students define and make sense of intercultural contact? A qualitative study. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32(1), 1-16.
Hamberger, J., & Hewstone, M. (1997). Inter-ethnic contact as a predictor of blatant and subtle prejudice: Test of a model in four West European nations. British Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 173-190.
Hean, S., & Dickinson, C. (2005). The contact hypothesis: An exploration of its further potential in interprofessional education. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 19(5), 480-491.
Hewstone, M. (1994). Revision and change of stereotypic beliefs: In search of the elusive subtyping model. In W. Stroebe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology (Vol. 5; pp. 69-109). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
Hill, B., & Thomas, N. (2002). Preparing Australian teachers to teach Asian studies: The importance of in-country experience. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 30, 291-298.
Jackson, J. (2015). Becoming interculturally competent: Theory to practice in international education. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 91-107.
Kelly, G. (1963). A theory of personality. New York: Norton.
Kormos, J., & Csizér, K. (2007). An interview study of intercultural contact and its role in language learning in a foreign language environment. System, 35(2), 241-258.
Liddicoat, A., & Scarino, A. (2013). Intercultural language teaching and learning. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Lussier, D. (2007). Theoretical bases of a conceptual framework with reference to intercultural communicative competence. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(3), 309-332.
Mak, A. S., Brown, P. M., & Wadey, D. (2014). Contact and attitudes toward international students in Australia: Intergroup anxiety and intercultural communication emotions as mediators. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45(3), 491-504.
McAllister, L., Whiteford, G., Hill, B., Thomas, N., & Fitzgerald, M. (2006). Reflection in intercultural experience through a critical incident approach. Reflective Practice, 7(3), 367-381.
McCabe, L (2001). Globalization and internationalization: The impact on education abroad programs. Journal of Studies in International Education, 5(2), 138-145.
Mitchell, K. (2012). Student mobility and European identity: Erasmus Study as a civic experience? Journal of Contemporary European Research, 8(4), 490-518.
Murphy-Lejeune, E. (2002). Student mobility and narrative in Europe: The new strangers. London: Routledge.
Otero, M. S., & McCoshan, A. (2006). Survey of the socio-economic background of Erasmus students: Final report. Birmingham, UK: ECOTEC Research and Consulting.
Paige, R. M. (1993). On the nature of intercultural experiences. In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (pp. 1-19). Yarmouth, ME: International Press.
Paige, R. M., Cohen, A. D., & Shively, R. L. (2004). Assessing the impact of a strategies-based curriculum on language and culture learning abroad. Frontiers: The Interdiscipilnary Journal of Study Abroad, X(Fall), 253-276.
Pettigrew, T., & Tropp, L. R. (2005). Allport’s intergroup contact hypothesis: Its history and influence. In J. F. Dovidio, P. Glick, & L. Rudman (Eds.), On the nature of prejudice fifty years after Allport (pp. 262-277). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Pettigrew, T., Tropp, L., Wagner, U., & Christ, O. (2011). Recent advances in intergroup contact theory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, 271-280.
Rice, P., & Ezzy, D. (1999). Qualitative research methods: A health focus. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Seidlhofer, B. (2011). Understanding English as a lingua franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Silverman, D. (2013). Doing qualitative research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Simpson, J. (2008). “What do you think of us?”: The pedagogical practices of cross-cultural communication, misrecognition, and hope. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 1, 181-201.
Stangor, C., Jonas, K., Stroebe, W., & Hewstone, M. (1996). Influence of student exchange on national stereotypes, attitudes and perceived group variability. European Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 663-675.
Tang, S., & Choi, P. (2004). The development of personal, intercultural and professional competence in international field experience in initial teacher education. Asia Pacific Education Review, 5(1), 50-63.
Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communication across cultures. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Townley, G., Kloos, B., Green, E., & Franco, M. (2011). Reconcilable differences? Human diversity, cultural relativity, and sense of community. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47, 69-85.
Vande Berg, M. (2007). Intervening in the learning of US students abroad. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3-4) 392-399.
Van Dick, R., Wagner, U., Pettigrew, T., Christ, O., & Wolf, C. (2004). Role of perceived importance in intergroup contact. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(2), 211-227.
Wilson, A. (1983). A case study of two teachers with cross-cultural experience: They know more. Educational Research Quarterly, 8(1), 78-85.
Zaykovskaya, I., Rawal, H., & De Costa, P. (2017). Learner beliefs for successful study abroad experience: A case study. System, 71, 113-121.
License
1.1 The Author hereby warrants that he/she is the owner of all the copyright and other intellectual property rights in the Work and that, within the scope of the present Agreement, the paper does not infringe the legal rights of another person. The owner of the copyright work also warrants that he/she is the sole and original creator thereof and that is not bound by any legal constraints in regard to the use or sale of the work.
1.2. The Publisher warrants that is the owner of the PRESSto platform for open access journals, hereinafter referred to as the PRESSto Platform.
2. The Author grants the Publisher non-exclusive and free of charge license to unlimited use worldwide over an unspecified period of time in the following areas of exploitation:
2.1. production of multiple copies of the Work produced according to the specific application of a given technology, including printing, reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means (reprography) and digital technology;
2.2. marketing authorisation, loan or lease of the original or copies thereof;
2.3. public performance, public performance in the broadcast, video screening, media enhancements as well as broadcasting and rebroadcasting, made available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
2.4. inclusion of the Work into a collective work (i.e. with a number of contributions);
2.5. inclusion of the Work in the electronic version to be offered on an electronic platform, or any other conceivable introduction of the Work in its electronic version to the Internet;
2.6. dissemination of electronic versions of the Work in its electronic version online, in a collective work or independently;
2.7. making the Work in the electronic version available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, in particular by making it accessible via the Internet, Intranet, Extranet;
2.8. making the Work available according to appropriate license pattern Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) as well as another language version of this license or any later version published by Creative Commons.
3. The Author grants the Publisher permission to reproduce a single copy (print or download) and royalty-free use and disposal of rights to compilations of the Work and these compilations.
4. The Author grants the Publisher permission to send metadata files related to the Work, including to commercial and non-commercial journal-indexing databases.
5. The Author represents that, on the basis of the license granted in the present Agreement, the Publisher is entitled and obliged to:
5.1. allow third parties to obtain further licenses (sublicenses) to the Work and to other materials, including derivatives thereof or compilations made, based on or including the Work, whereas the provisions of such sub-licenses will be the same as with the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons sub-license or another language version of this license, or any later version of this license published by Creative Commons;
5.2. make the Work available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, without any technological constraints;
5.3. appropriately inform members of the public to whom the Work is to be made available about sublicenses in such a way as to ensure that all parties are properly informed (appropriate informing messages).
6. Because of the royalty-free provision of services of the Author (resulting from the scope of obligations stipulated in the present Agreement), the Author shall not be entitled to any author’s fee due and payable on the part of the Publisher (no fee or royalty is payable by the Publisher to the Author).
7.1. In the case of third party claims or actions for indemnity against the Publisher owing to any infractions related to any form of infringement of intellectual property rights protection, including copyright infringements, the Author is obliged to take all possible measures necessary to protect against these claims and, when as a result of legal action, the Publisher, or any third party licensed by the Publisher to use the Work, will have to abandon using the Work in its entirety or in part or, following a court ruling in a legal challenge, to pay damages to a third party, whatever the legal basis
7.2. The Author will immediately inform the Publisher about any damage claims related to intellectual property infringements, including the author’s proprietary rights pertaining to a copyrighted work, filed against the Author. of liability, the Author is obliged to redress the damage resulting from claims made by third party, including costs and expenditures incurred in the process.
7.3. To all matters not settled herein provisions of the Polish Civil Code and the Polish Copyright and Related Rights Act shall apply.