This ethnographic study reports four teenage Chinese EAL students' learning journey in a UK independent school. Due to linguistic barriers, they encountered significant challenges in their social lives and academic studies. The school arranged EAL lessons to improve students' English proficiency. However, participants were concerned that the EAL…

With rising nationalism across the world, and increased tension between East and West, internationalisation of tertiary education is arguably more important than ever before. This paper reports on a study of international and local students' experiences of intercultural encounters in two Hong Kong universities. More than 100 students from all over…

Using intergroup contact and stigma management communication theories, this work examines the effect of cultural teaching and learning in Spanish language classes on cultural stigma, social distance, and ethnocentrism. Additionally, this study examines how individuals respond to positive and negative messages about foreigners. Survey results…

In this paper, we explore intercultural communication as dialogue occurring in a third space. Through seven students' reflective essays on group-based intercultural learning, we analyse the ever-shifting communicative space that interlocutors produce through negotiating the meanings of difference and power and their dialogic relations with the…

This study examines the acculturation characteristics of Chinese students in the context of a multicultural classroom. The Chinese yin-yang philosophy is used to provide another dimension of interpretation and analysis in addition to Berry's acculturation strategy framework. Qualitative data over a five-year period reveal their changing…

With the number of international postgraduate students in UK universities steadily increasing, there is great interest in understanding how institutions can more effectively meet these students' expectations and needs through programme-supported development of intercultural competence. This paper reports on a project that explored experiences and…

The 'intercultural turn' in foreign language education has brought to the fore the need to foster intercultural competences. Yet in contexts where virtually all intercultural communication is mediated by English as a foreign language (hereafter EFL), proficiency in that language determines to a large extent access to intercultural experiences,…

The terms used to designate ordinary relational identities seem easy to learn and translate. However, these interpersonal identities reflect complex mental constructs that are very sensitive to the variables that interact in human communication, particularly cultural variation. This paper describes a pilot project developed at the University of…

The following article explores the potential of Bertolt Brecht's theatre pedagogy for intercultural education research. It is argued that Brecht's pedagogical views on theatre connect to those interculturalists who prioritise the embodied dimensions of intercultural encounters over a competence-driven orientation. Both share a love for aesthetic…

This paper reports on a study of the identity perceptions of undergraduate and postgraduate students of Mandarin at UK universities. Interviews with 26 students were conducted over a three-year period, most of whom were multilingual. Approximately half spoke English as an additional language. The remainder were native speakers of English. The…

The Council of Europe's "Autobiography of Intercultural Encounter" (AIE) is a tool to develop intercultural competence (IC) in education by encouraging users to reflect upon and learn from momentous intercultural encounters they have experienced face to face. Its parallel resource, the "Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters…

In order to internationalize higher education, universities across Asia have engaged in aggressive recruitment of international students and increased provision of English-medium instruction (EMI). While many studies have examined Asian international students' intercultural interactions during class discussions in Western/English-speaking…

Higher Education mirrors the shifting nature of society and work. Mobility may provide unparalleled learning opportunities for all stakeholders; however, in order to live and work in plural societies as socially responsible and intercultural knowledgeable citizens, intercultural awareness and intercultural communication skills need to be mastered.…

Effective intercultural communication depends not only on language skills, but also on the ability to apply these skills appropriately and efficiently in a variety of cross-cultural situations. The language teacher's task is to develop in their students the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will help them interact with interlocutors coming from…

Vietnam's open-door policy, its socialist-oriented market economy, recent growth in cross-border education and skills mobility, regionalisation and globalisation have created an increasing demand for Vietnamese graduates to develop not only their English language but also their intercultural competence. This paper discusses the issue of student…