Intercultural Competence For College And University Students

This practical guide is a must read for students interested in developing the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and values that foster positive relationships with people from diverse cultures both within and outside of the workplace. It contains real-life examples from students drawn from the authors’ work across different countries. In an age of growing diversity and increasing global mobility, living and working with people from different cultural backgrounds is becoming the norm. To address this complex topic, the authors invite students to consider key questions such as: How do our cultural backgrounds influence our behavior towards others? What is intercultural competence and how can it help students to get along in work and life? How can institutions help students to develop intercultural competence? What does it have to do with topics like prejudice, discrimination, and racism? How can intercultural competence facilitate social change and help students to succeed in their careers? Written for students in any country and studying in any discipline, this book includes practical activities designed to help students to develop intercultural competence throughout their time at college or university. It is useful for students as an autonomous learning source, or as a resource for taught courses. Drawing on a comprehensive and rigorous knowledge of the field, the authors have written a thought-provoking analysis and a practical guide to understanding and enacting Intercultural Competence. I learnt from and admire their ambitious vision of the significance of intercultural competence for society and for the lives and careers of their readers.— Michael Byram, author of Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence, Durham University, UK This is a wonderfully readable book, which carefully and clearly explains the concept of intercultural competence, exploring its implications for addressing many of the most crucial issues facing the world today. Based on impeccable scholarship, and containing a wealth of practical activities, this book is highly recommended for students and interested laypeople alike.— Martyn Barrett, University of Surrey, UK An exceptionally user-friendly and theory-informed guidebook that would not only benefit university students but anyone with an interest in intercultural communication. The book is second to none in terms of clarity of presentation and coverage of concepts, models and practical ideas relevant to intercultural competence for the contemporary society. —Anwei Feng, University of Nottingham Ningbo, China An essential handbook and excellent addition to conventional textbooks. Nuanced and down-to-earth explanations about intercultural communication which are accessible to everyone. Insightful explanations for educators and students alike. Easy to use self-study guide with thought-provoking exercises. This book has been long needed and has come at just the right time. --Ivett Guntersdorfer, Founder and Director of the Intercultural Communication Certificate Program, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany

Intercultural Competence in Higher Education features the work of scholars and international education practitioners in understanding the learning outcomes of internationalization, moving beyond rhetoric to concrete practice around the world. Devoted exclusively to exploring the central learning outcomes of internationalization efforts, this edited volume contains a refreshing combination of chapters and case studies from interdisciplinary and cross-cultural contributors, including: cutting-edge issues within intercultural competence development, such as intersectionality, mapping intercultural competence, and assessment; the role of higher education in developing intercultural competence for peacebuilding in the aftermath of violent conflict; facilitating intercultural competence through international student internships; interdisciplinary and cross-cultural contributions from over 19 countries including Japan, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, and Vietnam; the latest research and thinking on global, intercultural, and international learning outcomes, with a unique emphasis on newer voices. Intercultural competence has become an essential element in international as well as domestic education. This text provides the latest thinking and research within the context of internationalization, presents practical case studies on how to integrate this into the preparation of global-ready students and will be of interest to postgraduate students, international education administrators, and practitioners, as well as scholars and researchers in a variety of disciplines who have an interest in intercultural and global competence.

Although traditional ESL/EFL textbooks have primarily introduced cultural topics at a knowledge level only, this textbook is designed to create meaningful opportunities for students to reflect on and practice intercultural skills in ways that are relatable in their daily lives and that can lead to a more satisfying US academic experience.

This book presents students’ reflections on their intercultural student experiences, and utilizing the UNESCO Story Circle methodology, illustrates how such reflection can aid the development of intercultural competence (IC). The volume features a broad range of first-person narratives that showcase the diversity of student experience encountered whilst studying abroad in a variety of cultural and institutional settings. Engaging with issues in relation to identity negotiation, stereotypes, cultural difference, and communities of support, the text demonstrates application of the UNESCO Story Circle approach in developing IC. Further, vignettes are analyzed and guiding questions are offered to structure readers’ reflection and discussion to facilitate further honing of intercultural competencies. The volume promotes IC amongst individual educators, trainers, international students, and community members and provides guidance in addressing international students’ wellbeing more broadly. This text will benefit scholars, academics, and students in the fields of higher education, multicultural education, and intercultural communication. Those involved with international and comparative education as well as student affair practice and higher education administration will also benefit from this volume.

This book covers teaching cultural competence in colleges and universities across the United States, providing a comprehensive reference for instructors, researchers, and other stakeholders who are looking for material that will assist them in working to prepare students to become culturally competent.

Scientific Study from the year 2012 in the subject Communications - Intercultural Communication, , course: Applied Linguistics, language: English, abstract: It is until recently that many language teachers and educationalists have started to preach the idea that second or foreign language teaching should stress the salience of teaching towards enabling learners to connect with other people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and mediate appropriately and effectively in various cross-cultural communication situations. Thus, so as to be open and flexible towards other cultures, the acquisition of intercultural communicative competence has become a serious concern for any individuals seeking to become competent intercultural speakers. The present study aims at assessing and investigating the intercultural communicative competence and its development among EFL Moroccan university students and the extent to which these students know about the cultural aspects of the target Anglo-American cultures as well as the degree to which their intercultural communicative competence has evolved based on the model presented by Byram (1997).

No standard measure for college and career readiness currently exists but a common goal for college readiness could potentially improve the rate of college completion. Towards the development of a common goal for college readiness, it should be noted that the workplace and colleges increasingly desire the skills of intercultural competence (ICC). Although it is not part of most notions of college readiness, behavioral research, employer demands, and many colleges have already identified intercultural competence as a skill that is in high demand; however, to date there is a lack of research that examines whether first-year college students perceive cultural competence as relevant to college and workplace readiness. The purpose of this mixed methods, explanatory, social justice, study was to investigate first-year college students’ perceptions of intercultural competence as a factor for college readiness and to understand the influences they perceived as having contributed to their development of intercultural competence. This mixed methods study involved 67 first-year college students attending either a community college or a traditional 4-year university in a large, Midwestern U.S. city. For the first part of the study, I used the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) (Hammer, 2012) to assess and then compare college students’ levels of intercultural competence. Subsequently, data from the surveys were used to recruit eight participants for semi-structured interviews to explore students’ perceptions of intercultural competence as a factor relevant to college and workplace readiness. Through the interviews, I also sought to gain an understanding of the factors participants perceived as having influenced their development of ICC. I used open coding, memo writing, and constant comparative analysis methods to generate themes from the eight individual semi-structured interviews (Charmaz, 2014; Strauss & Corbin, 1994).

"This book presents a structured yet flexible methodology for developing intercultural competence in a variety of contexts, both formal and informal. Piloted around the world by UNESCO, this methodology has proven to be effective in a range of different contexts and focused on a variety of different issues. It therefore can be considered an important resource for anyone concerned with effectively managing the growing cultural diversity within our societies to ensure inclusive and sustainable development. Intercultural competence refers to the skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to improve interactions across difference, whether within a society (differences due to age, gender, religion, socio-economic status, political affiliation, ethnicity, and so on) or across borders. The book serves as a tool to develop those competences, presenting an innovative adaptation of what could be considered an ancient tradition of storytelling found in many cultures. Through engaging in the methodology, participants develop key elements of intercultural competence including greater self-awareness, openness, respect, reflexivity, empathy, increased awareness of others, and in the end, greater cultural humility. This book will be of great interest to intercultural trainers, policymakers, development practitioners, educators, community organizers, civil society leaders, university lecturers and students -- all who are interested in developing intercultural competence as a means to understand and appreciate difference, develop relationships with those across difference, engage in intercultural dialogue and bridge societal divides"--

This book presents a mixed-methods study that explores the development of intercultural competence among local Chinese students in Chinese universities, using Deardorff’s process model of intercultural competence as a theoretical framework. In the global higher education context, “internationalization at home” is significant in (re)shaping educational practices, especially under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese higher education is also actively engaged in domestic internationalization. Specifically, this book explores the factors that influence Chinese students’ development of intercultural competence and their understanding of it in the context of internationalization at local Chinese universities. The findings suggest that many universities in China are trying to improve domestic students’ intercultural competence through various strategies, such as foreign language learning, extracurricular intercultural communication activities, and international cooperation programs. Notably, the effects are diverse. Based on these findings, this book also discusses the potential theoretical, practical, and policy implications. This book will be an excellent resource for students and scholars in comparative and international education, student development, cultural studies, Chinese studies, and those interested in Chinese higher education.

Coming Home Your Way offers college and university students returning from an education-abroad experience a wealth of pertinent information, opportunities for meaningful reflection, and practical guidance on making the most of their time abroad. Grounded in research and addressing an array of aspects of education abroad – including intercultural communication, changing relationships, and career impact – Coming Home Your Way will be an invaluable tool for any student planning, experiencing, or returning from a stay abroad. Drawing from theory and research from multiple disciplines, and real-world experiences of students who have studied abroad, the volume addresses key themes critical to understanding reentry, including individual differences in taking in experience, communication patterns and approaches, the reentry transition, the nature of relationships in reentry, bridging reentry and career, and more. Within each chapter are opportunities for self-reflection that allow readers to integrate the ideas presented into their own experience. Compelling short fictional accounts add flavor and detail that bring theory to life. Coming Home Your Way provides a window into the complex experience of intercultural reentry. Reentry from an education-abroad experience can be a period of intense growth, and can feel disruptive and confusing while it’s happening. The authors explain and explore these complexities in a conversational style that will engage students, and with the rigor expected by their instructors. Like no other book currently on the market, Coming Home Your Way will give college and university students insight into the challenges and intercultural opportunities that reentry offers.