Assessment of students' progress and learning is "sine qua non" to effective curricula and instruction. Assessing what students know and can do as well as analyzing their attitudes, behaviors, and interests have become an integral part of planning curricula which are responsive to and supportive of students' educational needs and…

Anyone who teaches or has taken a course in intercultural communication inevitably faces the task of defining culture. The purpose of this paper is to provide examples and suggestions for using film segments to help students understand some of the conceptual components of culture using different perspectives than those to which they may be…

The use of English-language films as tools for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at the university level is examined. The perspective in this paper is that both strong communicative skills and cross-cultural understanding are crucial components of ESL instruction, thus authentic English-language films (i.e., those made for the…

Some of the uses of laughter in conversation are examined, specifically as laughter occurs in a second language setting. Although the concepts of humor and laughter are often intertwined, not all laughter is humorous, nor does every humorous event evoke laughter. Furthermore, cross-cultural difference can contribute to misinterpretation of…

A study examined Japanese-American intercultural communication at the beginning stage from the perspective of Japanese participants. Data were collected in interviews with 50 Japanese visiting students to a large southwestern university for their account of their short-term (5-week) experience in America, which consisted of incidents, events, and…

D. P. Thompson (1987) pointed out that the e-mail network can help students work collaboratively, solve problems, and experience writing as communication in the real situation. This study examined the impact of e-mail debate on intercultural sensitivity, writing apprehension, and computer anxiety. Fifty-four students in two sections of a…

The percentage of students who speak and write English as a Second Language (ESL) is steadily increasing on all college campuses. Although only 8% of the student body at the Pennsylvania State University are ESL students, 15% of the Penn State Writing Center clientele are ESL students. In the past, the Penn State peer tutor training program has…

This paper reviews educational problems affecting American Indian students, particularly problems related to school climate, and describes efforts to improve school climate at Bennett County (South Dakota) High School. This public school serves the county and two reservations. It also accepts transfer students from Bureau of Indian Affairs schools…

A research project investigated the efficacy of reading methods utilized when a writer was on a sabbatical in the Shandong Province, People's Republic of China, teaching an Oral English Workshop for Chinese teachers of English at Yantai University. At the beginning of the project, students were assessed and placed into three levels based on their…

This paper describes how videotapes of C-SPAN programs were used to aid research and teaching of cross-cultural issues related to United States-China relations. The specific focus of the C-SPAN programs discussed was the reaction in the United States to the Chinese pro-democracy movement. The use of C-SPAN resource can benefit student…

A study investigated the nature and causes of the English language-based problems and the coping strategies of 44 Indonesian and 57 Malaysian students studying at Indiana University, Bloomington. The Indonesian and Malaysian student groups represented non-Commonwealth and Commonwealth students sharing the same native language roots but differed in…

This study describes the range of intercultural sensitivity in a small sample of seventh-grade students. The study examines the range of intercultural sensitivity and salient factors associated with it. Specifically the study seeks to clarify the understanding of the relationships that may exist among empathy, authoritarianism, gender,…

A study identified issues involved in teaching through difference. The research took place during the teaching of the subject "Cross Cultural Communication" at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. Students were predominantly women of mixed ethnic backgrounds who were mainly "mature-age" students undertaking university…

The report describes an ethnographic study of a New York City (New York) middle school that focused on the school as a setting for cultural interchange. The relatively small school has an ethnically and culturally diverse student body that strives to build a strong feeling of community. The study looked at ways in which the school attends to…

The papers collected in this volume, although taken from two separate seminars, represent for the most part various facets of the same problem area, that of cross-cultural discourse. Papers are: "Symbolic Internationalization: Beyond the Practical Use of Foreign Languages in Intercultural Education"; "How to Avoid Ethnocentricity and Stereotypes…