Intercultural Communication Strategies and Academic Adaptation Competence of Chinese and Thai Undergraduate Students Using English in a Thai University Online Instruction Context
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Abstract
This research is a mixed method research, the purpose of this dissertation aimed to scrutinize intercultural communication strategies (ICS) and academic adaptation competence (AAC) of Chinese and Thai undergraduate students using English as an online instruction (EIO) when encountering their intercultural communication problems in a Thai university online instruction context. The instruments were both online semi-structured questionnaires and online in-depth interviews were conducted with 40 fourth-year Thai and 40 fourth-year Chinese undergraduate students majoring in English Studies at the Faculty of Humanities, Chiang Rai Rajabhat in 2021 academic year, selected by the purposive sampling technique. The quantitative data were systematically analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation (S.D.), and the qualitative data with its content analysis were also summarized and categorized in themes. Results of the study revealed that the Chinese undergraduate students’ intercultural communication strategies (ICS) related to their knowledge were seldom used in a moderate level; otherwise, intercultural communication strategies (ICS) related to the Thai undergraduate students’ critical cultural awareness were seldom used in a moderate level. In terms of the Chinese and Thai undergraduate students’ academic adaptation competence before, during, and after studying in the Thai public higher educational institution, it showed that both of them could adapt themselves academically and socially before, during, and after studying in a public Thai higher educational institution. Also, this study will be an insightful resource for any further studies and training programs to help both Chinese and Thai interlocutors understand their self-academic adaptation process and discover an appropriate means to handle the mismatch between cultures occurred in the Thai-speaking academic environment.
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