| The focus of this study is on intellectual empathy, a cross-cultural learning strategy in which one cognitively assumes the perspectives of others in order to understand them. This qualitative-case study investigates how US college students in a Study Abroad Program in Japan used intellectual empathy when they encountered cultural critical incidents. In a world that is rapidly becoming borderless, many college students leave their own countries to spend time abroad, often for the first time. Negative experiences in the host culture might affect not only their language learning and attitudes towards the host culture, but also their lasting perspectives on overseas sojourning and intercultural experiences. The six participants of this study were in a six-week summer intensive language course in Japan. To collect data on their critical incidents and responses, participants were interviewed at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the program and after their return to their own country. Also daily observations were conducted in Japan and artifacts representing their experiences were analyzed. It was found that, despite the short duration of the program, participants encountered some critical incidents and demonstrated early stages of the development of intellectual empathy. The findings contribute to knowledge about both cultural-general and cultural-specific learning. In addition, the study illuminates the kinds of cultural critical incidents the US college sojourners encountered in Japan and suggests underlying Japanese cultural concepts. |
