In this qualitative action research study, the
purpose was to explore if the integration of an intercultural communication
component (ICC), and its relation to the area of digital war into an
undergraduate English course in Kuwait could improve the preparation of students
for their future studies and jobs. The study focused on the insufficient
acceptance of cultural diversity, besides its relation to the students’
misconceptions about digital war. Areas focused on in this study included; 1)
improvement of ICC knowledge, skills, and values of students as well as their
understanding of digital war; 2) students perceived
the incorporation of the ICC component into English courses with special
emphasis on the digital war topic as educational and eye-opening; 3) improvement
of intervention methods to ensure results; and 4) student-perceived impact, if any, of the ICC module on student attitudes and behaviours toward
other ethnic groups. The Deardorff (2011) model of intercultural competence was used to guide
the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and field
notes, after content and thematic analysis was conducted.
References
[1]
Aronson, J. (1995). A Pragmatic View of Thematic Analysis. The Qualitative Report, 2, 1-3. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/1995.2069
[2]
Belhiah, H., & Elhami, M. (2015). English as a Medium of Instruction in the Gulf: When Students and Teachers Speak. Language Policy, 14, 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-014-9336-9
[3]
Cho, J., & Trent, A. (2006). Validity in Qualitative Research Revisited. Qualitative Research, 6, 319-340. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794106065006
[4]
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2014). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Sage Publications.
[5]
Cupach, W. R., & Imahori, T. T. (1993). Identity Management Theory: Communication Competence in Intercultural Episodes and Relationships. Intercultural Communication Competence, 112, 131.
[6]
Deardorff, D. K. (2011). Assessing Intercultural Competence. New Directions for Institutional Research, 149, 65-79. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.381
[7]
Deardorff, D. K., & Hunter, W. (2006). Educating Global-Ready Graduates. International Educator, 15, 72-83.
[8]
Deardorff, D. K., & Jones, E. (2009). Intercultural Competence. In V. Savicki (Ed.), Developing Intercultural Competence and Transformation (pp. 32-52). Stylus Pub. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071872987.n28
[9]
Denzin, N. K. (2012). Triangulation 2.0. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6, 80-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689812437186
[10]
Edwards-Groves, C., & Grootenboer, P. (2015). Praxis and the Theory of Practice Architectures: Resources for Re-Envisioning English Education. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 38, 150-161.
[11]
Erguvan, D. (2015). Transnational Education in Turkey. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 5, 227. https://doi.org/10.5901/jesr.2015.v5n1p227
[12]
Ferdenzi, C., Joussain, P., Digard, B., Luneau, L., Djordjevic, J., & Bensafi, M. (2017). Individual Differences in Verbal and Non-Verbal Affective Responses to Smells: Influence of Odor Label across Cultures. Chemical Senses, 42, 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjw098
[13]
Fontana, A., & Frey, J. (1994). Interviewing: The Art of Science. In N. Denzin, & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 361-376). Sage Publications.
[14]
Hackney, K., Boggs, D., Kathawala, Y., & Hayes, J. (2014). Willingness to Study Abroad: An Examination of Kuwaiti Students. Journal of International Education and Leadership, 4, 1-34.
[15]
Hall, E. T. (2002). The History of Intercultural Communication: The United States and Japan.
[16]
Houghton, C., Murphy, K., Shaw, D., & Casey, D. (2015). Qualitative Case Study Data Analysis: An Example from Practice. Nurse Researcher, 22, 8-12. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr.22.5.8.e1307
[17]
Kim, J. (2018). Philosophy of Mind. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429494857
[18]
King, G., Nielsen, R., Coberley, C., Pope, J. E., & Wells, A. (2011). Comparative Effectiveness of Matching Methods for Causal Inference. Unpublished Manuscript, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University.
[19]
Knight, J. (2012). Concepts, Rationales, and Interpretive Frameworks in the Internationalization of Higher Education. In The SAGE Handbook of International Higher Education (pp. 27-42). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452218397.n2
[20]
Krippendorff, K. (2013). Commentary: A Dissenting View on So-Called Paradoxes of Reliability Coefficients. Annals of the International Communication Association, 36, 481-499. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2013.11679143
[21]
Leavitt, A., Keegan, B. C., & Clark, J. (2016). Ping to Win? Non-Verbal Communication and Team Performance in Competitive Online Multiplayer Games. In Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 4337-4350). The Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858132
[22]
Mulhall, A. (2003). In the Field: Notes on Observation in Qualitative Research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 41, 306-313. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02514.x
[23]
Mwesigye, A., & Muhangi, G. (2015). Globalization and Higher Education in Africa. Journal of Modern Education Review, 5, 97-112. https://doi.org/10.15341/jmer(2155-7993)/01.05.2015/010
[24]
Neuliep, J. W., & McCroskey, J. C. (1997). The Development of a US and Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale. Communication Research Reports, 14, 385-398. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824099709388682
[25]
Paige, R. M., & Goode, M. L. (2009). Intercultural Competence in International Education Administration: Cultural Mentoring: International Education Professionals and the Development of Intercultural Competence. In The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 333-349). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071872987.n19
[26]
Rothlauf, J. (2014a). 5. Intercultural Competence. In A Global View on Intercultural Management (pp. 121-140). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110376289.121
[27]
Rothlauf, J. (2014b). A Global View on Intercultural Management. De Gruyter Oldenbourg. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110376289
[28]
Shwom, B., Snyder, L. G., & Clarke, L. (2012). Business Communication: Polishing Your Professional Presence. Prentice Hall.
[29]
Snyder, C. (2012). A Case Study of a Case Study: Analysis of a Robust Qualitative Research Methodology. Qualitative Report, 17, 26.
[30]
Solomon, C. M., & Schell, M. S. (2009). Managing across Cultures. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
[31]
Sumner, W. G. (2019). Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals. Good Press.
[32]
Thomas, D. C., & Peterson, M. F. (2016). Cross-Cultural Management: Essential Concepts. Sage Publications.
[33]
Trent, M. S., Stead, C. M., Tran, A. X., & Hankins, J. V. (2006). Invited Review: Diversity of Endotoxin and Its Impact on Pathogenesis. Journal of Endotoxin Research, 12, 205-223. https://doi.org/10.1177/09680519060120040201
[34]
Yin, R. K. (2015). Qualitative Research from Start to Finish. Guilford Publications.
[35]
Yoshikawa, M. J. (1987). The Double-Swing Model of Intercultural Communication between the East and the West. In Communication Theory (pp. 319-329). Academic Press.
