Articles
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Speech Codes Theory Applied to Problematic Situations in Intercultural Communication A Six-Step Iterative Training Cycle
Abstract: In this article, we propose a six-step iterative training cycle for intercultural trainers and trainees to understand the cultural codes underlying conflict in intercultural communication. We offer this training cycle, grounded in speech codes theory and ethnographic research methods, as a complementary alternative to traditional prescriptive cultural values approaches. Speech codes theory is a descriptive theory that conceptualizes culture... [...] Read more
Cultural Differences, Stereotypes and Communication Needs in Intercultural Communication in a Global Multicultural Environment The Employees’ Perspective
Abstract: This study examines the personal opinions of Chinese employees working in a multicultural environment on the relationship between cultural diversity and the efficacy of their communication in a multicultural environment. To better understand the connection between cultural background and efficient business communication, we conducted a questionnaire survey in 2014 among 20 employees from a Chinese subsidiary of a European top global... [...] Read more
Developing International Personas A new intercultural communication practice in globalized societies
Abstract: Personas have become a popular method in new product development. Personas have traditionally, and are still, primarily created to represent users from a single national culture at a time during the design process. This, however, is unsatisfactory for companies operating on a global market as they show an increasing interest in international personas. However, research on personas in a global context is limited. To address this gap, this... [...] Read more
Foregrounding Hybridity as a Master Trope in the Globalisation Discourses The Case of the Advertising Space of Lesotho
Abstract: The paper foregrounds linguistic and cultural hybridity as a master trope in the advertising space of Lesotho. Kraidy and Yazdiha’s postulations of hybridity together with the transformationalists view of globalisation and the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) provide the theoretical footing for the study. It is a qualitative study with data drawn from a total of seventeen adverts from the advertising space of Lesotho. A modification... [...] Read more
Minority Groups and Communication Apprehension An investigation of Kurdistan
Abstract: This study explores communication apprehension among the Iranian Kurdish minority group. Based on a sample of 157 self-administered surveys, the study investigates the relative communication apprehension (CA) score of Iranian Kurds and the influence of sex, age, and education on CA. Results revealed Kurds are relatively less apprehensive than many other cultures. It was also revealed that women have significantly higher levels of dyadic,... [...] Read more
Cultural Noticing, Language Learning, and Sources of Tension During a Study Abroad Experience Activity Systems Analysis
Abstract: The study reported below traces the developing intercultural competence and foreign language communicative competence of a Polish sophomore student of chemical technology as she becomes a border crosser in Portugal. The theoretical perspective taken up in the present paper rests on Activity Theory (Leontiev 1976, Vygotsky 1984) and the research methodology is based on its outgrowth, namely the Activity Systems Analysis (Engeström 1987, 2001).... [...] Read more
Turning Constructionist Intercultural Communicative Competence and Complex Systems Theory into Praxis
Abstract: While approaches to intercultural communicative competence (ICC) view the phenomenon as a modular notion, recent studies emphasize its constructionist nature. Thus, in this exploratory article we analyze critically current perspectives on ICC and discuss the potential applicability of the theory of complex systems for research on ICC drawing from a constructionist perspective. In order to illustrate the perspective, we evoke research on... [...] Read more