Search

Intercultural communication is the process of exchanging, negotiating, and mediating cultural differences between people from different cultural backgrounds, encompassing language, non-verbal gestures, and spatial relationships. Research on intercultural communication involving Japanese individuals has mainly focused on comparisons between Japanese and Westerners, particularly Americans. As Japan plays a significant role in the global business environment, foreign businesspersons working with Japanese companies may encounter communication gaps due to cultural values, assumptions, business customs, and language differences. In Malaysia, where there are several Japanese companies employing many Malaysians, there is a strong interest in learning the Japanese language and culture. Malaysians are impressed with the work culture of Japanese companies and seek to learn from them, which enhances their chances of working in Japanese companies, both in Malaysia and Japan. Effective communication between Japanese employers and Malaysian employees is crucial for learning from people of different cultures. To gain deeper insights into the intercultural communication in Japanese corporations working environment, this study examines the situations and challenges faced by Japanese employers working with Malaysian employees, and vice versa. The participants consist of Japanese employers and Malaysian employees who interact with Japanese employers in their day-to-day jobs. A qualitative study using focus groups was adopted, and the responses were analyzed using thematic analysis, leading to the emergence of three main themes: working culture, communication ability, and cultural differences. This paper discusses the results based on these themes and presents recommendations to improve intercultural communication in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored the role of art in facilitating intercultural communication through a project in which undergraduate students from the United States and Japan co-created a digital collage of shared living spaces. Through the creation of personal dioramas and a collaborative collage, students shared personal stories and objects that were meaningful to their identity formation. Our research found that incorporating personal memories and cultural objects into art-making was an effective way of evoking a sense of insideness with a place and bridging cultural differences. The collage was a learning space where students negotiated differences and worked together to create a more inclusive place through vicarious insideness. This study highlights the potential for using art to facilitate intercultural communication and engage a sense of insideness in unfamiliar places among individuals from different cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an asynchronous, transnational virtual exchange between university students from Japan and China. Students from two different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, in two different physical locations, collaborated to produce a video on the broad theme of sustainability in a mutual second language, English. Through pre- and post-project surveys and the written reflections of students, it was found that students were able to develop greater intercultural awareness and improve their English language communication skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For students within foreign studies departments at the tertiary level, presentations in both their first and second languages have become integral components of course work, and therefore public speaking anxiety may hinder the pursuit of second language acquisition and intercultural communication competence. More effective methods for combating this problem must be developed, and exposure training (using both virtual and imagined practice) has been shown as effective for anxiety reduction related to public speaking. However, whether increasing intercultural public speaking confidence may also aid in reducing foreign language learning anxiety remains an ongoing question. University students in Japan (n=20) underwent a training program which featured VR-based and imaginal public speaking practice in front of intercultural audiences. Results indicate that public speaking anxiety levels were reduced by significant levels; however, only VR-based practice helped reduce foreign language anxiety significantly. Interviews showed the program was considered effective overall by the majority of participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Fonseca: Journal of Communication is the property of Revista Fonseca Journal of Communication and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This is the fourth and final part of an autoethnography about how I tried to enrich my vocabulary and improve my listening skills through French language songs. I made a learning plan and followed the same Study Use Review Evaluate (SURE) learning cycle as my students in a self-directed English course at a university in Japan, over a period of six weeks. Throughout the project and in the course of writing it up, I made comparisons and identified connections between my learning and that of my students. In this installment, I first compare the difficulty levels of the vocabulary in the three songs I studied by finding the lexical frequency profile of each. Next, in revisiting my trouble with understanding spoken French while in France, I discuss how cultural awareness, in addition to linguistic knowledge, is necessary for intercultural communication. After that, I briefly explore empathy as a factor in advising students, and particularly how learning in the same way as them (as in this project) can assist a teacher/advisor in better understanding and helping their students/advisees. Finally, I discuss the writing process as a method of inquiry. I feel that writing this autoethnography has transformed me into a better learner, teacher/advisor, writer, and researcher, and in this way, I hope to help others benefit from this method too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acculturation today does not only occur due to direct physical interaction between two different cultural groups, but rather, it is due more to online interaction. Cultural interaction also raises the imitation of the visual aspects of popular commodities, such as films being cultural products. This study aims to explore subcultures and identity communication built and maintained in the weeaboo fandom community outside of Japan. It also analyzes the daily experiences of individuals in interacting within the community and outside of it. This study uses a qualitative phenomenological approach through detailed observation, in-depth interviews, and analysis of community interactions on social media. Because weeaboo's scope is anime fans in various countries other than Japan, the sources and participants of this study were drawn mainly from Indonesia. The results showed that the weeaboo subculture arose between millennials and generation Z anime lovers. These cohorts began to recognize anime and form communities from childhood with those with the same habits, so similar characters and preferences emerge. Acculturation occurs in contiguity between two primary cultures where a new culture is born. In the context of anime, there is acculturation between Japanese culture (home culture) with the culture of a different country, as anime fans in the community do their routines and habits differently from the anime home country (Japan) in the host country (outside Japan). This study found that the weeaboo subculture of Indonesian Generation Z and Y is shaped by acculturation in intercultural communication such as in language, expressions, fashion, accessories, make-up, hairstyle, cuisine, group attitudes, values, and natural and cultural preferences of Japanese destinations. Based on the findings, further research can continue to analyze other aspects that are affected by the weeaboo community, such as international relations, economic aspects, and the Japanese tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-efficacy encompasses the professional and personal language goals of learners as their progress depends upon a strong motivation to put practical language skills to use when the real world requires it. Intercultural communication and effectiveness are of interest to the professional and personal language goals of learners as their progress depends upon a strong motivation to put practical language skills to use when the real world requires it. Studying or working abroad and engaging in intercultural training are two such contexts that bind research in learner characteristics between applied linguistics and positive psychology as they provide a substrate of concrete interactions, transformative experiences characterized by opportunities for changes in self-concept, negotiations with values and authenticity, and forms of interpersonal development underwritten by intercultural communication as an ability. A tool to capture this domain-specific intercultural communication was previously developed with sojourner educational professionals for use among English speaking populations. However, the original study lacked confirmatory analyses of internal and external validity that would clarify model identification and applicability for research that deals with intercultural communication competence across populations with diverse sample characteristics. A total of 876 teachers (M age = 37.48, SD = 10.81) and 266 university students (M age = 19.48, SD = 0.74) in Japan responded to items from the SEIC instrument. Acceptable model fit was supported for the eight-item short form. Metric invariance was observed for individuals from a sample of sojourning English language teachers similar to the original validation and a nationwide survey of Japanese teachers of English, offering indications of cross-cultural validity. Degrees of equivalence were also found for the Japanese items as extending fitness for use to students from two universities in Japan. Concurrent validity was supported for SEIC measured by the scale with intercultural effectiveness competencies and speaking and listening self-efficacy constructs used in classroom contexts. Together, this study offers a tool of valid indicators for researchers and practitioners who aim to observe self-efficacy in positive education, intercultural training, or international programs that intersect with language learning and intercultural communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Language & Intercultural Communication is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Drawing upon the findings of a grounded theory study, this article addresses how sunao- sa influences intercultural communication and the process of building and developing trust between Japanese expatriate managers and Australian supervisors working in subsidiaries of Japanese multinationals in Australia. The authors argue that sunao is related to other concepts in business ethics and virtue literature such as character and its constituents, empathy and concern for others. How sunao as a value, influences the process of interpreting intercultural behaviour in relation to providing accounts, excuses or apologies in situations where a breach of some norm has occurred, is also explained. Although sunao has a particular role in hierarchical relationships between manager and subordinate, the paper concludes that becoming mutually sunao is crucial in learning and understanding the perspectives and expectations of a counterpart so that trust can deepen and flourish. The study makes an original contribution in an area that to date does not appear to have been researched from a management perspective and purports that sunao as character is an important factor in the culture of Japanese multinational organizations and indeed, international management in that context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the Plurilingual Lounge as a method for teaching language and culture through natural interactions. Fantini's (1995) theory of “Language, Culture, and Worldview” and Astin (1984) and Tinto's (1975) “Student Involvement and Integration” are used as theoretical frameworks. This article begins by describing the Plurilingual Lounge at Keio University then reports the results of five focus groups that were conducted. Complete transcripts were created for each of the focus groups and the two researchers coded and analyzed the transcripts using the software Atlas ti based on grounded theory (Strauss, 1987). Results of our analyses suggested that relationships (i.e., with the staff and each other) were key to motivating students to come to the Lounge, thus providing partial support for the “Student Involvement Theory.” Participants also felt that the Lounge had its own unique culture that freed them from “Japanese rules” such as using honorofics when speaking to one's elders and not speaking to strangers. Participants were also very conscious of the fact that the Lounge was not only a place to learn language but was a place where they could learn new cultures and worldviews, supporting Fantini's (1995) theory that intercultural communication can be best learned through natural social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: John C. (Jack) Condon is one of the most respected figures in intercultural communication today. His coauthored 1975 introductory textbook, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication, was a significant factor in defining the field and giving it its initial direction and terminology, and the two international conferences he helped organize in Japan in the 1970s were influential in bringing together many of the figures responsible for its subsequent development. His teaching, especially at the University of New Mexico and the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication, has introduced thousands of students to the field, and many of today''s leading practitioners were directly and personally influenced by Condon''s approach. His career spans almost half a century, and yet the details of his extraordinary life and achievements are not widely known. This retrospective summary attempts to suggest some of the more important biographical and intellectual stages in Condon''s ongoing development as a major intercultural leader. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper introduces and analyzes a cooperative learning (CL) group survey project implemented in a freshman university English-as-a-foreign-language class focused on intercultural communication and taught at a co-ed university in the Tokyo metropolitan area in the spring semester, 2008. The project consisted of three phases, with students working in heterogeneously formed groups for an entire semester. In Phase 1, the students learned basic discussion and CL skills. In Phase 2, each group conducted a class survey on a group-selected topic in the field of intercultural communication, analyzed the results and presented their findings. Similar procedures were repeated in Phase 3, except that this time students interviewed foreigners outside the university and were required to work on more demanding tasks. At the end of the semester, the students filled out a reflective questionnaire and their responses were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. Interviewing classmates and foreigners helped the students develop confidence in their English ability and broaden their cultural perspectives. In addition, they showed cooperative behavior and analytical ability. English had become a real means of communication. This hands-on experience helped them begin to shift from knowledge consumers to knowledge producers. They also experienced the power of true cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores difficulties students may experience in giving opinions in class, drawing on data gleaned from the administration of questionnaires and interviews to Japanese and British students. The results show that the students from both groups regard highly of giving and exchanging opinions in class; however, there is a marked difference in their confidence in doing so, more Japanese students stating that they have difficulties even in their mother tongue situations than the British. The paper examines the background to these difficulties, drawing from detailed studies of the students' own accounts, comparing and contrasting them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan critical views of the dominance of English are only infrequently voiced, and the use of English is promoted for the benefits associated with it. This paper discusses the issues of language and power in intercultural communication on the basis of a case study on the Ship for World Youth, an intensive 'international exchange' programme in which English is used uncritically as the language of intercultural communication. The paper examines the role of English as a gatekeeping device in social interaction on the ship, and highlights Japanese participants' 'investment' in the programme and their identity.[image omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explore the perception of culture held by conference and diplomatic interpreters in post-WWII Japan. Based on oral history research with five Japanese pioneers, interpreters’ perceptions about culture and cultural barriers in communication are studied and then compared with their role perceptions and their actual practice. Although the pioneering conference interpreters perceived their role as more or less invisible, showing little interest in the discussion of culture and cultural mediation, their narratives in life-story interviews demonstrate that they were essential participants in intercultural communication, bridging cultural barriers. Without being aware of their role as cultural mediators, the five interpreters were actively and autonomously involved in intercultural communication as indispensable co-participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses cultural issues in business communication across cultures. The concept of 'negotiated' culture is employed, elaborated and applied to empirical data at organizational and individual contextual levels in intercultural encounters. Communication is viewed as a complex, multi-issued, and dynamic process in which global managers exchange meaning. A multi-contextual analysis is used to describe the dynamics and complexity of sense-making processes at the interface of meaning exchange in the collaboration between Danish and Japanese managers. In particular, the concept of 'negotiated' culture is employed to analyse strategic and operational communication between a Danish company and its alliance partner in the Japanese market. A significant amount of research represents a headquarters or western view of communication processes and cultural challenges in strategy implementation. The present study also includes the partner/Japanese view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental education has increasingly become part of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum worldwide. This article analyses 26 EFL textbooks used in Japan, to discover what kind of environmental education they offer, and what this says about intercultural communication in the teaching/learning process. The results show how textbooks, by concentrating mainly on technical solutions to environmental problems, fail to open to criticism the cultural values at the heart of the environmental crisis, and direct attention away from important alternatives rooted in the deep ecological insights of traditional Japanese culture. The conclusion discusses ways to move away from unidirectional transfer of technical knowledge, towards a productive intercultural dialogue on ecological issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercultural communication serves a vital role in that it can forestall miscommunication and misunderstanding. Because of increased intercultural contact and interdependence, people in the world are forced to "rethink" intercultural communication in order to acquire effective intercultural communication competence. The present paper provides a critical discussion of the conceptualization of intercultural communication and the commonly acknowledged challenge of intercultural communication. With a focus on Japan and the U.S. (since both countries have remarkably different forms of communication in terms of nonverbal communication particularly), the paper defines culture and explores the following: (1) origin of intercultural communication research; (2) cultural fluency and willingness to communicate; and (3) words versus haragei (a Japanese concept), touching upon intercultural (business) communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-verbal communication is an important aspect to teach Japanese English language students if they are to communicate effectively in English. The purpose of this research is to determine which aspects of non-verbal communication would be important to teach Japanese university students studying English. Literature regarding Japanese use of non-verbal communication is described and used as a basis to determine aspects of non-verbal which would be important to introduce Japanese university students to. These finding are also used to develop a survey which was administered to further determine which types of non-verbal communication used in communication would be important to introduce. The Pedagogical implications of this research is described and practical teaching suggestions are given. The importance of conducting classroom research regarding the introduction of cultural material is emphasized as findings in an initial search of literature regarding Japanese use of non-verbal communication often did not support responses given in the survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]