“I finally marginalized myself from the mainstream”: An Autoethnography Study of Chinese International Student’s Development of Intercultural Communicative Competence

Abstract

In the higher education market, the cross-border flow of international students has become increasingly apparent. For Australia, China has been a major student source and most of these students have been enrolled in the higher education sector. Such a phenomenon has rendered the innovation of higher education management necessary, and its socio-cultural influence has attracted attention from the Australian government. This study suggests that international students’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC) deficits could influence their self-perceptions thus compromising their ability to communicate with peers. Using a qualitative research approach, the study explores the extent to which China’s College English influences Chinese international students’ intercultural performance and unpacks the reasons for their behaviours. An autoethnography of a Chinese international student was provided to indicate that the experience from both home and host countries would constitute a habitual thinking pattern that could exert an enduring impact on individuals. Via critically engaging with Byram and Morgan’s three dimensions of ICC and Byram’s model of ICC, the participant’s ICC was analysed, and her conceptions of culture and language were discovered. This study advocates more meaningful explorations about English curricula and highlights the need for forming a caring and humane society and tapping the value of international students in the era of globalisation.

Working Toward Becoming Doctoral Researchers: A Collective Autoethnography of International Students in Australia

“…To do so, these students need to critically review their existing meaning perspectives and selectively transform learned skills (Chwialkowska, 2020), as knowledge of the environment and social contexts of home countries may not be applied as frames of reference (Nada, 2018). However, studies have found that prior meaning perspectives are still applied by international students (Lin & Nguyen, 2021;Lin & Zhang, 2021). For example, China conducts meritocratic selection by using competitive examinations and promoting a hard-working culture (Lin & Chan, 2021).…”

“…These understandings constitute Chinese students' primary technical and dialectical knowledge toward learning. It has been found that Chinese students are likely to use extended time to prepare themselves for pedagogy, assignment requirements, and social and cultural norms (Lin & Nguyen, 2021;Lin & Zhang, 2021).…”

“…As a response, autoethnography emerges as a novel way to use "subjectivity deliberately as an epistemological resource" (Butz & Besio, 2009, p. 1661. Autoethnography has been accepted as a research method to demonstrate the experiences of international students to study their development in cross-cultural competence, academic writing, and identity formation (Lin & Zhang, 2021). During Covid-19, autoethnography has been used to uncover the experiences of online learning, suggesting the need to develop digital literacy among Chinese students (Lin & Nguyen, 2021).…”

Cross-Cultural Awareness: EFL Learners’ Barriers to Learning English

“…To grasp these challenges, the following research question serves as a guide: what are the cross-cultural barriers to English learning for learners? Studies on similar issues have been conducted by several scholars, such as Yilmaz and Özkan (2016) researching the need to develop intercultural awareness among language learners through textbooks; Özkan (2017) investigating non-native teachers' perception of the emerging themes in teaching materials; Durham (2018) conducting ethnographic research depicting a particular teacher's strategies in communicating cross-cultural boundaries with her students; Meihami and Rashidi (2020) exploring to what extent English teachers construct their cultural identity upon teaching English for a certain amount of time; and Lin and Zhang (2021) exploring the extent English education in China shapes Chinese students' intercultural communication in Australia. While all these previous studies believe that cultures in many instances shape language learners' attitudes, this current study explores barriers and challenges of Islamic boarding school students in compromising Western cultures illustrated in English textbooks.…”