Host Language Proficiency, Intercultural Sensitivity, and Study Abroad
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v21i1.308Keywords:
Study abroad, Hong Kong, Foreign language students, Intercultural communicative competence, Education abroadAbstract
This paper focuses on a case study of advanced foreign language students who took part in a short-term study abroad program. By examining their journeys, from their home environment to the host culture and back again, we gain a deeper understanding of the development of their intercultural communicative competence. In the process, the linkage between linguistic and intercultural development is problematized. While the participants were Hong Kong university students who sojourned in England, elements of their stories should reach across ethnic, linguistic, and geographic lines and resonate with foreign language learners in other parts of the world.
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References
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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.
Bazeley, P. (2007). Qualitative Data Analysis with NVivo. London: SAGE.
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Bennett, J., Bennett, M., & Allen, W. (2003). Developing intercultural competence in the language classroom. In D. Lange, & M. Paige (Eds.), Culture as the Core: Perspectives on Culture in Second Language Learning (pp. 237-270). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
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Bennett, M. (1997). How not to be a fluent fool: Understanding the cultural dimensions of language. In A. E. Fantini (Vol. ed.), & J. C. Richards (Series ed.), New Ways in Teaching Culture. New Ways in TESOL Series II: Innovative Classroom Techniques (pp. 16-21). Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
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Byram, M., Gribkova, B. & Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching: A Practical Introduction for Teachers. Strasbourg, France: Council of Europe Publishing.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: SAGE.
Deardorff, D. K. (2008). Intercultural competence: A definition, model, and implications for education abroad. In V. Savicki (Ed.). Developing Intercultural Competence and Transformation: Theory, Research, and Application in International Education (pp. 32-52). Sterling. VA: Stylus Publishing Inc.
Ditto, P.H., & Lopez, D.F. (1992). Motivated skepticism: Use of differential decision criteria for preferred and nonpreferred conclusions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 1-15.
Donnelly-Smith, L. (2009). Global learning through short-term study abroad. Peer Review. 11 (4), 12-15.
Durocher, D. O. (2007). Teaching sensitivity to cultural difference in the first-year foreign language classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 40 (1), 143-160.
Engle, L., & Engle, J. (2004). Assessing language acquisition and intercultural sensitivity development in relation to study abroad program design. Frontiers; The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad,
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Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated selfassessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (6), 1121-
1134.
Kunda, Z. (1990). The case for motivated reasoning. Psychological Bulletin, 108 (3), 480-498.
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Paige, R.M., Jacobs-Cassuto, M., Yershova, Y.A., & DeJaeghere, J. (2003). Assessing intercultural sensitivity: An empirical analysis of the Hammer and Bennett Intercultural Development Inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27 (4), 467-486.
Park, M. (2006). A relational study of intercultural sensitivity with linguistic competence in English-as-a-Foreign-language (EFL) pre-service teachers in Korea. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. The University of Mississippi.
Pavlenko, A., & Lantolf, J. (2000). Second language learning as participation and the (re)construction of selves. In J. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning (pp. 155-177). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Richards, L. (2009). Handling Qualitative Data. 2nd. Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Spencer, S. & Tuma, K. (Eds.). (2008). The Guide to Successful Short-term Programs Abroad. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
Taylor, S. & Brown, J. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193-210.
Taylor, S., & Brown, J. (1994). Positive illusions and well-being revisited: Separating fact from fiction. Psychological Bulletin, 116 (1), 21-27.
Thomas, J. (1984). Cross-cultural discourse as ‘unequal encounter’: Towards a pragmatic analysis. Applied Linguistics, 5, 226-235.
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.
Bazeley, P. (2007). Qualitative Data Analysis with NVivo. London: SAGE.
Bennett, J. M. (2009). Cultivating intercultural competence: A Process Perspective. In D. Deardorff (Ed.). The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 121-140). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Bennett, J., & Bennett, M. (2004). Developing intercultural sensitivity: An integrative approach to global and domestic diversity. In D. Landis, J. Bennett & M. Bennett (Eds.), Handbook of Intercultural Training (3rd ed.) (pp. 145-167). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Bennett, J., Bennett, M., & Allen, W. (2003). Developing intercultural competence in the language classroom. In D. Lange, & M. Paige (Eds.), Culture as the Core: Perspectives on Culture in Second Language Learning (pp. 237-270). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
Bennett, 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, M. (1997). How not to be a fluent fool: Understanding the cultural dimensions of language. In A. E. Fantini (Vol. ed.), & J. C. Richards (Series ed.), New Ways in Teaching Culture. New Ways in TESOL Series II: Innovative Classroom Techniques (pp. 16-21). Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. Clevedon, U.K.: Multilingual Matters.
Byram (2008). From Foreign Language Education to Education for Intercultural Citizenship: Essays and Reflections. Clevedon, U.K.: Multilingual Matters.
Byram, M., Gribkova, B. & Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching: A Practical Introduction for Teachers. Strasbourg, France: Council of Europe Publishing.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: SAGE.
Deardorff, D. K. (2008). Intercultural competence: A definition, model, and implications for education abroad. In V. Savicki (Ed.). Developing Intercultural Competence and Transformation: Theory, Research, and Application in International Education (pp. 32-52). Sterling. VA: Stylus Publishing Inc.
Ditto, P.H., & Lopez, D.F. (1992). Motivated skepticism: Use of differential decision criteria for preferred and nonpreferred conclusions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 1-15.
Donnelly-Smith, L. (2009). Global learning through short-term study abroad. Peer Review. 11 (4), 12-15.
Durocher, D. O. (2007). Teaching sensitivity to cultural difference in the first-year foreign language classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 40 (1), 143-160.
Engle, L., & Engle, J. (2004). Assessing language acquisition and intercultural sensitivity development in relation to study abroad program design. Frontiers; The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad,
X, 219-236.
Fischer, P., Greitemeyer, T., & Frey, D. (2007). Ego depletion and positive illusions: Does the construction of positivity require regulatory resources? Personal and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33 (9), 1306-1321.
Grbich, C. (2007). Qualitative Data Analysis. London: SAGE.
Guilherme, M. (2002). Critical Citizens for an Intercultural World: Foreign Language Education as Cultural Politics. Clevedon, U.K.: Multilingual Matters.
Hammer, M. (2009). The Intercultural Development Inventory: An approach for assessing and building intercultural competence. In M. A. Moodian (Ed.). Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence: Exploring the Cross-Cultural Dynamics within Organizations (pp. 203-217). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Hammer, M., & Bennett, M. (2002). The Intercultural Development Inventory: Manual. Portland, OR: Intercultural Communication Institute.
Hammer, M., Bennett, M., & Wiseman, R. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27 (3), 421-443.
Institute of International Education (2009). Open doors 2009: U.S. students studying abroad. Washington, DC: Institute of International Education.
Intercultural Communication Institute (2004). The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. Retrieved from http://www.intercultural.org.
Jackson, J. (2006). Ethnographic preparation for short-term study and residence in the target culture. The International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 30 (1), 77-98.
Jackson, J. (2008). Language, Identity, and Study Abroad: Sociocultural Perspectives. London: Equinox.
Jackson, J. (2010). Intercultural Journeys: From Study to Residence Abroad. Basingstoke, Hampshire, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan.
'Kim, Y.Y. (2001). Becoming Intercultural: An Integrative Theory of Communication and Cross-cultural Adaptation. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: SAGE.
Kim, Y.Y. (2005). Adapting to a new culture: An integrative communication theory. In W. Gudykunst (Ed.), Theorizing about Intercultural Communication (pp. 375-400). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Kramsch, C.J. (1998). The privilege of the intercultural speaker. In M. Byram & M. Fleming (Eds.). Language Learning in Intercultural Perspective: Approaches through Drama and Ethnography (pp. 16-31). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kruger, J. (1999). Lake Wobegon be gone! The ‘below-average effect’ and the egocentric nature of comparative ability judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (2), 221-232.
Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated selfassessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (6), 1121-
1134.
Kunda, Z. (1990). The case for motivated reasoning. Psychological Bulletin, 108 (3), 480-498.
Landis, D., Bennett, J., & Bennett, M. (Eds.). (2004). Handbook of Intercultural Training. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Medina, A. (2008). Intercultural Sensitivity Development in Study Abroad: Is Duration a Decisive Element in Cultural Learning Outcomes? Saarbrücken Germany: Verlag.
Paige, R.M., Cohen, A., Kappler, B., Chi, J. & Lassegard, J. P. (2006). Maximizing Study Abroad: A Student’s Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use. 2nd Ed. Minneapolis, MN: University of
Minnesota.
Paige, R.M., Jacobs-Cassuto, M., Yershova, Y.A., & DeJaeghere, J. (2003). Assessing intercultural sensitivity: An empirical analysis of the Hammer and Bennett Intercultural Development Inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27 (4), 467-486.
Park, M. (2006). A relational study of intercultural sensitivity with linguistic competence in English-as-a-Foreign-language (EFL) pre-service teachers in Korea. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. The University of Mississippi.
Pavlenko, A., & Lantolf, J. (2000). Second language learning as participation and the (re)construction of selves. In J. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning (pp. 155-177). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Richards, L. (2009). Handling Qualitative Data. 2nd. Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Spencer, S. & Tuma, K. (Eds.). (2008). The Guide to Successful Short-term Programs Abroad. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
Taylor, S. & Brown, J. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193-210.
Taylor, S., & Brown, J. (1994). Positive illusions and well-being revisited: Separating fact from fiction. Psychological Bulletin, 116 (1), 21-27.
Thomas, J. (1984). Cross-cultural discourse as ‘unequal encounter’: Towards a pragmatic analysis. Applied Linguistics, 5, 226-235.
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Published
2011-08-15
How to Cite
Jackson, J. (2011). Host Language Proficiency, Intercultural Sensitivity, and Study Abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 21(1), 167–188. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v21i1.308
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Research Articles
