Intercultural Communication Competence: Higher Education Students' Perceptions
Author(s):
Niina Kovalainen
Conference:
ECER 2009
Network:
22. Research in Higher Education
Format:
Paper

Session Information

22 SES 02 B, Student Expectations and Competencies in Higher Education

Paper Session

Time:
2009-09-28
11:15-12:45
Room:
HG, HS 30
Chair:
Yann Lebeau

Contribution

This research aims at exploring the issue of transnationalism through intercultural communication competence. The interconnectedness between language, culture, communication and transnationalism are strong and will inevitably take different forms in social contexts such as work, home and studying. The paper is a part of a project by the Academy of Finland, "Recognition of Cultural Diversity in Everyday Life in Finland: Case Studies in Intercultural Interaction Arenas" is to analyze the transformation processes surrounding the increasing cultural diversity and the emergence of transnational social spaces. The focus rests in individual respondents, immigrants and native Finnish people, their daily living conditions, experiences and conceptions. The links between participation and the sense of belonging of the immigrants are of central importance -who are included to the sphere of “us” and who are regarded as “the others”? This includes questions about the social positions and political-social-cultural-economic activities as well as the well-being of the respondents on different arenas. Respondents are also encouraged to approach the issues connected with communication, language skills and culture, especially their own conceptions of self-perceived intercultural communication competence. Throughout the project, the phenomena in question will be assessed at various spatial levels (local/national/transnational/global) and integrative domains (political/social/cultural/economic/educational). We try to find out how successful intercultural interaction can be fostered in different interaction arenas.

Method

During autumn 2008 and spring 2009 interviews for the whole project were made in various interaction arenas. The present study concentrates on one of the interviewed groups, namely higher education students. Students were interviewed in three Finnish cities: Helsinki, Tampere and Joensuu, and the cities represent large, medium and small cities. Interviewees were from both universities and universities of applied sciences. In each interaction arena, both students of foreign origin and Finnish origin were interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire. The students of foreign origin named their strongest Finnish contact form that arena (in this case, university) and both of them were interviewed separately. This way we were able to receive a more rpfound picture of intercultural communication in that one, realistic interaction arena. Altogether 30 students were interviewed by the researchers after which all the interviews were transcribed for analysis.

Expected Outcomes

Analysis and description of the interconnectedness of transnational competence and foreign language skills, (inter)cultural knowledge and verbal/ nonverbal communication. Expected outcome should also illustrate the perceptions of 'otherness' and the feeling of belonging to a certain new environment as an immigrant.

References

Own: Kovalainen, Niina. Intercultural Communication Competence: Need In A Changing World. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Volume 3, Issue 4, pp.117-126. Others: • Almeida, Eugenie P. 2004. A Discourse Analysis of Student Perceptions of Their Communication Competence. Communication Education Vol. 53, No 4, October 2004, pp. 357–64. Routledge: London • Cai, A., Wilson, R. & Drake, E. (2000). Culture in The Context of Intercultural Negotiation. Individualism – Collectivism And Paths to Interactive Agreements. Human Communication Research 26, pp. 591–617. • Carey, J.W. 1988. Communication as Culture. Essays on Media and Society. Routledge: London. • Chen, L. 2003. Conversation Orientation and Cognitive Process: A Comparison of U.S. Students in Initial Interaction With Native – Versus Non-native – Speaking Partners. Human Communication Research 29, pp. 182–209. • Creswell, J. W. 1994. Research Design. Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches. SAGE: Thousand Oaks, CA. • Duschl, R.A. & Hamilton, R.J. (Eds.) 1992. Philosophy of Science, Cognitive Psychology and Educational Theory and Practice. New York: State University of New York. • Dörnyei, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in Second Language Research. Construction, Administration, and Processing. Lawrence Erlbaum: New Jersey. • Forsander, A. (2002) Työmarkkinoiden kansainvälistymiskehitys Suomessa. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 67(3), 260-268. • Gudykunst, W. B. & Mody, B. (Eds.) 2002, 2nd ed. Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication. SAGE: Thousand Oaks, CA. • Heikkilä, T. (1998) (5th ed.). Tilastollinen tutkimus. Edita: Helsinki. • Jackson, Peter, Crang, Philip & Dwyer, Claire (Eds.) 2004. Transnational Spaces. Routledge: New York. • Kennedy, Paul & Roudometof, Victor (Eds.) 2002. Communities across Borders: New Immigrants and Transnational Cultures. Routledge: London. • Korkiasaari, J. & Söderling, I., 2004. Finnish Emigration And Immigration After World War II. Institute of Migration. Available at http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/db/articles_e/art.php?artid=8. Read 27th June 2008. • Landar, H. 1966. Language and Culture. Oxford University Press: New York. • Leppälä, R. (2000). Ohjeita tilastollisen tutkimuksen toteuttamiseksi SPSS for Windows- ohjelmiston avulla. University of Tampere: Tampere. • Littlejohn, S.W 1996. Theories of Human Communication. Belmont; California: Wadsworth Publishing Company Inc. • Lustig, M. W. & Koester, J. 1993. Intercultural Competence. Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers. • Metsämuuronen, J. 2003. Tutkimuksen tekemisen perusteet ihmistieteissä. Helsinki: International Methelp Ky. • Philipsen, G. 1989. Speech and The Communal Function in Four Cultures. In Ting-Toomey, S. & Korzenny, F. (Eds.) 1989. Language, Communication and Culture. SAGE: Newbury Park, CA., pp. 79–92. • Pitkänen P. (2005) (ed.) Kulttuurien välinen työ. Helsinki: Edita. • Pries, Ludger (Ed.) 2001. New Transnational Social Spaces: International Migration and Transnational Companies in the Early Twenty-First Century. Routledge: London. • Sjöblom, T. 2003. Norsun kärsä ja loputkin norsusta – käsitteellinen integraation ja aito monitieteellisyys. Tieteessä tapahtuu 3/2003, pp.5–11. • Salwen, M.B. & Stacks, D.W (Eds.) 1996. An Integrated Approach To Communication Theory And Research. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. • Spitzberg, B. H. et al 1984. Interpersonal communication competence. Beverly Hills : Sage. • Steinfatt, T. & Christophel, D 1996. Intercultural Communication. In Salwen, M.B. & Stacks, D.W (Eds.) 1996. An Integrated Approach To Communication Theory And Research. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., pp. 317–334 • Ting-Toomey, S. & Korzenny, F. (Eds.) 1989. Language, Communication and Culture. SAGE: Newbury Park, CA. • UNESCO Conference on Intercultural Education, 15. –18. June 2003. Jyväskylä, Finland. CD Rom, Jyväskylä University 2003. • Wilson, Rob & Dissanayake, Wimal (Ed.) 1996. Global/Local: Cultural Production and the Transnational Imaginary. Duke University Press: Durham, NC. • Yli-Luoma, P. V. J. (1998)(4th ed.) . Johdatus kvantitatiivisiin analyysimenetelmiin SPSS for Windows-ohjelman avulla. IMDL: Naantali. • CAS, CAS-SR Duran and Wheeless (1980), Duran & Kelly (1992). Originally it was used to rate communication adaptability in any communication context as Communicative Adaptability Scale, Self-Reference Measures (CAS-SR) and Communicative Adaptability Scale (CAS).

Author Information

Niina Kovalainen
University of Tampere
Department of Education
Tampere
67

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