Studies On International Students’ Interpersonal Interaction From The Perspective Of Intercultural Communication

This thesis is an empirical research study about international students’ interpersonal interaction and social networking. According to the questionnaire filled out by the international students at the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies (HNC) and my own observation, from the perspective of intercultural communication, I conducted a quantitative analysis of the social network of 45 international students. According to the research, I found that even in a mature and stable cross-cultural environment like HNC, the international students are still inclined to interact with other international students, building a social network dominated by students of their own background. In the practice of international students’ interpersonal interaction, Chinese students and international students are obviously divided into two big groups, and group boundaries are very distinct. For the international students, the size of their intercultural social network, as well as the quality of relationships within the network, are both dissatisfied. Also, the research shows that gender differences have a notable impact on the content of interpersonal interactions, and can change the structural characteristics of social networks as well. International male and female students show differences in these aspects. Another conclusion gathered from the study deals with challenges for intercultural interaction, specifically the aspect of self identification. This is perhaps one of the most influential aspects for intercultural communication and social networking. If international students exceed the limit of social identity and self identification, eventually they can also exceed the limit of culture, achieving high-quality intercultural communication. Only in this way are they able to build more complete, fruitful and diverse social networks.