This chapter shows the major findings of the study. Firstly, this chapter presents the demographic characteristics of the participants. Secondly, it reports the study’s descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis and lastly, multiple linear regression analysis. In addition, this chapter also presents the discussions of the findings.
Descriptive Analysis Sample Characteristics
For this study, a total 351 returns were collected and validated, this corresponds to response rate of 70.2%. As shown in Table 4.1, the majority of the participants were female between the ages of 25 – 34 years. Most of them are studying their graduate degree, which can be calculated as 67.7%. Moreover, regarding with the years of experience within Taiwan, most of the participants have lived here for more than 2 years (41.6%). Lastly, it can be illustrated that most of the international students are Asian (55.8%).
Table 4.1.
Demographic Characteristics of the Samples
Variable Category Frequency Percentage
Gender Male 163 46.4%
Female 188 53.6%
Age 18 – 24 years old 110 31.4%
25 – 34 years old 213 60.7%
More than 35 years old 28 8.0%
Education Undergraduate 92 26.2%
Graduate 236 67.2%
Exchange Students 7 2.0%
Studying Mandarin 16 16%
(continued)
Table 4.1. (continued)
Variable Category Frequency Percentage
Length of Stay 3 months 11 3.1%
6 months 36 10.3%
1 year 37 10.5%
2 years 121 34.5%
More than 2 years 146 41.6%
Nationality Asia 196 55.8%
Europe 29 8.3%
South America 20 5.7%
North America 16 4.6%
Central America 25 7.1%
Africa 32 9.1%
Others 33 9.3%
Mandarin Language Ability (MLA)
In table 4.2., it shows the level of Mandarin language of the participants and most of the respondents self-assessed themselves as knowing ‘a few words or phrases’ (30.8%). The second level that the participants chose is ‘can get by in limited circumstances’ (28.2%). The third level is ‘can get by in most circumstances’ (18.8%). From the analysis, this can be interpreted that most of the international students do not have a very good understanding of Mandarin language while learning in Taiwan.
Table 4.2.
Level of Mandarin Language Ability (MLA)
Variable Category Frequency Percentage
MLA No competence 14 4.0%
A few words or phrases 108 30.8%
Can get by in limited circumstances 99 28.2%
Can get by in most circumstances 66 18.8%
Confident 43 12.3%
Fluent/Near native 21 6.0%
Descriptive Statistic of Cultural Intelligence
As shown in table 4.3., the table presents the mean and standard deviation of cultural intelligence and CQ was measured in 7-point Likert’s scale. According to the result in the table,
“I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures” has the highest mean score (M = 5.91) and “I know the marriage systems of other cultures” has the lowest mean score (M = 4.10).
Moreover, the standard deviation was resulted approximately around 1.308.
Table 4.3.
Descriptive Statistic of Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
Code Items Mean Std. Dev.
Metacognitive CQ 5.31 1.246
MeCQ1 I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I use when interacting with people with different cultural background.
5.35 1.256
MeCQ2 I adjust my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from a culture that is unfamiliar to me.
5.38 1.205
MeCQ3 I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I apply to cross-cultural interactions.
5.34 1.234
MeCQ4 I check the accuracy of my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from different cultures.
5.18 1.290
(continued)
Table 4.3. (continued)
Code Items Mean Std. Dev.
Cognitive CQ 4.31 1.387
CCQ1 I know the legal and economic systems of other cultures. 4.22 1.276 CCQ2 I know the rules (e.g., vocabulary, grammar) of other languages. 4.37 1.530 CCQ3 I know the cultural values and religious beliefs of other cultures. 4.76 1.253 CCQ4 I know the marriage systems of other cultures. 4.10 1.517 CCQ5 I know the arts and crafts of other cultures. 4.17 1.367 CCQ6 I know the rules for expressing non-verbal behaviors in other
cultures.
4.25 1.379
Motivational CQ 5.52 1.196
MCQ1 I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures. 5.91 1.079 MCQ2 I am confident that I can socialize with locals in a culture that is
unfamiliar to me.
5.41 1.229
MCQ3 I am sure I can deal with the stresses of adjusting to a culture that is new to me.
5.46 1.163
MCQ4 I enjoy living in cultures that are unfamiliar to me. 5.30 1.311 MCQ5 I am confident that I can get accustomed to the shopping
conditions in a different culture.
5.50 1.200
Behavioral CQ 5.03 1.373
BCQ1 I change my verbal behavior (e.g., accent, tone) when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.
5.23 1.372
BCQ2 I use pause and silence differently to suit different cross-cultural situations.
5.03 1.317
BCQ3 I vary the rate of my speaking when a cross-cultural situation requires it.
5.08 1.339
BCQ4 I change my non-verbal behavior when a cross-cultural situation requires it.
4.77 1.377
BCQ5 I alter my facial expressions when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.
5.03 1.462
This can be interpreted that most of the international students have a high level of CQ especially when entering another country or facing other culture that is not their own but they do not know the specific cultures or laws of the host country since the result of cognitive CQ was comparatively low (M = 4.31) comparing to metacognitive CQ (M = 5.32), motivational CQ (M
= 5.52) and behavioral CQ (M = 5.03). Additionally, the standard deviation scores were also low, which means that answers were not vary of each other.
Descriptive Statistics of Sociocultural Adaptation
Illustrating in table 4.4., it also shows the mean and standard deviation but it is for sociocultural adaptation. The SA was measured with 5-point Likert’s scale. According to the table 4.4., “understand the local accent/language” has the highest mean score (M = 3.09) and “using the transport system” has the lowest mean score (M = 1.82). Moreover, the standard deviation was resulted approximately around 1.059.
Table 4.4.
Descriptive Statistic of Sociocultural Adaptation (SA)
Code Items Mean Std. Dev
Sociocultural Adaptation 2.34 1.059
SA1 Making friends 2.47 1.163
SA2 Using the transport system 1.82 0.970
SA3 Making yourself understood 2.56 1.040
SA4 Getting used to the pace of life 2.23 0.982
SA5 Going shopping 1.99 1.060
SA6 Worshipping in your usual way 2.32 1.137
SA7 Talking about yourself with others 2.44 1.094
SA8 Understanding jokes and humor 2.80 1.092
SA9 Dealing with someone who is unpleasant/cross/aggressive 2.99 1.162 SA10 Getting used to the local food/finding food you enjoy 2.46 1.218
SA11 Following rules and regulations 2.00 1.038
(continued)
Table 4.4. (continued)
Code Items Mean Std. Dev
SA12 Dealing with the bureaucracy 2.47 1.041
SA13 Adapting to local accommodation 2.20 1.054
SA14 Finding your way around 2.10 0.998
SA15 Dealing with the climate 2.45 1.109
SA16 Dealing with people staring at you 2.40 1.137
SA17 Going to coffee shops/food stalls/restaurants 1.85 1.016 SA18 Understanding the local accent/language 3.09 1.205 SA19 Living away from family members
overseas/independently from your parents
2.37 1.166
SA20 Adapting to local etiquette (e.g. manners, customs) 2.19 0.954
SA21 Getting used to the population density 2.26 1.081
SA22 Dealing with people of higher status 2.28 1.004
SA23 Understanding what is required of you at university 2.15 1.067
SA24 Coping with academic work 2.25 1.016
SA25 Expressing your ideas in class 2.34 0.663
The mean in this table, it showed that most of the candidates chose to answer lower than level three (M = 2.34), which means that they had either no difficulty or slight difficulty adjusting in the unfamiliar culture. In addition, similar to CQ, the standard deviation was comparatively low (M = 1.059), showing the low variation of the answering, meaning that most of the participants answered the questionnaire similar to each other.
The Relationships Among All the Variables
The following tools were utilized to understand the relationship between Mandarin language ability, cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation using correlation analysis and multiple linear regression. Firstly, correlation analysis is utilized to check whether all of the three variables were correlated to one another or not and secondly, multiple linear regression were also conducted to test all of the four hypotheses of the study.
Correlation Analysis
Correlation Analysis was conducted to measure the strength of the relationship between independent variable, the mediator and the dependent variable. Table 4.5., shows the results of means and standard deviation and also the correlation among Mandarin language ability, cultural intelligence and also sociocultural adaptation. The result should range within -1 to +1 showing the value of the study and if it is less than .05, it basically indicates that the variables are not coordinated with each other (Zavala, 2015). The (r) illustrates that gender, age and education has no significant to relationship between all of the mentioned variables in the study stating as (r = -.057, p > .05; r = -.034, p > .05; r = -.004, p > .05), (r = -.025, p > .05; r = -.102 p > .05; r = -.051, p > .05) and (r = -.010, p > .05; r = -.092, p > .05; r = -.091, p > .05) respectively. However, length of stay and nationality does have significant influence with Mandarin language ability showing as (r = .154**, p > .05) and (r = -.190**, p > .05) but did not have influence on both cultural intelligence (r = .079, p > .05; r = .057, p > .05) and sociocultural adaptation (r = .015, p > .05; r
= .050, p > .05). Additionally, all of the three variables of the study are also correlated to each other mentioning that MLA and CQ (r = .273**, p > .05), MLA and SA (r = .194**, p > .05), CQ and SA (r = .259**, p > .05). Therefore, it can be concluded that this model of the study can be used accordingly.
Table 4.5.
Results of Correlation Analysis
M Mean S.D. G Age Edu. LOS Natl. MLA CQ SA
G 1.54 0.49 1
Age 2.76 0.58 -.012 1
Edu. 2.81 0.63 -.037 .264** 1
LOS 4.01 1.10 -.063 .171** -.141** 1
Natl. 2.77 2.49 -.076 .147** -.065 .118* 1
MLA 2.23 1.28 .057 .025 -.010 .154** -.190** 1
CQ 5.04 0.81 -.034 .102 .092 .079 -.057 .273** 1
SA 2.34 0.66 -.004 -.051 -.091 -.015 -.050 -.194** -.259** 1 Note: *p < .05, **p < .01, M = measures, S.D. = standard deviation, G = gender, LOS = length of stay, Edu. = education, Natl. = nationality
Multiple Linear Regression
Multiple Linear Regression was utilized to test to mediating effect of variables, which are Mandarin language ability and sociocultural adaptation with the mediating effect of cultural intelligence to see the relationship between those three variables according to the hypotheses.
Mandarin language ability and cultural intelligence.
Hypothesis 1 of the study tested the relationship between Mandarin language ability and cultural intelligence. To examine the relationship, cultural intelligence was set as the dependent variable. Based on the outcome, R squared was projected as 9.2% of the variation in Mandarin language ability variable and F value of 5.834 (table 4.7.). From the overall result, it can be indicated that the relationship between Mandarin language ability and cultural intelligence is positively significant (p = .000). The result agrees with many previous studies confirming that language does connect with culture (Lockley & Yoshida, 2014; Savicki et al., 2013; Thitthongkam, Walsh and Bunchapattanasakda, 2011).
Table 4.6.
Multiple Linear Regression Analysis of MLA and CQ
Model Standardized Coefficients Beta t sig.
1 (Constant) 13.122 .000***
Age .078 1.372 .171
Gender -.030 -.566 .572
Education .077 1.362 .174
Length of Stay .084 1.513 .131
Nationality -.076 -1.400 .162
R Square = .027 F = 1.919 2 (Constant)
MLA .265 4.975 .000***
R Square = .092 F = 5.834
Note: Independent Variable: Mandarin Language Ability, ***p<.001
Mandarin language ability and sociocultural adaptation.
Hypothesis 2 of the study tested the relationship between Mandarin language ability and sociocultural adaptation. The relationship was examined by setting sociocultural adaptation as the dependent variable. Furthermore, based on the result, R squared was stated as 5.6% of the variation in Mandarin language ability variable and F value as 3.396 (table 4.8). From the overall outcome, it can be interpreted that the relationship between Mandarin language ability and cultural intelligence is positively significant (p = .000). The result can relates back to a mentioned research ensuring that language has connection with the adaptation of sojourners (Norris & Steinberg, 2008;
Ward, 1996; Ward & Rana-Deuba, 1999).
Table 4.7.
Multiple Linear Regression Analysis of MLA and SA
Model Standardized Coefficients Beta t sig.
1 (Constant) 10.088 .000***
Age -.015 -.259 .796
Gender -.014 -.251 .802
Education -.094 -1.654 .099
Length of Stay -.021 -.373 .709
Nationality -.053 -.968 .334
R Square = .012 F = .866 2 (Constant)
MLA -.216 -3.982 .000***
R Square = .056 F = 3.396
Note: Independent Variable: Mandarin Language Ability, ***p<.001
Cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation.
Hypothesis 3 of the study tested the relationship between cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation. To investigate the relationship, sociocultural adaptation was set as the dependent variable. Based on the result, R squared can be reported as 7.7% of the variation in cultural intelligence variable and F value as 4.788 (table 4.9). From the overall result, it can be portrayed that the relationship between cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation is positively significant (p = .000). Lastly, it is important to mention that the result within this study also related back to many previous studies (Ang et al., 2007; Heppner et al., 2017).
Table 4.8.
Multiple Linear Regression Analysis of CQ and SA
Model Standardized Coefficients Beta t sig.
1 (Constant) 10.088 .000***
Age -.015 -.259 .796
Gender -.014 -.251 .802
Education -.094 -1.654 .099
Length of Stay -.021 -.373 .709
Nationality -.053 -.968 .334
R Square = .012 F = .866 2 (Constant)
CQ -.258 -4.910 .000***
R Square = .077 F = 4.788
Note: Independent Variable: Cultural Intelligence, ***p<.001
Mandarin language ability, CQ and sociocultural adaptation.
Hypothesis 4 of the study tested the relationship between Mandarin language ability, cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation. The relationship of all three variables was tested by setting sociocultural adaptation as the dependent variable. Based on the outcome, R squared can be reported as 9.9% of the variation in both Mandarin language ability and cultural intelligence variable and F value as 5.379 (table 4.10). It can be analyzed that the relationship between Mandarin language ability and sociocultural adaptation with cultural intelligence as mediator is positively significant (p = .000). Additionally, in table 4.7 and table 4.10 and table, comparing the number of the standardized coefficients beta between hypothesis 1 (standardized β = .265) and hypothesis 4 (standardized β = .159), it shows that the number has gone down but both of the results were significant (p = .000). Hence, it can be illustrated that this was the partial mediation.
Table 4.9.
Multiple Linear Regression Analysis of MLA, CQ and SA
Model Standardized Coefficients Beta t sig.
1 (Constant) 10.088 .000***
Age -.015 -.259 .796
Gender -.014 -.251 .802
Education -.094 -1.654 .099
Length of Stay -.021 -.373 .709
Nationality -.053 -.968 .334
R Square = .012 F = .866 2 (Constant)
MLA -.159 -2.883 .004**
CQ -.218 -4.046 .000***
R Square = .099 F = 5.379
Note: Independent Variable: Mandarin Language Ability, Cultural Intelligence, **p<.01,
***p<.001
According to the past studies, language is seen as the mean of the communication to understand the host community Jandt (2013) and Puck, Kittler and Wright (2008) also mentioned that language can be a barrier of the adaptation of the expatriates. Moreover, as language and culture are significantly related to each other (Selmer, 2006) and there are studies supported that CQ did influence on the adjustment of sojourners (Jyoti & Kour, 2015; Lee & Sukoco, 2010;
Ramalu, Rose, Kumar, & Uli, 2010; Ramalu, Wei, & Rose, 2011). Therefore, it can be concluded that the result of the analysis of these three variables is true and can be supported.
Summary
According to the results and interpretations, all of the hypotheses were supported.
Mandarin language ability and cultural intelligence are positively related to sociocultural adaptation and with cultural intelligence acting as the mediator, the result ensures that cultural intelligence also mediates the relationship between independent variable and dependent variable even thoughit is partial mediation (See table 4.11.).
Table 4.10.
Summary of the Results
Hypothesis Results
H1 Mandarin Language Ability has a relationship on Cultural
Intelligence. Accepted
H2 Mandarin Language Ability has a relationship with
Sociocultural Adaptation. Accepted
H3 Cultural Intelligence has a relationship with Sociocultural
Adaptation. Accepted
H4 Cultural Intelligence mediates the relationship between
Language Ability and Sociocultural Adaptation. Accepted
Relating to the tables illustrating above, the investigation of this study aims to find out the relationship between three variables, which are Mandarin language ability, cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation among international students who have studied in Taiwan. It is
believed that if international students have a high understanding about Mandarin language, it will help them understand Taiwanese culture better since language is considered as the important tool for students to understand the culture better (Kramsch, 2002). Eventually, it will result in a better adaptation or in this case the sociocultural adaptation. The expected result was analyzed based on many previous studies showing that those three variables were connected to each other (Jyoti &
Kour, 2015; Lee & Sukoco, 2010; Puck, Kittler, & Wright, 2008; Ramalu, Rose, Kumar, & Uli, 2010; Ramalu, Wei, & Rose, 2011; Zielinski, 2007).
The hypotheses were examined by conducting the multiple linear regression and descriptive analysis was used to examined the Mandarin language ability and according to the analysis, it has shown that most of the participants do not have a very good understanding of Mandarin language stating that most of them only knowing for few words or phrases or can get by in limited circumstances. However, even though they do not have a very high level of Mandarin but still, based on the finding of all of the hypotheses, the results emphasize that all of the three variables are positively related, which means Mandarin language more or less have a relationship with both cultural intelligence and sociocultural intelligence. It is better for international students to have some understanding towards Mandarin language ability in order to understand culture of the host country (H1) and it does help international students to adjust better in Taiwan (H2).
Moreover, it is also shown that cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation are related to one another (H3). From all of the 3 hypotheses mentioned previously, it is shown above and from all of the relations between all of the three variables, the mediating result shows that cultural intelligence mediates the relationship between Mandarin language ability and sociocultural adaptation (H4). To be concluded, the outcomes indicate that Mandarin language can increase some understanding of the culture of the host country and therefore, it helps international students to adapt themselves in a different cultural circumstance. For the cultural intelligence, since it is only partial mediation, it might have some of the effect on the sociocultural adaptation but not as much as expected.