Assessing Taiwanese College Students’ Intercultural Sensitivity, EFL Interests, Attitudes Toward Native English Speakers, Ethnocentrism, and Their Interrelation

Article Details

Ya-Chen Su, nan, Department of Applied English, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Yang Kang Dist., Tainan City, Taiwan

Journal: The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher
Volume 27 Issue 3 (Published: 2018-06-01)

Abstract

The development of travel opportunities and technology in the 21st century has brought people from different cultures and countries more opportunities to closely interact. The purposes of the study are to assess the degree of Taiwanese college students’ intercultural sensitivities, ethnocentrism, and attitudes toward native English speakers (NES) and English-as-a-foreign language (EF) interests. This study also examines the interrelationships between intercultural sensitivities and a range of variables (learners’ ethnocentrism, EFL interests, and attitudes toward NES) and the significant predictors affecting the development of intercultural sensitivity. A total of 1191 college students participated in this study. Three instruments, the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (Chen and Starosta in Hum Commun 3:1–15, 2000), the General Ethnocentrism Scale (Neuliep and McCroskey in J Intercult Commun Res 31:201–215, 1997), and the Attitudes and Motivation Test Battery (Gardner et al. 1974, London, Ontario: University of Western Ontario) were modified and used for data collection. Descriptive statistics, t test, correlational analysis, and Multiple Regression were employed for data analysis. Results found that among four dimensions of intercultural sensitivity, the highest correlations are between learners’ interaction engagement and confidence. EFL interests, attitudes toward NES, and ethnocentrism are significantly related with intercultural sensitivity, where each variable is a significant predictor for intercultural sensitivity development.

Keywords: Intercultural sensitivity Intercultural learning EFL interests Attitudes Ethnocentrism Correlation

DOI: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40299-018-0380-7
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