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This case study describes the value and impact of the ten-year Fudan-Appalachian Library Exchange Program ((FALEP)). Beginning in 2008, seven librarians from Fudan University and five librarians from Appalachian State University had the opportunity to explore library operations and service provision; learn from colleagues; investigate solutions to common problems; engage in scholarship together; and experience another culture. Librarians found that the exchange experience had a huge impact on their professional and personal lives as they learned to live in a different culture and work in another library system. The exchange program equipped participating librarians with global perspectives, intercultural skills, opportunities for cross-cultural scholarship, and new ideas that were then incorporated into their service provision and work with domestic and international students in their home libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To expand the application of mobile technology and smart classroom environment in education, and explore their influence on learning engagement, this paper, based on the Situated Cognition Theory, took 296 sophomores from six universities in China as the research objects and investigated the relationship between mobile technology, smart classroom environment, and learning engagement. The findings show that: (1) in the mobile technology and smart classroom environment, the frequency of learning by mobile devices in class, the frequency of learning by mobile devices after class, the duration of learning by mobile devices in class, the duration of learning by mobile devices after class, the hardware environment, software resources, and technology acceptance have positive effects on learning engagement; (2) mobile technology and smart classroom environment can better mobilize learners' interest and initiative in learning and increase learners' engagement in learning; (3) mobile technology and smart classroom environment can greatly improve college learners' behavioural engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement respectively. This study helps turn the learners' external learning needs into their internal learning motivation, thus enhancing their learning engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Germany, the efficiency of cultural diplomacy is ensured by the "separation of powers" approach: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the official lead agency for foreign policy, holds the decision-making power, while leaving the concrete implementation to cultural intermediaries. This paper aims to explore Germany's cultural diplomacy strategies in China by analyzing the content of the public account operated by one of its main institutions in China, the German Cultural Center Beijing - Goethe-Institute. It combines qualitative and quantitative research methods and integrates the disciplinary perspectives of linguistics and intercultural communication. Our findings suggest that the Germany's cultural diplomacy strategies are characterized by preference, pluralism, interaction and individualism. These findings can also provide an optimizing path for China's own cultural institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the potential of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) for intercultural learning and teaching is acknowledged, few studies have explored the teaching of culture in EMI programmes in higher education contexts. Thus, this study examined the perceptions and practices that six EMI teachers from a variety of disciplines have of culture and cultural instruction at a Chinese university. Data were obtained from 24 classroom observations and six post-observation interviews. Drawing on Larzen-Ostermark's tripartite culture-teaching orientations and Rasouli and Moradkhani's culture-teaching taxonomy, the findings revealed that teachers with a humanities and social sciences background had a fluid and dynamic view regarding the understanding of culture, while teachers with a science, technology, engineering and mathematics background did not recognise the need to incorporate cultural instruction into their EMI classes. In analysing classroom data, five categories of cultural instruction were identified: contrast, authentic material, groupwork, codeswitching and guided discussion of culture. The five categories are mainly in line with the affective and action orientations in Larzen-Ostermark's three-orientation framework. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of the study's findings for EMI policymakers and EMI teacher training programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Group criticism plays an important role in intergroup relations and conflicts, but few studies have related group criticism to intercultural communication contexts. This study aims to explore two cultural groups' (Chinese international students in the USA and American domestic students) collective face concern as a unique experience in intercultural communication and other psychological responses while encountering group criticism targeting their country image. Design/methodology/approach: A laboratory experiment was conducted assessing Chinese international students (n = 115) and American domestic students' (n = 100) responses to a research-confederate critic (whose group membership was manipulated) criticizing participants' country image such as blaming China and the USA for air pollution or using drugs in the Olympics. analysis of covariance, correlational analysis and regression analysis were adopted to analyze the data. Findings: Chinese international students reported higher collective face concerns and lower liking toward the critic compared with American students. When criticism specifically targeted participants' country image, Chinese international students reported more discomfort feelings than American students; and while responding to the critic who identified as participants' ingroup member, Chinese international students' discomfort feelings were more susceptible to their collective face than American students in the same condition. Originality/value: This study illustrates cultural differences in collective face concerns and psychological reactions in responding to criticism targeting a country image in intercultural communication contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]