A Comparative Study Of The In-Class Intercultural Conflict Management Strategies Of The American And The Chinese Foreign Language Learners In Chinese Universities

Since higher education is becoming one of the most important channels forcultural exchange, the Sino-US educational exchange and communication has alwaysbeen a noteworthy academic topic. The study on in-class intercultural teacher-studentconflicts is of much significance both theoretically and practically to the promoting ofSino-US cultural exchange in higher learning institutions. With such background andsignificance, this thesis intends to explore the differences of the adoption of conflictmanagement strategies between the Chinese and the American primary foreignlanguage learners in three Chinese universities (Xi’an Jiaotong University, ShaanxiNormal University and Xi’an International Studies University) and to find out therelationship between cultural constructs (based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensionstheory) and their choice of conflict management strategies. Quantitative method,practically a questionnaire including the modified ROCI-II conflict scale and Dorfmanand Howell’s value scale, and qualitative analysis are employed in the study. Thecollected data is analyzed by SPSS and the results are elaborated and discussed.The first research finding shows that the Chinese and the American studentsshare the same preference order of conflict management strategies which rank fromhigh frequency to low frequency as avoiding, integrating, compromising, obliging anddominating. The other finding is that except long-term vs. short-term orientation, theother four cultural dimensions, namely, collectivism, high uncertainty avoidance,masculinity, and large power distance are confirmed to significantly relate to the fiveconflict management strategies. Last noteworthy discovery is that the Americanstudents experience some changes in their cultural values, which contradictsHofestede’s1980s study. These value changes are discussed and found to have muchrelevance to the sampling methods, research contexts, research operations as well asthe influences of massive cultural integration.