Thai and Indonesian teachers’ efforts and challenges in facilitating intercultural communication in teaching English: A comparative study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53696/27753719.51232Keywords:
intercultural communication efforts, intercultural communication challenges, comparative studyAbstract
This study aims to find out what intercultural communication efforts and problems faced by English teachers in facilitating intercultural communication in Thailand and Indonesia. The researcher used a qualitative approach with a comparative research type. The researcher used three methods namely observation, interview, document analysis. The results revealed that there are six efforts used in facilitating intercultural communication, namely respecting cultural differences with kindness, appreciating cultural differences based on an understanding of cultural diversity, dedication to increasing respecting, ability to deal with contradictions, demonstrating a good attitude, and having insightful knowledge. Meanwhile, the challenges faced by teachers in facilitating intercultural communication are lack of understanding, misunderstanding, emotional reactions and actions, individual level, and lack of understanding.
Downloads
References
Asmin, A. I. (2022). Tour guides’ intercultural communication strategies in Toraja. DEIKTIS: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 2(2), 55–62. https://doi.org/10.53769/deiktis.v2i2.216
Avgousti, M. I. (2018). Intercultural communicative competence and online exchanges: a systematic review. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 31(8), 819–853. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2018.1455713
Azarian, R. (2011). Potentials and limitations of comparative method in social science. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(4), 113–125.
Baker, W. (2012). English as a lingua franca in Thailand: Characterisations and implications. Englishes in Practice, 1(1), 18–27.
Banjongjit, B., & Boonmoh, A. (2018). Teachers’ perceptions towards promoting intercultural communicative competence in the EFL Classroom. REFLections, 25(2), 76–97. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1271113.pdf
Barner-Barry, C. (1986). An introduction to nonparticipant observational research techniques. Politics and the Life Sciences, 5(1), 139–147. https://doi.org/10.1017/S073093840000174X
Bili, Y. R. B. (2020). To what extent does language encourage cross cultural problems in intercultural communication? International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 3(6), 152–155. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijllt.2020.3.6.14
Brunner, S., Mayer, H., Blum, K., Breidert, M., Dietrich, M., Dahl, E., & Müller, M. (2023). Nutrition‐related care needs of older patients in hospital: a qualitative multimethod study. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge, 34(2), 148–160. https://doi.org/10.1111/2047-3095.12389
Dai, L. (2011). Practical techniques for cultural-based language teaching in the EFL classroom. Journal of Language Teaching & Research, 2(5). https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.2.5.1031-1036
Douglas, S. R., & Rosvold, M. (2018). Intercultural communicative competence and English for academic purposes: a synthesis review of the scholarly literature. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 21(1), 23–42. https://doi.org/10.7202/1050809
Fang, F., McConachy, T., & Yuan, R. (2024). Intercultural learning and identity development as a form of teacher development through study abroad: narratives from English language practitioners. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 37(2), 247–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2024.2323453
Froggatt, K. (2001). The analysis of qualitative data: Processes and pitfalls. Palliative Medicine, 15(5), 433–438. https://doi.org/10.1191/026921601680419492
Gandana, I., & Parr, G. (2013). Professional identity, curriculum and teaching intercultural communication: an Indonesian case study. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 26(3), 229–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2013.833620
Gardiana, M. D., Nugroho, R. A., Naini, A. M. I., & Wahyudi, S. J. (2023). Intercultural communication strategy for the development of international student service systems. Journal of Educational Analytics, 2(2), 245–262. https://doi.org/10.55927/jeda.v2i2.3703
Henderson, S., Barker, M., & Mak, A. (2016). Strategies used by nurses, academics and students to overcome intercultural communication challenges. Nurse Education in Practice, 16(1), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2015.08.010
Huang, Y. (2011). Chinese tour guides’ strategies in intercultural communication—implications for language teaching and tourism education. Journal of Language Teaching & Research, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.2.1.146-150
Ineta, L. (2023). Eliminating intergenerational and intercultural communication problems in tourism and hospitality enterprises. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 15(2), 14–32. https://doi.org/102478/ausp-2023-0014
Jackson, J. (2012). The Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication, Language, Identity and Intercultural Communication, 9-12 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9780203805640.ch3
Jantadej, K., & Charubusp, S. (2018). A case study of Thai secondary school teachers’ english intercultural teaching and perception. International Journal of Progressive Education, 14(5), 39–56. https://doi.org/10.29329/ijpe.2018.157.5
Jarosz, I., Kiszczak, A., & Krzemińska-Adamek, M. (2021). Developing selected aspects of intercultural communicative competence in the EFL lower primary classroom: learners’ perceptions of online culture-based lessons. Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Literature, 45(3), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2021.45.1.83-95
Jhaiyanuntana, A., & Nomnian, S. (2020). Intercultural communication challenges and strategies for the Thai undergraduate hotel interns. PASAA: Journal of Language Teaching and Learning in Thailand, 59, 204–235.
Lee, T.-Y., Ho, Y.-C., & Chen, C.-H. (2023). Integrating intercultural communicative competence into an online EFL classroom: an empirical study of a secondary school in Thailand. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 8(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-022-00174-1
Leigh, J. (2000). Implications of universal and parochial behavior for intercultural communication. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 2(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v2i2.377
Li, X. M., & Wang, Y. G. (2014). The application of CMIC in cultivating learners’ cross-cultural communication competence. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 610, 667–672. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.610.667
Lie, A. (2007). Education policy and EFL curriculum in Indonesia: Between the commitment to competence and the quest for higher test scores. TEFLIN Journal, 18 (1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.15639/teflinjournal.v18i1/1-15
Logan, S., Steel, Z., & Hunt, C. (2014). A systematic review of effective intercultural communication in mental health. Cross-Cultural Communication, 10(5), 1–11.
Nawamawat, P., & Cedar, P. (2021). A study of communicative strategies ofThai and Filipino teachers of English, Naresuan University, 50-54. http://nuir.lib.nu.ac.th/dspace/handle/123456789/5260
Oyserman, D. (2011). Culture as situated cognition: cultural mindsets, cultural fluency, and meaning making. European Review of Social Psychology, 22(1), 164–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2011.627187
Reid, E. (2015). Techniques developing intercultural communicative competences in english language lessons. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 186, 939–943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.011
Ridaryanthi, M., Susilo, A., & Kristine, N. (2024). Intercultural communication challenges and the coping strategies among fresh graduates in the vuca era. Malaysian Journal of Communication, 40(2), 2024. https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2024-4002-24
Smith, J. E. (2010). Biculturalism and multiculturalism: competing tensions in visual arts education in Aotearoa-New Zealand. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v12i2.319
Sobkowiak, P. (2021). Developing intercultural identity on a sojourn abroad: a case study. Studia Anglica Posnaniensia, 56(1), 149–179. https://doi.org/10.2478/stap-2021-0029
Sukmojati, E., Ribahan, R., & Rahmat, H. (2023). Strategies and challenges in teaching speaking by english tutors: a study in madani super camp english classes. JELITA: Journal of Education, Language Innovation, and Applied Linguistics, 2(2), 111–121. https://doi.org/10.37058/jelita.v2i2.7791
Syarifudin, S. (2023). Online collaborative flipped writing classroom for efl writing instruction in the new normal era: students’ perceptions. International Journal of Arabic-English Studies, 23(1), 257–280. https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes2000.23.1.14
Syarifudin, S., & Rahmat, H. (2021). Intercultural communication of EFL students with foreigners as a strategy of teaching speaking. EDULANGUE, 4(1), 65–89. https://doi.org/10.20414/edulangue.v4i1.3044
Thongpan, W., & Thumawongsa, N. (2023). Intercultural communicative competence (icc): a comparison of thai and international teachers of english in the thai vocational context. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 14(2), 375–385. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1402.13
Tongco, M. D. C. (2007). Purposive sampling as a tool for informant selection, Ethnobotany Research & Applications, 5:147-158. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/227
Tsatzali, K., & Beazidou, E. (2023). Suggested practices for developing intercultural communication competences in early english language lessons based on a systematic literature review. European Journal of Education and Pedagogy, 4(3), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejedu.2023.4.3.665
Yang, Y., De Cremer, D., & Wang, C. (2017). How ethically would americans and chinese negotiate? the effect of intra-cultural versus inter-cultural negotiations. Journal of Business Ethics, 145(3), 659–670. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2863-2
Yuan, X. (2023). Emotion in intercultural communication. Studies in Media and Communication, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.11114/smc.v11i1.5765
Żaliński, A. (2022). Emocje a interpersonalna komunikacja międzykulturowa. Intercultural Relations, 6(1 (11)), 23–40. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452231129.n6
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Elsan Azzahrah, Syarifudin, Hery Rahmat, Siwaporn Yuenchon
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The authors certify that:
- if the manuscript is co-authored, they are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- the work described has not been formally published before in a registered ISSN or ISBN media, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis.
- it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- they secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere (it does not infringe on the rights of others).
- they agree to license and copyright agreement.
All articles published are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
- Authors retain copyright and other proprietary rights related to the article.
- Authors retain the right and are permitted to use the substance of the article in their own future works, including lectures and books.
- Authors grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post or self-archive their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
