This study examines the acculturation characteristics of Chinese students in the context of a multicultural classroom. The Chinese yin-yang philosophy is used to provide another dimension of interpretation and analysis in addition to Berry's acculturation strategy framework. Qualitative data over a five-year period reveal their changing…

Target 4.7 in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) aims to ensure that education is equally accessible to all genders who are taught to appreciate human rights and cultural diversity as global citizens. Understanding and sympathy for intercultural differences become important in higher education. With a focus on the foundations and dimensions of…

This paper discusses how I design and teach an Interculturality in Language and Literary Studies (ILLS) Course. In doing this, I am very much influenced by the post-structural and post-colonial and interdisciplinary nature of my PhD study. The course itself is for sixth semester undergraduate students, after they have passed Skilled Courses,…

A Meta-Cultural way of thinking about communication, understanding, and competence means not just understanding and appreciating a few other cultures, but rather being able to function competently in any cultural setting in which you find yourself. In the Meta-Cultural mindset, therefore, all cultures have value, we are sensitive to cultural…

Increase in diversified teaching contexts has led researchers to investigate the potentials of telecollaboration in multicultural learning environments. While there are abundant telecollaboration studies, improving intercultural awareness through a theoretical model is usually under-investigated. Based on Byram's (1997) co-orientational and…

This article describes a research study determining the most significant academic challenges experienced by Chinese transfer students in engineering at an American university. The survey-based study examined eight areas where transfer students may have academic difficulty and determined that the most significant of those concern transfer credit…

This study presents the results of an investigation into L2 reading anxiety among eight Chinese exchange students who participate in a one-year program at an American University. Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) is used as a measurement of reading anxiety. Data are also collected from semi-structured interviews, syllabus of all six…

With the increasing inclusion of international, intercultural and global dimensions in university curricula, the global classroom brings new challenges and potential opportunities among culturally diverse students. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study assessed students' preparedness and experiences of a COIL course among South African…

This study investigated the role of literary texts in the development of Iranian English language learners' Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). To fulfill this general objective, an intercultural syllabus was designed for a fourteen-session course of American English short story at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. Theoretically…

In this article, we discuss three cross-cultural memoirs used in three different university courses that introduced students to the complex identities that form both inside and outside of language classrooms. In arguing for the value of using such memoirs as content in university courses, we provide a detailed thematic analysis of Peter Hessler's…

English teachers must be prepared to attend to the intercultural aspects of language learning. In Indonesia, this challenge is compounded by education policies that also require teachers to sustain Indonesian cultural values. Without explicit preparation or guidance, these two expectations could be quite challenging to novice teachers. The…

This chapter examines practical issues regarding Virtual Exchanges (VEs) for educational purposes in the university context and covers language use, cultural differences, time management, teacher collaboration, technology-related issues, assessment, and context specific factors. It charts the establishment of three academic collaborations between…

Recently, second language (L2) instruction has benefitted from the development of instructional technology such as synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). The present study was conducted to investigate learner perception of the effectiveness of SCMC interactions for L2 learning and building intercultural competence. Students (n = 55)…

This study examined students' perceptions of attitudinal learning outcomes and instructional activities within a language and cultural exchange (LACE) course at a midwestern U.S. university and explored whether perceptions differed based on students' prior knowledge, major, and/or demographics. We utilized a mixed-methods approach to gather…

Background: The ability to effectively teach culturally and linguistically diverse students is critically important. Research has shown that providing teacher candidates educative experiences through critical service-learning can better prepare future teachers and can foster a social justice stance. Purpose: This study examines teacher candidates'…