Thriving in Indonesian Academia: French Students’ Intercultural Communication Competence in Studying Abroad

• Published in: Journal of Intercultural Communication
• Main Author: Sunendar D.; Darmawangsa D.; Sukmayadi V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Immigrant Institutet 2021
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85137348519&doi=10.36923%2fjicc.v21i1.7&partnerID=40&md5=ab8a1595571dc88efc8ef0242fa8747f

To gain international recognition, many universities in Indonesia offer international student exchange programs, one of which is the credit transfer program. Participants in that program have differences in communicative competence. That holds for Indonesian students studying abroad and vice versa. This study analyzes the intercultural communication skills of international students and aims to acquire comprehensive information on intercultural competencies based on the students’ intercultural sensitivity, awareness and adroitness. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted among international students at one university in Indonesia, involving six French students from the student exchange program who studied for one semester. The data was obtained via focused group discussion and interviews. Chen and Starosta's intercultural competence model was used as an analytical tool. The findings indicate that the students have proper intercultural communication competence, which helps them in implementing their communication strategies, adjusting to and thriving in a new cultural and academic environment. © 2021, Immigrant Institutet. All rights reserved.