Evidence of a dynamic association between intergroup contact and intercultural competence

Three studies explored the association between intergroup contact and intercultural competence. Study 1 and Study 2 provided evidence of a cross-sectional association between intergroup contact and intercultural competence in which positive contact was associated with increased intercultural competence and negative contact was associated with reductions in this outcome. In Study 3 longitudinal data allowed us to test the possibility of mutual influence between these variables whereby intercultural competence is not only a consequence of intergroup contact, but is also predictive of the quality of future intergroup contact. Results showed that positive contact was longitudinally associated with improvements in intercultural competence, and that higher intercultural competence was associated with a reduction in future negative contact. Findings speak to the importance of taking a dynamic outlook on contact effects. The beneficial consequences of positive contact may be the same variables capable of transforming future contact encounters and reducing the likelihood of negative interactions

Accounting students and communication apprehension: a study of Spanish and UK students

Accounting is about measuring and communicating. Accounting bodies and employers have expressed opinions, which have been supported by research results, advocating that greater emphasis is placed on the development of communication skills throughout the education and training of accountants. Consequently, an increasing number of accounting programmes now include communication skills as educational objectives or learning outcomes, and have integrated activities into the curriculum specifically to develop these skills. It is important to recognise that certain factors can severely restrict the development of communication skills; a major factor is communication apprehension. Research suggests that the existence of high levels of communication apprehension will make efforts to improve communication skills ineffective. Previous research findings indicate that accounting students have high levels of communication apprehension. This paper compares and contrasts the levels and profiles of communication apprehension exhibited by accounting students at the (UK University) and those at the (ESP University). The levels of communication apprehension are also compared with those of students from other disciplines at the same institutions. The results confirm the high levels of communication apprehension in European accounting students. There are notable differences between the two countries however in certain underlying factors.</p

Research Methodologies and Business Discourse Teaching

This chapter will:; ; ; Define English for specific purposes and indicate the specific ways in which it has been influential on business discourse teaching;; ; ; Discuss the most relevant approaches to genre analysis that have been used in business discourse teaching;; ; ; Explore the most relevant approaches to critical discourse analysis and organizational rhetoric for business discourse teaching;; ; ; Identify the most relevant aspects of multimodal discourse analysis for business discourse teaching;; ; ; Provide a case study that illustrates the use of one approach to business discourse teaching, showing how practitioners can incorporate it into their classroom- or consultancy-based ideas

Civic Participation and Other Interventions That Promote Children\u2019s Tolerance of Migrants

In this chapter, we begin by providing a definition of \u2018tolerance\u2019, illustrating the wide range of attributes associated with the concept in the literature. Second, we identify some key paths through which tolerance can develop at different stages of an individual\u2019s development. Through a literature review, we will track some of the factors that can increase tolerance toward migrants during early and late stages development. Finally, we will conclude by presenting an overview of methodological approaches that practitioners have at their disposal to promote tolerance toward migrants

The influence of contextual information regarding the breakdown of relationships and perpetrator-target sex composition on perceptions of relational stalking

The present study examines the influence of prior relationship (with contextual information regarding the breakdown of the relationship) and perpetrator-target sex composition on perceptions of relational stalking. The study employed an experimental 7 × 2 independent measures design, and the sample comprised 1,260 members of the community residing in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Participants received one of 14 versions of a hypothetical scenario and responded to scale items concerning the situation described. The situation was perceived to be most serious when the perpetrator was a stranger or a physically violent ex-partner and least serious when the perpetrator was an ex-partner of an unfaithful target. Scenarios involving a male perpetrator and a female victim were also perceived to be more serious than scenarios involving a female perpetrator and a male target. It is apparent therefore that the context of the relationship breakdown and the sex of the perpetrator and target significantly influence perceptions of relational stalking

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

Language and intercultural communication

This study intends to highlight the role that Foreign Language Education (FLE), particularly in the Higher Education context, can play so as to contribute to the rapprochement of two distant and still mutually unknown countries such as Portugal and Turkey. In this sense, it ultimately aims at supporting the training of intercultural speakers, capable of promoting an effective Intercultural Dialogue between the two countries. A diagnosis is presented of the reciprocal images of Portuguese and Turkish students learning each other’s language and culture. Conclusions are drawn on how their self- and hetero-images may pertain on the construction of their identities, on their awareness about and attitudes towards each other, on their motivation to learn each other’s language, and on intercultural communication itself. Allying the study of Images of Languages and Cultures and the concept of Intercultural Competence in the study of students’ representations within the FLE research tradition, a content analysis was carried out of the responses given to an inquiry by questionnaire. Conative implications of the students’ images as revealed in the results were pointed out. Some important distinctions are highlighted in the reciprocal images of both groups. On this basis, recommendations for FLE are made focusing on the positive reconstruction of students’ reciprocal images.Este estudo pretende destacar o papel do Ensino de Línguas Estrangeiras (ELE), no contexto do Ensino Superior, na aproximação de dois países distantes e ainda mutuamente desconhecidos como são Portugal e a Turquia. Visa-se, em última instância, fomentar a formação de falantes interculturais capazes de promover um efetivo Diálogo Intercultural entre os dois países. É feito um diagnóstico das imagens recíprocas de dois grupos de estudantes portugueses e turcos a estudarem a língua e a cultura um do outro. São tiradas conclusões sobre as implicações das respetivas auto- e hetero-imagens na sua construção identitária, conscientização e atitudes relativamente ao Outro, na sua motivação para o estudo da língua da sua contraparte e na própria comunicação intercultural. Com base na conjugação do conceito de Imagens de Línguas e Culturas com o conceito de Competência Intercultural no estudo das representações dos alunos na tradição investigativa em ELE, realizou-se uma análise de conteúdo das respostas a um inquérito por questionário, sendo apontadas as implicações conativas das imagens recíprocas dos participantes tal como as revelam os resultados. Com base nas diferenças observadas nas imagens recíprocas de ambos os grupos, são feitas recomendações relativamente à ELE com enfoque na reconstrução positiva destas imagens