1

Saudi students’ development of intercultural competence during study abroad

Fahd Alalwi

Peter Ecke

Interdisciplinary Program in Second Language Acquisition & Teaching

Department of German Studies

Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language, and Literacy

fahdalalwi@email.arizona.edueckep@email.arizona.edu

Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence , January 24, 2014

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

50,000

- Institute of International Education. (2013). "International Students by Academic Level and Place of Origin, 2012/13." Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/opendoors .

- Institute of International Education. (2013). "Top 25 Places of Origin of International Students, 2011/12-2012/13." Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/opendoors.

Total number of Saudi students in the U.S. (2000/01-2012/13)

(Increase from fewer than 4,000 to almost 45,000 in last decade)

2

Saudi students studying in the U.S.

• Number of Saudi students in the U.S. increased over the last year by (30.5%) (IIE, 2013)

• Nearly 45,000 Saudi students in the United States

• Largely funded by the Saudi government scholarship program

King Abdullah Scholarship Program

2005 - 2020

3

Saudi Arabia: Among 5 top places of origin of international

students in the U.S. (4th place)

Institute of International Education. (2013). "Top 25 Places of Origin of International Students, 2011/12-2012/13." Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/opendoors.

Saudi Arabia: 1st place of origin of international students in

Intensive English Programs in the U.S.

Institute of International Education. (2012). "Leading Places of Origin of Intensive English Program Students, 2011." Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/opendoors on 11/16/2013

4

Previous research

• Study abroad does not automatically lead to gains in language

proficiency & intercultural competence (Freed, 1998).

• Expectations are often higher than gains (Badstübner & Ecke, 2009).

• Lack of language proficiency and contact can lead to

– cultural misunderstandings,

– disappointment or frustration,

– more negative perceptions of/attitudes towards the members of the

other culture,

– a decrease in integrative motivation (Coleman, 1998; Canacher,

2008; Masgoret et al., 2000; Wilkinson, 2000).

The issues

• Students’ perceptions of and attitudes towards (the own and) the

other culture

– as part of intercultural competence development (Byram, 1996, Peterson, 2004)

• Students’ self-ratings of personality traits suggested to facilitate

intercultural competence development

• Stability or change of these perceptions during study abroad

5

Participants

• 9 participants

• All male

• At beginning and intermediate levels of proficiency

• Preparing for undergraduate studies

– Different majors and minors

CESL, University of Arizona, Tucson

6

Research Questions

1. How do participants perceive and rate members of their own culture and members of the other culture at the beginning of the program compared to 4 months later?

2. How do they rate themselves regarding personality traits that have been suggested to foster intercultural competence development at the beginning of the program compared to 4 months later?

Survey Instrument (pre-program and post-)

• Questionnaire 1 “My own and the other culture”

– semantic differential technique,

– 23 adjectives, and a rating scale of 1 to 4

– 1 = does not apply at all,

– 2 = rarely,

– 3 = sometimes,

– 4 = frequently

(adapted from Picket, 1993, based on Gardner et al. 1972,

Osgood et al. 1957)

7

• Questionnaire 2: “cultural intelligence”

Self-rating of 22 personality traits potentially relevant to intercultural

competence or “cultural intelligence” on a scale from 1 (not at all) to 6

(very much) based on Peterson (2004)

8

Data analysis

Comparison of mean scores of pre- and post- survey assessments via paired t-tests

Results

9

Table 1. Mean scores of adjectives that best describe members of own,

other, and both cultures (from 1 = not at all to 4 = frequently) in the pre-

program survey

Saudis > US Americans US Americans > Saudis Both (Saudis & US)

emotional (3.4 > 2.7) calm (3.2 > 2.6) friendly (3.3 & 3.2)

lazy (2.8 > 2.0) hard-working (3.7 > 2.9) logical (3.2 & 2.9)

impatient (3.4 > 2.6) thrifty (3.9 > 2.3) helpful (3.4 & 3.4)

arrogant (3.0 > 2.4) confident (3.6 > 2.8) stubborn (2.9 & 2.7)

honorable (3.6 > 2.7) serious (3.8 > 2.6) good-humored (3.1 & 3.0)

generous (4 > 1.8) efficient (3.7 > 2.6) honest (3.1 & 3.3)

shy (2.9 > 1.9) competent (3.6 > 3.1) loud (3.0 & 2.6)

patient (3.3 > 2.4) tolerant (3.1 & 2.8)

Comparison of pre- and post-program survey results

“My own and the other culture”

10

Comparison of pre- and post-program survey results

“My own and the other culture”

• No significant changes in the perception of the Saudis

(from pre test to post test)

• Marginally significant increases:

– good-humored (p = 0.09)

• One significant increase of ratings for Americans in the post program

survey:

– emotional (p = 0.03)

• Pre-program ratings/preconceptions of both Saudis and U.S. Americans are mostly confirmed.

Comparison of pre- and post-program survey results

Question 1: “My own and the other culture”

11

Comparison of pre- and post-program survey results

Question 2: Students’ self-ratings of personality traits suggested to facilitate intercultural competence

• Only two significant increases after 4 months of study abroad:

• Participants rated themselves to have increased significantly in

– “open-mindedness” (p = 0.04)

– “empathy” (p = 0.01)

Traits potentially relevant to intercultural competence or “cultural intelligence”

12

Self-ratings of the following attributes did not change significantly:

respect for others, willingness to change, flexibility with

attitudes/behavior, ability to adapt, tactfulness, sense of humor,

comfortable with uncertainty , appreciation of differences, patience when

you are not in control, see the familiar from unfamiliar vantage points,

willingness to have own views challenged, being invigorated by

differences, ability to deal with stress of new situations, creativity, win-

win attitude, humility, ability to make independent decisions far from

home, sensitivity to nuances of differences, extroversion, ability to trust

when dealing with the unfamiliar

Discussion:

Saudis’ personality traits related to intercultural competence

• Personality traits that have been assumed to facilitate the

development of intercultural competence appear to be very stable or

already quite developed in our groups of students.

• Only open-mindedness and empathy were rated higher after the

4-month study abroad period.

• The relevance of some of the traits for intercultural development may

be questionable.

13

Discussion: Participants’ rating of members of their own (Saudi) culture

• Only one marginally significant differences between pre- and post-

program ratings (good-humored)

• Stability of perceptions of own culture

• This includes:

– The reinforcement/substantiation of perceived preconceptions

– Little or no change in perceptions of aspects of the own culture

Discussion: Participants’ rating of members of the US culture

• Pre-program and post-program ratings are very similar for the

Americans with one exception (emotional).

• Stereotypes are frequently reinforced/substantiated.

• They mostly reflect positive views of the target culture, mostly with

respect to work-related traits.

• There is no indication of changing attitudes towards the target culture

• Possibly a result of the little contact that Saudis have with Americans outside the classroom environment

14

Limitations

• The findings cannot be generalized.

– There are different programs (Engle & Engle, 2004).

– There was only one method used (Baker, 1992)

– Different perception and interpretation of the meaning of

(translated) concepts

• E.g., What is generosity?

– Few participants and lack of statistical power

– Surveys should be complemented by other data (from interviews,

reflective journals/blogs etc.).

Quote from one participant’s journal:

– “I noticed the passion for money by the American people; they

would run to whatever sale is advertised even though for

something that is not worth it! I don’t know! is it passion for

money, lack of money, or because of poverty? This is just the

opposite of what we are like; we do not rush when we see sales.”

– The participant appears somewhat puzzled. He is comparing the

two cultures and judges the host culture based on a Saudi frame

of reference.

15

Conclusion

• Study periods abroad may not always change perceptions and

attitudes towards the other culture.

• Stability of positive attitudes and preconceptions about the target

culture and the Saudi culture could be a good thing, but perhaps also

an idealization.

• The issue of contact between Saudis with U.S. Americans needs to

be investigated further.

– Would increased contact change perceptions and attitudes?

Selected references

• Adams, R. (2006). Language learning strategies in the study abroad context. In Margaret A. DuFon and Eton Churchill (eds.) Language Learners in Study Abroad Contexts (pp. 259-292). Clevedon (GB): Multilingual Matters.

• Allen, H., & Herron, C. (2003). A mixed-methodology investigation of the linguistic and affective outcomes of summer study abroad. Foreign Language Annals, 36(3), 370-385.

• Badstübner, T., & Ecke, P. (2009). Students’ expectations, target language use, and perceived learning progress in a summer study abroad program in Germany. Die Unterrichtspraxis: Teaching German, 42(1), 41-49.

16

Selected references (cont.)

• Coleman, J. A. (1998). Evolving intercultural perceptions among university language learners in Europe. In M. Byram & M. Fleming (Eds.), Language learning in intercultural perspective: Approaches through drama and ethnography (pp. 45-75). Cambridge: Cambridge UP.

• Ginsberg, R., & Miller, L. (2000). What do they do? Activities of students during study abroad. In R. Lambert. (Ed.), Language Policy and Pedagogy (pp. 237-260). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

• Isabelli-García, C. (2006). Study abroad social networks, motivation and attitudes: Implications for second language acquisition. In M. A. DuFon & E. Churchill (Eds.) Language Learners in Study Abroad Contexts(pp. 231-258). Clevedon (GB): Multilingual Matters.

Selected references (cont.)

• Kaplan, M. (1989). French in the community: A survey of language use abroad. The French Review, 63(2), 290-301.

• Kitsantas, A. (2004). Studying abroad: The role of college students’ goals on the development of cross-cultural skills and global understanding. College Student Journal, 48(2), 441-452.

• Kramsch, C. (2006). The Multilingual Subject. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16, 97–110.

• Mendelson, V. G. (2004). “Hindsight is 20/20:” Student perspectives of language learning and the study abroad experience. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, X, 43-63.