Effects of Intercultural Competence and Social Contact on Speech Act Production in a Chinese Study Abroad Context

2016 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 775-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
NAOKO TAGUCHI ◽  
FENG XIAO ◽  
SHUAI LI
Author(s):  
Xiaofei Tang ◽  
Naoko Taguchi ◽  
Shuai Li

Abstract This study examined the relationship between reported amounts of social contact and speech act strategies among 70 learners of Chinese enrolled in a study abroad program in Beijing. The participants completed a computer-delivered spoken discourse completion task (spoken DCT) eliciting three speech acts: requests, refusals, and compliment responses. Speech act strategies were compared between two groups of learners who reported different amounts of social contact (high and low social contact) as assessed via a self-report survey. Results showed that both high and low social contact groups favored using similar strategies to achieve the three speech acts. However, the high social contact group produced speech acts in a more sophisticated way: with a wider variety of request strategies, multiple refusal strategies used in combination and more deflecting strategies in compliment responses, compared with the low social contact group. The findings suggest that social contact helped learners expand their pragmalinguistic repertoire and employ more varied speech act strategies.


System ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 98 ◽  
pp. 102475
Author(s):  
Li Yang ◽  
Chuanren Ke

Author(s):  
Christian Tarchi ◽  
Alessio Surian

AbstractUniversities have been promoting study abroad programmes for a long time to improve intercultural competence. However, the mere exposure to cultural differences while studying abroad does not ensure intercultural competence, unless study abroad students’ reflective processes are explicitly targeted. The article presents the results of a short intervention grounded in the problem-based approach aimed at improving intercultural competence in study abroad students. Students were assigned to three conditions: a video-log condition (in which they have to narrate a critical incident occurred to them), a reflection-induced video-logs (in which they were prompted to reflect on the video-logs produced), and an active control condition. The reflection-induced video-log intervention improved students’ perceived proficiency in Italian and perceived opportunities for cultural reflection, but it did not contribute to improve students’ applicable and conceptual knowledge of intercultural competence.


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 ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joris Boonen ◽  
Ankie Hoefnagels ◽  
Mark Pluymaekers ◽  
Armand Odekerken

PurposeThe authors examine the role of internationalisation at-home activities and an international classroom at a home institution to promote intercultural competence development during a study abroad.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use large scale longitudinal data from the global mind monitor (GMM) (2018–2020) to examine change over time in both multicultural personality (MPQ) and cultural knowledge (CQ) among students in Dutch higher education institutions. The authors analyse the moderating effect of the preparation in the home institution by looking at the added value of both intercultural communication courses and international classroom setting for intercultural competence development during a study abroad.FindingsThe results show that particularly courses on intercultural communication significantly promote intercultural competence development during a stay abroad. Frequent interactions with international staff also seem to be beneficial for this development.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was conducted in the Netherlands, in one of the most internationalised educational systems in the world. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise these findings to other contexts before any further empirical research is conducted.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, the authors formulate practical advice for higher education institutions that aim to get the most out of the international learning outcomes of a study abroad.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to assess the moderating effect of preparatory internationalisation at home initiatives on the intercultural learning effects of international experiences later on in a study program. Other studies have proposed that these effects will exist but have not tested them empirically with longitudinal data.


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.


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