DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCY: STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCE

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhailagul Sagyndykova ◽  
Bella Gazdiyeva ◽  
Aigul Zhakupova
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Intercultural Competency

scholarly journals Designing and Evaluating Students' Transformative Learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina B. Namaste
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Cognitive Dissonance ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Integrative Learning ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Home Culture ◽  
Host Culture ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Depth Analysis

Transformative learning hinges on navigating cognitive dissonance; thus, intercultural competency assignments and experiences need to be integrated into study abroad/away courses to help students process and make sense of the cognitive dissonance such an experience provides. Assignments, therefore, need to consciously and intentionally triangulate learning by addressing the read (course readings), the lived/observed (conversations, interactions, activities, excursions, observations about public portrayals of culture, etc.), and the compared (home culture vs. host culture). The hope is to improve students’ experiences so that semesters abroad are consistently deep, enriching, and intellectual as opposed to simply an extended tourist sojourn. This article documents the process by which I designed for and assessed, via an in-depth analysis of students’ texts/writings, students’ transformation of their intercultural competency skills and development. In addition, I compared students’ works from two differing semesters to evaluate whether transformation in intercultural competency is inherent in the nature of study abroad or must be explicitly taught and cultivated. My Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project corroborated the almost ten years of research that confirm our fears: exposure to another culture is not enough; studying and living abroad does not necessarily lead to increased intercultural learning. Meaningful, integrative, “learning-laden,” and transformative study abroad experiences hinge on students’ ability to make sense of cognitive dissonance. Intercultural competency assignments, therefore, need to be fully and intentionally designed and integrated into such experiences, and evaluated to document such growth. L’apprentissage transformationnel repose sur la manière de naviguer la dissonance cognitive. Par conséquent, les devoirs qui traitent de la compétence interculturelle ainsi que les expériences nécessaires doivent être intégrés dans les cours d’études à l’étranger pour aider les étudiants à comprendre et à donner un sens à des dissonances cognitives que de telles expériences leur apportent. Ainsi, les devoirs doivent donc consciemment et intentionnellement trianguler l’apprentissage en tenant compte des lectures (documents à lire pour le cours), du vécu et des observations (conversations, interactions, activités, excursions, observations concernant la représentation publique de la culture, etc.) ainsi que de la comparaison (culture de son propre pays versus culture du pays hôte). L’objectif est d’améliorer les expériences des étudiants afin que les semestres à l’étranger soient toujours soldés par une expérience profonde, enrichissante et intellectuelle plutôt que d’être de simples séjours touristiques prolongés. Dans cet article, je documente le processus par lequel j’ai conçu et évalué, par le biais d’une analyse en profondeur des textes et des écrits des étudiants, la transformation des capacités et du développement des étudiants en matière de compétence intellectuelle. De plus, je compare les travaux des étudiants de deux semestres différents afin d’évaluer si la transformation en matière de compétence interculturelle est inhérente à la nature des études à l’étranger ou bien si elle doit être explicitement enseignée et cultivée. Mon projet d’avancement des connaissances en enseignement et en apprentissage (ACEA) a corroboré les recherches menées au cours de presque dix années qui confirment nos craintes : l’exposition à une autre culture n’est pas suffisante; le fait d’aller vivre et étudier à l’étranger ne mène pas nécessairement à un meilleur apprentissage interculturel. Les expériences d’études à l’étranger significatives, intégratives, chargées d’apprentissage et transformationnelles reposent sur l’aptitude des étudiants à donner un sens à la dissonance cognitive. Par conséquent, les devoirs qui portent sur la compétence interculturelle doivent être entièrement et intentionnellement conçus et intégrés à de telles expériences, et ils doivent être évalués pour documenter cette croissance.

scholarly journals Student Learning Objectives: What Instructors Emphasize in Short-Term Study Abroad

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Niehaus ◽  
Taylor C. Woodman ◽  
Angela Bryan ◽  
Ashley Light ◽  
Erika Hill
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
Relative Extent ◽  
Student Learning Objectives

Given that higher education institutions are increasingly utilizing short term study abroad courses as a means to develop students’ intercultural competency, it is important to determine if and how the instructors leading these programs are incorporating intercultural learning into their courses. By examining learning objectives embedded within syllabi from short term study abroad courses, the purpose of this study was to identify the relative extent to which instructors emphasize disciplinary and intercultural learning in teaching short term study abroad courses, and to examine the types of intercultural learning that instructors are explicitly including in their courses. Findings point to a wide diversity of emphasis on disciplinary cont ent and intercultural learning, with slightly more courses emphasizing disciplinary content than intercultural learning. Of those learning objectives that focus on intercultural learning, the vast majority focused on intercultural knowledge rather than skills or attitudes.

scholarly journals Intercultural Competence in Short-Term Study Abroad

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
International Education ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Intercultural Effectiveness ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Short Term Study

            Assessment is growing for short-term study abroad as the majority of students (63.1%) continue to choose this option (Institute of International Education, 2016). This study examines possible gains and factors influencing such gains in students’ overall intercultural competency following participation in a short-term program. Using the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES) survey distributed before, after, and three months following the study abroad experience, data was analyzed for fifty-five students across eight different short-term programs at three distinct institutions within the state of Texas. Document analysis of program syllabi also looked at connections to structured activities and assignments. The results demonstrate the potential for short-term study abroad programs ranging from two to five weeks to have significant impacts on students’ self-perceived intercultural competency that appear most affected by intentional structures. These findings support recommended practices of using well-defined activities and assignments, incorporating opportunities for meaningful local interaction, and providing planned re-entry.

Bringing “Internationalization at Home” Opportunities to Community Colleges: Design and Assessment of an Online Exchange Activity between U.S. and Japanese Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Custer ◽  
Anne Tuominen
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
The United States ◽  
College Level ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Online Exchange ◽  
Internationalization At Home ◽  
Exchange Activity ◽  
At Home

Increasing college students’ exposure to global contexts and improving their intercultural competency remain challenging educational objectives, especially at the community college level. Fortunately, the recent shift in higher education from study abroad opportunities toward so-called “internationalization at home” initiatives, where students interact with people from cultures outside their own while remaining on their home campuses, offers new options. In this article, we describe a virtual exchange activity that we conducted between our sociology courses at a community college in the United States and two universities in Japan. We show through our assessment of the students’ experiences that a well-coordinated, carefully crafted, technology-enhanced internationalization at home activity has the potential to offer important global learning opportunities and intercultural competency development for sociology students who may otherwise lack the means to participate in study abroad.

scholarly journals Using a PRISM for Reflecting: Providing Tools for Study Abroad Students to Increase their Intercultural Competency

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Rundstrom Williams
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Reflective Writing ◽  
Know How ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Study Abroad Students

Numerous studies have shown that simply being in another culture does not guarantee the development of intercultural competence. Students need guidance to seek out opportunities to engage and to make sense of those experiences. Reflection has become a popular methodology to assist students with this. Unfortunately, students often do not know how to do reflective writing or do not have cultural incidents to write about. This research examines one approach to guiding reflection: the use of prompt questions to elicit thoughtful responses and the integration of readings to provide context and grounding. This study demonstrates that reflective writing can be an effective tool for intervening in student learning abroad if done with structure and intentionality.

Perceived Longitudinal Effects of SLMTs

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-183
Author(s):  
Dominique Burrows ◽  
Stephen J. Snyder ◽  
Andrew Ferro
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Holistic Development ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Longitudinal Effects

This current study analyzed the long-term holistic development of intercultural competency in undergraduates who participated in a short-term service-learning missions trip (SLMT). We compared alumni who had participated in the program against a control group who did not. As expected, the SLMT group had significantly higher perceived intercultural competency in the scales of Knowledge, Awareness, Behavior, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Growth, Intellect, and Spirituality. It was also found that alumni who participated in the SLMT in conjunction with a study abroad trip experienced significantly higher gains in all eight of the competency scales when compared to those who only participated in the SLMT and the control group. Furthermore, there were no significant differences found between the SLMT time cohorts (2–7, 8–13 post-experience) for six of the eight competencies. We conclude by discussing how the intentional use of preparation, reflection, and debriefing are critical for perceived changes in short-term missions’ experiences.

scholarly journals Intercultural Wonderment: Short Term Study Abroad

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Kayla DeMuth ◽  
Laura Landry Meyer ◽  
Justin Newcomb ◽  
Susan Peet
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
Development Outcomes

The proliferation of study abroad opportunities on college campuses has necessitated a deeper investigation of the impacts derived from participation. The concept of intercultural wonderment focuses on how individuals perceive themselves in an international culture. This concept guided embedded assignments and analysis of assignment responses for a short-term study abroad experience for human development and family studies students to Italy. Intercultural wonderment is a relatively new concept that has potential to guide future research and practice. Results from this exploration using the lens of intercultural wonderment are presented based on a thematic analysis. Conclusions indicate that the intercultural wonderment lens can strengthen cultural awareness and enhance intercultural competency. By noting students’ perceptions of their experiences outside their comfort zones, study-abroad experiences can target and foster global learning and development outcomes.

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