Browsing by Subject "Intercultural communication"
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Item An empirical study of Chinese communicative competence in an American cultural setting(Texas Tech University, 1979-12) Chou, Pao-PeiNot availableItem Changing the power of discourse: intercultural communication for the involvement of Black parents with high school students in special education : the admission review and dismissal experience(2003) Johnson, Debra Joyce; Marion, Robert L.; Webb-Johnson, GwendolynAlthough the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) provided parents an active and more visible role in the education of their children, these roles can be supported only through meaningful dialogue that is understood by both the transmitter and the receiver. African American (AA) families with high school students in special education often face challenges in communicating with professionals who are Admission Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee members, who may only communicate from their perspective. This diminishes the possibilities of utilizing intercultural communication processes; therefore, not applying the “posture of cultural reciprocity.” This qualitative study describes and interprets the insight and experiences of AA parents with high school students in special education as they relate to intercultural communication and the “posture of cultural reciprocity.” Intercultural communication identifies a “process by which two individuals who do not belong to the same culture ‘try’ to exchange a set of ideas, feelings, symbols...[and] meanings” (Casse, 1980, p. 16). Since they do not belong to the same culture, by implication they do not share the same assumptions, beliefs, values, or some ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving (Casse). The “posture of cultural reciprocity” (Kalyanpur & Harry, 1999) can be described as building relationships between families and professionals so that the cultural needs of the parents are met and understood. It may also address the need for professionals “to confront the contradictions between their values and practices” (Skrtic, 1991, p. 42) so that meaningful dialogue is achieved to assist parents and students. Findings from the study revealed that professionals in ARD meetings did not usually communicate using intercultural communication processes or from the “posture of cultural reciprocity”; thus meaningful communication between parents and professionals was limited. This was especially evident as parents related their perceptions of communicating the needs of their students in (a) curriculum, (b) social and emotional development, and (c) student satisfaction.Item Communicating traditional Chinese medicine across cultures: thetorical and linguistic challenges and possible solutions(Texas Tech University, 2004-12) Zhu, PinfanThis dissertation addresses the problems inherent in cross-cultural technical communication of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It differs from previous similar works in that, for the first time, it approaches the problems of cross-cultural technical communication from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The author holds that complicated challenges in cross-cultural technical communication need to be studied in a multidimensional context because cross-cultural technical communication is concerned with different fields. The author uses combined qualitative research methods—interviews, a survey, and text analysis—to critique a web site designed to explain TCM to Western audiences. He uses theories from the fields of rhetoric, linguistics, cross-cultural communication, technical editing, translation, and document design to analyze the shortcomings of the web page. Then he suggests ways in which the page could be modified to better serve its audience. These are some of the problems the author identifies: inappropriate discourse patterns; common language errors in sentence structures and word choice; inappropriate and erroneous translations, such as overtranslation, undertranslation, mistranslation, inconsistency, and awkward language; editing weaknesses in typography, graphics, and text; and document design problems. Together with possible solutions suggested, this analysis is a practical guide to those who are studying or pursuing cross-cultural technical communication. The findings and principles the dissertation discussed are also applicable to other types of cross-cultural communicationItem Designed communication : structures that shape meaning(2002) Rodgers, Angela Sue; Not availableItem Examining (my)self: An autoethnographic exploration of cultural identity negotiation(2005-08) Stow, Brandon D.; Heuman, Amy N.; Hughes, Patrick C.; Williams, David E.This thesis is an autoethnographic exploration of my dialectic cultural identity negotiation. Utilizing autoethnographic inquiry through the use of autoethnographic episodic narratives and Martin and Nakayama’s (2004) notion of cultural dialectics, I explore the contradictions that occur between the identities of critical scholar, Christian, and heterosexual white male. This study serves to build upon autoethnographic and cultural identity scholarship, specifically scholarship that interrogates the social, cultural, and political systems of power such that of white heteronormative privilege. I carry out this examination by evocatively sharing my experiences with the hope that readers will be able to know themselves in a deeper manner, as interrogating yourself in this manner is the first step toward true social change (McIntosh, 1988).Item Facilitating participation : communicative practices in interaction between native and nonnative speakers of Japanese(2007-05) Ikeda, Tomoko, 1979-; Streeck, JürgenThis dissertation presents microanalyses of interactional practices employed by native (NS) and nonnative speakers (NNS) of Japanese. Drawing on videotaped interaction among Japanese and international students enrolled in an intercultural communication class at a university in Japan, I investigate ways in which NSs facilitate NNSs' participation in interaction during various group activities. I focus on three communicative practices employed by NSs: (1) co-participant completion, a phenomenon in which a participant continues or completes a turn at talk initiated by another participant, (2) translation of another participant's utterance into talk or gesture for the third party, and (3) impromptu vocabulary lessons in which NSs utilize talk and gestures to display understanding of their NNS co-participants' troubled production efforts and supply appropriate words or expressions while at the same time demonstrating their meanings gesturally. Using the methodological frameworks of microethnography and conversation analysis (CA), I examine the moment-by-moment unfolding of interaction, focusing on how participants with differential language expertise organize participation through talk and embodied action. I provide a detailed description of ways in which interactional resources such as syntactic structure, vocal features (i.e., perturbation), and certain features of embodied components (e.g., gaze shift and gesture) of the current speaker's turn afford the recognition of opportunities for co-participant completion. I also discuss how these resources provide opportunities for the projection of the next item in the turn in progress. In addition, I identify three specific actions accomplished by employing this practice: (1) providing lexical assistance, (2) joining another NS (i.e., a current speaker) in offering explanations to a NNS, and (3) proffering anticipatory agreement and displaying affinity. Examination of the phenomena of translating and providing vocabulary assistance reveals the crucial role that embodied action plays in such vernacular teaching. Multifunctional sequences that constitute impromptu vocabulary lessons in particular point to the significance of gesture as a resource for speakers and listeners. These multimodal practices resemble communicative practices of language teachers. This suggests the ubiquity of opportunities for language teaching and learning in everyday situations. This dissertation presents being able to facilitate NNSs' participation in interaction as part of NSs' interactional competence.Item Facilitating participation: communicative practices in interaction between native and nonnative speakers of Japanese(2007) Ikeda, Tomoko; Streeck, JürgenThis dissertation presents microanalyses of interactional practices employed by native (NS) and nonnative speakers (NNS) of Japanese. Drawing on videotaped interaction among Japanese and international students enrolled in an intercultural communication class at a university in Japan, I investigate ways in which NSs facilitate NNSs' participation in interaction during various group activities. I focus on three communicative practices employed by NSs: (1) co-participant completion, a phenomenon in which a participant continues or completes a turn at talk initiated by another participant, (2) translation of another participant's utterance into talk or gesture for the third party, and (3) impromptu vocabulary lessons in which NSs utilize talk and gestures to display understanding of their NNS co-participants' troubled production efforts and supply appropriate words or expressions while at the same time demonstrating their meanings gesturally. Using the methodological frameworks of microethnography and conversation analysis (CA), I examine the moment-by-moment unfolding of interaction, focusing on how participants with differential language expertise organize participation through talk and embodied action. I provide a detailed description of ways in which interactional resources such as syntactic structure, vocal features (i.e., perturbation), and certain features of embodied components (e.g., gaze shift and gesture) of the current speaker's turn afford the recognition of opportunities for co-participant completion. I also discuss how these resources provide opportunities for the projection of the next item in the turn in progress. In addition, I identify three specific actions accomplished by employing this practice: (1) providing lexical assistance, (2) joining another NS (i.e., a current speaker) in offering explanations to a NNS, and (3) proffering anticipatory agreement and displaying affinity. Examination of the phenomena of translating and providing vocabulary assistance reveals the crucial role that embodied action plays in such vernacular teaching. Multifunctional sequences that constitute impromptu vocabulary lessons in particular point to the significance of gesture as a resource for speakers and listeners. These multimodal practices resemble communicative practices of language teachers. This suggests the ubiquity of opportunities for language teaching and learning in everyday situations. This dissertation presents being able to facilitate NNSs' participation in interaction as part of NSs' interactional competence.Item Family communication influences on high school students' attitudes toward intercultural communication: directions for education and research(Texas Tech University, 2002-05) McCulloch, Kelly MarieNot availableItem Intercultural experiences and practices in a Chinese-Japanese joint venture: a study of narratives and interactions about and beyond "Chinese" and "Japanese"(2002) Funayama, Izumi; Streeck, Jürgen.Item Synchronous eTandem communication between English and Korean learners : learning through international partnership and intercultural communication(2016-05) Choi, Eunjeong; Schallert, Diane L.; Horwitz, Elaine K.; Palmer, Deborah K.; Blyth, Carl S.; Kelm, Orlando R.This dissertation is a report of an investigation of intercultural communication and learning in online tandem exchanges between two groups of foreign language learners: college students learning English as a foreign language at a Korean university and college students learning Korean as a heritage language at an American university. The focus was on (a) how native frames of reference were related to diverse experiences and differing functioning across dyadic partnerships; (b) how differing dyadic functioning were related to linguistic and cultural exchanges in synchronous text-based computer-mediated communication; and (c) how differing dyadic functioning were related to peer feedback exchanges on each partner’s foreign language essay and to feedback incorporation in the subsequent revision. A semiotic-ecological perspective to foreign language learning informed the research focus, design, and analysis of the study. I adopted a qualitative, embedded multiple-case study design. Data sources were transcripts from synchronous computer-mediated discourse; learner reflections produced during the telecollaborative project, from a post-project questionnaire, and from interviews; and first and revised versions of essays written in foreign languages. As analytical methods, I employed a modified grounded theory, the constant-comparative method, and techniques of discourse analysis. The findings showed that students in the two classes reported different perceptions about their experiences, and this seemed partly explained by culturally and institutionally different expectations about academic tasks and communication and by differing levels of foreign language proficiency and typing skills. Depending on how individual students configured the learning context, including the partner abroad, differing degrees of dyadic functioning emerged. Differing degrees of dyadic functioning seemed related to the degree that partnering students’ perceptions of their experiences and of each other were aligned between the two students. Differing degrees of dyadic functioning were also related to language functions, stance taking, and engagement with cultural knowledge, as exhibited in the computer-mediated discourse. In addition, differing degrees of dyadic functioning were associated with the discourse moves and content of peer feedback exchanges and ultimately with how much peer feedback was incorporated into the revision.Item Teaching intercultural communication in a service technical writing course: alternative ways of presenting intercultural issues in technical writing textbooks and in real classrooms(Texas Tech University, 2006-12) Matveeva, Natalia; Barker, Thomas; Gorsuch, Greta; Baake, Ken; Amant, Kirk S.Presenting intercultural materials in a service technical writing course has been a challenge for instructors as well as textbook writers. The traditional predominant method of teaching is the information acquisition approach, which presupposes collecting information about cultures and labeling or characterizing cultures using various dimensions and typologies. In textbooks, such an approach leads to the prevalence of factual information about other cultures' communication practices and stereotypes. An alternative method is the dialogic/paralogic approach that sees intercultural communication as interpersonal communication, re-emphasizes the dialogic nature of communication, and focuses on developing in students a better understanding of culture through discussions of their own culture. However, in order to accept any approach, one must explore the current contexts of teaching and reveal any potential constraints with intercultural teaching that instructors may face in real classrooms. This dissertation is the first in-depth study that examines the teaching contexts and textbooks, using survey, discourse analysis, and quasi-experiment as methodologies, and discusses the problems and constraints that teachers face with intercultural teaching. Such examination allows for better understanding of instructors' needs and helps create an alternative intercultural sub-curriculum for a service technical writing course. Based on the analysis of teaching and textbook discourses and further theoretical inquiry, I articulate and justify the dialogic pedagogical perspective for intercultural teaching in a service technical writing course. Such a perspective is a compilation of theories and methods offered by philosophy (pragmatism), sociology (symbolic interactionism), applied linguistics (communicative teaching), rhetoric (paralogic hermeneutics), technical communication (Weiss’s dialogic approach) and intercultural training (experiential learning). The combination of those ideas and techniques allows for more complex, thoughtful, and ethical intercultural teaching that relies on developing in students a better understanding of culture as a concept, experiencing cultures, treating intercultural communication as interpersonal communication, and avoiding stereotyping. Such perspective and the results of my research help me develop an alternative preliminary intercultural sub-curriculum for a service technical writing course that can be adapted by instructors for their classes.Item Technical communication learning on the U.S.-Mexico border: factors affecting cross-cultural competence in globalized settings(Texas Tech University, 2004-05) Evia, CarlosThis dissertation studies the way in which instructors and students in border universities deal with multiculturalism in the introductory course to technical communication. It addresses the need for a proper balance between embracing the students' native cultural elements and teaching them formal American writing in order to maintain the cross-cultural competence in the multicultural technical communication classroom. Specifically, it analyzes the way in which technical communication is being learned in the U.S.-Mexico border, trying to determine (a) if nonimmigrant Mexican students are able to perform satisfactorily in American technical communication courses, (b) what are the positive contributions of those nonimmigrant Mexican students to the multicultural environment in the classroom, (c) what factors could make Mexican students perform better in technical communication courses, and (d) how are the instructors addressing the multicultural nature of the student body in border classes. The research took place in the El Paso-Las Cruces/Ciudad Juarez border zone during the summer and fall academic terms of 2003, and was conducted at two American higher education institutions (New Mexico State University and the University of Texas at EI Paso) with considerable Mexican enrollment in their sections of the introductory course to technical communication. The study's methodological triangulation included the following data gathering techniques: interviews with instructors, a survey to measure the level of cross-cultural competence among the students (based on the model of cultural differences developed by Trompenaars and Hampden-Tumer), assessment of students' writing samples, and focus group sessions with students. The main findings were that Mexican students in the population studied did not have a sense of purpose in their writing. Their documents were mostly about format and presentation, but they did not take under consideration the audience's needs for information. Also, the research reported that experiences with previous English and writing courses create differences between American and international students. This dissertation provides the field of technical communication a new way to look at cultural differences that would normally be considered as subtle, thus creating awareness for cases with more dissimilar cultures. It also emphasizes the differences between teaching about multicultural audiences and teaching to multicultural audiences.Item The development of industrialized culturally-oriented speculative housing: a systems approach(Texas Tech University, 1974-05) Beard, RonThe topic of this thesis shall be an investigation into the validity of approaching the speculative housing problem on an industrialized, culturally-oriented solution utilizing a systems approach.