Intercultural Communication Apprehension and Emotional Intelligence in Higher Education

Abstract

Given the expanding globalized workforce, business educators continue to seek new ways to prepare students for intercultural encounters. Although immersion in other cultures is the optimal strategy, this method is not always feasible. As such, educators seek other mechanisms to simulate intercultural experiences. This study examines emotional intelligence as a predictor of intercultural communication apprehension among university students ( N = 425). Results indicate that three of the emotional intelligence subscales predict intercultural communication apprehension: emotionality, sociability, and self-control. These results support the premise that emotional intelligence manages and/or reduces intercultural communication apprehension and therefore should be integrated in business curriculum.

Pursuing Cross-Cultural Pedagogical Success in China

“…(Freeman 2015). Though this question includes a consideration of what happens in the classroom, it requires a holistic approach to cross-cultural adaptation (Fall, Kelly, MacDonald, Primm, & Holmes 2013;Ozturgut 2007). The following discussion addresses the cross-cultural challenges related to personal adaptation, classroom adaptation, and matters of academic honesty.…”

Reflection on a collaborative teaching project about gender inequality: students learning by doing through transdisciplinarity

“…At present, the requirements for work-ready graduates goes well beyond technical competence, and includes a comprehensive range of both technical and soft skills (Asonitou 2015). Employability skills include self-directed learning, problem-solving, professional competitiveness, emotional intelligence and intercultural competence, to name a few (Asonitou 2015;Ismail & Mohammed 2015;Fall, Kelly, MacDonald, Primm & Holmes 2013). These skills require rigorous training through a reimagination of the curricula to develop well-rounded graduates who are ready for the world and are socially aware.…”

“…This social conscientising of future employees starts in the classroom. This requires educators to use the classroom as a microcosm for the real world, using the curriculum to build in real-world application and to simultaneously develop students' employability skills (Fall et al 2013). The assessments administered to students need to be creatively designed with these outputs in mind, and not simply be done to complete a curriculum requirement that leaves students illequipped to think critically.…”

Global Leadership Communication: A Strategic Proposal

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