INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE: A CASE STUDY ON ACADEMIC EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES

Raluca POP

doi:10.24193/subbphilo.2024.4.04

Authors

Raluca POP Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: raluca.petrus@ubbcluj.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7551-7344

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2024.4.04

Keywords:

post-pandemic context, academic exchange programme, intercultural communicative competence, culture shock, culture, language

Abstract

Intercultural Communicative Competence: A Case Study on Academic Exchange Programmes. The paper intends to identify the challenges experienced by students during their study abroad in a post-pandemic context. In addition, emphasis is placed on respondents’ self-perceived level of intercultural communicative competence. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought considerable changes in the educational field and many academic exchange programmes have been ceased. While numerous studies have identified linguistic competence and cultural awareness as outcomes of academic exchange programmes before the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a gap in research in this area in a post-pandemic context when people were reluctant to engage with each other. Students exposed to potentially stressful situations in their academic lives might experience negative outcomes in their achievement. Thus, respondents’ coping mechanisms when faced with culture shock abroad are also referred to. The study included 15 participants. A survey was used as a research method. The data obtained were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively through descriptive statistics using Google Forms' built-in tools or Voyant Tools for content analysis. Findings indicate that 93.3% of the participants self-evaluate themselves as having developed intercultural communicative competence and that 40% have experienced culture shock. Nevertheless, respondents perceived the academic exchange programme as a valuable experience for engaging in reflective practice even if they faced various challenges related to weather, the school system and contact with a new society.

REZUMAT. Competența comunicativă interculturală: Studiu de caz pentru programele de mobilitate academică. Studiul de față își propune să identifice provocările cu care s-au confruntat studenții în timpul programelor de mobilitate academică în străinătate în context post-pandemic. Este adusă de asemenea în prim plan evaluarea respondenților cu privire la nivelul propriu de dezvoltare a competenței comunicative interculturale. Pandemia COVID-19 a adus schimbări considerabile în domeniul educațional și multe programe de schimb academic au fost sistate. Numeroase studii au identificat competența lingvistică și conștientizarea culturală ca rezultate ale programelor de schimb academic înainte de pandemia COVID-19. Totuși, există un vid de cercetare în acest domeniu într-un context post-pandemic, când persoanele au fost mai reticente în a socializa. Studenții expuși la situații potențial stresante în viața lor academică ar putea avea rezultate negative în performanța lor. De aceea menționăm în studiul de față și mecanismele de adaptare ale respondenților atunci când se confruntă cu șoc cultural în străinătate. Studiul a inclus 15 participanți. Metoda de cercetare folosită a fost ancheta pe bază de chestionar. Datele obținute au fost analizate calitativ și cantitativ prin statistici descriptive folosind instrumentele Google Forms sau Voyant Tools pentru analiza conținutului. Rezultatele indică faptul că 93,3% dintre participanți se autoevaluează ca având competență de comunicare interculturală și că 40% au experimentat șocul cultural. Cu toate acestea, respondenții au perceput programul de schimb academic ca o experiență valoroasă pentru angajarea în practică reflexivă, chiar dacă s-au confruntat cu diverse provocări legate de vreme, sistemul școlar și contactul cu o nouă societate.

Cuvinte-cheie: context post-pandemic, programul de mobilitate academică, competență comunicativă interculturală, șoc cultural, cultură, limbă

Article history: Received 15 February 2024; Revised 24 June 2024; Accepted 15 October 2024; Available online 10 December 2024; Available print 30 December 2024.

References

Andrade, Maureen. 2006. “International students in English-speaking universities: Adjustment factors”. Journal of Research in International Education, 5(2): 131-54. Doi: 10.1177/1475240906065589.

Behrnd, Verena, and Porzelt Susanne. 2012. “Intercultural Competence and Training Outcomes of Students with Experiences Abroad”. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36 (2): 213-223, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2011.04.005.

Beiter, Rebecca, Nash, R., McCrady, M., Rhoades, D., Linscomb, M., Clarahan, M., et al. 2015. The prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students. Journal of Affective Disorders, 173, 90–96. Doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.054

Bohman, Doris, and Gunilla Borglin. 2014. “Student Exchange for Nursing Students: Does It Raise Cultural Awareness? A Descriptive, Qualitative Study.” Nurse Education in Practice 14: 259–64. Doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2013.11.006.

Byram, M., Barrett, Martin, Ipgrave, Julia, Jackson, Robert, and Mendez Garcia, Maria del Carmen. 2009. Autobiography of intercultural encounters. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

Byram, Michael. 2008. From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship: Essays and reflections. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Byram, Michael, and Genevieve Zarate. 1997. “Defining and assessing intercultural competence: Some principles and proposals for the European context”. Language Teaching, 29: 14-18.

Cleak, Helen, Janet Anand, and Chaitali Das. 2016. “Asking the Critical Questions: An Evaluation of Social Work Students’ Experiences in an International Placement.” British Journal of Social Work 46: 389–408. Doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcu126.

Cohen, Louis, Manion, Lawrence, and Morrison Keith. 2011. Research methods in education (7th ed.). London: Routledge.

Coleman, James. 2013. “Researching whole people and whole lives”. In Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad, edited by Celeste Kinginger, 17–44. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Collie, Joanne, and Slater, Stephen. 1997. Literature in the Language Classroom. A resource book for ideas and activities. UK: Cambridge University Press.

Crossman, Joanna Elizabeth, and Marilyn Clarke. 2010. “International Experience and Graduate Employability: Stakeholder Perceptions on the Connection”. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning, 59: 599–613. Doi: 10.1007/s10734-009-9268-z.

Deardorff, Darla. 2009. “Synthesizing conceptualizations of intercultural competence: A summary and emerging themes”. In The Sage handbook of intercultural competence, edited by Darla Deardorff, 264-270. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

DeLong, Marilyn et al. 2011. Cultural exchange: Evaluating an alternative model in higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 15 (1), 41 –56. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315309334619

Erschens, Rebecca, Herrmann–Werner Anne, Keifenheim Katharina Eva, Loda Teresa, Johannes Bugaj Till, Nikendei Christoph, Lammerding–Koppel Maria, Zipfel Stephan, Junne Florian. 2018. Differential determination of perceived stress in medical students and high-school graduates due to private and training-related stressors. PLoS One 13:e0191831, pp. 1-16. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191831

Gardner, Howard. 1983. Frames of Mind: A Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Hall, Edward. 1959. The Silent Language. Garden City: Doubleday.

Hofstede, Geert. 1984. Culture’s Consequences. International Differences in Work-Related Values. California, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Holmes Prue and O‘Neill, Gillian. 2010. Autoethnography and Self-Reflection: Tools for Self-Assessing Intercultural Competence. In Becoming Intercultural: Inside and Outside the Classroom, edited by Yau Tsai and Stephanie Houghton, 167-193. UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Kinginger, Celeste. 2009. Language learning and study abroad: A critical reading of research. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kramsch, Claire. 1993. Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Krashen, Steven, and Terell Tracy Dell. 1998. The Natural Approach. Language Acquisition in the Classroom. Cornwall: Prentice Hall Europe.

Jordan, Shirley, Ann. 2002. “Ethnographic encounters: The processes of cultural translation”. Language and Intercultural Communication, 2(2): 96–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708470208668079

Levine-West, Glenn, Lam, Yeana and Schaeffer, Gordon. 2023. Study Abroad in a (Post-) Pandemic World: Our New Normal and Some Reasons for Optimism. L2 Journal, Volume 15 Issue 2, pp. 29-53. https://doi.org/10.5070/L215260146

Lockwood, Penelope et al. 2012. “Social comparisons in novel situations: Finding inspiration during life transitions”. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38(8): 985–996. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212447234.

Lou Nigel Mantou and Noels Kimberly A. 2024. “Striving to reach the “native speaker standard”: A growth belief may mitigate some deleterious effects of social comparison in migrants”. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Volume 101: 1-13, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.101990.

Luken, Paul. 2012. “Ethnography”. In International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, edited by Susan J. Smith, pp. 124-128. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Mathiesen, Sally and Lager, Patricia. 2007. “A model for developing international student exchanges”. Social Work Education, 26(3): 280–291. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615470601049867

Meier, Gabriela, and Daniels Harry. 2011. “Just not being able to make friends’: social interaction during the year abroad in modern foreign language degrees”. Research Papers in Education, 28(2): 212–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2011.629734.

Pedersen, E., Fitzke, R., Bouskill, K., & Sedano, A. 2021. A qualitative look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American college students studying abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 33(3), 70–100

Pedersen, Paul. 1995. The five stages of culture shock: Critical incidents around the world. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press

Phipps, Alison and Gonzalez, Mike. 2004. Modern languages: Learning & teaching in an intercultural field. London: Sage Publications.

Pop, Raluca and Radut, Raluca Daniela. 2019. “Developing Multilingual and Multicultural Competence in the Context of Learning Norwegian at Bachelor Level”. Dialogos, 20 (36): 32-47.

Pop, Raluca. 2019. An Intercultural Perspective in Teaching the Didactics of the English Language. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană.

Risager, Karen. 2007. Language and Culture Pedagogy: From a National to a Transnational Paradigm. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Roberts, Celia, Byram, Michael, Barro, Ann, Jordan, Shirley, and Street Brian. 2001. Language learners as ethnographers. Multilingual Matters: Clevedon, England.

Schartner, Alina, and Cho, Yoonjoo. 2017. “Empty signifiers’ and ‘dreamy ideals’: perceptions of the ‘international university among higher education students and staff at a British university”. Higher Education, 74(3), 455-472.

Schueller, J., & Şahin, B. B. 2022. Considering the complexities of virtual student mobility as an approach to inclusive internationalisation in the post-pandemic period. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 27(3), 96–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2022.2116123

Sener, Meltem, Yilmaz. 2024. Privacy versus intimacy: Social interactions in Norway. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Vol. 100: 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.101985.

Skjekkeland, Martin. 2012. Språk og Kultur. Vegar inn i det norske språksamfunnet. Kristiansand: Portal Forlag.

Szabo Ágnes, Papp Zsuzsanna Z, and Nguyen Luu Lan Anh. 2020. “Social contact configurations of international students at school and outside of school: Implications for acculturation orientations and psychological adjustment”. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 77: 69-82. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2020.05.001

Turner, J., Bartlett, D., Andiappan, M., and Cabot, L. 2015. Students’ perceived stress and perception of barriers to effective study: impact on academic performance in examinations. British Dental Journal, 219, 453–458. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2015.850

Wang, Zhiqi, Crawford, Ian, and Liu Lu. 2019. “Higher achievers? Mobility programmes, generic skills, and academic learning: a UK case study”. Intercultural Education 31(3):1-19. Doi: 10.1080/14675986.2019.1666246.

Webber, Jeanette, Skodda, Stefanie, Muth, Thomas, Angerer, Peter, and Loerbroks, Adrian. 2019. Stressors and resources related to academic studies and improvements suggested by medical students: a qualitative study. BMC Medical Education 19:312, 1-14. Doi: 10.1186/s12909-019-1747-z