What’s a semester worth? Global perspectives, L2 /intercultural sensitivity development in Chinese...

What’s a semester worth? Global perspectives, L2 /intercultural sensitivity development

in Chinese students abroad

Professor Jane Jackson and Ms. Cui JiayingThe Chinese University of Hong Kong

[email protected] & [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Outline of presentation

A. Profile of home institution (CUHK) • Mission • Internationalization aims/Exchange quotas

B. Measuring the impact of a semester abroad• Research design/methodology• Findings of main study

• Experimental-Control groups• Case studies of student sojourners• Implications for intervention/support

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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

• A comprehensive, bilingual (Chinese-English) research institution with ‘a global vision and a mission to combine tradition with modernity, and bring together China and the West’;

• One of the top 5 Univs. in Asia (QS rankings);• 20,000+ undergraduate/postgraduate students,

including 3,000 from outside Hong Kong;• CUHK’s internationalization aims are

embedded in the Mission Statement & 5-yr Strategic Plans

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CUHK’s Internationalization Strategies

• The University aims to increase the exchange quota so that 30% of each UG cohort will go on exchange for a semester or a year;

• In 2012-13, 877 undergraduates are taking part in a bilateral student exchange program for a semester or one year;

• There will be approx. 1,100 outgoing exchange students in 2014-15 and 970 in 2015-16;

• The number of incoming exchange students will gradually increase to 970 by 2013-14 (with increasing diversity).

Research questions relevant to intercultural sensitivity

1. Do students who participate in a semester-long exchange program experience greater gains in intercultural sensitivity, L2 confidence, and global-mindedness than peers on the home campus?

2. Are there differential gains within groups? What might account for this?

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Research design

• Pre-test, post-test, mixed-method experimental design study

– Experimental group (Undergraduates who participated in an exchange program in the first semester of the academic year)

– Control group (Undergraduates on campus for the first semester prior to going on exchange in the second semester)

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Assessment Instruments: Pre-test

Experimental & Control groups:• Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)• Pre-Sojourn International Exchange

Survey (In-house)

• Protocol for semi-structured interview22 students from the Experimental group were interviewed prior to the sojourn (opportunistic sample)

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Assessment instruments: Post-test

Experimental Group• IDI• Post-Sojourn

International Exchange Survey

• Semi-structured interviews (The 22 participants who were interviewed pre-sojourn were invited to be interviewed after their sojourn.)

Control Group• IDI• Post-semester survey

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Data analysis• IDI/SPSS analysis of quantitative (survey) data

• Triangulation of all elements with NVivo 10

• Content analysis of qualitative data (e.g., interview transcripts, open-ended survey responses)

• Pre- & post- comparison of learning experience/ outcomes within and between groups (Experimental & Control Groups)

• Preparation of full-group profiles & analysis of individual developmental trajectories (case studies)

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Profile of Control group (N = 141)Sex: 85 (60.3%) female 56 (39.7%) male Average age: 20.16 yrs. Average GPA: 3.35Year of study

39 (27.7%) Second year 13 (9.2%) Fourth year88 (62.4%) Third year 1 (0.7%) Postgraduate

Ethnicity: 141 (100%) Chinese Previous travel abroad

56 (39.7%) no 85 (60.3%) yesPrevious education abroad

109 (77.3%) no 32 (22.7%) yes (typically, short-term sojourn in English-speaking country)

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Control Group (N = 141)Area of Study

Business admin. 81 (57.4%)Social Science 30 (21.3%)

Arts 11 (7.8%)Science 10 (7.1%)

Engineering 9 (6.4%)

Destination (T2 2011-12)

United States 42 (29.8%)China 21 (14.9%)Canada 16 (11.3%)Netherlands 14 (9.9%)Sweden 7 (5%)Australia 6 (4.3%)France 5 (3.5%)Switzerland 5 (3.5%)U.K. 5 (3.5%)New Zealand 3 (2.1%)South Korea 2 (1.4%)Singapore 2 (1.4%)Other 8 (5.7%)

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Profile of Expt. Group (N = 105)Sex: 66 (62.9%) female 39 (37.1%) maleAverage age: 20.74 yrs Average GPA: 3.31Year of study:

13 (12.4%) Second year 35 (32.3%) Fourth year56 (53.3%) Third year 1 (1%) Post graduate

Ethnicity: 105 (100%) ChinesePrevious travel abroad

43 (41.0%) no 62 (59.0%) yes

Previous education abroad 83 (79.0%) no 22 (21.0%) yes (typically, short-

term sojourn in English-speaking country)

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Experimental group (105)Area of study

Business admin. 53 (50.5%)

Social Science 20 (19%)

Arts 13 (12.4%)

Science 10 (9.5%)

Education 5 (4.8%)

Engineering 4 (3.8%)

Destination (T1 2011-12)

United States 40 (38%)Canada 12 (11.4%)Australia 10 (9.5%)France 6 (5.7%)South Korea 6 (5.7%)Singapore 5 (4.8%)Mexico 4 (3.8%)Denmark 4 (3.8%)Finland 3 (2.9%)New Zealand 3 (2.9%)China 3 (2.9%)UK 3 (2.9%)Other 6 (11.7%) 14

Findings related to intercultural sensitivity

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Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)

Denial Inability to construe cultural difference

Defense Other cultures are viewed as threats

Defense/Reversal Other cultures are exalted at own culture's expense

Minimization(Transitional phase)

Recognition of common humanity regardless of culture; a transitional orientation

Acceptance Recognition & appreciation of cultural differences in behavior & values

Adaptation Able to consciously shift perspective/ behavior in different cultural contexts (Milton Bennett, 1993) 16

Pre-Test Overall IDI Profile (Control group)

• Perceived Orientation (PO): 118.11 (Acceptance)

• Developmental Orientation (DO): 82.47 (on the Cusp of Minimization)

• Orientation Gap (OG): 36.64 - Great overestimation of intercultural competence

• Trailing Orientations (TO): All worldviews in transition

• Leading Orientations (LO): Acceptance through Adaptation

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Pre-Test Overall IDI Profile (Experimental Group)


• Developmental Orientation (DO):76.88 (Polarization: Defense/Reversal)



• Leading Orientations (LO): Minimization throughAcceptance

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Pre-Test IDI Profiles: A comparison of Experimental & Control Groups

Both groups were in an ethnocentric stage of development (Control group: on the cusp of Minimization; the Expt. Group: Polarization);

Both possessed significantly inflated opinions about their levels of intercultural sensitivity;

Trailing issues: In both groups, all worldviews were in transition;

The Leading Orientations (LO) were Acceptance and Adaptation (Control group) and Minimization, Acceptance and Adaptation (Experimental Group).

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Post-Test Overall IDI Profile (Control Group)

• Perceived Orientation (PO): 117.05 (acceptance)

• Developmental Orientation (DO): 80.67 (Polarization: Defense/Reversal)



• Leading Orientations (LO): Minimization through Acceptance

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Post-Test Overall IDI Profile (Experimental Group)


• Developmental Orientation (DO): 82.86 (at the Cusp of Minimization)

• Orientation Gap (OG): 35.22 (Great overestimation of intercultural competence)

• Trailing Orientations (TO): Most worldviews still in transition; Reversal resolved

• Leading Orientations (LO): Acceptance throughAdaptation

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A comparison of Experimental & Control groups (IDI Outcomes)

• While the Control group regressed slightly (-1.8 points), the Experimental group shifted in the direction of greater intercultural sensitivity (+5.98 pts) moving into Minimization, indicating that the semester abroad had positively impacted on their ‘intercultural worldview’;

• Both cohorts retained a very inflation perception of their level of intercultural sensitivity. (OG:

36.38 for Control group; 35.22 for Expt group)

Insights from the qualitative data

Semi-structured interviews (22)Pre-sojourn (Avg. length: 80 mins.)Post-sojourn (Avg. length: 90 mins.)

Open-ended survey responses

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Individuals who made the least gains in intercultural sensitivity:

– did not have clear goals or a strategic plan for how to optimize their stay in the host culture;

– had unrealistic expectations for their stay abroad;

– demonstrated little awareness of language- and culture-learning strategies/ways to diversify social networks;

– tended to spend most of their free time with conationals (using their L1)/ interacting with friends and family back home on SKYPE.

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Those who made the most gains in intercultural sensitivity:

– were more aware of strategies to employ to increase their intercultural/L2 contact;

– formed friendships with international students (diverse) & a few host nationals;

– were more willing to initiate interactions in their L2;

– demonstrated more understanding of the rationale behind different practices, e.g. ‘cultures of learning’;

– became more interested in global/international affairs (e.g., demonstrated more global-mindedness).

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More key findings…• Most returnees claimed that they had

become more confident in their L2 use;• A high level of proficiency in the host

language, however, did not ensure a high level of intercultural sensitivity;

• A complex array of internal (e.g., degree of openness, agency) and external factors (e.g., host receptivity, housing) impacted on international learning and the development of intercultural/L2 competence.

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Case Studies ofPRC student sojourners:

Rex and Lucy

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Profiles of Rex and LucyRex Lucy

Age 20 19Gender Male Female

Faculty Business Admin. Science

Year of study 2 2

GPA 3.52 3.49Host country U.S. U.S.

Exchange residenceOn-campus housing with 3 local students

On-campus housingwith 3 local students

TOEFL 112 113

Previous travel or education abroad

• 7-week summer study abroad prog. in U.S •4-week summer study abroad prog. and travel in London

•4-week summer study abroad prog. and travel in London 29

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Year-long Data Collection

Stage One:Pre-Sojourn (May-Aug2011)

Stage Two:Sojourn(Sep-Dec 2011)

Stage Three:Immediate Post-Sojourn(Jan 2011-Feb 2012)

Stage Four:Post Post-Sojourn(Jun-Jul 2012)

Pre-sojourn survey ×

Immediate post-sojourn survey ×

Post post-sojourn survey ×

Pre-sojourn interview ×

Immediate post-sojourn interview ×

Post post-sojourn interview ×

Weekly journals/blogs × × ×

Network contact logs ×

Guided emails × × ×

Findings related to L2 development, intercultural

sensitivity and global- mindedness

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Rex’s story

• Pre-sojourn• Sojourn• Immediate post-sojourn• Post post-sojourn

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Rex’s story: pre-sojourn

• language– High instrumental motivation toward English

“I have to say that my motivation toward language is very instrumental. I’m a practical person. English is a very useful language so I want to learn it well.” (pre-sojourn interview)

– Improving English was not a goal for SA– Very optimistic about using English daily while

abroad

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Rex’s story: pre-sojourn

• Intercultural sensitivity & global-mindedness– Perceived himself as very open-minded and

wished to learn more about different cultures “My attitude towards culture is very receptive. Knowing

different cultures is like mastering different skills. It won’t give you any burden. The more you know, the better you become.” (pre-sojourn interview)

– interested in living and working abroad in the future

– Not a global citizen: limited int’l exposure; little interest in events happening outside China

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Rex’s story: Sojourn • Language:

– Became more fluent and confident in using English• Major source of English improvement: discussion of

academic project with project-mates– Rarely used English either inside or outside the

classroom• Not active in class discussions• Conational social network

– Change in attitude toward use of English

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Attitude toward use of English

“Life was so dull there. I spent a lot of time on the internet. I watched TV dramas online. One interesting thing is that I opted to watch Chinese TV dramas rather than American ones which I used to watch when I was back in China. I didn’t know why but I just didn’t want to listen to English in my free time. It was just so overwhelming to use it every day.”

(immediate post-sojourn interview)

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Rex’s story: Sojourn

• Intercultural sensitivity & global-mindedness– Culture shock: weather, food, apartment lifestyle,

etc.– Homesickness: desperately wanted to go back to

China (“I’m more comfortable living in China.”)– Negative reactions to cultural differences

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Negative reaction to Parties and clubbing

“Tonight I joined an activity organized by the International Students Association, and we went to a place which was a bit like a bar. My friends and I left early as we found it very boring. We just talked very superficially with strangers. I didn’t have any desire to go to such places. Foreigners like to drink wine and talk for a whole night without any meaningful topics.” (week4, sojourn blog)

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Adverse reaction to different ‘cultures of learning’

“I had great difficulty understanding some professors’ lectures. We (Asians) felt very confused when the teacher told some jokes or stories as we couldn’t get the point. I don’t think the jokes were funny but the Americans laughed to death. Sometimes I even felt annoyed as the teachers were supposed to notice the various background of students.” (immediate post-sojourn interview)

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Rex’s story: Immediate post-sojourn • language

– A significant decline since his return to HK“There was a very noticeable decline in my English after I came back to HK for a month. When I was in the US, I found my Cantonese became worse. I think you have to use the language, otherwise it will decline.” (immediate post-sojourn interview)

– No change in motivation: Viewed English as a very useful language that he needed to learn well

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Rex’s story: Immediate post-sojourn

• Intercultural sensitivity & global-mindedness– Lack of intercultural sensitivity (e.g., negative

reaction toward cultural differences)

“My roommate was an African American. He is really a strange guy as he does not care about personal hygiene at all and I still feel very frightened just thinking about him. He ran in the apartment with bare feet on the dirty carpet. I found it strange to do so. I also don’t like that Americans clean the cooking utensils only after a long time.”


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– Increased sense of belonging to China and stronger attachment to family (“Home is where family is”)

– Loss of desire to work or live abroad

“I don’t have much desire to travel in other countries, since I have already visited UK and U.S.. When I was young I had the thought of working or living abroad. My imagination of America at that time was all good. But after my two visits I changed my idea. America is not as good as I’d imagined. Now, I’m more motivated to learn about the Hong Kong insurance market as I will work in Hong Kong after graduation.” (immediate post-sojourn interview)

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Intercultural sensitivity & global-mindedness

Rex’s story: Post post-sojourn

• language– Self-rated level of English proficiency: Pre-sojourn:

3; Sojourn: 4.5; immediate post-sojourn: 3.5; post post-sojourn: 2.5

– Wishes to enhance his English but doesn’t know how to go about it (no concrete plans)

– Increased interest in Spanish because of his passion for Spanish food and pleasant interaction with people from Mexico

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Rex’s story: Post post-sojourn

• Intercultural sensitivity & global-mindedness– Still not interested in other cultures– Enhanced interest in learning more about China

(increased sense of belonging to China; a stronger national identity)

– Increased appreciation of teaching approaches and life at CUHK “If you really want to learn something, then CUHK is the best place and teachers here are far more responsible” (post post-sojourn interview)

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Rex’s story: Post post-sojourn • Interest in international affairs (survey results)

1. How often do you read a newspaper or internet report about int’l affairs?

2. How often do you watch TV reports about int’l affairs?

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never Once a month Once a week 2-3times a week daily

pre-sojourn ×

Immediate post-sojourn ×

post post-sojourn ×


pre-sojourn ×



Lucy’s story

• Pre-sojourn• Sojourn• Immediate post-sojourn• Post post-sojourn

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Lucy’s story: pre-sojourn

• Language– Viewed English simply as a tool– No special feelings towards English– The GRE exam was the only driving factor for

her to enhance her English– English improvement was not a primary goal for

her sojourn

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Lucy’s story: pre-sojourn

• Intercultural sensitivity & global-mindedness– Not very open to new things (e.g., food) but willing

to try – Aspired to change (e.g., become more open-

minded and mature) primary goal– Proud of Chinese culture but perceived herself to

be very receptive to different cultures“Actually I am very proud of traditional Chinese culture. Meanwhile, I’d like to observe different cultures so that I can assimilate some good parts of each culture.” (pre-sojourn interview)

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Lucy’s story: Sojourn

• Language:– English was the most frequently used language

while abroad as most of her friends were int’l students

– The language used in her diary changed from Chinese to English in the middle of the sojourn

– Learned some local expressions or idioms through interacting with roommates and other international students

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“I was very attentive to my roommates’ conversations. I observed how they dealt with people and how they talked (e.g., their intonation, their usage of words, etc.). It was a very interesting learning process. Some idioms or expressions were picked up in this way. For example, at the beginning, when others called my name, my response is ‘en?’, a typical Chinese way. Later I found that Americans use ‘what’ instead and then I acquired their way of response.”


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English development

Lucy’s story: Sojourn

• Intercultural sensitivity & global-mindedness– Intense curiosity and willingness to try new things – Actively took part in local activities (e.g., parties,

clubbing and dancing activities)– Positive reaction to cultural differences:

“I would ask my roommates whenever I was confused about anything. I also tried my best to understand why they did this and that, and I would stand in their shoes and think from their points of view. It helped a lot.” (immediate post-sojourn interview)

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Lucy’s story: Immediate post-sojourn

• Language– Significant change in feelings toward English

“Now I’m very positive about English. It’s a language of communication. It’s not very complicated and sounds quite pleasant. I used to treat it as just an academic subject in high school, which involves a lot of memorizing. I feel more close to it now because it’s part of my life. It’s really very useful and I’m very motivated to learn it well.” (immediate post-sojourn interview)

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Lucy’s story: Immediate post-sojourn • Intercultural sensitivity & global-mindedness

– Has a passion to experience other cultures and interact with people from different cultural backgrounds “I will try to get to know more people and travel to other countries in the future.” (immediate post-sojourn interview)

– Strongly desired to learn more about China as well as other countries

– Future plan: • to work in HK for 3 more years to get permanent residency • long-term plan is to go abroad.

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Lucy’s story: Post post-sojourn • language

– Self-rated level of English proficiency: Pre-sojourn: 2.5; Sojourn: 3.8; post post-sojourn: 3.5

– From thinking in English back to thinking in Chinese– The language used to write her diary changed from

English back to Chinese– Even so, she stressed that she had developed a closer

attachment to English due to the sojourn:“Using English becomes more natural for me now. It’s one of the languages that I can use. It’s not a thing to be learnt just for credits; it is to be used for communication.” (post post-sojourn interview)

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Lucy’s story: Post post-sojourn • Intercultural sensitivity & global-mindedness

– Continued to express curiosity and interest in other cultures“I tried so many interesting things and interacted with so many interesting people during my exchange so now I have intense passion to find out more. SA arouses my curiosity to try new things and fired my enthusiasm to travel and experience different cultures.”(Post post-sojourn interview)

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– Enlarged social network (more open to friends and more willing to interact with others)

– Maintained close contact with friends made abroad through Facebook

– Continues some sojourn behaviors (e.g., dancing, going to parties, experiencing new things, watching foreign movies to learn about different cultures)

– Decided to share a room with an international exchange student in a university hostel

– Very determined to go abroad in the future– SA enhanced her interest in other cultures

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Lucy’s story: Post post-sojourn • Interest in international affairs (survey results)

1. How often do you read a newspaper or internet report about int’l affairs?

1. How often do you watch TV reports about int’l affairs?

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pre-sojourn ×




pre-sojourn ×



Summary of Rex and Lucy's stories

Language• Both perceive certain gains in English (e.g., enhanced

fluency, confidence, listening and speaking skills).• Both feel more natural/comfortable using English.• Both reported less use of English after their return

and appeared to be less invested in enhancing their English, raising questions about the lasting impact of SA on L2 development/use.

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Summary of Rex and Lucy's stories


“-” ： decrease in level; “+” ： increase in level

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Rex LucyReaction to cultural differences negative positiveOpenness - - + ++interest in int’l affairs - - + +Passion to explore dif. cultures - - + + +Curiosity and willingness to try new things - - + + +

Future plan China Abroad

Major factors leading to different developmental trajectories

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Rex Lucy

SA goals Relaxation Pursuit of self-change

Social network Conational network Intercultural network

Self-positioning A touristA full-time student sojourner who wants to experience the local life

Level of Agency Avoidance strategy

Exercised high level of agency

Implications for pre-sojourn orientations, sojourn support &

re-entry programming

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Pedagogical implications (1)

• Brief pre-departure orientation sessions, while essential/valuable, cannot adequately prepare students to be fully engaged, language/culture learners in an international environment;

• Students who perceive their intercultural sensitivity to be far higher than it actually is may not realize the importance of intercultural communication/pre-sojourn preparation until they are abroad;

• My earlier ethnographic research with short-term sojourners found that students benefit from on-going guided, structured reflection. This is apt to be the case for exchange students as they also start off with high levels of ethnocentricism and vague sojourn aims.

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Pedagogical implications (2)• Intensive preparation, ongoing support (e.g., online) and

reentry debriefings should help students get more out of international experience & extend their learning at home;

• Any intervention should consider the students’ level of intercultural sensitivity (e.g., IDI scores, analysis of narratives/interviews); curricula must be appropriate for the participants;

• Pedagogical interventions should be documented, evaluated, and shared to benefit other SA educators;

• More work needs to be done to better understand the developmental trajectories of student sojourners from Asia to determine the most appropriate interventions.

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Thank you for listening!Thank you for listening!

[email protected]@gmail.com



References• Bolen, M. C. (ed.) (2007). A Guide to Outcomes Assessment in

Education Abroad. Carlisle, PA: Forum on Education Abroad.• Deardorff, D. (2009). The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural

Competence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.• Hammer, J. (2009a). Intercultural Development Inventory v. 3 (IDI).

(See www.idiinventory.com)• ----- (2009b). The Intercultural Development Inventory: An approach

for assessing and building intercultural competence. In M. A. Moodian (ed.) Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence (pp. 203-217). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Jackson, J. (2008). Language, Identity, and Study Abroad: Sociocultural Perspectives. London: Equinox.

• ----- (2010). Intercultural Journeys: From Study to Residence Abroad. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

• ----- (2011). Assessing the impact of a semester abroad using the IDI and semi-structured interviews, (Distinguished paper award) Proceedings of the 2nd Intercultural Development Inventory conference, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

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http://www.idiinventory.com/

Acknowledgements

• Teaching Development Grant (TDG 2009-12) (#4170338) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong

• General Research Fund (GRF) (2010-12)

(#2110167) from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong

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