PhD Dissertation Example 1

134 general features of Chinese literature, film and popular culture in a comparative context, to acquire greater facility in reading, discussing and interpreting literary texts, textual or audio- visual, as literature, to learn to appreciate literature at an aesthetic level” (Institutional Website). During the course of study, the program encourages their students to have study abroad experiences at Chinese universities. A maximum of two courses of study abroad are counted in the Chinese minor. The college has built up relations with three different types of Chinese universities located in three cities. Chinese culture is taught in her elementary classes, but not much. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Model Communicative Competence. Communicative competence is the most important objective in her elementary Chinese language classes. She emphasizes speaking communication in elementary classes. As she said “In class, I focus the speaking communication. Students practice writing by themselves, especially for elementary levels. No paragraph writing is utilized for elementary level students”. (BF1) Learner-Centeredness. Learner-centeredness emphasized learners’ differences, needs, and autonomy, encouraged learners to play active roles in the learning process, negotiated meanings, and expressed their opinions with their classmates and language educators (Pu, 2009). Her goal is creating a learner-centered classroom. She hopes her lower level classes could be more learner centered. She stated her higher-level classes were more learner centered than elementary level classes. She explained that: I think my goal is learner centered. I would adjust on feedbacks, but it’s impossible not to have a teacher involved in a class. I try to achieve learner-centered. For elementary levels, students don’t have any clues. I hope I can create a more learner centered

135 classroom. For all the levels, teachers have to be involved since it’s textbook based. For higher level, students are more engaged. For lower level, their communication skills are limited, but I would try to create more communicating tasks to be more learner-centered. (BF1) Authentic Texts. BF1 is contented with the authentic texts in the Integrated Chinese textbook set. She stated the set contained a lot of DVD and CD materials and the publisher always updated the materials. Her students love watching DVDs to learn Chinese. She stated that she used authentic texts very often. “Usually I use two days to teach grammar and one of the two days will be used for practice. When we practice, we would use textbooks and workbooks. One unit will take up two to three weeks. Probably two thirds or half of the time we use textbooks and workbooks for practice”. (BF1) Contexts. BF1uses real life scenarios as much as possible such as giving directions, making phone calls in the form of role-play with one scenario per unit. When giving directions, she would give students maps. When students practice making phone calls, she would give students scenarios such as when they are visiting someone, but the friend is not there, so students want to call the friend. However, she said that she had to sacrifice the scenarios when there was not enough time in class. When a situation is rarely used in real life, she would save some class time and not provide scenarios. ACTFL Standards BF1 expressed that she would not consider what particular cultural parts she would cover in her classes. She thought there were not many differences between modern Chinese culture and American culture.

136 Perspectives. BF1 usually talks about cultural perspectives related to each unit in the textbooks. She also talks about Chinese holidays only when it is around holiday times. For example, she mentions “Chinese interpersonal relationships are different from American relationships. Chinese people are very modest, to Americans, it’s very different”. Another example is that “Chinese family kinship terms which are different from Americans. Chinese kinship terms are complicated and since it’s an elementary level I would not talk too much about it. I would mention it was caused by a fraternal society”. “Chinese kinship terms go from the older to the younger, from male to female” (BF1). Being polite is highly valued in China and is reflected in the language such as please, polite form of you, royal surname instead of just surname. Practices. BF1 does not feel there are many differences in cultural practices. The different cultural practices she could think of are those, in which “when Chinese people are talking about parents, people would say dad and mom in Chinese instead of mom and dad”. For dates, “Chinese uses both lunar calendar and regular calendar in their daily life”. “When visiting friends, Chinese people bring practical gifts such as fruits”. (BF1) Products. BF1does not introduce many cultural products, but utilizes many extra- curricular activities on campus and in the local community. In class, she gives students red envelopes during Chinese New Year. “For extra-curricular activities, I introduced calligraphy, Chinese Mahjong, Chinese Chess, Go and Flying Chess. I make dumplings with students every year. I also organized activities like eating Chinese noodles and hot pot”. (BF1)

137 ICC Model Communicative Competence. BF1 thinks that communicative competence is her most important objective in her novice level class. She emphases speaking communication in particular. At the novice level, her students practice writing by themselves and no paragraph writing is used. Intercultural Competence. BF1 does not emphasize intercultural competence in her classes because she stated China now was very international and Chinese kids were very western and confident. When her students went to China, they did not experience cultural shock or have a difficult time. She stated that even regarding modesty, China is gradually fading. She stated little or no time is devoted to increasing her students’ intercultural competence in her language classes at the elementary Chinese level. Intercultural Sensitivity. BF1 thought it was important for her students to have intercultural sensitivity. However, she does not emphasize it unless cultural differences are involved in textbook. The learning goals in this program do not exactly match any of the above curricular models. The learning goals focused largely on language skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Among the four skills, the speaking skill is most emphasized and the writing skill is least emphasized. She does not think intercultural competence is as important as communicative competence. In the learning goals, she includes the cultures related to the language content into her class instruction. The cultures that she introduces are mainly cultural perspectives because

138 she thinks that there are few differences now between Chinese cultural practice and American cultural practice. According to her interview, cultural products are introduced in extra-curricular activities in the program. Instructional Strategies Most of her instructional strategies are lecture and media, watching a DVD, videos from YouTube, occasional role-play, and conversation practice. Physical Engagement The most effective instructional strategy for her is physically engaging the students, which is not included in the original conceptual framework. Here is her example. Chinese people are modest and the modesty reflects on the language and cultural practices. “When Chinese people are complimented, they would say “哪里，哪里”, literally translated “where, where”, or “没有，没有”, literally translated “no, no”. My students feel it is funny to say this the Chinese way and therefore they remember it well” (BF1). The interviewee did not mention the instructional strategies, listed in the conceptual framework in Chapter 3. The instructional strategies in the conceptual framework include portfolios, lectures, semantic mapping, hands-on activities, ethnographic interviews, culture capsules, culture clusters, culture assimilators, culture mini-dramas, word associations, collages strategies, and artifact studies.

139 Cross Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) Emotional Resilience Emotional Resilience & Emotional Balance BF1 has received both positive and negative feedback from her students upon meeting Chinese people and making Chinese friends. Most of them would say that they understood something a Chinese person said or they did not understand what they said. She would encourage them thus: It’s already brave enough for them to speak up. Sometimes they have an accent. Some Chinese have been immigrated here for a long time or some Chinese speak Cantonese. Their Mandarin Chinese is not good. Very often they could not understand. (BF1) Positive Attitudes From the faculty member’s point view, writing and tones are the most challenging parts of Chinese learning. She feels that what she can do is limited. For writing, “I would talk about radicals and help them to separate the parts to remember the whole characters. Eventually, it’s on them to practice”. For tones, “I would correct their pronunciation. We offer tutoring services on campus. I would encourage them to go and practice with our tutor” (BF1). To build students’ confidence in learning Chinese, she primarily uses encouragement and reassurance in class. She tells students the difficulty they will encounter at beginning of learning Chinese. Later on, students become accustomed to it. To separate students from the fear of making mistakes, she addresses the whole class, informing them that everyone will make mistakes and can be corrected. Classrooms are the place for language learners to make mistakes. In this way, all the students should be used to making mistakes in class.

140 The Flexibility/Openness Scale Cognitive Flexibility BF1 stated that she had never given any suggestions to her students in intercultural communication, especially in conflicting situations such as different perspectives, practices and products. Scott (1962) defined cognitive flexibility as “the readiness for which the person’s concept system changes selectively in response to appropriate environmental stimuli” (p. 1). Lau (2012) conceptualized cognitive flexibility from two dimensions, an objectively measured, neuropsychological dimension and a subjective dimension. The dimension allowed an individual to perceive the environment, to respond accordingly, to change directions, to anticipate goals, to consider consequences, and to respond by integrating the use of all these processes (Lau, 2012). The dimension also allowed an individual to learn from mistakes, plan alternative strategies, divide attention, and process information to meet situational demands (Anderson, 2002). Individuals who perceived themselves as cognitively flexible, had the general resourcefulness and had the willingness to try new ways of communicating, to encounter unfamiliar situations, and to adapt behaviors to meet contextual needs (Martin & Rubin, 1995). Interpersonal Competence BF1 created an opportunity for her students to have language partners, but it was not very successful. At the beginning, students are passionate, but later, they got busy and they do not meet very often. She still encourages them to talk with native speakers.

141 She also holds the activities such as Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year Celebration. For the two celebrations, she requires her students to attend. Other activities she encourages them to go on their own to several a year. She concludes that students love to attend these activities when food is involved, since Chinese food culture is very attractive to American students. The Third Culture Perspective BF1 did not mention any cultural perspectives, practices and products which students think are mind opening or mind changing. She shared some examples that students thought were interesting. First of all, “哪里，哪里” (where, where), or “没有，没有”(no, no) are used to reply to compliments. Secondly, for some Chinese New Year’s traditions, one of them is watching China Central Television’s New Year Gala. Students find the gala very interesting after she plays the video in class. The Perceptual Acuity Verbal Cues For verbal cues, in the research, the coverage of language contents is the concentration. The Chinese program at this college also adopts the Integrated Chinese textbook. In the first year, every semester five lessons of the Integrated Chinese Level 1, Part 1 are covered. For Elementary Chinese I, it will cover Lesson 1 Greetings, Lesson 2 Family, Lesson 3 Dates and Time, Lesson 4 Hobbies, and Lesson 5 Visiting Friends. For Elementary Chinese II, it will cover Lesson 6 Making Appointments, Lesson 7 Studying Chinese, Lesson 8 School Life, Lesson 9 Shopping, and Lesson 10 Transportation.

142 Nonverbal Cues BF1 introduces hand gestures for numbers from 0 to 10. “Fist greeting, I taught them when we learn the Chinese New Year’s song, 恭喜发财, which means “May You Be Prosperous”. She demonstrates how to do them first and then ask students to do it themselves. Empathy Tamam (1993) asserted that empathy, which was a social or interpersonal skill, was usually associated with the attempt to consider and understand the feelings and needs of other people in communication and implied respect and a considerate attitude for others. Regarding the variable, when your students do not agree with some Chinese perspectives and practices, what approaches do you use to help your students to better understand why Chinese people think or act in certain ways? She will explain the reasons behind it from different cultural points of view. She could not remember the exact topic on which her students did not agree; however, she previously encountered this situation. The Personal Autonomy Personal Value System She avoids conflicting personal values in intercultural teaching such as Taiwanese issues, Tibetan issues, and others like these because she thinks that is personal opinion. She does not mention them in her language classes, but in her literature classes she meets issues like conflicting personal values. If her opinion were asked, she would tell her thoughts: They may ask and I would tell them my opinion. There is nothing wrong in that, but in literature class, I would tell them how the issue was caused. I would not guide them how

143 they should think. It’s completely their belief on sensitive issues. I don’t want to impose my opinion on students or impose one student’s opinion on others. I would give them adequate information to let them make their own decision. (BF1) Sense of Identity West (1995) considered identity as “the desire for recognition, protection, security, safety, and surety, the quest for visibility, the sense of being acknowledged and the deep desire for association” (Cited in Gallab, 1997, p. 22). Lawrence (2003) argued that sometimes identity was defined as something that a person did; sometimes, identity was defined as what a person was. Cultural identity was a self-concept that developed by combining both awareness of self as part of an identifiable group and corresponding affect towards both one’s own group and other identifiable groups (Arthur & Collins, 2005). For the variable, the interview question is that do you recommend that your students adopt the maxim “When in Rome, do as Romans do,” or that they think as Romans think in intercultural communication? Why or why not? BF1 recommends her students to “Do as Romans Do.” She thinks that giving students Chinese names is the first step to help them to communicate with Chinese people. She stated that local people were not necessarily correct or good, however if a foreigner adopted their customs, it was helpful in intercultural communication. Participating Students from the Grape Institution Five students participated from the University in this research. All the five students have studied Chinese at the university for one-and-a-half years. Their names will be coded as BS1 (the Grape Institution, student 1), BS2, BS3, BS4 and BS5. BS1 is female, white, and 20 years old. She hasn’t declared her major. She took four

144 years of Spanish in high school, up to Advanced Placement. She took an anthropology class on cultures in South East Asia in the spring, 2015. She has been learning Italian over her phone by a dual language application. Her father is Armenian but they do not speak Armenian. She had close friends who were Indian and Colombian when she grew up. She lives in a Chinese communication community at the college and she is very close to the Chinese people there. She has not been abroad yet, but she is planning to study in China in the summer of 2016. BS2 is female, white, and 21 years old. She majors in biochemistry and molecular biology. She also took Spanish for three semesters in college and two years of Spanish in high school. She studies Chinese because she wants to be trilingual. She has friends of different nationalities but not Chinese friends. She contacts them once a month. She has been to Germany once a year, each time for two weeks. Her mother teaches German and runs an exchange program, and goes there regularly. She can speak some German, in her words, “survival German.” She can get around in Germany and understand German, but she cannot write or spell in German, nor has she studied German systematically. Her mother did not teach her German when she grew up. She says the reason is that her mother does not want to put pressure on both. BS3 is male, half Caucasian, half African American, and 20 years old. He majors in chemistry. He has not taken any language or cultural courses in high school. His uncle’s wife is from Mexico and he has a couple of Mexican cousins in Mexico with whom he has little contact. He has never been abroad but he plans to study abroad in China. He had some friends of different nationalities, such as Libyan and Chinese.

145 BS4 is male, black African, 21 and from Zimbabwe. His native language is Shona and Ndebele, although English is one of the official languages in Zimbabwe. He majors in biochemistry and molecular biology. As an international student, he has taken an American values class at the college. He has close friends mostly from African nations, such as Rwanda and Uganda and the rest are Americans. He frequently talks to his friends via texting. He has been to the Dominican Republic, visiting his aunt and uncle for a week. BS5 is an Asian female, 20 years old. She majors in environmental studies with a chemistry concentration. She is half Chinese and half Thai. Her grandparents emigrated from China to Thailand and her mother is from Thailand. She grew up in Thailand so Thai is her primary language and she had never been in touch with her Chinese side. She has never been to China. She moved back to the U.S. at age 13 and started to learn English. She has taken Spanish in high school for two years. Only she and her father are in the U. S. now. She keeps very close contact with her family in Thailand and in other countries through the application called LINE. She goes back to Thailand visiting her family and friends once a year. When she was young, she and her mother went to Cambodia once. She also has Vietnamese friends and a close Chinese friend in the college. Analysis of Variables from Students’ Interviews Intercultural Competence The five participants have attempted either to gain intercultural competence in their life or naturally enjoy intercultural communication. BS1 enjoys watching foreign movies and learns foreign languages, although she has no foreign friends currently. If she were to have foreign friends, she said that she would take extra care of her foreign friends, pay more attention to them, ask questions, and make them feel appreciated. BS2 enjoys watching soap opera sin Spanish and

146 attending Chinese cultural activities. BS3 chooses to take a Chinese martial arts film study class at the college offered by a Chinese professor and usually goes to the Chinese festival celebrations. Watching Chinese movies, YouTube videos in Chinese, reading Chinese books, attending cultural related activities are BS4’s natural hobbies and interests. BS5 enjoys watching Chinese movies and reading Chinese history books. Instructional Strategies Warm-up Chitchat in Chinese. BS1 mentioned that one of the most helpful instructional strategies her professor employed in the elementary Chinese classes was the warm-up chitchat in Chinese. Every time as soon as students walked into the class, the professor would start chatting with the students in Chinese throughout the year. The topics were random, such as how was your weekend and how are you doing. “It didn’t matter how our weekend really was. It was just practice” (BS1). Videos and Movies. BS2 had a deep impression from the New Year video her professor showed in class. It is the New Year Gala which everybody watches in China on New Year’s Eve. “It gives us a concept of just studying a language and getting to see people speak it. That was very helpful” (BS2). Teaching the Nuances of Language and Culture. BS2 recalled that in her Spanish classes, she really appreciated her professor mentioning the different uses of a word in different countries and regions. In addition, her Chinese professor mentioned that Chinese people used to say dad and mom instead of mom and dad. Her Chinese professor also mentioned that one word was pronounced differently such as “好玩”, in the north, which is pronounced as “好玩儿”, in the south pronounced as “好玩”. The difference is the reflex sound “er” used to add after a noun or

147 adjective in the north. With “er” or without “er” doesn’t change the meaning. They all mean good to play, or funny. “Learning the nuances of native speakers can really help with learning the language sometimes. It has been very helpful with Liu Lao Shi because she can help with the culture that we would not know”(BS2). Different polite levels of words are chosen to address people of different ages, social status, and relation. “So I think that in Chinese there is a level, almost a distance between people if you don’t know them and make sure you are not offensive then when you speak” (BS2). Performance. BS3 and his class went to a New Year Festival celebration and gave a performance on stage with his classmates. The performance is a song with gestures. Emotional Resilience Emotional Resilience& Emotional Balance The participants have many opportunities to meet Chinese people and make Chinese friends at the college. They all have a language partner which is assigned by their international coordinator at the college. They are also required to have one-hour conversations with their campus tutor on campus every week. They have a culture immersion program every year, which lasts three days in a log cabin. The Chinese house is a language and culture apartment house for students who study Chinese language to apply and live there. The students who live there are encouraged to speak Chinese only with each other and with Chinese people in the house. At the same time, the resident assistant is Chinese and one or two Chinese students live there and help the students practice language and organize activities. In addition to these, various celebrations, activities and events are regularly held on campus. Their experience of meeting Chinese people and making Chinese friends is pleasant. Student participants who live in the Chinese house cook and eat Chinese food together regularly such as hot pot, and dumplings. Participants recalled

148 that making dumplings, eating dumplings with chopsticks, practicing calligraphy, receiving red envelopes, drinking aloe water, eating moon cakes and trying Chinese rice crackers were interesting new experiences of cultural practice and products. Some students who could not master chopsticks felt glad to find forks there but they have a sense of conquering chopsticks and keep in practice when they have a chance. In intercultural communication, BS2 would try to find something in common with people from different cultures and countries. When the participants were asked how they handle uncomfortable feelings when they were with others different from their cultures or in unfamiliar settings, BS1 would ask why the person would do that. If it were a cultural thing, she would just let it go. BS2 would try to find some kind of common ground or she would talk with the person and ask a question, perhaps try to figure out maybe something she does not know. She shared one of her experiences in which she felt offended. When she was in a museum in Germany standing towards the front, an older woman came to the front and pushed her back. In Germany, that’s common. Older people tend to have less patience with younger people. It was not that big of a deal. If younger people get in the way of something or don’t stand up for a seat for them to sit down, they will get really angry and kind of aggressive. At first, it surprised me. Not really like it is here. Once I realized that, I did not take so much offense. Just sort of get out of the way and don’t make them angry. BS3 would take a reserved role if he has ever felt uncomfortable. He said he would try to listen, watch, and see what he could pick up from his surroundings and then he may know how to react in certain situations. BS4 does not think it is an issue for him. BS5 would keep quiet and try to absorb what everyone is saying and try to assimilate.

149 Positive Attitude Two out of five participants admitted that we have upsets and frustrations while learning Chinese language. Listening, and writing as the participants mentioned the most challenging parts of Chinese learning. Two participants said they would reach out to her friends, classmates, or roommates with questions first. One participant would try to find answers in a textbook. If they could not find the answer, they would go to the tutor on campus and finally go to their Chinese professor. They all think that the way their professor built their confidence in learning the Chinese language was helpful. When the participants were asked that what language and cultural mistakes they had made, BS1 shared one of her experiences: There was a guy from my Chinese class from Zimbabwe. Around Halloween, we had an event called Creepy Crawlies. A close friend and I went. We were looking at the table. I thought this event was going to be like candy and stuff. They looked like bugs. But they were actually bugs. They were dead. But that was the food. There were bunch of guys from Zimbabwe and Rwanda. They were like this stuff is awesome. This is like the food. We went up there and we tried one. We tried some of everything. All three of us were just like…We walked away. BS2 recalled her traveling experience in Germany with her German friends. Actually, my German friends will sometimes use me as a stupid American if they need help, like if they want something to happen. They are too afraid to ask a question and then they will tell me to use my broken German and ask a stranger like we are lost

150 because they felt so ashamed. I was kind of used as a tool so I don’t find it embarrassing. Normally they will just smile and laugh at me and give me an answer. So if I ever made a mistake, I have never been mistreated for it. BS3 had a problem confusing “I” wǒ and “You” nǐ. Once he told a Chinese person that your Chinese is not very good, nǐ de zhōng wén bù hǎo instead of my Chinese is not very good, wǒ de zhōng wén bù hǎo. BS5 once confused the pronunciation of jiǎo zi, dumpling and jiào shì, classroom. She said I can eat a hundred classrooms instead of a hundred dumplings. To rebuild their self-confidence after making a language or cultural mistake, BS1 said she would feel dumb, embarrassed and laugh about it. BS2 does not feel the mistakes affect her self- confidence much. Mostly she has been in learning context. To her, she sees a mistake as no big deal, rather a part of the learning process. The only discouraging part she experienced is when she would not find a way to communicate with others. BS3 thinks that “basically, it happened and I know better now. I learned something and I am better at it. I am more prepared so I am better off now making that mistake\". BS4 would just laugh because he thinks that there is no point in feeling embarrassed and nobody can possibly know everything. BS5 would go back to a place that feels comfortable, write in her journal, and remind herself not to do that again. . . . . .

151 The Flexibility/Openness Scale Cognitive Flexibility BS1 admitted that she had conflicts with her Chinese roommate. “Sometimes in a conversation, we would just go in different directions. I will just have to step back and think through why she would say a thing and examine if I was going in a completely different direction”. When BS2 was asked how she thought through and handled differences and conflicts in intercultural communication, she replied: Usually, if I know the culture well enough, find something strange, meet a stranger, or observe the extraordinary, I would think of something I know about that culture, if I do not have a cultural answer, sometimes I would try to find another person with whom I am comfortable with and ask why somebody would act in certain way. BS3 would listen and try to understand what people try to convey to him so he knows how to respond. He often finds a lot of conflicts and differences avoidable if the listener knows what the other person is really trying to say. If he has seen the conflicts coming, he would stop and ask questions to make sure what people are trying to communicate with him so he could respond appropriately. BS4 would choose to go on and not try to fight the system. He thinks it is a lot easier for him to pull himself out of the system than to fight it. BS5’s answer is being patient to think through and handle differences and conflicts in intercultural communication. She would slow down when she talks to the people whose first language is not English.

152 Interpersonal Competence BS1 recalled that she went to the Mid-Autumn Festival where her professor took her class to eat Chinese food at an authentic Chinese restaurant and the students ordered in Chinese. BS2 enjoyed going to cultural tables, dinners, and New Year festivals. BS3 attended festival celebrations on campus and he went to Chinese Immersion Weekend. BS4 had been to Chinese events and activities on campus and he was planning to go to China. BS5 had been to a Chinese New Year celebration, Mid-Autumn festival, Chinese dinner, and Chinese Immersion Weekend. The Third Culture Perspective BS1and BS5 could not recall any cultural perspectives, practices and products her professor introduced that have enlightened her in elementary Chinese classes. BS2 remembered that her professor brought red envelopes with bills in them and explained the cultural practice in the New Year festival. Children would get red envelopes in the festival and they can use the money to buy candies or toys if they want to or save them. Her professor also brought some Chinese snacks like Chinese jello and she tried it. BS3and BS4 thinks telling the stories behind the festivals help them understand the sense of Chinese traditions and Chinese values, their origins, and how they structure the culture. Perceptual Acuity Scale Non-verbal Cues Three students did not recall non-verbal cues learned in the elementary Chinese classes. Two students remember that they learned hand gestures for numbers. BS2 remembered that her professor played videos to show a very wide range of speed in speaking.

153 Empathy The question was asked of participants, what cultural perspectives and practices did your instructor explain to you to help you better understand why Chinese people think or act in certain ways, even if you may not necessarily strongly agree or adopt the same ways of thinking or behaving? BS1 and BS5 did not think they talked about that much. BS2 recalled a commercial that her professor played in class, which was about a famous singer who was supposed to have a concert on New Year’s Eve. The singer canceled the concert for a million people and went home to celebrate the New Year with his father. For American culture, that is more unusual, more out for yourself sort of thing if you have an opportunity to earn money, then that is always taken. My professor said families were very important in the holidays. People would travel from very long distances for New Year and other holidays. She said the trains got very crowded so we could understand that the family is very important something we have learned this important thing about Chinese culture. (BS2) BS3 remembered that the Chinese family name went before given name and this indicated the strong sense of connection of family. “People were referred to by their last names. You know them by their family. That is something really surprised me when I learned that way of introducing people”. BS4 did not think that any part of the class actually focuses on understanding Chinese culture. He thought the way it was tailored in the classes was for students to learn Chinese culture, but not necessarily to understand the way Chinese behave or act. He would say that there was not enough time devoted to understanding culture.

154 The Personal Autonomy Scale Personal Value System Participants were asked what personal values, conflicted with Chinese cultural perspectives and practices and how their experience in Chinese class changed these values, beliefs, or reactions, BS1 and BS5 were not aware of any conflicts. BS2 brought up a point that in Chinese dad and mom was used more often than mom and dad was used. I am a pretty strong feminist. For me, I don’t see why. For my culture, I would never put a man before woman when I say something. I would do it interchangeably. To me, there isn’t any need to do a different respect. When I speak Chinese, I say it differently. I don’t want to offend someone in a different culture. BS2 did not have any perspectives changed by her professor but she had gained new respect for some importance of family. She did not think it would change how she interacted with her family, but she thought it was very good value. BS3’s impression of China is very nationalistic. He feels that Chinese people care a lot about China. Chinese people take care of those people close to them. Part of having a strong country is having a strong family because that is a primary building block. BS4 is a Christian, therefore his values are based on spiritual matters. Based upon his knowledge, Chinese students on campus are not religious, so the biggest conflict is that something for the non-religious Chinese students is acceptable, but not for him. He does not think his professor brought anything life changing or mind-boggling. His professor did not talk about most cultural values.

155 Sense of Identity When in Rome, do as Romans do. BS1 would agree and adopt 70% of this idiom. She thinks doing everything the same may not be the best all the time. “When in Rome, do as Romans do is great if everyone is doing something great. If everyone jumping off cliffs, I don’t want to jump off cliffs” (BS1). She would not follow the pack just because everyone is doing something. BS2 looks at the idiom in two ways. Do as Romans do can make people feel less isolated from another culture and help people move through easier in society. However, if you are about to change your mind or your values, you will need to think very carefully and not just because you are in a new environment. BS3 thinks adopting other manners and etiquette are important because that is how people communicate with each other and presenting politeness and appreciation. However, morality and ethnics should not be given up in the intercultural communication. BS4 as a strong Christian believer, if what the Romans do contradicts his values; he would not adopt them at all. “I don’t deviate what I believe. I don’t want to switch or change, because it’s a different place. How I am here is how I am at home. It’s also going to be how I am wherever I go” (BS4). Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) Student Participants CCAI is composed of four scales: Emotional Resilience Scale (ER), Flexibility/Openness (FO), Perceptual Acuity (PAC) and Personal Autonomy (PA). The CCAI total scores are used to interpret student participants’ intercultural competence level in the research.

156 Table 5.1. Student Participants’ CCAI Scores from the Orange Institution Student Gender ER FO PAC PA Total Stanine BS1 F 83 83 55 32 253 8 High mid BS2 F 83 71 54 BS3 M 90 79 57 36 244 7 High low BS4 M 96 80 56 39 274 9 Highhigh BS5 F 56 52 42 35 267 9 High high 35 185 1 Low low Note. ER=Emotional Resilience, FO=Flexibility/Openness, PAC=Perceptual Acuity, PA=Personal Autonomy. This research refers to stanine equivalents provided by the CCAI. Stanines are standard scores consisting of whole numbers from 1 to 9. 1 to 3 is Low low, Low mid and Low high. 4 to 6 is Medium low, Medium mid and Medium high. 7 to 9 is High low, High mid and High high. In this university, the average score of the CCAI is 225.8, which is medium mid on the stanine. Table 1. Student Participants’ CCAI Scores from the Orange Institution Student Gender ER FO PAC PA Total Stanine BS1 F 83 83 55 32 253 8 High mid BS2 F 83 71 54 BS3 M 90 79 57 36 244 7 High low BS4 M 96 80 56 39 274 9 Highhigh BS5 F 56 52 42 35 267 9 High high 35 185 1 Low low Note. ER=Emotional Resilience, FO=Flexibility/Openness, PAC=Perceptual Acuity, PA=Personal Autonomy.

157 Characteristics of the Student Participants with High CCAI Scores BS3 achieved the highest total score of CCAI and the highest PAC and PA scores. BS3 is 20 years old, a Caucasian and African American mix. He majors in chemistry. Based on the interview from his professor, he is a happy person. He is active in participating in various activities. He is also motivated to learn Chinese and enjoys learning Chinese songs. His pronunciation is weak but his listening is good. From the observation of this researcher, BS3 is an independent and deep thinker. When he was asked what cultural perspectives, and practices your professor explained to you to help you better understand why Chinese people think or act in certain ways, even if you may not necessarily strongly agree or adopt the same ways of thinking or behaving, he brought up a language example, “一点儿”, yī diǎn er, means a little. yī diǎn eris used after verbs to express the slight degree. He could connect the slight degree with the Chinese sense of modesty. Another example, the Chinese family name goes before given name. He could connect the family name with valuing family in Chinese culture. At the end of the interview, this researcher asked him if he had any questions for her as a ritual. He asked a very good question, why the researcher chose the current topic for her dissertation.

158 CHAPTER 6 Cross Case Comparisons of Two Case Studies The preceding Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 provided analyses of the variables from the curricular models, instructional strategies, and intercultural competence of the two institutions. In this chapter, the researcher will compare the two cases, answer the research question, and the sub-research questions. Overarching Research Question: What curricular models and instructional strategies influence the development of intercultural communicative competence in novice Chinese language learners with Chinese language educators in two types of Chinese language acquisition programs— a Confucius Institute program in a public university and a traditional Chinese language acquisition program in small private baccalaureate college? Sub-questions: 1. How do differences in the additive, CLT, ICC, and ACTFL culture standard models influence intercultural competence within novice Chinese language learners with different language educators in the two language programs? 2. How do differences in instructional strategies using portfolios, lectures, semantic mapping, hands-on activities, field trips, ethnographic interviews, culture capsules, culture clusters, culture assimilators, culture mini dramas, word associations, collages strategies, artifact studies, influence intercultural competence within novice Chinese language learners with different language educators in the two language programs? 3. How do the perceptions of the language educators and the novice Chinese language learners regarding intercultural competence differ in the two language programs?

159 4. What are the characteristics of the novice Chinese language learners with high intercultural competence at novice level? 5. What is the intercultural competence level for each student participant? How do differences in the additive, CLT, ICC, and ACTFL culture standard models influence intercultural competence within novice Chinese language learners with different language educators in the two language programs? To compare the two sets of CCAI scores from the two institutions in Table 6.1 and Table 6. 2, the highest score is BS3 in the Orange Institution. The average for the Peach Institution is 225.8 and the average for the Orange Institution is 244.6. Table 6. 1. Student Participants’ CCAI Scores from the Peach Institution Student Gender ER FO PAC PA Total Stanine AS1 F 83 81 51 33 248 7 High mid AS2 M 98 80 53 31 262 9 High high AS3 M 69 64 46 30 209 3 Low high AS4 F 62 55 49 21 187 1 Low low AS5 F 72 74 44 33 223 5 Medium mid Note. ER=Emotional Resilience, FO=Flexibility/Openness, PAC=Perceptual Acuity, PA=Personal Autonomy.

160 Table 6. 2. Student Participants’ CCAI Scores from the Orange Institution Student Gender ER FO PAC PA Total Stanine BS1 F 83 83 55 32 253 8 High mid BS2 F 83 71 54 36 244 7 High low BS3 M 90 79 57 39 274 9 High high BS4 M 96 80 56 35 267 9 High high BS5 F 56 52 42 35 185 1 Low low Note. ER=Emotional Resilience, FO=Flexibility/Openness, PAC=Perceptual Acuity, PA=Personal Autonomy. Curricular Models The two institutions use the same set of textbooks, Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 1, Simplified Characters for elementary levels and their teaching contents are five lessons every semester. However, the two institutions adopt two different curricular models. Curricular Models of the Peach Institution For the Peach Institution, they do not have a specific curriculum catered to developing learners’ intercultural communicative competence. They practice ACTFL guidelines and add one hundred Chinese radicals to the novice level Chinese curricula. The guidelines were first published in 1986 as an adaptation for the academic community of the U. S. Government’s Interagency Language Roundtable Skill Level Descriptions (ACTFL, 2012). The guidelines are “a description of what individuals can do with language in terms of speaking, writing listening, and reading in real-world situations in a spontaneous and non-rehearsed context” “regardless of where, when, or how the language was acquired” (ACTFL, 2012). Each skill is categorized by

161 “five major levels of proficiency: Distinguished, Super, Advanced, Intermediate, and Novice” (ACTFL, 2012). Under major levels, Advanced, Intermediate, and Novice, they are also “subdivided into High, Mid and Low sublevels” (ACTFL, 2012). The direct application of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines is for the evaluation of functional language ability. The Guidelines are intended to be used for global assessment in academic and workplace settings. However, the Guidelines do have instructional implications. The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines underlie the development of the ACTFL Performance Guidelines for K-12 Learners and are used in conjunction with the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning to describe how well students meet content standards. For the past 25 years, the ACTFL Guidelines have had an increasingly profound impact on foreign language teaching and learning in the United States. (ACTFL, 2012) Since the research focuses on the elementary Chinese level, below are the list of the Chinese Novice levels from ACTFL Guidelines in terms of speaking, writing, listening, and reading. For sublevels guidelines, please see the Appendix. Speaking Novice. Novice-level speakers can communicate short messages on highly predictable, everyday topics that affect them directly. They do so primarily through the use of isolated words and phrases that have been encountered, memorized, and recalled. Novice-level speakers may be difficult to understand even by the most sympathetic interlocutors accustomed to non- native speech. (ACTFL, 2012)

162 Writing Novice. Writers at the Novice level are characterized by the ability to produce lists and notes, primarily by writing words and phrases. They can provide limited formulaic information on simple forms and documents. These writers can reproduce practiced material to convey the simplest messages. In addition, they can transcribe familiar words or phrases, copy letters of the alphabet or syllables of a syllabary, or reproduce basic characters with some accuracy. (ACTFL, 2012) Listening At the Novice level, listeners can understand key words, true aural cognates, and formulaic expressions that are highly contextualized and highly predictable, such as those found in introductions and basic courtesies. (ACTFL, 2012) Novice-level listeners understand words and phrases from simple questions, statements, and high-frequency commands. They typically require repetition, rephrasing and/or a slowed rate of speech for comprehension. They rely heavily on extra linguistic support to derive meaning. (ACTFL, 2012) Novice-level listeners are most accurate when they are able to recognize speech that they can anticipate. In this way, these listeners tend to recognize rather than truly comprehend. Their listening is largely dependent on factors other than the message itself. (ACTFL, 2012)

163 Reading Novice. At the Novice level, readers can understand key words and cognates, as well as formulaic phrases that are highly contextualized. (ACTFL, 2012) Novice-level readers are able to get a limited amount of information from highly predictable texts in which the topic or context is very familiar, such as a hotel bill, a credit card receipt or a weather map. Readers at the Novice level may rely heavily on their own background knowledge and extra-linguistic support (such as the imagery on the weather map or the format of a credit card bill) to derive meaning. (ACTFL, 2012) Readers at the Novice level are best able to understand a text when they are able to anticipate the information in the text. At the Novice level, recognition of key words, cognates, and formulaic phrases make comprehension possible. (ACTFL, 2012) Based on the interview with the faculty members, their curricula are based on the ACTFL Guidelines. Meanwhile, one hundred Chinese radicals and parts are added in the elementary level curricula. According to AF1, there are several reasons of adding the hundred radicals and parts into the curricula. First of all, students are able to lay a solid foundation in the Chinese writing system. Writing is widely regarded as the most challenging part of learning Chinese for American students. With the hundred radicals and parts, students are able to know or guess the meaning of a character even though they have never learned the character. Secondly, most of the basic radicals and parts are pictographic which means that the radicals and parts come from the picture or the appearance of objects, animals, human beings, or actions. Starting by introducing the basic radicals and parts can invoke students’ interests and enthusiasm for learning a new language. Thirdly, introducing the basic radicals and parts involves introducing etymology. Etymology reflects all manner of cultural aspects, such as historical background, social

164 evolution, religion, belief, values, and customs. Students are able to understand the cultural perspectives, practices and products behind the basic radicals and parts. With the help of a deeper understanding of radicals and parts, students are better able to memorize characters. Fourthly, students’ intercultural communicative competence will increase gradually because of learning the characters and cultural perspective, practices, and products. Learning Goals in the Orange Institution The Orange Institution does not have a specific curriculum, nor does it follow the ACTFL Guidelines. The director of the Chinese program set up learning goals for different years of college learning Chinese as follows. The first-year Chinese language courses are an introduction to the Chinese language and culture. Students who complete the introductory Chinese classes are able to communicate in Mandarin Chinese at the novice level, to be familiar with the basic structure of Mandarin Chinese in general, to master the elements of Mandarin pronunciation, to master the rules and principles of Chinese character writing, to be familiar with the basic assumptions of Chinese culture that underlie communication (Institutional Website). The second-year Chinese language courses are a continuation of the first-year courses. The goals are to develop students’ listening, speaking, reading and writing proficiency in intermediate Chinese level. Specifically, the program is to “build up vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical structures for a wider range of daily communication”. In listening and speaking, students are able to “understand Chinese contemporary culture that underlies communication, to be able to engage in the oral exchange in various informal and daily situations”. In reading, students are able to “understand the meaning of short passages on topics in everyday life by

165 using vocabulary knowledge, background knowledge, and possibly some contextual clues”. In writing, students can “write a series of sentences to describe, explain, compare and state an opinion” (Institutional Website). The third-year Chinese language courses function as a bridge to authentic Chinese texts. The goals of the courses are to improve the abilities of oral and written expression, as well as to continue improving listening and reading comprehension. Specifically, the program continues to increase students’ “vocabulary, expressions grammatical structures and use them appropriately, to distinguish between spoken and written forms of Chinese, to further the understanding of Chinese culture and contemporary Chinese society”. In listening, students are able to “understand face-to-face, non-technical speech in controlled contexts and familiar topics in everyday life”. In speaking, students are able to “engage in conversation and discussion on general topics, to express and defend your ideas in clear, connected discourse”. In reading, students are able to “understand the gist of written passage on social issues and be able to summarize the main ideas in short sentences or phrases”. In writing, students are able to “write cohesive and coherent short prose at passage level” (Institutional Website). Additionally, the Chinese literature courses introduce students to various genres and forms of Chinese literature in different historical background. The goals of the Chinese literature courses are to develop students’ “general knowledge of Chinese culture through literary texts, including poetry, novels, film, etc.”. The courses give students opportunities to “appreciate the general features of Chinese literature, film and popular culture in a comparative context, to acquire greater facility in reading, discussing and interpreting literary texts, textual or audio- visual, as literature, to learn to appreciate literature at an aesthetic level” (Institutional Website).

166 To compare the Peach Institution’s curricula with the Orange Institution’s learning goals theoretically as in the Table 6.3, the Peach Institution’s curricula is more specific in language skills, but the Orange Institution brings the culture that underlies communication into their learning goals. In practice, based on the interviews, both institutions teach culture in their elementary level Chinese classes. In the Peach Institution, one out of three faculty members thinks intercultural communicative competence is one of the most important teaching objectives. As AF1 says, within the limited language, she hopes her students can express themselves in a linguistically and culturally appropriately manner. AF2 thinks that in her classes, at elementary level, intercultural communicative competence is not the most important objective. She prefers to design 20 to 30 percent out of 100 percent, at elementary level for intercultural communicative competence. Intercultural communicative competence is not one of the most important teaching objectives in AF3’s elementary classes either. Instead, AF3 emphases speaking complete sentences and using language skills flexibly. In the Orange Institution, a faculty member does not think intercultural communicative competence is important, as the faculty member illustrated, I don’t emphasize this much because now China is very international, especially kids are very Western. When students here go to China, they will not have a difficult time. Kids are very confident, so I emphasize the competence not so much, because American students will not have cultural shock. (BF1) She would say “basically not at all, very little” time she had devoted to teaching intercultural communicative competence. However, she thinks it is very important for students to have intercultural sensitivity. She would not mention intercultural sensitivity in particular, unless cultural differences are involved in textbook.

167 Table 6.3. Comparison of Curricular Models Skills The Peach Institution The Orange Institution General Objectives N/A Communicate in Mandarin Chinese on Grammar a basic level. Listening N/A Be familiar with the basic structure of Speaking Mandarin Chinese Reading The ability to produce lists and notes, N/A primarily by writing words and phrases; to provide limited formulaic information on simple forms and documents; to reproduce practiced material to convey the simplest messages; to transcribe familiar words or phrases; to copy letters of the alphabet or syllables of a syllabary; or to reproduce basic characters with some accuracy. It is further categorized into Novice High, Novice Mid, and Novice Low. The ability to communicate short Master the elements of Mandarin messages on highly predictable, pronunciation. everyday topics that affect them directly. They do so primarily through the use of isolated words and phrases that have been encountered, memorized, and recalled. It is further categorized into Novice High, Novice Mid, and Novice Low. The ability to understand key words and cognates, as well as formulaic phrases that are highly contextualized; to get a limited amount of information from highly predictable texts in which the topic or context is very familiar, such as a hotel bill, a credit card receipt or a weather map; to understand a text when they are able to anticipate the information in the text. It is further categorized into Novice High, Novice Mid, and Novice Low.

168 Writing The ability to produce lists and notes, Master the principles of Chinese primarily by writing words and character writing. phrases; to provide limited formulaic information on simple forms and documents; to reproduce practiced material to convey the simplest messages; to transcribe familiar words or phrases, copy letters of the alphabet or syllables of a syllabary, or reproduce basic characters with some accuracy. It is further categorized into Novice High, Novice Mid, and Novice Low. Additional, one hundred Chinese radicals and parts are added to the writing skill. Culture N/A Be familiar with the basic assumptions of Chinese culture that underlie communication. How do differences in instructional strategies using portfolios, lectures, semantic mapping, hands-on activities, field trips, ethnographic interviews, culture capsules, culture clusters, culture assimilators, culture mini dramas, word associations, collages strategies, artifact studies, influence intercultural competence within novice Chinese language learners with different language educators in the two language programs? Instructional Strategies In terms of the instructional strategies giving the best results in increasing students’ intercultural communicative competence, faculty members provided various answers. In the Peach Institution, AF1’s answers are the online forum and immersion program, AF2’s strategies are spontaneous discussion and now and then comparison, and AF3’s strategies are field trips and

169 videos before class. In the Orange Institution, the faculty member’s answer is physical engagement. From the students’ point of view of the two institutions, the widely recognized instructional strategies giving the best results in increasing their intercultural communicative competence are videos, videos to complement textbook or random videos. Other helpful instructional strategies are formal and informal language usage, sharing a piece of mind, and trivia Questions from the Peach Institution. Warm-up chitchat in Chinese, teaching nuances of language and culture, and giving performance in events and activities are from the Orange Institution and The Peach Institutions shown in the Table 6.4.

170 Table 6.4. Comparison of the Instructional Strategies Instructional Strategies The Peach Institution The Orange Institution From Faculty Members' Online forum Physical engagement Point of Views Immersion program Spontaneous discussion Now and then comparison Field trips Videos before class From Students' Point of Videos to complement Warm-up Chitchat in Chinese Views textbook or random videos Formal and Informal Teaching Nuances of Language Usage Language and Culture Sharing a Piece of Mind Giving Performance in events and activities Trivia Questions Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products In the Peach Institution, AF1 never thought about a special way to introduce cultural products, cultural practices, and cultural perspectives on intentionally. However, she thinks that students should be aware of their own cultural perspectives, practices, and products to better

171 understand other cultural perspectives, practices and products. Instructors need to guide learners to notice their own culture and language. She does not make it a practice to discuss this. Most of time, she follows the curriculum. If a product, a practice, or a perspective helps students to understand the language, she would talk about it specifically. AF2 admitted that she did not think about teaching cultural products, practices, and perspectives before class. She would lead into a cultural discussion from a language point, and she would only cover the most interesting cultural highlights from the textbook. AF3 would take advantage of the time before class to play videos online and introduce cultural products, practices, and perspectives. She avoids supplanting language learning time in class. In the Orange Institution, instructional strategies utilized by the faculty member to introduce the cultural perspectives, practices, and products are lectures and media, watching the textbook DVD, some videos from YouTube, occasionally role playing, and conversation practice. Nonverbal cues Regarding nonverbal cues, demonstration is the most common practice among the faculty participants. AF1 from the Peach Institution mentioned that she did not only pay attention to students’ language, but also non-verbal cues. She observed their performances and talked about the non-verbal cues she noticed. Empathy It is common sense for faculty participants to understand that some Chinese cultural perspectives, practices, and products are difficult for American students to understand because China has gone through different developmental phases and events than the United States. Meanwhile, they could not force students to agree with their perspectives and practices.

172 However, they could give students’ a whole picture, or offer a different mindset from their media, or explain a common belief in China. Students do not necessarily agree with some Chinese perspectives, practices, and products. As long as the explanations help students better understand why Chinese people think or act in certain ways, it promotes the intercultural communication and students’ intercultural competence. How do the perceptions of the language educators and the novice Chinese language learners regarding intercultural competence differ in the two language programs? Most of the faculty and student participants were not sure of the definition of the intercultural communicative competence. In the interviews, the researcher explained the definition of the intercultural communication to the participants as the ability to say something appropriate or act linguistically and culturally appropriate in an intercultural communication setting. The Language Educators There are four faculty participants in the two institutions, three in the Peach Institution, and one in the Orange Institution. Only one out of four faculty members considered intercultural communicative competence as one of the most important teaching objectives. The other three faculty participants do not emphasize intercultural communicative competence in their elementary Chinese language classes. In the Orange Institution, the faculty member does not think that intercultural communicative competence is important. The Novice Chinese Language Learner There are ten student participants in the two institutions. Eight out of ten students said that they attempted to gain intercultural competence by various means such as attending different

173 intercultural events on campus, meeting people from different cultural backgrounds, trying different food, watching foreign movies and dramas, learning foreign languages, taking classes related to culture and reading books about different cultures. Two students, one with a multi- cultural background, and the other one with an outgoing personality, considered that they gained their intercultural competence naturally. What are the characteristics of the novice Chinese language learners with high intercultural competence at the novice level? AS2 achieved the highest CCAI total score and highest ER, FO, PAC scores in the Peach Institution. BS3 achieved the highest total score of CCAI and the highest PAC and PA scores at the Orange Institution. BS3’s total score from the Orange Institution is higher than AS2's from the Peach Institution. Based on the interviews from the instructors who have taught him, AS2 is 36 years old and he has a lot of life experiences. His mother is from Taiwan and his father is American. He likes traveling for military and personal reasons. He was sent overseas when he was in Army. His major is international business. He loves learning languages and he knows several languages well. He chose to study Chinese after he was discharged from Army. He has a high motivation and is very clear about what he wants. He is a very positive person with dreams pursued in a positive manner. He has goals and has been moving closer towards his dreams step by step. He is open-minded and does not insist on his own opinion. BS3 is 20 years old, half Caucasian and half African American. He majors in chemistry. Based on the interview from his professor, he is a happy person. He is actively participating in various activities. He is also motivated to learn Chinese and enjoys learning Chinese songs. His pronunciation is not as good as his listening. From the observation of the researcher, BS3 is an independent and deep thinker.

174 Both AS2 and BS3 enjoy learning foreign languages and cultures. They are glad to meet new people and make new friends. As Chikering & Reisser (1997) described that almost every college student went through negative emotions, such as upset, frustration, anger, depression, he or she was unlikely to eliminate them, but he can learn self-control or self-regulation. AS2 and BS3 also experienced upsets and frustrations in learning Chinese, but they were able to recognize their emotions, control their emotions, and find efficient ways to overcome their negative emotions. AS2 and BS3 are not afraid of making mistakes while learning a new language and a new culture. They are passionate to attend various events and celebrations, appreciate new food, travel to different places, and plan to work or study in China. They are open minded to new things and they take a positive attitude in trying new things. Chickering & Reisser (1993, p. 509) explained that to develop mature interpersonal relationship, individuals were able to “accept who they are, to respect differences, and to appreciate commonalities.” AS2 and BS3 have the intercultural sensitivity to notice different nonverbal cues and have empathy and respect to different cultural products, practices, and perspectives even though they may not strongly agree or adopt the same ways of thinking or behaving. They further developed their intercultural and interpersonal tolerance and appreciation of differences. Based on Evans, Forney, and Guido-Brito’s theory of establishing identity (1998), they have a sense of their social and cultural heritage and a clear self-concept and comfort within one’s roles and lifestyle. In intercultural communication, they are able to keep their own sense of identity and maintain their own belief, value, and culture. Based on Chickering & Reisser’s

175 theory of developing integrity (1997), they can also switch from rigid rules to flexible views, choose guidelines to suit themselves in a new environment, and keep consistency between their behaviors and their personalizing values. What is the intercultural competence level for each student participant? Table 6.1. Student Participants’ CCAI Scores from the Peach Institution Student Gender ER FO PAC PA Total Stanine AS1 F 83 81 51 33 248 7 High mid AS2 M 98 80 53 31 262 9 High high AS3 M 69 64 46 30 209 3 Low high AS4 F 62 55 49 21 187 1 Low low AS5 F 72 74 44 33 223 5 Medium mid Note. ER=Emotional Resilience, FO=Flexibility/Openness, PAC=Perceptual Acuity, PA=Personal Autonomy. Table 6.2. Student Participants’ CCAI Scores from the Orange Institution Student Gender ER FO PAC PA Total Stanine BS1 F 83 83 55 32 253 8 High mid BS2 F 83 71 54 36 244 7 High low BS3 M 90 79 57 39 274 9 High high BS4 M 96 80 56 35 267 9 High high BS5 F 56 52 42 35 185 1 Low low Note. ER=Emotional Resilience, FO=Flexibility/Openness, PAC=Perceptual Acuity, PA=Personal Autonomy.

176 Emerging Issues In the Peach Institution, since ACTFL guidelines are not included in the conceptual framework, the guidelines and one hundred radicals are regarded as emerging issues explained in the early Chapter 6. In the Orange Institution, the learning goals of the Chinese program are not listed in the curricular models listed in the conceptual framework. The learning goals for different years of Chinese language learning and a Chinese literature course are the emerging issues explained in Chapter 5 and early Chapter 6. Instructional Strategies There are some unexpected variables in the field of instructional strategies. In the Peach Institution, the immersion program, simultaneous discussion, now and then comparison, and videos before class are regarded as the most helpful instructional strategies by three faculty participants, videos to complement textbook or random videos, formal and informal language usage, sharing a piece of mind, trivia questions by student participants elaborated in Chapter 4. In the Orange Institution, physical engagement is considered as the most helpful instructional strategies by one faculty member, warm-up chitchat in Chinese, teaching the nuances of language and culture, giving performances in events and activities by student participants, are explained in Chapter 5. These instructional strategies are not in the original conceptual framework. Based on the interviews with the faculty members in the two institutions, three out of four faculty members did not consider the intercultural communicative competence as an important teaching objective. One faculty member thought China now was very international and Chinese kids were very western and confident. When her students went to China, they did not experience cultural shock or have a difficult time. She stated that little or no time is devoted to increasing

177 her students’ intercultural communicative competence in her language classes at the elementary Chinese level. One faculty hoped she could talk more about culture, but all such talking should help motivate language learning. The interview data shows that most of the faculty participants have neglected intercultural communicative competence or they have not emphasized it in Chinese language classrooms at novice-level in the two institutions. The highest CCAI score is from the Orange Institution and the average score of student participants’ CCAI is higher than the Peach Institution. One of the unexpected variables is extracurricular events and activities. Students from the Orange Institution have more opportunities to participate in Chinese cultural events and activities than the students from the Peach Institution. Extracurricular Events and Activities The only Confucius Institute in the state locates in the Peach Institution. The Confucius Institute is strongly supported by Chinese government with funding and resources. Therefore, the Peach Institution hosts a wide variety of extracurricular events and activities, all of which are open to the public. Chinese Table Chinese Table is known as Chinese Corner in some institutions. This is for Chinese language learners to practice Chinese language skills, mostly focusing on Chinese listening and speaking, not necessarily limited to conversational Chinese, usually held once a week. The Chinese faculty members take turns hosting the Chinese Table. The faculty member prepares topics, guides conversations, leads discussions, and answers questions, if any. Sometimes there

178 are different themes for the Chinese Table to introduce Chinese culture, such as calligraphy practice, Chinese acupuncture, and Chinese festivals and so on. In the institution, this is open to the public. Confucius Day The Confucius Day event is held at the end of September. It is called the Confucius Day, but it usually lasts a week. During the event, the Confucius Institute displays a wide array of cultural products, such as traditional Chinese clothing, paintings, and artifacts. There are typically various activities with the features of Chinese culture such as practicing Taiji, face painting, getting a Chinese name written by brush pen and ink, Chinese board games, Chinese outdoor games, and so forth. This is open to the public. Immersion Week This is a three-day immersion program leaving on Friday afternoon and coming back in the Sunday afternoon. The organizer, the coordinator of the Chinese program, started this last year with funding from the Confucius Institute. After her application was granted, she booked the resort rooms and started the participant selection process. She also invited the Chinese program participants from the Orange institution to join the Immersion Week. There were thirteen people including faculty members in the Immersion Week last year. Even though it was the first-year trial, the feedback from students and faculty members supported the value and success of the program. The location of Immersion Week is at a remote resort about two hours’ drive from the institution. There is no Wi-Fi in the resort, so the students would be more concentrated on the immersion program. Students were motivated and encouraged to speak Chinese only. The resort did not offer meals so they brought their own groceries and made dumplings together. They watched a Chinese movie together, played Chinese board games, and

179 chatted pleasantly in Chinese. Student participants who were in the program thought it was a great and unforgettable experience. They did feel pressure to speak Chinese only at beginning but they got used to it later and benefited a great deal. Chinese Holiday Celebrations The Confucius Institute hosts two large scale festival celebrations every year, Mid- Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year Festival. These are open and free to the public. Every year there are an estimated one thousand people who attend the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the celebration, they serve free mooncake samples and other Chinese snacks and drinks. Chinese Students and Scholars Organizations from several institutions give a whole range of performances. There are also activities offering audience participation and prizes. The New Year’s celebration is usually larger than the Mid-Autumn Festival since the New Year is the most important festival for Chinese people. It is hosted in a theater accommodating over one thousand people. There are more performances and more people in the New Year’s celebration than the Mid-Autumn festival. Performances and Lectures Besides the festival celebrations, various art groups are invited to the institution theater to give performances, such as traditional Chinese music concerts, and a national circus. Prestigious Chinese scholars and scholars in the field of Chinese studies are invited to the institution to give lectures. These are open to the public. Local Community Engagement The Confucius Institute is very active and offers free classes to the local community. The classes are Taiji, Chinese water and ink painting. The classes are usually held in the county library.

180 The above events and activities are available for the students and faculty member from the Orange Institution. The students from the Orange Institution have more opportunities than the students from the Peach Institution to attend events and activities to improve their intercultural communicative competence. Besides the festival celebrations, the Orange Institution also provides the following opportunities for students to get in touch with Chinese people and Chinese culture. Tutor on Campus The institution offers a free tutor service on campus twice a week. This is an on-campus work opportunity to which Chinese students may apply. The tutor is for Chinese language learners to ask questions, conduct reviews or engage in practice. The faculty member requires the first-year Chinese learners to attend a certain number of times per semester. Chinese House Chinese House is a dormitory building for Chinese language learners. Students who have registered for Chinese language classes can apply to live in the House, which can accommodate twelve students. Usually, two Chinese students and one resident assistant who speak Chinese live there with the students. These students are expected to speak Chinese as much as possible. In this environment, the students have abundant opportunity to speak Chinese, get in touch with Chinese people, cook and eat Chinese food, and so forth. Dinner or Lunch with Chinese The faculty member invites Chinese students and her students who study Chinese to have lunch and dinner together in campus café regularly. Everybody pays his or her own bill. During the meals, students are supposed to speak Chinese.

181 Chinese Cooking Chinese cooking is the most attractive theme to draw students’ attention. Sometimes the faculty member organizes Chinese students and her Chinese learning students cook Chinese food together on campus, such as making dumplings and hot pot. This chapter provided in depth answers for the over-arching research question and the sub-research questions. It compared the influence of the curricular models and instructional strategies practiced in the two institutions on the development of intercultural communicative competence at the novice level with Chinese language learners. It also compared the different perceptions of the language educators and the novice Chinese language learners regarding intercultural competence at the novice level. It analyzed the characteristics of the novice level Chinese language learners with high intercultural competence at novice level. Every student’s ICC level is revealed in the tables. Finally, the researcher stated some emerging issues, which require further study. Overarching Research Question: What curricular models and instructional strategies influence the development of intercultural communicative competence in novice Chinese language learners with Chinese language educators in two types of Chinese language acquisition programs— a Confucius Institute program in a public university and a traditional Chinese language acquisition program in small private baccalaureate college? Based on the literature review, there is not a standard curriculum and specific instructional strategies for developing learners’ intercultural communicative competence. Based on the interviews, none of the two Chinese programs have designed the curriculum and the instructional strategies to increase learners’ intercultural communicative competence. However,

182 there is more culture related teaching and discussion in class in the Peach Institution than the Orange Institution. The students in the Orange Institution are exposed to more opportunities to culture related extra-curricular activities and programs. In the Peach Institution, they practice the ACTFL guidelines and add one hundred Chinese radicals to the guidelines. Some faculty members in the Peach Institution have been aware of the importance of the competence and have started to develop learners’ intercultural communicative competence. In the Warrior Institution, the Chinese program coordinator designed learning goals for different years of Chinese language learning and learning goals for their Chinese literature course. The faculty member in the Warrior Institution does not realize the importance of teaching intercultural communicative competence. In the Peach Institution, faculty members listed the most effective instructional strategies to teach intercultural communicative competence as online forums, immersion programs, spontaneous discussions, now and then comparisons, field trips and videos before class. Students in the institution listed videos to complement textbook or random videos, formal and informal language usage, sharing a piece of mind, and trivia questions. In the Orange Institution, the faculty member considered physical engagement to be the most effective instructional strategy. The students recommended warm-up chitchat in Chinese, teaching nuances of language and culture, and giving performance in events and activities. However, based on the CCAI scores, the five student participants in the Warrior Institution scored averagely higher than the student participants in the Peach Institution. The highest CCAI score is from the Warrior Institution. One of the unexpected variables in the research is extracurricular events and activities. Students from the Orange Institution have more opportunities to participate in Chinese cultural events and activities than the students from the

183 Peach Institution. The Peach Institution focuses on Chinese culture and language promotion in public. They sponsor extracurricular events and activities mostly open to public and free of charge, such as Confucius Day, Chinese cultural related performances, Chinese holidays celebrations, Chinese Table, free classes, and lectures in local county library, and immersion week. Students from the Orange Institution have accesses to participate the above extracurricular events and activities in the Peach Institution. Besides these, they also have the options of attending the events and activities from their own Chinese program, such as Chinese House, Chinese tutor, dinner or lunch with Chinese, and Chinese cooking.