The study aims to investigate Okinawan identity development among individuals who grew up in Okinawa and came to Hawai'i to study at a university or community college. The grounded theory approach was used for the qualitative inquiry. Nineteen participants were interviewed about their self-descriptions, spaces where their Okinawan consciousness…

In this study, we used a comprehensive survey instrument to examine the nexus of social support, academic assistance, and well-being among 190 university students, including 64 international and 126 Indian students, with gender parity. It addresses a critical gap in the literature by exploring how emotional and educational support intertwine and…

Intercultural sensitivity, which is seen as an affective component of intercultural competence, is crucial to cultivating one's favorable emotions about cultural differences experienced in intercultural communication. This qualitative study was conducted to find out how undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) students in Vietnam…

We studied the affective component of intercultural competence: intercultural sensitivity. Specifically, this mixed methods study will be used to understand how Latin American students experienced their experience studying abroad in the UK, including what and how they learned and changed. The study explores the relationships between intercultural…

Higher education institutions are a place where transformation is a guiding principle. Instructors, as major agents for change, are expected to have qualities that transcend the boundaries of one-size-fits-all. This study, therefore, examined the intercultural sensitivity of university instructors in Ethiopian public universities. It was primarily…

Research finds that going far from home has many positive psychological outcomes such as enhanced creative thinking, and research on creativity reveals that nonconformity can be a useful tool to stimulate innovation. Merging these findings, we theorise that foreign experiences increase nonconformist attitudes and behaviours. In Studies 1 and 2,…

Migration is a significant life event that usually triggers cross-cultural preparedness and the need for learning, even transformative learning. This exploratory study answers two research questions: How do Nigerian immigrants describe their preparedness for cross-cultural transition in Italy? What are the indications of transformative learning…

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…

In this article, the idea of the 'colonial signature' is advanced as a potentially pivotal response to triggers that deepen or act as barriers to intercultural learning. From a postcolonial positioning, empirical data is then examined to consider the responses to intercultural-learning triggers of 14 UK-based student teachers on a study visit to…

Teaching English literacy in First Nations Australian communities is bound up with the policy aim of improving the social and economic outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the desire to acknowledge, recognise and respect their unique cultural identities, languages and knowledges. But for English literacy teachers working…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how teachers can use their Sgaw Karen students' names as a means to gaining awareness of their students' home culture, language and personal stories. Design/methodology/approach: This case study uses interviews with four Karen families to explore the meanings behind the names and nicknames given…

Why do some study abroad students improve their intercultural skills, while others revert to less sophisticated ways of making sense of cultural difference? Both intercultural competence theory and transformative learning theory attempt to explain why student intercultural learning occurs, but they only provide partial answers. Building on our…

The international mobility of faculty is both a cause and an effect of globalization (Altbach & Knight, 2007). Each year, increasing numbers of teachers take positions in higher education outside their country of origin (Hutchison, 2015; Smith, 2000). Although many faculty members find the experience of living and working overseas satisfying…

Silence as a communicative act in face-to-face spontaneous interaction has been under-investigated in linguistic politeness research in Thailand. With the recent increase in the influx of foreign students gaining admission into Thai universities yearly, the result is that such universities will be a coexistence of cultures. This study therefore…

The aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of international students studying in Turkey and university students who are Turkish citizens and continue their education in Turkey in relation to being an international student with the help of metaphors. The study group consists of 79 students, 35 of which are Turkish citizens and 44 are…