Cross - Cultural Sensitivity Of Non - English Majors

As globalization process requires us to communicate effectively and appropriatelywith people from different cultures, intercultural sensitivity (ICS), the most importantcomponent of intercultural communication competence (ICC) and the prerequisite forbeing competent in intercultural communication, is obtaining more and more attention ofscholars both at home and abroad. This thesis aims to assess ICS of non-English majors ata university in Suzhou by adopting Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) developed by Chenand Starosta (2000), and to explore possible factors influencing intercultural sensitivity.The study employs both quantitative and qualitative methods by using a questionnairefollowed by in-depth interviews to investigate the status quo of non-English majors’ ICSand the five constructs of ISS: Interaction Engagement, Respect of Cultural Differences,Interaction Confidence, Interaction Enjoyment, and Interaction Attentiveness. Factorsinfluencing ICS are explored by employing Independent-Samples T-Test, ANOVA andinterviews. The major findings of this study are:(1) the general situation of non-Englishmajors’ ICS is over the uncertain stage and is approaching the stage of agreement, whichmeans they hold a relatively positive attitude in intercultural interactions;(2) among thefive constructs, the participants have the highest score on Respect for Cultural Differences,while the lowest on Interaction Confidence;(3) factors influencing non-English majors’ICS are gender, major, interaction with foreign friends, English proficiency test,intercultural communication courses, experiences and plans of study or travel abroad, etc.This study provides first-hand information of the status quo of non-English majors’ICS in China, which is of pedagogical significance for college educators in designingintercultural training curriculum for non-English majors to improve their interculturalsensitivity and intercultural communication competence.