The Effects of Intercultural Communication Competency-Based Instruction on Intercultural Communication Competence

Abstract

This study explored the effects of a competency-based adaptive learning approach in intercultural communication education on intercultural communication competencies (ICCs) targeted for students preparing for a university summer abroad program. Applying a pretest-posttest-control group design, the study assessed participant ICCs using the multivariate Go Culture Assessment. The treatment group received adaptive group coaching in ICC while the control group received no additional tailored or adaptive preparation. Treatment group results revealed significant paired t-test comparison increases in 11 of the 17 GCA factors, while control group participants increased only in 3 of the GCA factors. The study includes a comprehensive literature review of intercultural communication competency, indicates the need for more measurable outcomes regarding intercultural communication competencies, and points to this study as a competency-based learning approach to communication education.

Keywords

Intercultural communication competency / intercultural communication education / intercultural assessment / competency-based education and coaching

References

[1] American Council on Education. (2000). ACE survey of international attitudes and knowledge. Washington: American Council on Education.

[2] Anderzen, Ingrid & Arnetz, Bengt B. (1997). Psychological reactions during the first year of a foreign assignment: Results of a controlled longitudinal study. Work and Stress, 11(4), 304-318.

[3] Arasaratnam, Lily A. (2015). Intercultural competence: Looking back and looking ahead. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 1-2.

[4] Arasaratnam, Lily A. & Doerfel, Marya L. (2005). Intercultural communication competence: Identifying key components from multicultural perspectives. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(2), 137-163.

[5] Bennett, Janet. (2011). Developing intercultural competence for international education faculty and staff. Paper presented at the Association of International Education Administrators. San Francisco, CA.

[6] Bhaskar—Shrinivas, Purnima; Harrison, David A.; Shaffer, Margaret A. & Luk, Dora M. (2005). Input—based and time—based models of international adjustment: Meta—analytic evidence and theoretical extensions. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 257-281.

[7] Black, J. Stewart; Mendenhall, Mark & Oddou, Gary (1991). Toward a comprehensive model of international adjustment: An integration of multiple theoretical perspectives. Academy of Management Review, 16, 291-317.

[8] Black, J. Stewart & Stephens, Gregory K. (1989). The influence of the spouse on American expatriate adjustment and intent to stay in Pacific Rim overseas assignments. Journal of Management, 15, 529-544.

[9] Bonache, Jaime. (2005). Job satisfaction among expatriates, repatriates and domestic employees: The perceived impact on international assignments on work related variables. Personnel Review, 34, 110-124.

[10] Brandenburg, Uwe & Federkeil, Gero. (2007). How to measure internationality and internationalisation of higher education institutions: Indicators and key figures. Gutersloh: Center for Higher Education Development.

[11] Brookfield Global Relocation Services. (2014). Global mobility trends survey 2014. New York: Brookfield GRS.

[12] Brown, Robert J. (2008). Dominant stressors on expatriate couples during international assignments. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19, 1018-1034.

[13] Caligiuri, Paula M. (2000). The big five personality characteristics as predictors of expatriate’s desire to terminate the assignment and supervisor—rated performance. Personnel Psychology, 53, 67-88.

[14] Carmeli, Abraham. (2005). The relationship between organizational culture and withdrawal intentions and behavior. International Journal of Manpower, 26, 177-195.

[15] Chi, Ruobing & Suthers, Daniel. (2015). Assessing intercultural communication competence as a relational construct using social network analysis. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 108-119.

[16] Childress, Lisa. (2009). Internationalization plan for higher education institutions. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(3), 289-309.

[17] de Wit, Hans. (2002). Internationalization of higher education in the United States of America and Europe: A historical, comparative, and conceptual analysis. Westport: Greenwood Press.

[18] Deardorff, Darla K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241-266.

[19] Deardorff, Darla K. (2015). Intercultural competence: Mapping the future research agenda. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 3-5.

[20] Dodd, Carley. (1987). An introduction to intercultural effectiveness skills. In C. H. Dodd & F. Montalvo (Eds.), Intercultural skills for multicultural societies (pp. 3-11). Washington: SIETAR.

[21] Dodd, Carley H. (2007). Intercultural readiness assessment for pre—departure candidates. Intercultural Communication Studies, 16, 1-17.

[22] Dodd, Carley H.; Lytle, Richard & Winegeart, Michael. (2008). International programs and student outcomes. Paper presented at the National Communication Association annual convention. San Diego: NCA.

[23] Fantini, Alvino E. (1995). Introduction to language, culture and worldview: Exploring the nexus. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 19(2), 143-153.

[24] Fayetteville State University. (2014). About us. Retrieved from International Education: www.uncfsu.edu

[25] Firth, Brady M.; Chen, Gilad; Kirkman, Bradley L. & Kim, Kwanghyun. (2014). Newcomers abroad: Expatriate adaptation during early phases of international assignments. Academy of Management Journal, 57(1), 280-300. doi:10.5465/amj.2011.0574.

[26] Green, Madeleine F. (2012, May). Measuring and assessing internationalization. Paper presented at the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors Conference. Washington, D.C.

[27] Gudykunst, William B. & Hammer, Mitchell R. (1988). Strangers and hosts: An uncertainty reduction based theory of intercultural adaptation. In Y. Y. Kim & W. B. Gudykunst (Eds.), International and Intercultural Communication Annual (pp. 106-139). Newbury Park: Sage.

[28] Gupta, Ritu; Banerjee, Pratyush & Gaur, Jighyasu. (2012). Exploring the role of the spouse in expatriate failure: A grounded theory—based investigation of expatriate’s spouse adjustment issues from India. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(17), 3559-3577. DOI:10.1080/09585192.2011.645052.

[29] Hammer, Mitchell R. (2011). Additional cross—cultural validity testing of the Intercultural Development Inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, 474-487.

[30] Hammer, Mitchell R.; Nishida, Hiroko & Wiseman, Richard L. (1996). The influence of situational prototypes on dimensions of intercultural communication competence. Journal of Cross—Cultural Psychology, 27(3), 267-282.

[31] Haslberger, Arno; Brewster, Chris & Hippler, Thomas. (2013). The dimensions of expatriate adjustment. Human Resource Management, 52(3), 333-351. doi:10.1002/hrm.21531.

[32] Hayward, Fred M. & Siaya, Laura M. (2001). Public experience, attitudes, and knowledge: A report on two national surveys about international education. Washington: American Council of Education.

[33] Hemmasi, Masoud; Downes, Meredith & Varner, Iris I. (2010). An empirically driven multidimensional measure of expatriate success: Reconciling the discord. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21, 982-998.

[34] Hippler, Thomas; Caligiuri, Paula & Johnson, Joanna. (2014). Revisiting the construct of expatriate adjustment. International Studies of Management & Organization, 44(3), 8-24. DOI:10.2753/IMO0020—8825440301.

[35] Imahori, T. Todd & Lanigan, Mary L. (1989). Relational model of intercultural communication competence. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 13(3), 269-286.

[36] Jackson, Jane. (2015). Becoming interculturally competent: Theory to practice in international education. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 91-107.

[37] Kealey, Daniel J. (2015). Some strengths and weakness of 23 years of research on intercultural communication competence: Personal reflections. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 14-16.

[38] Kim, Young Yun. (1988). Communication and cross—cultural adaptation: An integrative theory. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

[39] Kim, Young Yun. (2015). Achieving synchrony: A foundational dimension of intercultural communication competence. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 27-37.

[40] Koester, Jolene & Lustig, Myron W. (2015). Intercultural communication competence: Theory, measurement, and application. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 20-21.

[41] Leask, Betty. (2009). Using formal and informal curricula to improve interactions between home and international students. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(2), 205-221.

[42] Lee, Li—Yueh & Kartika, Nurullaily. (2014). The influence of individual, family, and social capital factors on expatriate adjustment and performance: The moderating effect of psychology contract and organizational support. Expert Systems with Applications, 41, 5483-5494. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2014.02.030.

[43] Li, Li; Mazer, Joseph P. & Ju, Ran (2011). Resolving international teaching assistant language inadequacy through dialogue: Challenges and opportunities for clarity and credibility. Communication Education, 60(4), 461-478.

[44] Martin, Judith N. (2015). Revisiting intercultural communication competence: Where to go from here. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 6-8.

[45] Mendenhall, Mark; Kuhlmann, Torsten; Stahl, Günter & Osland, Joyce. (2002). Employee development and expatriate assignments: A review of the expatriate adjustment theory literature. In M. Gannon & K. Newman (Eds.), Handbook of cross—cultural management (pp. 155-183). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

[46] Mokhtari, Kouider & Velten, Justin. (2015). Strengthening academic vocabulary with word generation® helps sixth grade students improve reading comprehension. Middle Grades Research Journal, 10, 25-44.

[47] Muthuswamy, Nithya; Levine, Timothy R. & Gazel, Jeanne. (2006). Interaction—based diversity initiative outcomes: An evaluation of an initiative aimed at bridging the racial divide on a college campus. Communication Education, 55(1), 105-121.

[48] National Education Association. (2012). Preparing 21st century student for a global society. Washington: National Education Association.

[49] Park, Hee Sun; Lee, Seungcheol Austin; Yun, Doshik & Kim, Wonsun. (2009). The impact of instructor decision authority and verbal and nonverbal immediacy on Korean student satisfaction in the US and South Korea. Communication Education, 58(2), 189-212.

[50] Pinto, Luísa H.; Cabral—Cardoso, Carlos & Werther, William B. (2012). Adjustment elusiveness: An empirical investigation of the effects of cross—cultural adjustment on general assignment satisfaction and withdrawal intentions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36(2), 188-199.

[51] Qiang, Zha. (2003). Internationalization of higher education: Towards a conceptual framework. Policy Futures in Education, 1(2), 248-270.

[52] Ren, Hong; Shaffer, Margaret A.; Harrison, David A.; Fu, Carmen & Fodchuk, Katherine M. (2014). Reactive adjustment or proactive embedding? Multistudy, multiwave evidence for dual pathways to expatriate retention. Personnel Psychology, 67(1), 203-239. doi:10.1111/peps.12034.

[53] Rosenbusch, Katherine & Cseh, Maria. (2012). The cross—cultural adjustment process of expatriate families in a multinational organization: A family system theory perspective. Human Resource Development International, 15(1), 61-77. doi:10.1080/13678868.2011.646895.

[54] Seattle University. (2014). Global Awareness Program. Retrieved from Seattle University: www.seattleu.edu.

[55] Shadish, William R.; Cook, Thomas D. & Campbell, Donald T. (2002). Experimental and quasi—experimental designs. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

[56] Spitzberg, Brian H. (2015). Is past prologue, or just passed and lacking presence? International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 24-26.

[57] Spitzberg, Brian H. & Chagnon, Gabrielle. (2009). Conceptualizing intercultural communication competence. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 2-52). Thousand Oaks, CA.

[58] Syracuse University. (2014). The global awareness requirement. Retrieved from Syracus University website http://honors.syr.edu/honors—requirements/global—awareness/

[59] Taylor, John. (2004). Toward a strategy for internationalization: Lessons and practice from four universities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8(2), 149-171.

[60] Tucker, Michael F. & Baier, V. Eaton. (1982). Research background for the overseas assessment inventory. Paper presented at the SIETAR International Conference. San Antonio, TX.

[61] University of Kansas Office of International Programs. (2014). Overview. Retrieved from Global Awareness Program (GAP): www.http://gap.ku.edu/

[62] Velten, Justin. (2016). Intercultural communication readiness assessment and competency—based preparation: A trend analysis of latin american expatriate missions. Texas Speech Communication Journal, 39(1), 25-36.

[63] Wadsworth, Brooke C.; Hecht, Michael L. & Jung, Eura. (2008). The role of identity gaps, discrimination, and acculturation in international students’ educational satisfaction in American classrooms. Communication Education, 57(1), 64-87.

[64] Ward, Collen & Kennedy, Antony. (1993). Psychological and socio—cultural adjustment during cross—cultural transitions. International Journal of Psychology, 28, 129-147.

[65] Ward, Collen & Rana—Deuba, Arzu. (1999). Acculturation and adaptation revisited. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 30, 422-442.

[66] Wiseman, Richard L.; Hammer, Mitchell R. & Nishida, Hiroko. (1989). Predictors of intercultural communication competence. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 13(3), 349-370.

[67] World Health Organization. (2014). Trade, foreign policy, diplomacy and health: Globalization. Retrieved from World Health Organization: www.who.int

[68] Zimmerman, Stephanie. (1995). Perceptions of intercultural communication competence and international student adaptation to an American campus. Communication Education, 44(4), 321-335.

[69] Zhuang, Wen—Long; Wu, Melien & Wen, Shu—Lien. (2013). Relationship of mentoring functions to expatriate adjustments: Comparing home country mentorship and host country mentorship. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(1), 35-49. DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2012.669784.