Intercultural Learning Assessment: The Link between Program Duration and the Development of Intercultural Sensitivity.

By Adriana Medina-López-Portillo. 2004

285 citations recorded by the source corpus.

At a time when global markets, communication technologies, and transportation systems have vastly increased multicultural contact in our daily lives, it is essential that “we develop communication skills and abilities that are appropriate to a multicultural society and to life in a global village” (Samovar & Porter, 2000). Institutions of higher education are striving to address these needs on one level by offering a broad array of study abroad programs that will encourage different types of students to study abroad. Engle and Engle (2003) have identified seven key components of study abroad programs that define their variety: program duration, entry language competence of participants, extent to which target language is used in coursework on site, context of academic work, type of housing arrangements, provisions for guided cultural/experiential learning, and structured opportunities for students to reflect on their cultural experiences. Given the growing emphasis on internationalizing higher education and the rapidly increasing number of students embarking on study abroad programs each year, research on student learning outcomes, especially those related to cultural learning, is assuming greater value and relevance. The study presented here aims to enhance our understanding of intercultural learning by focusing on the link between the development of intercultural sensitivity and the first of Engle and Engle’s key study abroad components, program duration. It has long been argued that program duration is instrumental in achieving desired intercultural learning outcomes. Gudykunst (1979) concludes that “contact of only a short duration does not allow enough time to establish attitudes to change. The short duration of the contact results in an incomplete psychological experience for the participants” (p. 4). Similarly, Bennett (1993) suggests that it takes at least two years in the target country to develop basic levels of adaptive behavior and to acquire a new worldview (p. 55). For Leong and Ward (2000), the longer individuals stay in the

Subfields: Communication

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Citations in the corpus

One Year Later: The Influence of Short-Term Study Abroad Experiences on Students (2011, background): “Although the existing research points to the potential for significant learning through short-term study abroad, most programs studied were for periods of longer than 1 month (Chieffo & Griffiths, 2004; Medina-López-Portillo, 2004).”
Developing intercultural understanding and skills: models and approaches (2011, background): “Study abroad has been shown to enhance intercultural understanding among university students (Kitsantas and Meyers 2001; Medina-Lopez-Portillo 2004; Olson and Kroeger 2001).”
How College Students Experience Intercultural Learning: Key Features and Approaches (2013, background): “…practices and conditions that foster intercultural learning, such as diversity courses (Mayhew & Fernandez, 2007), study abroad programs (Lee, 2012; Medina-López-Portillo, 2004; Pedersen, 2010; Williams, 2005), and intergroup dialogue experiences (Engberg, 2004; Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002).”
An Investigation of Experiential and Transformative Learning in Study Abroad Programs. (2017, background): “…been criticized for many reasons including requiring little input on behalf of the student and not producing the same cultural outcomes as longer programs since they do not provide adequate time for student attitudes to change (Engle & Engle, 2003; Gadykunst, 1979; Medina-López-Portillo, 2004).”
Impacts of Experiential Learning Depth and Breadth on Student Outcomes (2017, background): “…(typically a semester or longer) has more benefits in developing intercultural sensitivity, global perspective, linguistic ability, lifelong friendships with host-country nationals, and so on (Dwyer, 2004; Ingraham & Peterson, 2004; Kehl & Morris, 2008; Medina-Lopez-Portillo, 2004; Zorn, 1996).”
How Dual-Identity Processes Foster Creativity (2014, background): “…Students with various degrees of contact with individuals from other countries More less contact Global perspective & positive attitudes towards diversity Medina-Lopez-Portillo, 2003 Students who participated (or not) in a study abroad program Post- predeparture Intercultural sensitivity King &…”
Intercultural learning on short‐term sojourns (2009, result): “I also discovered that most of my students significantly overestimated their level of intercultural sensitivity, similar to Medina-López-Portillo’s (2004) investigation of American sojourners in Mexico.”