The issue of language barriers is particularly critical during intercultural service encounters for ESL (English as a Second Language) customers. Customers may struggle to communicate what they want or even get necessary information regarding products or services. Through a qualitative study, based on a grounded theory approach, this study identifies issues that concern ESL customers in intercu...

language and culture are now deemed to be co-constitutive; hence english language teaching (elt) textbooks should incorporate cultural aspects and promote intercultural competence. however, careful decisions should be made as regards to the cultural content of materials and the ways in which culture is represented. this study was an attempt to deconstruct the patterns of cultural representation...

These days, the issue of diversity is very familiar to us. This is likely due to the advent of the phenomenon of a multi-cultural society. Naturally, concern and research about urban space and diversity has risen. The strategies of the EU based on ‘intercultural strategy’ contribute to the development of cultural diversity. The representative example is ‘Intercultural City Project’. The zones f...

Various Western and Japanese sources in the literature have concluded that Japanese people, who live in a nation with comparatively less ethnocultural diversity than the U.S., lag behind Americans in their capabilities to develop positive intercultural relations. To test these assumptions, this study compared the quality of acculturation outcomes between Japanese and Americans in Japan. Japanes...

Electronic learning, or e-learning, is becoming an increasingly common way to educate and train individuals. However, along with the benefits of e-learning there are some challenges. This study investigates the use of VoIP technology, as an e-learning system, for U.S. and Taiwanese students to improve their intercultural communication competency. The subjects worked together one-on-one using Sk...

Increased cultural diversity in work places has aroused considerable attention to conflict management and intercultural sensitivity. However, few studies have investigated these two concepts together. The present study aims to bridge the gap in this line of research with an examination between intercultural sensitivity and conflict management styles in a hypothetical cross-cultural organization...

In this paper we describe our efforts to foster intercultural communication and collaboration in educational scenarios using advanced learning technologies to support hands on experimentation and science learning. A special focus is given to the idea that innovative uses of these technologies will enhance the scientific experience of learners if intercultural exchange is involved in this proces...

Contents Introduction Lies Sercu and Manuel Jimenez Raya 7 Learner autonomy and intercultural competence Adri Elsen and Oliver St.-John 15

One of the areas in knowledge management is the representation of information, an area of particular importance in e-Government, given the State’s social responsibility towards its citizens. Unlike the private industry, the State is not in a position to select its customers, and has the social responsibility to treat all citizens equally. Given this responsibility, three issues need to be addre...