An approach to English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) teaching that helps students prepare for intercultural communication is described, drawing on the literature of second language learning and intercultural communication. First, potential barriers to intercultural understanding are examined, including the culture-bound nature of communication,…

"Culture shock" is the expression generally associated with the frustrations that occur when persons have difficulty functioning in a different culture or when persons are exposed to individuals from another culture. Culture shock typically occurs in a 4-stage process that can unfold over varying lengths of time: the honeymoon, crisis,…

This study investigates whether the Student Mediation Model is useful for understanding how undergraduates learn from international teaching assistants (ITAs) teachers who are not from the United States and are not native English-speakers. The study examines a sample of over 8,300 students enrolled in beginning and more advanced calculus and…

This paper focuses on the framing of intercultural communication. The paper specifically engages those issues that impinge upon intercultural communication college course offerings--the place of intercultural communication within departments and universities, the reception and expectations in an intercultural communication course, and the…

Opening in 1981 to moviegoers in Japan, France, and the United States, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" became an international hit. Set in Botswana, the film covers a relatively small geographic area yet nevertheless can open classroom discussions about how many cultures and how much cultural diversity can exist in a small area. It has three…

A study was undertaken to demonstrate that expository prose written in Indian English exhibits certain characteristics determined by the sociocultural conventions of writing in the Indian tradition. These features of Indian English texts are often judged to be inappropriate by native speakers of North American and British English, and mistakenly…

To deal successfully with the French people in business, the American must first be conversant with his own culture. The French have a tradition of firm opinions and take an intellectual view of the world. Thinking is hierarchical, as is the French society. Education emphasizes strong command of the French language and all formal aspects of French…

Schools are an important source of personal identity and group integration. In Canada, schools are better equipped to contribute to both individual and group identities than they are to be agents of general social integration. The central goal of schools is to provide quality education, and part of this mission is being more confident and creative…

This paper gathers information on the values, cognition, and educational background of African students studying at universities in the United States. The section on values notes that Americans are task-oriented individualists, while Africans are primarily relationship-oriented collectivists. These values of sharing and relationship orientation…

Young people need help in learning alternative dispute resolution skills. A program that aims to do this, set in a context of preventing violent behavior, is presented here. It is structured into sixteen 45-minute sessions which can be presented by one teacher. The training is organized around the following seven themes: The Mediation Process,…

This paper discusses two types of adjustments that foreign students face when they encounter university culture in the United States. The central section lists and describes four key groups of underlying principles, values, and practices in American education and discusses the reasons why these may be difficult for foreign students to understand.…

Dealing with the relationships among language, communication, and culture, the 12 papers in this collection are divided into three parts. The first part deals with the critical issues related to language acquisition, context, and cognition. The second part presents an array of perspectives in analyzing the role of language in comparative…

It is argued that teaching and learning a second language for communicative competence should not lead to neglect of students' understanding of the way the language works, but rather should include constant development of language awareness. While use of the language in a variety of communicative activities is the central goal of instruction,…

Perception and effects of foreign language publications in engineering research are examined. Through the use of both survey and archival sources, including coverage in major scientific and technical databases as vended by DIALOG, various aspects of the foreign language barrier were measured. A foreign language barrier is said to exist when…

This paper proposes a course in business communication that includes international or global perspectives in its philosophy, content, and assignments. The course is proposed because current business education does not thoroughly address the global perspective in business communication, thereby making graduates assuming leadership roles in American…