Intercultural communication among university students: influence on the formation of values and attitudes

Main Article Content

Luis Mijares Nuñez
René Peña Deulofeo

Abstract

Intercultural communication as a form of socialization and acculturation shapes people´s behavior and helps build their attitudes and beliefs, therefore, it is a strong means to educate the new generations. However, there are few studies on this topic in Cuba. In May 2018, a group of US students shared, for a few days, social experiences with some Cuban students as part of a bilingual immersion program, which consisted of some formal and informal communication encounters rooted in an interactional perspective of culture and in the principles which view language as social practice. This qualitative study was conducted using a survey, which purpose was to evaluate the influence of this experience on the participants´ construction of new knowledge and beliefs, and their attitudes and values. Results of the application of such survey seem to indicate that despite cultural differences and somewhat different viewpoints, previous gaps in knowledge of the other culture and even prejudices, values like peace, friendship, solidarity, acceptance of differences, and attitudes like empathy, respect and politeness were fostered by that intercultural communication and these values and attitudes make possible the effective interaction among them. The intercultural communication experience lived changed the ways of thinking, acting and feeling about the other culture of the participants.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Mijares Nuñez, L., & Peña Deulofeo, R. (2020). Intercultural communication among university students: influence on the formation of values and attitudes. Mendive. Journal on Education, 18(1), 33–45. Retrieved from https://mendive.upr.edu.cu/index.php/MendiveUPR/article/view/1734
Section
ARTICLES
Author Biography

Luis Mijares Nuñez, "Universidad de Pinar del Río Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca"

Licenciado en Educación, especialidad Lengua Inglesa. Master en Psicología Educativa y Doctor en Ciencias Pedagógicas. Profesor titular con 26 años de experiencia en la Educación Superior.

References

Aba, D. (2015). Towards an Intercultural Communication Competence Tool for Academic Mobility Purposes. Journal of Intercultural Communication, ISSN 1404-1634, issue 39, November 2015. Recuperado de URL: http://immi.se/intercultural

Acosta, R. & Gómez, A. (2017). Nueva cultura para un excelente aprendiz interactivo de Lenguas. Editorial Académica Española.

Björk, E. L.; Eschenbach, J. & Webb, L. (2017). Real Life Methodology. Developing intercultural competence through film fragments and dialogue in South Africa.

Journal of Intercultural Communication, ISSN 1404-1634, issue 44, July 2017. Recuperado de URL: http://immi.se/intercultural

Borghetti, C. (2017). Is there really a need for assessing intercultural competence? Some ethical issues. Journal of Intercultural Communication, ISSN 1404-1634, Issue 44, July 2017. Recuperado de URL: http://www.immi.se/intercultural/

Council of Europe. (2018). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Companion Volume with New Descriptors. Recuperado de URL: http://www.coe.int/lang-cefr

Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in Second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Enríquez, I.; Mijares, L. y Font, S. (2016). A Guide to the Teaching of English for the Cuban Context I. La Habana, Cuba: Editorial Pueblo y Educación.

Hanvey, R. G. (1976). An attainable global perspective. Reprinted 2004 by The American Forum for Global Education, New York. Recuperado de URL: http://www.globaled.org/an_att_glob_persp_04_11_29.pdf

Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and Culture. Oxford University Press

Liddicoat, A. J. & Scarino, A. (2013). Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

Wu, P-H. N., Marek, M. W., & Wu, W-C. V. (2009). The role of the teacher using a web-blog as acultural teaching resource in an EFL literature course. Paper presented at the Asian EFL Journal International Conference, April 10-11, 2009, Pusan, South Korea.

Wu, P-H. N., & Marek, M. W. (2014). Learning English via cross-cultural social media interaction: A case study. Presented at Asia Call, 21-24 November, 2014, Changhua, Taiwan.

Wu, P-H. N., & Marek, M. W. (2018). Developing Intercultural Competence via Social Media Engagement in a Language Learning Framework. Journal of Intercultural Communication, ISSN 1404-1634, issue 46, March 2018. Recuperado de URL: http://www.immi.se/intercultural/

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >> 

Similar Articles

1 2 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.