About this Research Topic
With internationalization high on the agenda of education providers worldwide, the complex relationship between intercultural communication and the international student phenomenon deserves close study.
Being an international student is a great opportunity to be exposed to a new language and culture and to develop intercultural communication skills. Traditionally, the phrase ‘international students’ refers to those who undertake all or part of their education in a country other than their own. For present purposes, though, we adopt a broad definition of the phrase to include transnational education (TNE) students, who are often regarded as international students by their awarding institutions.
The number of international students pursuing tertiary education reached 6.3 million in 2020 (up from 2 million in 2000), and this number continues to grow (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2023). The recent decade has also seen a tremendous expansion of TNE, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of size and scale. TNE is the delivery of education in a country other than the one in which the degree-granting institution is based. TNE takes many diverse forms, including dual degrees, joint institutes, and international branch campuses, to name but a few. In many cases, students can get a foreign degree without ever leaving their home country or region.
Research on international students is often scattered across different disciplines, including communication, education, psychology, and language and linguistics. The field of intercultural communication (a term often used interchangeably with 'cross-cultural communication') investigates how people from different cultural backgrounds communicate. The combination of intercultural communication and international students is a broad and fascinating topic of research. Extant research on the topic has mainly focused on the following areas: international students’ perceptions of intercultural communication, the difficulties faced by international students, and the correlations between different variables; e.g., intercultural communication competence and effectiveness, intergroup anxiety, intercultural sensitivity, attitude towards other cultures, (meta)stereotypes, sensation seeking, ethnocentrism, empathy, mindfulness, and motivation to engage in intercultural communication.
These studies have offered valuable insights into the predictors of intercultural communication competence and effectiveness and the pathways for developing this competence and effectiveness. However, intercultural communication and international students is a complex topic that requires a multifaceted approach that transcends disciplinary boundaries. Research on the topic is lagging behind the growth of student numbers, and there are many gaps and underexplored areas. For example, TNE students have rarely been studied from an intercultural communication perspective, and international students’ perceptions of intercultural communication are much less explored than those of faculty and home students. Additionally, while academic advising has been found to be vital to international student success, academic advisers have reported a lack of institutional training on how to deal with international students. The actual intercultural interactions of, and with, international students have rarely been studied in detail.
Against this background, this Research Topic seeks to create interdisciplinary dialogue and cooperation, exploring the gaps and underexamined areas of intercultural communication and international students. Themes to be addressed include, but are not limited to, the following:
• language and communication
• intercultural communication competence and effectiveness
• intercultural interaction
• international student experience
• transnational education (TNE)
• internationalization.
Being an international student is a great opportunity to be exposed to a new language and culture and to develop intercultural communication skills. Traditionally, the phrase ‘international students’ refers to those who undertake all or part of their education in a country other than their own. For present purposes, though, we adopt a broad definition of the phrase to include transnational education (TNE) students, who are often regarded as international students by their awarding institutions.
The number of international students pursuing tertiary education reached 6.3 million in 2020 (up from 2 million in 2000), and this number continues to grow (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2023). The recent decade has also seen a tremendous expansion of TNE, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of size and scale. TNE is the delivery of education in a country other than the one in which the degree-granting institution is based. TNE takes many diverse forms, including dual degrees, joint institutes, and international branch campuses, to name but a few. In many cases, students can get a foreign degree without ever leaving their home country or region.
Research on international students is often scattered across different disciplines, including communication, education, psychology, and language and linguistics. The field of intercultural communication (a term often used interchangeably with 'cross-cultural communication') investigates how people from different cultural backgrounds communicate. The combination of intercultural communication and international students is a broad and fascinating topic of research. Extant research on the topic has mainly focused on the following areas: international students’ perceptions of intercultural communication, the difficulties faced by international students, and the correlations between different variables; e.g., intercultural communication competence and effectiveness, intergroup anxiety, intercultural sensitivity, attitude towards other cultures, (meta)stereotypes, sensation seeking, ethnocentrism, empathy, mindfulness, and motivation to engage in intercultural communication.
These studies have offered valuable insights into the predictors of intercultural communication competence and effectiveness and the pathways for developing this competence and effectiveness. However, intercultural communication and international students is a complex topic that requires a multifaceted approach that transcends disciplinary boundaries. Research on the topic is lagging behind the growth of student numbers, and there are many gaps and underexplored areas. For example, TNE students have rarely been studied from an intercultural communication perspective, and international students’ perceptions of intercultural communication are much less explored than those of faculty and home students. Additionally, while academic advising has been found to be vital to international student success, academic advisers have reported a lack of institutional training on how to deal with international students. The actual intercultural interactions of, and with, international students have rarely been studied in detail.
Against this background, this Research Topic seeks to create interdisciplinary dialogue and cooperation, exploring the gaps and underexamined areas of intercultural communication and international students. Themes to be addressed include, but are not limited to, the following:
• language and communication
• intercultural communication competence and effectiveness
• intercultural interaction
• international student experience
• transnational education (TNE)
• internationalization.
Keywords: international students, student experience, teaching and learning, intercultural interaction, internationalization, empowement
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