Search

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]

This paper discusses the need to develop new approaches to the problems of intercultural communication under modern conditions. The established theories were formulated in the mid-20th century in a specific historical context and for specific purposes; today they are outdated. The ongoing globalisation, changing global balance of power, increased mobility of the ever-growing masses of the world population, mainly in the spheres of tourism, education and labour migration, call for new concepts and theoretical frameworks. Cultural globalisation revived interest in national cultures, creating a desire to preserve national traditions, lifestyles, characteristic features of everyday life and even those of the worldview. This process is stimulated by the opposition between increasing globalisation and attempts to uphold national identity. Thus, most nations today find issues related to national identity increasingly important and sensitive. The clash between the two opposing vectors - cultural standardisation, on the one hand, and a kind of cultural nationalism, on the other - leads to a growing number of cross-cultural misunderstandings and conflicts. This study relies on a variety of sources, including the results of a survey of Russian and Chinese students studying at the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The discussion of the need to design new approaches to intercultural communication is illustrated by the experiences of Chinese students studying at Russian universities and Russian academics teaching Chinese students. The number of Chinese students is steadily growing, but Russian educational institutions are not prepared to handle this increased inflow. Students, in their turn, are not prepared to integrate into an alien culture. Apart from the need to develop new principles and techniques for cross-cultural studies, the paper also emphasises the importance of providing practical information and advice in various forms - the Internet, guidebooks, induction courses to help international students to adapt to the Russian education system and everyday life. Of great importance are professional advancement courses for the Russian faculty teaching students from China, which would offer them an introduction into Chinese education traditions, behaviour patterns and mentality. Some other ways of addressing the current issues in integrating Chinese students into the Russian world are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the emergence of technical communication as an academic field in China from the perspectives of pedagogy, program building, market needs, professionalization, and local sociopolitical contexts. Highlighting the close disciplinary connections between translation and technical communication, it identifies visionary faculty with overseas experiences as national leaders in curriculum innovation. It also explores the close industry–academia connections facilitated by semi-open WeChat groups and existing approaches to building international partnerships with technical communicators in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of culture and its place in foreign-language teaching (FLT) have been explored at considerable length in Western scholarly literature. These topics have also received the attention of FLT scholars in China, which, with its vast educational system and increasing involvement on the international stage, has the potential to provide an instructive contribution to the debate. The Chinese literature is, however, largely unknown outside the Mandarin-speaking world. We therefore conducted an extensive survey of the relevant literature in China, from its inception in 1980 through 2014. Our aim is to provide a relatively comprehensive overview of the main themes and research perspectives, and the development and current state of culture teaching and intercultural communication studies in that country. This paper presents the main findings of that survey, against the background of the history of Chinese EFL syllabi. The survey indicates that culture is principally perceived from an anthropological or sociological perspective as the way of life. Culture learning is predominantly viewed as static knowledge of products, practices and perspectives rather than a dynamic process of meaning making. There has been a gradual transition in pedagogical theory and practice from the transmission of knowledge about culture and cultures to the development of intercultural communicative competence. Some innovative and empirically based ideas have been proposed, but our findings suggest that the question of culture teaching in FLT has not yet been explored in a thorough-going and systematic manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Six-Dynasties Period, the burial system of China underwent a process of development from the "Han System" to the "Jin System". Both at ground level and within the underground structures, high-ranking burials of the Six-Dynasties Period all had sculptures or figures of mythical animals meant as guardians or quellers of evil. The motifs and styles of these included not only components inherited from the burials of the Han Dynasty, but also newly emergent cultural elements, and in particular a system of auspicious beasts represented by lions. This new auspicious beast complex was related to the prior "Han System"of burial decoration but also showed clear differences. These changes reflected the symbolic features expressed through the formation of the "Jin System" in another aspect. Their influence reached down to the burial systems of the Tang and Song Dynasties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread use of English has brought into the dominance of Anglophone cultures in intercultural communication (IC). For this reason, it is important to investigate how English language learners' perceptions and awareness of home culture influence the social practice of intercultural communication. Conceptualizing home culture as a key topic in IC, this study used questionnaires and interviews to investigate Chinese university students' perceptions and awareness of their own culture and the perceived effects of home culture on IC. Anchored in descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis, the findings show that: 1) the majority of students had a rather superficial understanding of their home culture; and 2) most students reported that perceptions and awareness of home culture play critical roles in negotiating with speakers of other backgrounds. This suggests that home culture should be regarded as a resource to challenge the dominance of Anglophone cultures in English language teaching classrooms. It also calls for an integration of home culture and other cultures into the English language curriculum, material development and pedagogical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to provide a more scientific overview of the discussion on cultural values in general, and those in China in particular, both from a theoretical perspective as well as exemplified in the reality of public diplomacy or public relations. The concepts of guanxi (inter-relationships) and mianzi (face) are being positioned as essential for an indigenous understanding of the Chinese core value of harmony. The article advocates for an ‘Asiacentric’ model of public relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that lack of interpersonal interaction between media professionals in Europe and China partly accounts for continued misperceptions and gaps in understanding between both the nations. Investing into people-to-people dialogue is essential for journalists to overcome prejudice and to improve mutual knowledge. Days during which journalists are immersed into another country’s culture and media scene have great potential to induce changes in perceptions, both at the individual and societal level. This can be attributed to the built-in multiplier effect of media publications reaching wide audiences. Drawing on the “Europe-China Media Exchange ” set up, developed by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the article presents achievements (but also lessons) learnt from interpersonal exchange programs developed for European and Chinese journalists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to explore the hybrid cultural and linguistic spaces that Portuguese immigrants create in Macau in the process of engaging in intercultural communication with the Chinese local community. I use critical discourse analysis to examine data collected through in-depth interviews and observations in order to arrive at an understanding and provide an explanation of how Portuguese residents in Macau negotiate their interactions with the Chinese host culture. In these interviews participants furnish accounts of how they preserve their own cultural and linguistic space, while at the same time achieving functional integration in Macau when interacting with the Chinese population. Using hybridity as the theoretical framework, my research shows how participants deal with living and communicating within and between two distinct cultures; it also demonstrates how their lack of literacy in Cantonese limits the degree and form of integration that they are able to achieve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the states of the folklore profession and folklore study in China and the U.S. through an exchange between scholars Wang Dun, Kang Baocheng, and Robert Baron. Emphasis is given to the academic training of folklore students engaged in studying Chinese folklore. Other topics include the relationship between drama and folklore, the issue of authenticity, and government intervention in folk cultural processes.

Drawing on the notions of scale and space, this paper investigates identity construction among a group of mainland Chinese cross-boundary students by analysing their language choices and linguistic practices in a multilingual university in Hong Kong. The research illustrates how movement across spaces by these students produces varying index values for languages and influences their language usage, which becomes emblematic of individual and group identities. The research demonstrates that the values developed in their place of origin may have influences on their identity construction and peer communication in the host context. Finally, it shows that these students use their multiple linguistic repertoires to project multilayered identities and gain legitimacy in peer interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation is about how Chinese overseas online commentators (COOCs) respond to political discourses on China. COOCs present the ideological heterogeneity of Chinese overseas. Their diverse responses to different ideological debates show patterns that manifest how the Chinese diaspora enact their positional cultural identification. The analysis of the data showed that on both sides of the divide, the debate leads commentators to assume positions of attachment to, or detachment from, their Chinese cultural affiliations not in a set of binary oppositions but as a continuum with varying degrees. Along this division line, internal fragmentation can be further identified by different views of China’s external tension with other world powers. The notable internal complexity can arguably represent the nation’s maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This article describes the management of disagreement found in an intercultural conversational corpus between Hong Kong Chinese (HKC) and native speakers of English (NSE). Cultural differences in value orientations towards the face system and politeness and research on the structural organization and linguistic realizations of dispreferred responses were drawn upon to illuminate the analysis of data. The quantitative findings show that contrary to the stereotypic accounts of Chinese culture, HKC are not at all shy to disagree with their NSE interlocutors. Neither are HKC less likely, if not more likely, to disagree in order to present their different, or alternative, views. However, when they disagree, they are more inclined to address the face-want of both themselves and the addressees by using redressive language and mitigating devices. Qualitative analysis of sequences of disagreements in a conversational excerpt has shown the varying efforts HKC and NSE speakers make to align themselves with the interlocutor to manage interpersonal relationships and negotiate common ground. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Self-repetition is commonly found in spoken discourse, and it could be argued that it is an interactional necessity. Self-repetition in spontaneous talk is pervasive and performs a variety of functions. Some regard it as signalling redundancy, disfluency, or both, in spoken language, whereas others consider it to be facilitating the production of fluent speech. The present corpus study examines naturally-occurring business discourse between native speakers and non-native speakers of English in Hong Kong. By examining the form and communicative functions of instances of self-repetition, this study aims to suggest a framework for future studies of self-repetition, as well as to raise language learners' awareness of language use in intercultural communication business contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work has provided evidence that the establishment of new industry clusters cannot be jump-started through policy initiatives alone. This evidence does not imply, however, that the genesis of a new cluster cannot be planned at all. Especially in the context of a developing economy, it seems useful to reinvestigate the relation among economic development, the strategies of multinational firms, and state intervention in this respect. Drawing from the case of the automobile industry and its supplier system in Shanghai in which German finns play an important role, we provide empirical evidence of the evolution of a new cluster that is supported by the state in various forms and characterized by a focal, hierarchically structured production system. We use a multidimensional approach to clusters, which leads to a more nuanced understanding of the evolution and growth of a cluster than that provided by earlier accounts. This approach allows us to distinguish the development of the Shanghai automobile industry cluster along its vertical, horizontal, external, institutional, and power dimensions. We provide evidence that another dimension-"culture"-plays an important role, especially in its relation to issues of power and institutions. The role of this dimension is demonstrated in the case of German firms, which tap into the Chinese innovation system. This system is characterized by particular business relations, institutions, norms, and various social practices that are new to German firms. We demonstrate how this difference creates problems in establishing local production and supplier relations and how these problems can be overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the HIV infection issue in Hong Kong with special reference to two HIV positive individuals in the territory. These two persons have voluntarily made public their seropositivity. One of the two was a British dentist named Mike Sinclair, who disclosed his condition to the media in 1992 and died in 1995 and other was J.J. Chan, a local Chinese disc-jockey, who came forward in 1995 and died just a few months later. After making their revelations, both became instant media personalities and were invited by the Hong Kong Government to act as spokespeople for AIDS awareness and prevention. This article explores how the public identities of these two figures have been constructed in the cultural context of Hong Kong where both Eastern and Western values exist side by side and interact. The effect of culture on the way 'AIDS celebrities' are constructed has implications for the way societies view the issue of AIDS and treat those who have it. It also helps reveal possible sites of difficulty when individuals of different cultures communicate about the issue.

• Translocal space in internationalized education contexts is open to diversity, polycentricity and dynamicity. • Multilingual students contest the socio-politically and institutionally scaled language norms in translocal space. • Multilingual students can reconstruct space and create new sociolinguistic spaces to accommodate their communicative and social needs. • Power relations in translocal space are fluid and negotiable. This study explores the language practices and perceptions of local and international students engaged in translocal space of communication in a transnational university in China. It focuses on the process by which multilingual students, as scale makers, negotiated language norms, reshaped interactional contexts and strategically configured diverse resources embedded in various spatiotemporal scales to accomplish communicative activities. It is found that translocal space is open to plural norms and shifting power relations. Through scaling practices, multilingual students can create, define and refine sociolinguistic contexts to their own advantage. The findings also highlight multilingual students' awareness of power issues involved in the relationship between language and norms, the development of more open and flexible attitudes towards language use and their capability in applying interactive strategies to negotiate linguistic differences to achieve communicative success in translocal space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]