چکیده:
This study investigated the probable relationship between Iranian EFL learners'
language proficiency and intercultural sensitivity. It also looked into the feasibility
of enhancing their intercultural sensitivity through actual classroom training. To
this end, 36 male and female college seniors were randomly selected from two
classes after being homogenized. The participants were required, initially, to
complete an Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS).They, then, attended a half-asemester-
long intercultural sensitivity training course and completed the same scale
once again at the end of the semester. The data obtained through pre-test and posttest
were subjected to some statistical techniques such as the Wilcoxon Signedrank
test and the Chi-square test. The results of data analysis indicated that
intercultural sensitivity training promoted Iranian EFL students’ intercultural
sensitivity level significantly and that there exists a statistically significant
relationship between students’ language proficiency and intercultural sensitivity.
This study in turn confirms the possibility of teaching intercultural sensitivity and
is hoped, if generalized nationwide, to enrich foreign language teaching. It can also
encourage ELT practitioners to give due weight to intercultural competence as a
crucial component of modern language education
خلاصه ماشینی:
"Given the trend towards globalization and internationalization in the contemporary world of expanding technology and shrinking geography, training interculturally competent learners with sufficient ability to communicate effectively with people of different cultural backgrounds seems more important than ever.
The affective component of intercultural competence, labeled sometimes as (inter)cultural sensitivity, deals with varied feelings which are caused by changes in people, environment, and communicative encounters while refraining from ethnocentrism (Chen & Starosta, 1996).
The fundamental assumption of this model is that the more sophisticated one’s experience of cultural differences becomes, the more competent one gets in intercultural encounters (Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003).
Experience of Difference ___________________________________________________________________ Denial Defense Minimization Acceptance Adaptation Integration ___________________________________________________________________ E thno centr ic Stages E t h n o r e l a t i ve S t a g e s Figure 1: Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) Bennett (1998) describes ethnocentric stages as, "using one's own set of standards and customs to judge all people, often unconsciously"(p.
· Adaptation: It is the stage at which ethnorelative acceptance to intercultural communication is put to practice (Bennett, 1993) and the outcome of the new culture is a different behavior which is considered appropriate to that culture (Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003).
Bhawuk and Brislin (1992), for instance, conducted a study with the purpose of testing intercultural sensitivity inventory among graduate students in Hawaii and concluded that people who enjoy higher level of intercultural sensitivity were more successful in their cross-cultural interactions."