Recently, Associate Professor Li Jiajun, as the first author, published a research paper in the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development titled "Investigating Chinese students’ motives for intercultural interactions in a Chinese internationalized university". The paper is one of the interim results of the National Social Science Fund Project he leads. Huang Yan, teacher from Qingdao Huanghai University, and Prof. Steve Kulich of Shanghai International Studies University are co-authors of the paper.
In the context of internationalized education, cross-cultural interaction between domestic and international university students represents one of the important pathways to cultivate cross-cultural competence for both parties. However, research conducted both domestically and internationally has found that the frequency of such interactions is not high. Despite this, there are still some students who actively seek out cross-cultural communication. This paper adopts a fact-driven research strategy, initially interviewing eight local students with rich cross-cultural interaction experiences. Combining this with a literature review, it collects data on the motivations behind cross-cultural interactions among university students. Subsequently, through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the study establishes and verifies that the structure of these motivations among local university students consists of five factors: communicative experience, cultural exchange, English improvement, seeking help, and task completion. The study further employs Similarity Structure Analysis to elucidate the interrelationships among these five factors, arguing that the motivations for cross-cultural interaction among local university students share deep consistency with those for foreign language learning. These motivations are reflected in three deep-seated drivers: situational, cultural, and instrumental. Among these, instrumental motivation aligns with the motivations for cross-cultural interaction observed among university students in other cultural contexts, highlighting the universality of the cross-cultural context. Communicative experience and cultural motivation may reflect the cultural characteristics of using English as a lingua franca (ELF) in cross-cultural interactions within the context of foreign language learning in our country. This study holds practical value for intervening in the communication between domestic and international students, thereby enhancing local students' foreign language proficiency, cross-cultural competence, and global competence.
The Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, founded in 1980, is an SSCI- and A&HCI-indexed journal. According to the 2022 JCR rankings, it ranks as a Q1 journal in the fields of linguistics, language, cultural studies, and education. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, School of Foreign Languages are encouraging young and key teachers to concentrate on their research areas and strive to produce high-quality research outcomes.
Paper link: https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2024.2329190
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