Intercultural Communication as Revealed in Language Learning Histories

Abstract

The number of Chinese students learning English around the world is increasing more and more. In order to fully understand the struggles that the students have in adjusting to the new language and culture, we need to listen to the voices of the students themselves. Language Learning Histories provide researchers with insight into the issues associated with intercultural communication, the process of language learning, and the language attitudes held by the learners. Primary themes uncovered in an analysis of 48 Chinese college students, both in a US college EAP program and in a Macau General Education college English program, reveal that motivation, cutlure, anxiety, self-esteem, and gender tend to be the most important factors affecting students’ ablity to acquire the English language. Results found that language was an artifact through which students’ social and cultural impressions emerged.