Trải nghiệm giao tiếp liên văn hóa của những thành viên tham gia chương trình trao đổi ngắn hạn khu vực nghiên cứu nhiều đối tượng

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS & CULTURES OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

GRADUATION PAPER

INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCES OF SHORT-TERM
REGIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM ALUMNI: A
MULTIPLE-CASE STUDY

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thanh Hà
Student: Phan Thị Thu Hiền
Course: QH2015.F1.E1

HÀ NỘI - 2019


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA NGƠN NGỮ VÀ VĂN HỐ CÁC NƯỚC NĨI TIẾNG ANH

KHỐ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

TRẢI NGHIỆM GIAO TIẾP LIÊN VĂN HÓA CỦA
NHỮNG THÀNH VIÊN THAM GIA CHƯƠNG TRÌNH
TRAO ĐỔI NGẮN HẠN KHU VỰC: NGHIÊN CỨU NHIỀU
ĐỐI TƯỢNG

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thanh Hà
Sinh viên: Phan Thị Thu Hiền
Khoá: QH2015.F1.E1

HÀ NỘI - 2019


Supervisor's Signature of Approval:

Hanoi, May 2nd, 2019


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work would not be possible if it were not for the support from
others. I would like to thank my supervisor, Nguyen Thanh Ha, for guiding and
giving me a lot of useful advice. Throughout the project, I encountered
problems and hard questions which were all addressed properly with her
timely assistance. Besides, I felt very grateful towards my three participants,
who were willing to spend time sharing information for my research. They
were all kind and supportive when I had to inquire their personal experiences.
Their participation was the key element to the accomplishment of my thesis.
Additionally, I want to pay my gratitude to Ms. Hoang Thi Hanh, whose
comments were extremely valuable to me when I was confused and puzzled
about research topic at the beginning. Her guidance made me become more
confirmed and clearer about the research track to follow. Last but not least, I
highly appreciate my dear classmates and my family for constant
encouragement and motivation.

i


ABSTRACT
The popularity of exchange programs or study abroad programs has

been on an unprecedented increase. My research investigated the intercultural
experiences of participants in a relatively new type of exchange program –
short term regional ones. In addition, I looked at the perceived outcomes – their
impacts on intercultural knowledge acquisition and attitude change as
perceived by the participants themselves. My research adopted the qualitative
case study design where I selected three alumni of such programs who differed
in terms of experience richness and program focus. Using semi-structured
interviews that encourage participants to critically reflect on their previous
experience, the study revealed that the majority of intercultural experiences
occurred during the program while pre-departure experiences were rarely
accounted. Typically, targeted programs did not hold any follow-up activities
so my participants relined mostly on gained international relationship for postevent experiences. For impacts of the programs, my participants gained
significantly about social, historical, linguistic, cultural values and specialized
knowledge. On the other hand, attitudes changed both negatively and positively
while the former exceeded the latter. Unpredictably, the findings confirmed the
necessity of reflection in making intercultural experiences meaningful and
long-lasting.

ii


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work would not be possible if it were not for the support from others. I would
like to thank my supervisor, Nguyen Thanh Ha, for guiding and giving me a lot of useful advice.
Throughout the project, I encountered problems and hard questions which were all addressed
properly with her timely assistance.

Besides, I felt very grateful towards my three

participants, who were willing to spend time sharing information for my research. They were

iii


all kind and supportive when I had to inquire their personal experiences. Their participation
was the key element to the accomplishment of my thesis. Additionally, I want to pay my
gratitude to Ms. Hoang Thi Hanh, whose comments were extremely valuable to me when I was
confused and puzzled about research topic at the beginning. Her guidance made me become
more confirmed and clearer about the research track to follow. Last but not least, I highly
appreciate my dear classmates and my family for constant encouragement and motivation.

iv


ABSTRACT
The popularity of exchange programs or study abroad programs has been on an
unprecedented increase. My research investigated the intercultural experiences of
participants in a relatively new type of exchange program – short term regional ones. In
addition, I looked at the perceived outcomes – their impacts on intercultural knowledge
acquisition and attitude change as perceived by the participants themselves. My research
adopted the qualitative case study design where I selected three alumni of such programs
who differed in terms of experience richness and program focus. Using semi-structured
interviews that encourage participants to critically reflect on their previous experience, the
study revealed that the majority of intercultural experiences occurred during the program
while pre-departure experiences were rarely accounted. Typically, targeted programs did not
hold any follow-up activities so my participants relined mostly on gained international
relationship for post-event experiences. For impacts of the programs, my participants gained
significantly about social, historical, linguistic, cultural values and specialized knowledge. On
the other hand, attitudes changed both negatively and positively while the former exceeded
the latter. Unpredictably, the findings confirmed the necessity of reflection in making
intercultural experiences meaningful and long-lasting.

v


TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................... v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................1
1.1. RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE ....................................................................................... 1
1.2. SIGNIFICANCE ............................................................................................................................................... 2
1.3. SCOPE.................................................................................................................................................................. 2
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................3
2.1. EXCHANGE PROGRAM ............................................................................................................................. 3
2.2. INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCES OF SHORT TERM PROGRAM ....................................... 6
2.2.1. Intercultural competence ........................................................................................................................ 6
2.2.2. The nature of intercultural experience ............................................................................................... 7
2.2.3. Types of cultural experiences ............................................................................................................... 7
2.2.4. Sources of Intercultural experiences ................................................................................................... 8
Interpersonal interaction ........................................................................................................................... 8
Organized activities ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Informal experiences ................................................................................................................................. 10
2.3. IMPACTS OF SHORT TERM PROGRAM ON PARTICIPANTS IN TERMS OF
INTERCULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND ATTIDUES .......................................................................... 10
2.3.1. The role of reflection intercultural learning .................................................................................. 10
2.3.2. Intercultural knowledge gain and attitude change ....................................................................... 11
2.3.3. Types of changes.................................................................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 16
3.1. RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................................................................. 16
3.2. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS ......................................................................................................... 16
3.2.1. Criteria for selection ............................................................................................................................. 16

3.2.2. My participants ....................................................................................................................................... 16
3.3. DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................................................. 17
3.4. DATA ANALYSIS METHOD: THEMATIC ANALYSIS ............................................................. 18
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................. 20
vi


4.1. OVERVIEW OF PARTICIPANTS’ EXPERIENCES IN THEIR EXCHANGE PROGRAMS
...................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
4.2. FINDINGS ....................................................................................................................................................... 23
4.2.1. Research question 1: Intercultural experiences ............................................................................ 23
4.2.2. Research question 2: Intercultural knowledge gain and attitude change ............................. 26
4.2.2.1. New intercultural knowledge................................................................................................. 26
4.2.2.2. Attitude changes .......................................................................................................................... 30
4.2.3. Unexpected findings ............................................................................................................................. 32
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................. 38
5.1. FINDING SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 38
5.2. LIMITATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ........................... 38
5.3. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................... 39
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................ 41
APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ........................................................................................ 47

vii


CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE
The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have witnessed unprecedented
change as the scope and complexity of the international education have expanded and
deepened exponentially. This may be best represented in the dramatic rise in the mobility of

students, academics and knowledge (Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) 2007, as cited in Gu et al, 2010). Statistics on student mobility show that
in 2013, more than 4.1 million tertiary students studied outside their home countries
compared to 2.8 million in 2005 – a 31% increase (UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics, 2015).
The Global Student Mobility 2025 report even predicts that the demand for international
education will increase l to 7.2 million in 2025 (as cited in Gu et al, 2010).
Apart from traditional study abroad programs for students to pursue academic credits,
there has been a newly formed product of international education – short term exchange
programs. Unlike other higher education courses, the short term programs’ duration usually
does not exceed six months. Although there is no specific statistics for this type of programs,
several researchers such as Endes (2015); González; Mesanza and Mariel (2011); Williams
and Baláž (2004) focused on investigating participants’ intercultural development or
program’s effectiveness. The problem is that most of the conducted research concentrates on
well-known or prestigious programs like Aupair, Eramus Mundus or the ones specially
designed to exchange students among outstanding universities in different nations. Hence,
little attention has been paid to regional forums – one type of arising international exchange
programs specifically focusing on one topic and lasting from two days to two weeks. Due to
the short duration and variation of primary themes, those programs tend to be overlooked by
researchers in terms of intercultural learning. Regardless of the time limit, the purposes are
stated to boost mutual understanding about cultural diversity. The short term exchange
program still claim to prepare participants for future intercultural communication by creating
a platform for cultural sharing and interaction. From that, questions have been raised over the
effectiveness in improving cultural understanding of the participants. From the perspective of
an insider, who have participated in one regional forum, I also wonder about the cultural
learning that participants acquired and what changes they underwent thanks to these
programs. Therefore, I will focus my research on the following two questions:
From exchange program alumni’s perspectives:
1

1. What intercultural experiences did the participants have when attending regional
short term exchange program?
2. What intercultural learning did the participants report in terms of new cultural
knowledge and changed attitudes?
1.2. SIGNIFICANCE
The purpose of this research is to identify intercultural experiences that short-termed
exchange program participants had. More detailed insights into influences of such experiences
on intercultural learning in terms of knowledge and attitudes are given. This partly could
inform both exchange program designers and students who are interested in such programs.
My research is expected to support further research into intercultural competence
development or programs designed to facilitate intercultural learning. Moreover, South Asia,
the targeted region, is home to diversity of culture and it has growing influence on member
nations as regarded to the increasing trading and diplomacy among nations. Therefore,
researching this area might support the further research into intercultural competence
development or intercultural adaptability of the youth here.
1.3. SCOPE
My research concentrated on the intercultural experiences of alumni from short term
exchange programs in the South Asia. There was no restriction against the number of
programs but due to the limited time and resources, I only investigated three cases, which is a
quite reasonable number for a multiple case study. I researched the intercultural experiences
and learning of alumni after returning home. Therefore, I only analyzed the information that
the participants remembered and shared in the interview. Referring to knowledge acquisition
and attitude change, I also only inspected what my informants noticed after joining the
programs.

2


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. EXCHANGE PROGRAM

At a time when global markets, communication technologies, and transportation
systems have vastly increased multicultural contact in our daily lives, intercultural skills
become crucial. Higher education institutions have been striving to address such
requirements by offering a broad array of study abroad programs that encourage different
types of students to study abroad (Medina-Lopez-Portillo, 2004). Engle and Engle (2003)
summarize seven key components of study abroad programs that define their variety:
program duration, entry language competence of participants, extent to which target language
is used in coursework on site, context of academic work, type of housing arrangements,
provisions for guided cultural/experiential learning, and structured opportunities for
students to reflect on their cultural experiences. However, between “culture-based”
international education and termed “knowledge-transfer” study abroad, Engle and Engle
(2003) concern the latter.
Regarding the duration, two main types of exchange programs are long term and short
term ones. The former tends to focus more on professional knowledge during a period of
about more than six months (He et al, 2017). It usually provides participants opportunities to
stay and study in the host cultures long enough to finish pre-decided courses in the chosen
field. On the other hand, the latter primarily provides participants with contact with local
cultures from two to eight weeks (Chan et al, 2018). Similarly, Ulvund et al. (2017) specify the
definition of targeted short term as a six-week program. Medina-Lopez-Portillo (2004), who
studied the connection between duration and the development of intercultural experiences,
claimed that the longer students stayed immersed in a target culture, the more they learned
and grew, and the more their intercultural sensitivity developed. Though long-term programs
remain a particularly valuable academic experience for which short term programs cannot be
a substitute. Yet, should the goal be to increase cultural awareness and understanding, shortterm programs may be an effective and practical option (Gaia, 2015). However, there is little
literature on the short term programs with the range of two days to two weeks. Therefore, my
research addresses this gap by studying whether within these short-term exchange programs
participants could gain some meaningful cultural experiences.
Exchange programs also differ in their specialized fields. To be more specific, each
program is usually designed for participants from a similar profession to improve
3

intercultural skills needed for their field. Take health care as one striking example. Chan
(2018) reported that nurses in China were required to be culturally competent to provide
quality care to an increasingly diverse and ageing population. International exchange
programs were developed to support the traditional nursing curriculum. The situation for
Korean nursing students bears a strong resemblance since Choi and Kim (2018) realized that
nursing students needed to provide service to patients from various cultural backgrounds.
This need also led to the implementation of International Clinical Placements in developing
countries within undergraduate nursing programs (Ulvund et al, 2017). Similarly, exchange
opportunities in one European nation were given to Swedish (Bohman & Borglin, 2014) and
Dannish (Ruddock & Turner, 2007) nursing students in order to satisfy the demands of
multicultural societies. Another field accompanied by the popularity of short term programs is
pre-service teacher education. Hepple et al (2017) investigated the intercultural learning of
Australian pre-service teachers participating in a short term mobility program in Malaysia
while Pence and Macgillivray (2008) looked at teacher education students from the US who
completed a 4-week international practicum in Rome, Italy. After reviewing such programs, I
found that short term exchange programs were usually designed for specific type of students
to gain intercultural skills in their chosen fields. One the other hand, my targeted programs
recruited participants from various majors because the priority particular topics such as
environmental issue, equality in education or leadership.
Last but not least, all exchange programs helped boosting the mutual understanding
through providing the cultural diversity. Usually, the reviewed programs got participants
exposed to one new culture by living and learning in a foreign environment (the one about
which they needed to know for their future working). Consequently, the participants were
more likely to enhance intercultural competence related to their field and improve
intercultural knowledge about their host culture. Differently, my targeted short term
programs are regional forums whose participants come from a number of nations. In short
period of time, the participants needed to learn about not only the host culture – the one they
visited but also cultures of other participant thanks to culture-related or focused activities.

Specifically, my targeted programs claimed to increase interactions among participants of
different countries by mixing the participants into groups of diverse nationalities. Hence, a
temporary multicultural environment was created for participants from different technical
and cultural backgrounds throughout the program. That means the participants could
4


possibly develop intercultural experiences relevant to specialized fields in multicultural
environment.
In conclusion, although my targeted programs bear resemblance to other researched
exchange ones with respect to boosting intercultural learning, they are a new type of
exchange projects with unique characteristics. For instance, despite having different topic and
focus, all programs gave participants a chance to enjoy speeches by distinguished social
figures, culture-sharing and site visits. Those activities were all culturally integrated, assisting
participants to gain knowledge related to cultures.

5


2.2. INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCES OF SHORT TERM PROGRAM
2.2.1. Intercultural competence
McAllister (2006) adopted the concept that cultural competence was considered from
two different, but related, perspectives: culture specific or culture general. Bohman and
Borglin (2014) took the view that cultural competence was viewed as a comprising set of
skills and behaviors that enabled a nurse to work effectively within the multicultural context.
When Hepple (2017) investigated the intercultural development of Australian pre-service
teachers, he concluded that the structure of short term exchange would be contributing to
developing intercultural competence.
Actually, intercultural competence had been researched for long time and framework
had been built to measure it. However, I aimed to look at intercultural experiences – a small

part that potentially leads to development of intercultural competence. Accordingly, a review
of elements constructing intercultural competence was helpful for me to investigate my
participants; intercultural experiences. Deardorff (2006) tried to generate an institutional
definition based on what constitutes intercultural competence. She reviewed a number of
available definitions to conclude that the top three common elements were the awareness,
valuing, and understanding of cultural differences; experiencing other cultures; and selfawareness of one’s own culture. Added to that, in her research in 2004, Deardorff gave the
top-rated definition of intercultural competence as “the ability to communicate effectively and
appropriately in intercultural situations based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills and
attitudes” (p. 194). Skills would require meticulous monitoring and observation in order to
provide meaningful results. Therefore, I researched intercultural experiences concerned with
knowledge like “Understanding of role and impact of culture and the impact of situational,
social, and historical contexts involved” (p. 13) and items related to attitudes like “crosscultural empathy, openness, respect and curiosity”. Similarly, Hammer (2015) wanted to find
out factors that comprise cultural competence looking at the Cognitive, Affective and
Behavioral paradigm (CAB). Intercultural competence was viewed “as a function of the extent
and quality of the individual's engagement with cultural difference” under this developmental
paradigm. Out of three above aspects, because behavioral parts are difficult to testify, I only
concerned the themes related to cognitive and attitude-affective parts. Furthermore,
Papadopoulos and Lees (2002) acknowledged cultural competence as an ongoing process and
included four stages: cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity, cultural
6


competence. The first stage was when one’s own culture, personal value base and beliefs were
examined and preconceived attitudes and prejudices were realized. The second stage, cultural
knowledge, meant knowledge of beliefs and behaviors as well as understanding of the
problems of different cultural groups. The third stage, cultural sensitivity, referred to the
development of intercultural attitudes like empathy, solidarity, trust, acceptance and respect.
Lastly, cultural competence represented the synthesis of the preceding stages. The second and
the third given stage were be align with knowledge and attitudes respectively. Therefore,
instead of measuring the intercultural competence of exchange program alumni, I investigated

the participation process - experiences and the outcomes with respect to intercultural
knowledge and attitudes.
2.2.2. The nature of intercultural experience
The term “intercultural experiences” has not been specifically defined and described
although some researchers had mentioned it. Dalib, Harun and Yusoff (2014), closely linked
intercultural experiences to interactions with cultural others. Also, Krishnasamy, Hussein and
Dalib (2014) pinned intercultural interaction experiences to the verbal challenges in
communicating with people from a different culture. The definition of intercultural experience
‘encompasses both domestic and international contexts and implies cultures interacting’
(Landreman 2003, cited in King & Baxter Magolda 2005, p. 572). Gu (2010) also argued that
individuals might experience intercultural experiences when they were exposed to different
cultural environments and in encounters with different people. Thus, individuals may develop
‘proficiency in self-expression and in fulfilling their various social needs’ in the host culture
(Kim, 2005, p. 391) when confronted with conflicting values and beliefs. Some researchers
like Papadopoulos and Lees (2002), Hepple (2017) or Nguyen et al (2018) even connected
intercultural experiences to their participants’ specialized knowledge and skills needed in
international context. From personal view, I inspected all international aspects of my targeted
exchange programs based on the alumni’s sharing.
2.2.3. Types of cultural experiences
Chan et al (2018) reviewed and produced a general structure of short term exchange
programs. From their research, there were two main parts of one exchange program: Predeparture and Organized activities. Chan et al (2018) even mapped out the process and
learning outcomes of intercultural learning in a short international exchange program. Their
main focus was on the preparation phase like online sharing platform for participants to get to
7


know organizers, peers as well as the host culture. Such pre-departure activities created
initial intercultural experiences or at least foundations for further intercultural experiences
(see also Bohman & Borglin, 2014). Subsequent co-curricular activities and debriefing over
intercultural workshops offered good opportunities for intercultural learning. Hence it was

emphasized that intercultural learning is not self-developed, and careful facilitation
maximized intercultural learning. To maximize intercultural learning, their findings
recommended a harmonious combination of pre-departure preparation and supporting
activities during the program. Specifically, while pre-departure preparation might stimulate
and promote intercultural awareness and sensitivity, co-curricular activities like workshops,
field trips would maintain their intercultural learning.
Besides, some researchers considered language as a crucial part of intercultural
experiences (Zotzmann, 2017, Krishnasamy et al, 2014). They all agreed that the challenges
brought up by the language barrier could result in meaningful cultural encounters which
might make ways for further developments in intercultural competence. Therefore, I also paid
attention to certain linguistic features or acknowledgement of any difficulties posed by
foreign language.
2.2.4. Sources of Intercultural experiences
Interpersonal interaction
Taylor (1994), who developed a model of intercultural competency, argues that
“befriending an intercultural other” offers sustained opportunity for intercultural experience.
In particular, he drew on the capacity to construct and engage in relationships with others in
ways that showed respect for and understanding of the other’s perspectives. Pence and
Macgillivray (2008) shared the same view by mentioning “interactions with people in host
countries” as the way to understand other culture more effectively. Eisenchlas and Trevaskes
(2007) pointed out that cross-cultural group work helped the students internationalize their
ability to communicate through cultures. Hendrickson (2018) highlighted the time frame in
which co-national, host national, and multi-national friendship transformations occur in a
short-term context and considered multi-national friends as contributors to the micro-level
environment factor ethnic group strength. The results showed that multi-national friendship
supported cross-cultural adaptation. Moreover, Wearing and Grabowski (2011) claimed that
an important factor for intercultural learning was the degree of contact with the host
community. They even found out that 38% of YCA volunteers remained in contact with the
8

host community upon return. That means interaction with the host or participating cultures
before, during or after the events would offer participants opportunities to comprehend their
intercultural experiences. Regarding conditions of effective interpersonal interaction,
Yashima (2010) adopted one of the most influential theories relevant to intercultural contact
including study abroad - the contact hypothesis. This theory postulated intergroup contact led
to reduced intergroup prejudice if the contact situation embodied four conditions: (1) equal
status between the groups in the situation; (2) groups sharing common goals; (3) no
competition between the groups; and (4) authority support for the contact. Besides, analysis
of Sias et al (2008) revealed four factors that respondents felt influenced the development of
their intercultural friendship: targeted socializing, cultural similarities, cultural differences,
and prior intercultural experience. Results also indicated several ways in which
communication both enabled and hindered the development of intercultural friendships,
providing evidence of the uniqueness and complexity of communication in these relationships.
The point is that both Sias et al (2008) and Yashima (2010) shared the view on the important
role of intercultural friendship. The results of Yashima’s study (2010) indicated that those,
who participated in the project, gained significantly with regard to intercultural approach
tendency, interest in international affairs, interpersonal communication skills and self-efficacy,
while their level of ethnocentrism decreased more than that of non-participants’. Sias et al
(2008)’s findings said intercultural friendships represented an intimate intersection between
personal and cultural aspects of communication processes. Intercultural friendships were
characterized by differences between individuals’ cultures that brought unique rewards as
well as challenges. Individuals had to negotiate differences in cultural values and languages,
and overcome enduring stereotypes. However, they also gained unique cultural knowledge,
broadened their perspectives, and broke stereotypes. Therefore, interpersonal interaction
was one of the main sources for intercultural experiences of short term exchange program
alumni.
Organized activities
Besides, intercultural experiences came directly from organized activities of the
exchange programs. As reviewed, one of the main aims for targeted student exchange

program was related to intercultural understanding, causing integration of cultural aspects
into the majority of program’s activities. With strong interest in the design of student
exchange program, King and Baxter (2005) also claimed that the goals of organized activities
9


were to engage students in exploring and gradually reformulating their cultural beliefs and
perspectives. Besides, Pence and Macgillivray (2008) reviewed recent empirical studies
examining the quality and impact of short-term study abroad programs for teachers to
conclude one of the core elements for intercultural development was cultural experiences.
However, they argued that experiences on its own does not always result in changes (new
learning) so ‘scaffolding’ like the daily de-briefing sessions and group discussions and
conversations were essential in helping the students make sense of their experiences.
Informal experiences
Pence and Macgillivray (2008) also stated that cultural experiences included cultural
site visits, homestay which implied that having contact with other cultures through travelling
or observing also provided meaningful or influential cultural learning experiences.
All in all, the conclusion is that intercultural experiences could be traced back to
interpersonal interactions, organized activities or even simply travelling to the place hosting
new culture. Accordingly, to answer the first research question, interview questions
concentrated on those aspects of cultures exposed in short term exchange program to figure
out the intercultural experiences of alumni.
2.3. IMPACTS OF SHORT TERM PROGRAM ON PARTICIPANTS IN TERMS OF
INTERCULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND ATTIDUES
2.3.1. The role of reflection intercultural learning
My research deals with the post program experience by asking participant to reflect
back on their trips. Hepple (2017) also indicated that reflecting on intercultural experiences
was instrumental to intercultural development. Dalib et al (2014) stated that researching
experience was retrospective since it was a reflection of one's consciousness of the experience
that one lived through. Bosangit and Demangeot (2016) analyzed three different types of

reflection: emotional, critical and personal ones. The events that triggered emotional accounts
tend to be of high emotional valence. One of the main sources of emotion is the pressure
caused by culture differences. Gu (2010) found out that there were two major types of
reactions to intercultural stress: psychological adjustment and sociocultural adaptation.
Hamel et al (2010) concluded that emotional reactions were central to the participants’
experiences of disequilibrium. From emotional reactions, there were three dimensions of
strategies of students to cultural disequilibrium: Stance, Sense-making and action. My
research only concerned the first two domains: Stance and Sense-making. It was supposed
10


that my participants had to be open to new things (stance) to have cultural learning (sensemaking). Referring to personal reflection, Hedberg's (2009) focuses on individuals'
perspective or personal insights gained, where they reflected on how they could apply what
they learned and noted its impact on their own lives. Bosangit and Demangeot (2016)
researched the personal reflection of the bloggers who ‘push’ their reflection to the point
where they gained new perspectives or personal insights. Besides personal reflection, critical
reflection is another “process of making evaluations, often moral ones, and not simply
exercising judgments of a practical, technical nature” (Reynolds, 1998, p. 189). The case study
of Jackson (2011) illustrated that a short-term sojourn had a significant impact on
participants if critical reflection was embedded into the program and the individuals
themselves were committed to enhancing their intercultural knowledge. Nguyen (2018) even
made use of reflective journals to identify participants’ reactions towards activities during the
programs. Usually, my targeted short term programs provided participants with new
information about different cultures. However, the information or experience gained through
the program, were usually scattered. That meant the participants possessed just bits and
pieces of superficial knowledge about other cultures. It was argued that intercultural
encounters could even reinforce stereotypes and prejudices if participants were not
supported with a means of reflecting productively on challenging elements of their overseas
experience (Dockrill et al, 2015, Scoffham & Barnes, 2009; Tang & Choi, 2004). Therefore, they
needed deep reflection on such specific cultural knowledge to create the general

understanding or attitude transformation (McAllister et al, 2006).
2.3.2. Intercultural knowledge gain and attitude change
To date, research has been done to evaluate the effectiveness of exchange programs in
developing the intercultural competence (Chan, Liu, Fung, Tsang, and Yuen, 2018; He et al,
2017; Hepple, 2017) or the general impacts of such exchange program (Ulvund et al, 2017).
Hepple et al (2017) also noted that directly interacting and building relations with people
across cultures (experience) developed empathetic intercultural viewpoints (attitudes). From
that research, intercultural understanding was conceptualized as three interrelated elements:
recognizing culture and developing respect; interacting and empathizing with others; and
reflecting on intercultural experiences and taking responsibility. All three listed elements
were combination of both intercultural knowledge and attitudes. Hamel et al (2010) focused
especially on learning strategies and processes that pre-service teachers relied upon to
11


navigate initial cultural difference to clarify the connection between experiences and
intercultural competence. Gill (2007) saw process of intercultural learning as intercultural
adaptation. Such adaptation has the potential to bring about profound changes in overseas
students themselves, transforming their understanding of the learning experience, selfknowledge, awareness of the “other”, and values and worldview. Their participant not only
adjusted attitudes of self and others but also learned to fit in to the given cultural and
educational framework through engaging in socio-cultural and academic practices
(knowledge). However, above research papers stuck to certain fields like teaching or nursing,
which lacked comprehensive view about the influences of exchange programs on intercultural
knowledge and attitudes. Therefore, my research focused on intercultural experiences with
little stress on participants’ specialized fields.
Taylor (1994, p. 158) believed that the process of becoming interculturally competent
was related to the concept of perspective transformation. Such transformation or revised
interpretation of cultural ways is the result of attempts to understand a different culture with
customs that contradicts the previously accepted presupposition (Mezirow, 1991). Added to
that, Taylor (1994) also pointed out that perspective transformation was also a process of

questioning basic psycho-cultural assumptions and habitual expectations. By examining why
and how such preconceptions constrained the way of seeing oneself and others, could result
in altered perspectives. Therefore, with intercultural experience, participants’ perspectives
underwent certain changes by recognizing different aspects of other cultures. Likewise, Gaia
(2015) found that short-term exchange program was transformative because students viewed
these experiences as life-changing, much as they did long-term ones. In another words, they
began to see themselves as part of a larger whole, and came to understand that the world
extends beyond county, state, regional, and national boundaries. This is as they adapted to the
new environment, they gradually noticed that they either consciously or subconsciously,
become one of the others (Gu, Schweisfurth & Day, 2010). Gu et al (2010) also explored the
complexities of international students’ transitional experiences in terms of their intercultural
adaptation within a different educational environment and a different culture and society. The
research findings challenged the notion that international students’ intercultural adaptation
was linear and passive as well as pointing to the presence of a complex set of shifting
associations between language mastery, social interaction, personal development and
academic outcomes. It was said that the extent of change and adaptation of Gu et al (2010)’s
participants was influenced by their interactions with others and the current educational and
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societal environments which they experienced. Similarly, I also looked at interpersonal
interaction and informal experience to investigate the changes noticed by my participants
after exchange program. Yet, I did not probe into interaction between participants and
institutions or educational environment because my targeted program was relatively short
and mainly in form of a youth forum. On the other hand, I categorized experiences with
societal environment as informal ones so that my participants would share their experiences
outside the program’s context.
2.3.3. Types of changes
The common characteristics of any change are that it might have both positive and
negative impact and so are the changes caused by intercultural experiences (Medina-LopezPortillo, 2004).

In an effort to determine the impact of the short-term study abroad

experiences, Gaia (2015) used the Global Perspectives Inventory (GPI) focusing on three
domains: cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. Those domains were investigated
through the subscales of cognitive knowing, cognitive knowledge, intrapersonal identity,
interpersonal social interactions, and global citizenship. Results suggested that the embedded
short-term study abroad programs enhanced participants’ understanding and awareness
about other cultures and languages, as well as the impact of other cultures on the rest of the
world.

Gaia (2015) also claimed that another source of change was in participants’

willingness to interact with persons from cultures other than their own. In other words, short
term programs could increase cultural sensitivity and desire for interaction. Overall,
participants increased in their cognitive consideration of cultural context and the realization
of other cultures in the global scene. However, there are negative influence that they learned
less about accepting cultural differences and acknowledging interdependence with others.
Otherwise, Ulvund et al (2017) stated that whether intercultural influences were negative or
not, depended partly on individuality. The experiences of short-termed program might force
an ongoing process of developing cultural competency that continued after the students
returned home. Accordingly, the impacts of short term programs on attitudes and knowledge
would not be similar for every participant and every stage.
Differently, several researchers strongly supported the bright side of intercultural
exchange programs. Scoffham and Barnes (2009) researched on the impact of intercultural
through

investigating

participant’s

experiences.

The

experiences

were

named

transformational since the findings showed that powerful experiences within a framework of
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clearly articulated values led to learning on a number of different levels – cognitive, social,
emotional and existential. Their analysis indicated that three categories: Preparing to go
abroad, Reasons for going abroad and From expectation to experience could be seen to
illustrate their perception and experience of student exchange. In their descriptive paper,
exchange programs were found to increase cultural awareness and understanding of
underlying behavior, attitudes and beliefs beyond the student’s own view of the world. Choi
and Kim (2018), similarly, in their research about the influence of cultural experiences on
intercultural development of nursing student, confirmed that experiences with other cultures
involving staying in a foreign region had positive influences on students’ intercultural
competences or in other words positive changes in their attitudes towards other cultures.
Dalib et al (2014), who investigated intercultural experiences to reconceptualize intercultural
competence, had observed the two themes of positive changes: acquiring cultural
understanding and respecting cultural differences. Other research also showed that
intercultural experience was a transformative learning process which led to a journey of
personal growth and development (Adler 1975; Anderson 1994; Byrnes 1965; Furnham 2004,

as cited in Gu, 2010). Moreover, Yashima (2010) revealed the positive aspects of intercultural
programs since he agreed that intercultural contact reinforced enhanced their intercultural
competence. Effects of exchange programs on developing intercultural competence including
improvement of open non-ethnocentric attitudes toward different cultures were confirmed.
Cheng (2014) also found that students strongly believed the greatest benefits of taking part in
short-term study-abroad programs were related to enhancing their personal development
(see also Ruddock & Turner, 2007). Professional and academic enhancement, by contrast, was
less valued. Specifically, the personal development of his participants referred to several
intercultural aspects like learning about host culture or other cultures from international
friends or making international relationships. In short, recent studies explained that students
could improve their intercultural awareness by means of exchange programs (İlter, 2016).
Such positive reactions were intercultural sensitivity, cultural understanding, openness,
tolerance, stereotype reductions as well as language learning.
On the contrary, there are opponents against those affirmative conclusions. Dockrill,
Rahatzad and Phillion (2015), questioned the positive impacts on participants’ intercultural
understanding by pointing out the likelihood of stereotypes being reinforced. Scoffham and
Barnes (2009) also exposed the possibility that the participants fail to change their thinking. It
was perhaps inevitable that people responded to experiences in different ways; some might
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incorporate in a positive way while others backslided or refused to change. Amongst Scoffham
and Barnes‘ (2009) study groups, a few individuals appeared unaffected by the experiences
they were having. They were unwilling to take on board new ideas perhaps because they were
simply too disrupting to their existing conceptual framework and triggered denial or paralysis
responses.
To conclude, changes in attitude transformation and knowledge acquisition could take
any directions of either strengthening preconceptions, reversing them or even being
unaffected.
Supporting factors

McAllister et al (2006) said that some of their participants expressed special focus on
particular issues like environmental dimension of culture shock, challenging stereotypes,
personal coping strategies, negotiating intercultural communication. Particularly, they
mentioned the impact of being in a radically different environment on their participants in
both terms of physical and interpersonal dimension. Added to that, Medina-Lopez-Portillo
(2004)’s data provided support for a hypothesis that duration of study abroad programs plays
a key role in the development of intercultural sensitivity. Moreover, Wearing and Grabowski
(2011) investigated the cultural learning of volunteer tourism participants concluded that the
top three motivations were personal development (88%), to discover a different
culture/environment (64%) and to help a community (48%). From such statistics, it was
shown that personal desire for learning and improving played a crucial role in making
intercultural exchange programs meaningful. My targeted programs provided scholarship
accompanied by careful selection process so individuals had to demonstrate their interests,
ability or determination to get accepted.
Disturbing factors
Keles (2013) had reviewed seven main barriers in intercultural communication:
anxiety, assuming similarities instead of differences, ethnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice,
language, nonverbal communication. Looking at those main barriers, he could identify the
attitudes and beliefs of international students to Turkey after an exchange program.
In conclusion, there were different types of recorded impacts of intercultural experiences on
exchange program participants’ intercultural learning. The changes could be positive, negative or
neutral after short term exchange programs. Such changes would be influenced by different factors
from both personal or organizational levels.
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