Silence as a communicative act in face-to-face spontaneous interaction has been under-investigated in linguistic politeness research in Thailand. With the recent increase in the influx of foreign students gaining admission into Thai universities yearly, the result is that such universities will be a coexistence of cultures. This study therefore…

One of the most frequently touted benefits of higher education is the opportunity to interact with people different from oneself, yet these interactions do not automatically lead to positive outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore how one particular context for diversity interactions, service-based alternative break programs, may provide…

International activities in higher education are increasing as faculty prepare students to interact with others from different cultural backgrounds. Although exposure to different cultures is often accomplished through study abroad, there is a need to offer alternative and/or additional experiences that develop increased cultural awareness. This…

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to explore how multiple modes of knowledge play out in the consolidation of nursing procedures in construction of "local universality". The paper seeks to explore processes where nurses negotiate universal procedures that are to become local standards in a hospital. Design/methodology/approach: The paper…

In this paper I focus on sequences of interaction among youth where the participants engage in classroom related activities (such as spelling, discussion of essays, etc.). My paper is based on interactional and ethnographic data collected among youth in two different leisure contexts. I discuss how the participants by employment of various…

Research in home-school communication has incorporated little, to date, about participation by English as a second language (ESL) parents. This article examines the communication processes between recent Chinese immigrant parents and Canadian teachers at secondary school Parents' Nights. Drawing from observations of three annual Parents' Nights,…

Investigates how children use directives and forms of exclusion to organize play activity. Elementary school children of mixed ethnicity were observed playing jump rope over one month. Girls' dominance in the game was observed to change over time. The ability to use actions that tell others what to do in a very direct fashion in cross-sex…

Afrikaans and Sesotho are two of the 11 official languages of the Republic of South Africa. Data on the acquisition of these languages are scarce. It is interesting to compare the acquisition of the two languages because they are very different in grammatical structure. In addition, cultural differences may possibly be visible in the style of…

Interprets data collected from multi-modal sources (ethnographic interviewing and non-participant observation) using an analytic-inductive method to construct a new Layered Model of Problematic Intercultural Communication. Provides a holistic view of the ways the macro-context, individual (in)competencies, and dyadic communication behaviors…

Examines how students use gendered discourse practices in small peer group settings to accomplish their school tasks. The analysis contributes to the separate worlds hypothesis by showing how Latino children interactionally orient to their peer group as a gendered context. (Author/VWL)

Offers an alternative methodology for studying persuasive strategies by examining the persuasive strategies selected by professional persuaders representing those cultures being studied. Analyzes the persuasive styles of United States, Soviet Union and Arab diplomats involved in international negotiations in the Security Council of the United…

There is a need to systematically look at racial and ethnic differences as related to the counselor's own approach and values and the various schools of counseling. One way to do this is to analyze the actual counseling process and the goals the counselor holds as important for the client. (Author)

This study sought information regarding levels of cross-cultural interaction, barriers to successful interaction, and methods by which to increase interaction. The results are discussed in light of the need to promote intensive interpersonal interaction and open communication between American and foreign students. (Author)

An analysis of the generic characteristics of counseling reveals three variables that interact in such a way as to seriously hinder counseling with third-world groups. These are language variables, class-bound values, and culture-bound values. These generic characteristics are contrasted with value systems of various ethnic groups. Implications…

Offers a commentary on the studies of Kyratzis and Guo, Goodwin, Nakamura and Cook-Gumperz and Szymanski comprising the special issue of this journal. The special issue is situated in the history of gender studies in developmental pragmatics. The inadequately recognized role of cultural factors is highlighted. (Author/VWL)