Examining Singaporean Students’ Perceptions of Quality Interaction with International Students During an Intercultural Communication Course
Abstract
This investigation identifies contextual characteristics associated with meaningful intercultural interactions between domestic students enrolled in a 13-week intercultural communication course and international students. After participating in an international student welcome and games event and three cultural encounters, domestic students completed post-activity reflection surveys that included a quality intercultural interaction scale and open-ended contextual questions. This mixed-method, convergent design approach employed factor analysis to assess the quantitative scale and utilized process and magnitude coding procedures for the qualitative data. Results suggest that meaningful intercultural interactions tend to occur when students have the opportunity to discover commonalities and experience cultural exchanges during unforced, natural, and enjoyable initial encounters. Additionally, self-disclosure, cultural learning, and personal growth characterize meaningful intercultural encounters with longer duration. These findings provide several recommendations for universities, administrators, and educators seeking to facilitate meaningful initial interactions and prolonged encounters between domestic and international students. This study also offers theoretical implications regarding intercultural relationship development and the role that domestic students play in creating a receptive host environment. Finally, this research introduces a newly developed quality intercultural interaction instrument that international educators can use to evaluate, compare, and enhance intercultural learning interventions.
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