191 research outputs found
Fear of the unknown: a pre-departure qualitative study of Turkish international students
This paper presents findings from eleven in-depth interviews with Turkish undergraduate students, who were, by the time of data collection, about to spend a semester at a European university under the Erasmus exchange scheme. The students all agreed to be interviewed about their feelings about studying in a foreign culture, and were found to be anxious prior to departure about the quality of accommodation in the new destination, their language ability and the opportunity to form friendships. Fears were expressed about possible misconceptions over Turkey as a Muslim and a developing country. Suggestions are made for HEI interventions to allay student travellers’ concerns
Erasmus Language students in a British University – a case study
Students’ assessment of their academic experience is actively sought by Higher Education institutions, as evidenced in the National Student Survey introduced in 2005. Erasmus students, despite their growing numbers, tend to be excluded from these satisfaction surveys, even though they, too, are primary customers of a University. This study aims to present results from bespoke questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with a sample of Erasmus students studying languages in a British University. These methods allow us insight into the experience of these students and their assessment as a primary customer, with a focus on language learning and teaching, university facilities and student support. It investigates to what extent these factors influence their levels of satisfaction and what costs of adaptation if any, they encounter. Although excellent levels of satisfaction were found, some costs affect their experience. They relate to difficulties in adapting to a learning methodology based on a low number of hours and independent learning and to a guidance and support system seen as too stifling. The results portray this cohort’s British University as a well-equipped and well-meaning but ultimately overbearing institution, which may indicate that minimising costs can eliminate some sources of dissatisfaction
Developing general cultural awareness in a monocultural English as a foreign language context in a Mexican university: a wiki-based critical incident approach
© 2013 Association for Language Learning. This article explores what the ‘intercultural turn’ might mean in the case of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The discussion is contextualised in what has been termed the ‘expanding circle’ of English and focuses on an English as a foreign language (EFL) class in a Mexican university, a context where the full implications of a shift from EFL to English as a lingua franca (ELF) have yet to be addressed. We consider how the intercultural turn might be understood in this Mexican context and then present the rationale for, and design of, a technology-based (wiki) extra-curricular pilot project which adopted less of an EFL/cultural and more of an ELF/intercultural approach. We evaluate the evidence from this small-scale project in terms of students\u27 developing general cultural awareness and suggest that this type of project, an example of the intercultural turn, might be more widely applicable in similar ‘expanding circle’ EFL contexts
(Un)becoming tourist-teachers: Unveiling white racial identity in cross-cultural teaching programmes
The importance of cross-cultural experiences in teacher education has become more pressing than ever. The composition of schools across Australia is increasingly more diverse, therefore it is pertinent to examine and develop pre-service teachers’ worldview and culturally sensitive dispositions critical for teaching in predominantly multicultural classrooms. This paper examines whiteness and otherness within the notion of tourist gaze and its implication in the development of racially aware teachers in cross-cultural teaching programmes and mostly in retrospect, a programme that could dismantle the naturalisation of privilege identities and structures. It presents students’ dispositions and observations about cultural and pedagogical practices different from their own. The fragmented journal accounts of participants were juxtaposed using the active methodology of bricolage and represented through critical reflection and racial understandings. This enacts a provocative stance between the personal and analytical towards becoming white teachers by turning one’s gaze of the non-white other towards the self-as-white
Effective peer-to-peer support for young people with end-stage renal disease: a mixed methods evaluation of Camp COOL
__Abstract__
__Background__ The Camp COOL programme aims to help young Dutch people with end-stage renal disease
(ESRD) develop self-management skills. Fellow patients already treated in adult care
(hereafter referred to as ‘buddies’) organise the day-to-day program, run the camp, counsel
the attendees, and also participate in the activities. The attendees are young people who still
have to transfer to adult care. This study aimed to explore the effects of this specific form of
peer-to-peer support on the self-management of young people (16–25 years) with ESRD who
participated in Camp COOL (CC) (hereafter referred to as ‘participants’).
__Methods__ A mixed methods research design was employed. Semi-structured interviews (n = 19) with
initiators/staff, participants, and healthcare professionals were conducted. These were
combined with retrospective and pre-post surveys among participants (n = 62), and
observations during two camp weeks.
__Results__ Self-reported effects of participants were: increased self-confidence, more disease-related
knowledge, feeling capable of being more responsible and open towards others, and daring to
stand up for yourself. According to participants, being a buddy or having one positively
affected them. Self-efficacy of attendees and independence of buddies increased, while
attendees’ sense of social inclusion decreased (measured as domains of health-related quality
of life). The buddy role was a pro-active combination of being supervisor, advisor, and
leader.
__Conclusions__ Camp COOL allowed young people to support each other in adjusting to everyday life with
ESRD. Participating in the camp positively influenced self-management in this group. Peerto-
peer support through buddies was much appreciated. Support from young adults was not
only beneficial for adolescent attendees, but also for young adult buddies. Paediatric
nephrologists are encouraged to refer patients to CC and to facilitate such initiatives.
Together with nephrologists in adult care, they could take on a role in selecting buddies
Effects of the timing of tourniquet release in cemented total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Pathways to teacher education for intercultural communicative competence: teachers’ perceptions
Intercultural and plurilingual encounters have become increasingly frequent due to
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) developments, mobility (real/
virtual) and migration. To face the challenges inherent in such encounters, the
development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is crucial. ICC
development may start in the home but should also be a commitment in school
curricula, in particular in language classrooms. To facilitate this, language teachers
require training in order to integrate the intercultural dimension into their professional
practice. In such a context, we implemented a training programme entitled The
Intercultural Teacher with an experimental group of language teachers from
secondary schools in the Aveiro district (Portugal). In this article, we describe
teachers’ social perceptions of ICC and explore the following questions: (a) what
does ICC mean for language teachers?; and (b) what are teachers’ views on the
development of ICC? The findings of this analysis enabled us, firstly, to design a
heuristic model of ICC, based on teachers’ views and perceptions. We were then able
to identify some pathways for developing ICC through teacher education, which were
validated by teachers themselves
Explaining cross-cultural service interactions in tourism with Shenkar’s Cultural Friction
In this paper, we commence a new dialogue on cross-cultural research in tourism. Using Shenkar’s (2001) metaphor of cultural friction as the analytical framework, we examine crosscultural service interactions between guests and service-providers in a luxury hotel. Cultural friction departs from, and extends, the notion of ‘cultural distance’, as it recognises asymmetry in social-economic conditions and considers the goals and the influence of control and power between the interacting parties. We use the Critical Incident Technique and Narrative Inquiry as
the data collection technique and analytical approach respectively. The findings reveal that guests
and service-providers use a number of strategies to exert power and gain control during their interactions, including subjective essentialism and stereotyping, to achieve their goals. The implications for tourism and hospitality management include providing cross-cultural sensitivity
training to service-providers, ensuring a cultural-diverse employee composition, and to foster cross-cultural understanding amongst employees. We further suggest to develop strategies to facilitate effective cross-cultural service interactions based on evidence about cultural norms,
expectations and behaviours from specific cultural groups. Further research is recommended to connect specific interactions between the interacting parties to examine whether the various strategies used leads to effective cross-cultural communication
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