The Relationship between Mandarin Language Ability and Sociocultural Adaptation with Cultural Intelligence as Mediator: A Case Study of International Students in Taiwan

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(1)The Relationship between Mandarin Language Ability and Sociocultural Adaptation with Cultural Intelligence as Mediator: A Case Study of International Students in Taiwan. by Nonrawan Kanchanaprapas. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Major: International Human Resource Development. Advisor: Chih-Chien Steven Lai, Ph.D.. National Taiwan Normal University Taipei, Taiwan June, 2019.

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(3) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Coming to Taiwan to pursue my master’s degree was more than just a dream for me. After graduating my bachelor’s degree on Thailand, I had never thought that I would receive such a great opportunity to be able to enhance my abilities and gain may knowledges on human resource path in a very warmth institute like the IHRD who welcomed me the open arms. Moreover, this thesis would not be completed without many helps from many people. Therefore, I would like to acknowledge every person who have helped and contributed with the completion of this thesis. Firstly, I would like to share my gratitude towards National Taiwan Normal University for granting the scholarship and providing a marvelous opportunity to increase my academic perspectives and knowledges. Furthermore, I would like to thank you IHRD department for providing me a great assistant during my two years in Taiwan. Secondly, this thesis could not be done without a help from my thesis advisor, Dr. Steven Chih-Chien Lai, who has been very helpful throughout these times. Dr. Steven Chih-Chien Lai gave me a lot of new perspectives and led me through the unknowns and confusions due to my unexperienced knowledges. Thenceforth, I would like to thank you my beloved advisor for his contributions and expertise that help to complete the target. Thirdly, I would also give a special gratitude towards my committees, Dr. Allan Lu and Dr. Pai-Po Lee for every suggestion until the end of this thesis. It would not be completed without your guidance. Fourthly, according to problems occurred during the writing, I am very grateful to have my wonderful friends by my side through ups and downs. Thank you for staying those tough times because without these beloved people especially, Nut Tammawiteekun, Aaron Shih, Faline Chiou, Phatthamaporn Anuwanawong and Sarin Supanimitkulkit, I would not be able to get pass those hard-bitten situations. Lastly, I would love to deliver my most heartfelt thank you to my mother and father who have been supported me both financially and spiritually. I could not make to the end without their love and their unconditional support. I might not get to mention everyone’s name on this acknowledgement but I am very much obliged for your helps and this very last, I would like to thanks myself for making through this hard time and now let’s another chapter of my life begins..

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(5) ABSTRACT For international students, they have to face many obstacles living abroad, far away from their host country, such as communication, cultural differences and the need to achieve a successful academic performance. It is crucial to figure out the factors, which helps international students to adjust better in the new environment. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between three variables, which are mandarin language ability, cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation by examining on how mandarin language ability can help international students understand Taiwanese culture, which was shown in the level of cultural intelligence and exploring how those factors can help international students to adapt in this unique country through the scale called sociocultural adaptation. For fulfilling the research purpose, a questionnaire was designed and employed to collect the data and Moreover, the sociocultural adaptation does not just imply only about general adaptation like the survival skill but also other aspects such as academic adaptation and interpersonal adaptation. Keywords: mandarin language ability, cultural intelligence, sociocultural adaptation, Taiwan, international student. I.

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(7) TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………...I TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………III LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………………...V LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………...VII CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………..1 Background of the Study………………………………………………………………….1 Statement of the Problems………………………………………………………………...3 Purposes of the Study……………………………………………………………………...4 Questions of the Study…………………………………………………………………….5 Significances of the Study………………………………………………………………...5 Delimitations………………………………………………………………………………5 Definition of Key Terms…………………………………………………………………..6. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………..9 Mandarin Language Ability……………………………………………………….………9 Cultural Intelligence……………………………………………………………………...13 Sociocultural Adaptation………………………………………………………………...15 Relationships Among the Variables...……………………………………………………17. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY……………………………………………….21 Research Framework……………………………………………………………………..21 Research Hypotheses……………………………………………………………………..21 Research Procedure………………………………………………………………………22 Research Method…………………………………………………………………………24 Research Population and Data Collection…….………………………………………….24 Research Instrument….…………………………………………………………………..25 Validity and Reliability...……………………………..………………………………….30 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………….36. III.

(8) CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION…..…………………………….37 Descriptive Analysis.…………………………………………………………………….37 The Relationships Among All the Variables.…………………...……………………….42 Summary…………...…………………………………………………………………….48. CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS…….………….51 Conclusions...…………………………………………………………………………….51 Limitations…………………………………………………………………………….…52 Suggestions…………………….………………………………………………………...52 Implications………………………………………………………………………………53. REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………55 APPENDIX A: COVER LETTER……………………….…………………..…...65 APPENDIX B: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE………………………………..67. IV.

(9) LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Mandarin Language Proficiency Scale……….……………………………………….26 Table 3.2 Cultural Intelligence Questions………...………………….………………………….27 Table 3.3 Sociocultural Adaptation………………………………….…………….….…………29 Table 3.4 Cronbach’s Alpha Value Test Results of the Pilot Study…..…………………………31 Table 3.5 The Reliability of the Questionnaire…………………………………………………..32 Table 3.6 Result of Confirmatory Factor Analysis 1…………………………………………….33 Table 3.7 Result of Confirmatory Factor Analysis 2…………………………………………….35 Table 4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Samples…………………………………………37 Table 4.2 Level of Mandarin Language Ability (MLA)…………………………………………39 Table 4.3 Descriptive Statistic of Cultural Intelligence (CQ)……………………………………39 Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistic of Sociocultural Adaptation (SA)……………………………….41 Table 4.5 Results of Correlation Analysis……………………………………...………………..43 Table 4.6 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis of MLA and CQ……………………………….44 Table 4.7 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis of MLA and SA……………………………….45 Table 4.8 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis of CQ and SA………………………………….46 Table 4.9 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis of MLA, CQ and SA…………………………..47 Table 4.10 Summary of the Results……………………………………………………………...48. V.

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(11) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Research framework…………………………..……………………………………...21 Figure 3.2 Research procedure…………………………………………………………………..23 Figure 3.3 Yamane formula……………………………………………………………………...25 Figure 3.4 Confirmatory factor analysis model………….………………………………………35. VII.

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(13) CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter illustrates the background of the study, statement of problems, the purposes of the study, questions of the study, significance of the study, delimitations and lastly, the definition of key terms.. Background of Study As it comes to the period of what so called globalization, it has driven our world through effective tools like the Internet that connects people together and with the power of technology and transportation, it is not hard anymore for one to travel across the globe to the other side of the Earth. With the impact of globalization, it has forced people to move and travel all across the world, thereby making the world even more boundless and this can cause many problems regarding the cross-cultural issues between humans more than ever. In other words, as people move to the unfamiliar cultural settings, they have to face different practices or cultures (Chen, Wu, & Bian, 2014). Furthermore, as the world becomes more boundless, it is easier for people and students to seek a better job or a higher degree in other countries and unarguably, both of them are most likely to face the problem of cross-cultural adjustment as they have to live in peculiar place that is not their home country. Hence, cultural adjustment relates to the degree of which ones felt more comfortable living in a new cultural places (Black & Stephens, 1989; Haslberger, 2005). As study abroad becomes one of the trends in the present day, there are students from around the world try to seek a higher education in foreign country. In the study of McKeown (2009), he defined studying abroad as students who “physically leave their home countries to engage in college study, cultural interaction, and more in the host country.” Moreover, there are many studies show that study abroad experience may help to enhance participants’ cultural intelligence (CQ) such international awareness, cross-cultural understanding and communication skills, intercultural competency and foreign language skills (Fennell, 2009; Kruger et al., 2017; Rask, Arvola, & Salonen, 1993; Salisbury, Paulsen, & Pascarella, 2011). The concept of CQ represents the capability of a person who are able to adapt and function successfully to a diverse and unfamiliar settings (Ang et al., 2007). However, cultural intelligence can be considered as a different form of academic intelligence, in other words, non-academic intelligence. Since CQ involves with social intelligence and emotional intelligence, therefore, it can be assumed that if ones can switch from one cultural. 1.

(14) environment to another, this is the ability that is very essential for CQ (Ramalu, Rose, Uli, & Kumar, 2012; Thomas, 2006). Moreover, CQ can also be assumed that CQ can also be enriched through the learning of the host language as Sapir (1921) argued in the study that culture, thought and language cannot be really be separated from each other because with the knowledge of those aspect together, it can convey the implicit meaning and one’s pattern of life through the what one thinks, feels and behaves in particular cultural context. In addition, the culture can be determined by the situation or objective of people through their interactions and perceptions. Thus, to be able to convey messages out of those interactions and perceptions, language is the crucial tool as the means of communication in the society (Ali, Kazemian, & Mahar, 2015). This obviously illustrates that culture and language has some relationship together and in previous research, it has been found that language ability is an important skill for sojourners adaptation as it helps to develop the understanding of the new culture (Selmer & Lauring, 2015). There are also many researches support the relationship between language and culture indicating that it is important for expatriate to understand local language to be adapt better in certain location (Searle & Ward, 1990; Ward & Kennedy, 1993, 1994a; Yang, Noels, & Saumure, 2006). Selmer (2006) found that mandarin language ability has a positive effect on the adjustment of sojourners in China and the result of another study showed that the important factor that affected the successful adaptation of the Chinese elder in New Zealand is the language itself (Selvarajah, 2004). In other words, being unable to speak the host language may have a serious influence for international students as well. Hence, the development of expatriates’ understanding of new culture can be improved by the language (Selmer & Lauring, 2015). Furthermore, many researches have proved that there is a positive relationship between CQ and adjustment or adaptation of the expatriates. For example, according to the article published by Johnson and Buko (2013), expatriates who live in Malaysia have a greater adjustment, have higher CQ and also higher proficiency comparing to the ones who have not. This is why CQ is so important when it comes to the concern of adjustment for people who live abroad including international students. For the adaptation of sojourners, it can be divided into two major types, which are psychological adaptation and also sociocultural adaptation. Psychological adaptation focuses more on the wellbeing or satisfaction of certain person, which can be affected by individual’s personality. On the contrary, sociocultural adaptation or what known as SA, it focuses on behavioral skill such as. 2.

(15) ability to fit in or how one interacts with the members of the host country (Ward & Kennedy, 1999). It is also mentioned that language ability is also the key of sociocultural adaptation since sociocultural adaptation is directly link to communication competency (Masgoret & Ward, 2006) because in order to have a successful adaptation, one needs to have social interaction with local people, hence, host-country language is positively related to the adaptation (Searle & Ward, 1990; Ward & Kennedy, 1993, 1994a; Yang, Noels, & Saumure, 2006). Lastly, from the previous studies, it can indicate that all of the 3 variables are related with each other.. Statement of the Problems Though the topic deals with CQ, language ability and cross-cultural adjustment has been studied a lot by many researchers, however, there is some parts that can be discuss deeper. Firstly, in many previous researches, the language mentioned in those articles is English as it is one of the most used language in the world as the mean of the communication. However, Chinese has not been used as one of the variables much. Mandarin is one of the languages that has been influenced by its culture in many perspectives and those influences can be identified into 5 major aspects, which are implicit communication, listening-centeredness, politeness, a focus on insiders and facedirected communication strategies. Furthermore, for foreigners, with the culture of saving face or shyness, these indirect actions can lead to miscommunication (Gao, 1998; Selmer, 2006). As an outsider, my perception of Chinese language and its culture are related since Chinese characters are logogram; according to Oxford Dictionary, logogram means a sign or character representing a word or phrase. Chinese character has involved overtime and the historian believes that the first recorded Chinese had written 957 BBE (Before Buddhist Era). For a word, there are many meanings for that and it depends on the situation or context and this is surely related back to culture itself. Therefore, mandarin language ability can have a huge impact on the international students in Taiwan. Secondly, most of the adjustment will focus on the employees or workers, but there is not much of the research focusing on international students living abroad. As the world becomes more progressive with the globalization, there is also the increasing number of international students who determine to seek a higher education abroad. Surprisingly, there is the growing number of people coming to Taiwan to study. In 2017, according to the Ministry of Education of R.O.C. (Taiwan) (2018), there were more than 110,000 enrollments of the oversea students in Taiwan and regarding to the statistic, it indicated that the number of international students who. 3.

(16) wanted to pursue a degree has increased from approximately 30,000 to 110,000 from 2007 to 2017. Furthermore, the ministry expects to recruit 150,000 foreign students a year by 2021. This links back to the New South Bound Policy and the encouragement of the government to work with local universities to further develop curricula and new program offerings to better match the needs and preferences of foreign students. Lastly, it is about the relationship between language and culture. Normally, it will be mentioned that language can help with the adjustment. Then, one question has been raised and has not been answered if language has positive relationship with cross-cultural adjustment, then language can also have positive relationship with CQ too. If you are good at language, then it is easier for you to understand other cultures, in other words, you have the better CQ. This also suggests the need to investigate whether cultural intelligence is a mediator between language ability and cross-cultural adjustment. Therefore, it is crucial to study how language can have the impact on the understanding of Taiwanese Culture, which could have the influence on their cross-cultural adjustment.. Purposes of the Study According to statement mentioned above, relating to the research background and the statement of problems, these sections aim to find out about the adjustments, which might have been affected by Mandarin language ability and cultural intelligence of international students who have studied in Taiwan. This research gives the insight knowledge about these three aspects in further details. This study wants to point out about the mandarin ability situation on how it impacts cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation of the international students in Taiwan since it is believed that mandarin can be the important factor to understand more about Taiwanese culture as it is portrayed in many studies that culture and language are inseparable and with certain understanding, it can lead to a better adaptation while they are studying in Taiwan.. 4.

(17) Questions of the Study Based on the purpose of the study, the main purpose of this study is to find out the relationship between three variables, which are mandarin language ability, cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation as research questions are listed below. 1. Can Mandarin language ability help international students to adjust their life in Taiwan? 2. Can cultural intelligence help international students to adjust their adaptation in Taiwan? 3. Can Mandarin language ability help international students to have more cultural intelligence, which in turn have a better sociocultural adaptation?. Significances of the Study The findings of this study will help with to the benefit of international students especially the ones who are willing to seek a better education in Taiwan since this study concerns with mandarin language ability, cultural intelligence and sociocultural adjustment. Nowadays, there is the greater demand for foreigners to come to study in Taiwan and this can help them to understand their grounds and have an effective adjustment, maintaining their grades, effective communication and better interaction with local people. Additionally, it can also help to improve their assignments and projects as well since the cross-cultural adjustment usually involves with the performances. Also, findings of this study could provide useful implications for Taiwan Ministry of Education and other education institutions as well regarding the importance of Chinese language ability for foreign students studying in Taiwan. Customized classes and training programs aiming to help foreign students improve their Chinese ability, cultural intelligence can thus be developed.. Delimitations This study will not be generalizable to everyone since the study only focuses on international students, which includes high school students, undergraduate students, graduate students, language study students and exchange students who have studied in Taiwan. Furthermore, the setting is located in Taiwan only, which might not be able to apply in other locations or countries. In Taiwan, Taiwanese are using the traditional Chinese, which contrasts to most of the people in the world because they are using the simplified Chinese. At last, the survey approach in cross sectional design, it only collects data in some specific point of time and that is why it cannot tell the cause of relationship of the variables.. 5.

(18) Definition of Key Terms Mandarin Language Ability With the tonal language like mandarin, it could be tricky to differentiate the meaning of words that host-country speakers speak. Thence, it is important to have a proper knowledge of mandarin language for the better understanding of language and also for better adjustment. Swift (2002) also mentioned that language plays an important role in culture as well as culture plays a crucial role in language because both language and culture influence each other in many ways, therefore, it can be assumed that language is one of the dominant variables to the understanding of the culture. As many scholars have stated, the construct of language ability contains with many dimensions of linguistic ability, which are speaking, writing and the comprehension skill because in different places, there are the use of the different dialects and also the use of non-verbal communication. This can cause miscommunication for the sojourners. This problem raises a question of how can language can be measured. Selmer (2006) and Selmer and Lauring (2015) presented that language proficiency can be used to measure the quality of language itself but also it can be seen as a crucial instrument for the sojourners to develop their understanding to new cultural setting. Thence, language proficiency is an important quality of the adaptation of international student and lastly, in this study, Mandarin language ability can be defined as an important tool, which helps international students to understand new culture better (Selmer and Lauring, 2015).. Cultural Intelligence It can be referred to a capability of the individuals to function and effectively manage in culturally diverse settings (Ang et al., 2007; Heppner, Chuang, Wang, & Wang, 2017), which can be categorized into 4 dimensions. This multidimensional construct includes four aspects of cultural intelligence: (a) cognitive – an individual’s cultural knowledge of norms, practices, and conventions in different cultural settings (b) metacognitive – the consciousness and awareness of individuals during interactions with people from different background, (c) motivational – an individual’s capability to direct attention and energy toward cultural differences, and (d) behavioral – an individual’s capability to exhibit appropriate verbal and nonverbal actions when interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds (Ang et al., 2007; Johnson & Buko, 2013). All of the aspects of CQ are all important and it can be linked to sociocultural adaptation. 6.

(19) Thence, in this research, CQ represents an individuals’ capability to function and manage efficiently in the new cultural setting and all of the dimensions will be represented in the questionnaire of this study (Ang et al., 2007; Heppner et al., 2017).. Sociocultural Adaptation In the cross-cultural situation, it is certain for international students to adapt or adjust themselves in the different context since international students from different countries may have different beliefs, religion or even political system (Misra & Castillo, 2004). Sociocultural Adaptation (SA) refers to the ability to negotiate and interact with local people of the new culture effectively, in other words, being able to “fit in” (Ward & Kennedy, 1999). SA involves with 2 major skills, which are communication skill and also social interaction skill and it can be developed through the adequate social and cultural skills for which will be used to handle daily life in the mainstream cultural context of the unusual culture setting. SA usually be measured by the examination of level of difficulty as ones perform their daily life, which will be categorized into three main factors: academic adaptation, survival adaptation and also interpersonal adaptation (Ward & Rana-Deuba, 1999). Additionally, Masgoret and Ward (2006) noted that sociocultural adaptation does not require international students to switch themselves with the new culture but to aware and prepare of the differences occurring in the new setting. Lastly, within this study, SA is defined as an understanding of norms and values of the new culture, which affects the individual adjustment in different cultural context (non-host residence) (Masgoret and Ward, 2006).. 7.

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(21) CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW This following chapter points out the review of the previous studies from various researchers consisting with the emphasis of mandarin language ability, cultural intelligence and lastly, sociocultural adaptation and also the relationship between those variables.. Mandarin Language Ability In a tonal language such as Mandarin, it is harder to distinguish all the words from each other since the change of the tones can completely change the meaning of specific word, which can create confusion to non-native speaker (Zhu, Wong, Wang, & Chen, 2017). It was difficult for Mandarin speakers to naturally produce sentences with deliberately modified tone contours even though the mispronunciation can be substituted by other external cues but lexical tones still carry the important information of the meaning of each word (Chen, Wong, & Hu, 2014). There are many researches indicated that Mandarin sometimes can be very complicated due to the differences of the tones and complicity of the writing system, which mostly affects the perception of hearing. Moreover, there is further research indicating about the connection between reading, writing, speaking and listening ability in term of learning the language successfully (Wong, 2018). That is why language is so important to every expatriate since it is the tool for people to express ideas, thoughts or any verbal expressions. Human beings are able pass on their culture from generation to generation through the medium of language (Raja, 2013) and according to Byram, culture is defined as “shared beliefs, values and behaviors of a social group” (Byram, 2008), which someone has explained later on that the relationship of language and culture are connected to each other. It is also mentioned further by Kramsch, he indicates that language is not just used as the means for the exchange of information, but also as a symbolic system empowering identities, perceptions, and values through communication (Kramsch, 2002). This surely indicates that language is very important especially for expatriates to understand culture in certain country they live in. For instance, the use of the word ‘yes’ between Chinese speaking country and western country. For many of English speaking country, yes means you are agreeing on something and you really mean it but for Chinese people, since they have the culture of being polite or what known as ‘客氣’ (kèqi), yes sometimes does not mean that you agree with it but more like ‘I am listening or That is possible’ (Gao, 1998). This simply shows cultural differences between Chinese speaking. 9.

(22) country and westerners. Another example involves with the concept of ‘individualism or 個人主義.’ For Chinese, it implies to selfishness indicating the negative sense since there is the belief of collectiveness, which represents the idea of harmony and togetherness (Asselin, 2014). This belief is entirely different from individualism in westerners’ context. Most of the western country, what they believe in is individual rights, which can be rooted back to United States of America when they first announced the Declaration of Independence and as they set themselves free from Great Britain. The declaration represents what later becomes American’s value such as ‘unalienable rights’ or ‘the pursuit of happiness.’ Unalienable Rights basically means the rights that cannot be taken away and this illustrates a clear idea of oneself that is detached from the groups as a whole or even the pursuit of happiness, this emphasizes on individualism presenting that as individually, everyone has their own happiness as long as it does not harm other people: the idea suggests that you cannot be forced by others to be happy but only yourself that can make you happy. This shows a clear example of how language can greatly reflect the idea of belief or culture of different nations. Nowadays, the number of students who choose to seek for higher education abroad has grown dramatically. According to Oxford University, they reported about the international trends in between 2016 to 2017 that in recent decades, the number of students has increased dramatically from 1.3 million in 1990 to 5 million in 2014. Moreover, BBC also addressed the statistic from International Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development showing the risen number of international students from the year 1975 to 2009 as it has grown from 0.8 million to 3.7 million within these years. Another evidence from the UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics has found that in around 12% each year, more and more students seek a higher degree abroad (Sood, 2012). This phenomenon also happens to Taiwan and Ministry of Education of Republic of China (Taiwan) expects the growing number to reach 150,000 oversea students by the year 2021 (Chen & Wu 2016). A study also highlights that study abroad can be not just an educational experience but many people still see it as an opportunities to seek new career path, to participate in a diverse workplace, to establish some kind of relationship with people from different culture, to find their goal of life by travelling and also to improve the language that are not their mother tongue (Norris & Steinberg, 2008). And for students who study abroad, language can be one of the essential things for them. Language proficiency is something that will often be required as a mandatory requirement for many study-abroad programs since it emphasizes the language skill, which can used to support the future development of the particular language of the students. There is also a 10.

(23) study stating that with a better understanding of the language, it can help to increase sojourners’ interest toward the host culture using host language as the tool (Edelstein, 2009). In other words, if the sojourners can think or be able to speak similar to the host language, it will give them a special access to conceptualize like local people, in other words, to be able to understand better (Hill & Mannheim, 1992). However, some people debate that it is also important for people to have not just the fluency of speaking the foreign language but also some intercultural competence (Savicki, Arrue, & Binder, 2013). Additionally, there is evidence supporting the relationship of the language affecting the culture by mentioning that the foreign students who readily prepares for their language ability will be more linguistically and culturally advance to interact with native speakers (Allen & Herron, 2003). That is why in many of Chinese teaching textbooks such as, Hanyu Jiaocheng Mandarin Chinese Course (漢語教程), Graded Chinese Reader 2000 Words: Selected Abridged Chinse Contemporary Short Stories (漢語分閱讀 2000 詞) and A Course in Contemporary Chinese by Mandarin Teaching Center of National Taiwan Normal University (當代中文課程系列 – 國語教學中心國立臺灣師範大學) all involves with culture in their content. In addition, within the preface chapter of Graded Chinese Reader 2000 Words: Selected Abridged Chinse Contemporary Short Stories (漢語分閱讀 2000 詞), the author has mentioned that “By reading these literacy works, students of Chinese as a foreign language can gain a better knowledge of the everyday lives of the Chinese people.” These words also project the linkage between language and culture together as something that cannot be untied. Culture and language are two things that are tied together in every country, to understand culture better, sometimes, it is important to learn the language and vice versa (Kramsch, 2002). In the case of Taiwan, presumably it would be the same. In one of the BBC articles, the author called Taiwan as ‘the island that never stops apologizing’ (Nguyen-Okwu, 2018). In this little island, the word 不好意思 (bùhăoyìsi or ㄅㄨˋ ㄏㄠˇ ㄧˋㄙ) has already rooted down to its society and it will be used when one feels mortified or to be sorry. It shows profuse politeness occurring in every corner of the street. Taiwanese will use this word to express everything from interrupting people, asking for favor or even just to start a conversation. Nguyen-Okwu (2018) also stated that the Western way of sorry is way too limited to express all the social graces and good form; it can express feeling, sensation, a code of conduct and a whole system of thought that imbues in Taiwanese culture. In certain situation, 不好意思 will be used in a different way, for instance, in. 11.

(24) a classroom, 不好意思 will be used to start or end the question showing the sense of indebtedness and gratefulness even as the discussion continues or even if it is the smallest favor, the correct response is not thank you but rather, 不好意思 representing the inconvenience that might have caused others. Furthermore, this word is uniquely use in Taiwan as a form emphasizing politeness or the culture of saving face in this island. This serves as the evidence showing how language and culture links to each other and with this understanding, it could have led to a better adjustment of international students who have lived in Taiwan since this becomes one of the foundations or the unspoken rule of this island. Cultural differences can be a problematic thing for all of the oversea students since they have to encounter new environment. In a study, mentioning by Kramsch (2002), cultural differences can cause conflict and misunderstanding and with the proper intercultural communication, this can help to reduce the problem in communication. In general, cultural difference is seen as something that can be overcome by the use of the right communication and as in this case, the language ability (Kramsch, 2002) and therefore, it could be solved by communication and the understanding of culture. In addition, there are several of researches support on the cultural perspective focusing on language as a learning tool to understand cultural competency (Savicki et al., 2013). For example, according to Thitthongkam, Walsh and Bunchapattanasakda (2011), it has mentioned that with a better understanding of the other culture, which is caused by language learning, it can help to create a successful business administration. Another example is stated by (Lockley & Yoshida, 2014), the result showed that Language and Culture Exchange may be the instrument to connect cultures together since it helps to create some kind of understanding between different setting. Language does not only help to understand the culture better but also help international students to have a better adaptation studying abroad (Norris & Steinberg 2008). Hence, language can be viewed as an essential tool by which sojourners develop their understanding of the new culture (Selmer & Lauring, 2015). 12.

(25) Cultural Intelligence The concept of the better understanding of culture can relate back directly to what so called ‘Cultural Intelligence or CQ.’ Cultural Intelligence involves with the interpretation caused by many things such as action, speech and gesture of humans and as we live in the boundless world, CQ becomes more important to the way to help people understand other different culture (Earley & Mosakowski, 2011). According to Ang and other researchers (Ang et al., 2007; Ang, Van Dyne, & Koh, 2006), there are 4 dimensions of CQ or what they call ‘multidimensional construct,’ which can be categorized into meta-cognitive CQ, cognitive CQ, motivational CQ and behavioral CQ. Firstly, for metacognitive CQ, it is about person’s cultural consciousness and awareness of the differences occurring during the interactions (Bucker, Furrer, & Lin, 2015). Regarding to Ang, Van Dyne, & Koh (2006) study, it describes metacognitive CQ as the processes that need some kind of the understanding of cultural knowledge and also the control over ones’ thought (Flavell, 1979). Basically, it can be interpreted that people with metacognitive CQ will question their assumption about their cultural knowledge as they are aware of the differences and try to cope with the differences in certain cultural situation (Bucker et al., 2015). Secondly, cognitive CQ can be referred to competence, which is created through experiences and education, that will be used in the daily interaction and because in different cultures, there are different social systems used in the particular system, the knowledge such as economic or legal systems are also required to be understood (Ang et al., 2007). Thirdly, motivational CQ represents a capability to have an innate interest toward cultural differences and with more motivational CQ, people tend to be more confident with the adaptation (Ang et al., 2007). Lastly, behavioral CQ refers to the capability to how individuals react and interact with the different culture both verbally and nonverbally Ang et al. (2006) and Gudykunst et al. (1988) also emphasized that both verbal and nonverbal it involves with a lot of things, for instance, tone gestures, word and the face expression. Therefore, the people who have a high behavioral skill, usually have a good communication skill as they behave appropriately in the cultural situation. It can be clarified that metacognition, cognition and motivation are mental capabilities are something that comes from the head unlike, behavioral, which comes from the actions or speeches (Ang et al., 2007). Earley and Ang (2003) also mentioned further that the study of CQ adds value to the field of intercultural competence a lot by offering deductively derived framework that considers the multifaceted nature of intercultural competence in a cohesive and comprehensive way.. 13.

(26) To further clarify the nature of CQ, it is important to discuss the differences and similarities between CQ and personality, and other intelligences (Ang et al., 2007). Personality is something that shows the differences of the individual, on the other hand, CQ refers to how capable a person is in unfamiliar cultural settings. As some of the study showed that personality is also related to the CQ (Ang et al., 2006) as it illustrated that the big five personality traits can also help the individual to deal with different cultural environments (Caligiuri, 2000). Apart from the personality mentioned above, it is also essential to understand the distinction between CQ and other intelligence (Sternberg & Detterman, 2016). There are 2 types of intelligences that should be taken into consideration: Mental Ability (MA) (Schmidt & Hunter, 2000) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) (Law, Wong, & Song, 2004; Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999). There are similarities among other intelligences and CQ because all of them is a set of capabilities but not the way people behave (Mayer et al., 1999), yet, they are not the same. For MA, it may focus on the cognitive ability but it does not specify down in any particular context and also does not include other aspects such as motivational and behavioral (Schmidt & Hunter, 2000). For EI, it focuses on personal emotions, how ones can encode and decode emotions and it mostly deals with home culture but not in the cultural context (Earley & Ang, 2003). Thus, it could be interpreted that the individual with high EI may be able to deal well in one context but not in another. In contrast, CQ involves with diversity of the cultures and in sum, it is arguably that CQ is conceptually different from personality, mental ability and also emotional intelligence (Earley & Peterson, 2004). For international students, CQ can affect their decision making in foreign country since they have to engage in unfamiliar behaviors, such as speaking up in class or even to earn good grades. Therefore, it is important for oversea students to understand their capability in crosscultural adjustment. There are evidences support the relationship with CQ and sociocultural adaptation for instance, Mao, Liu and Author (2016) reported that CQ and adaptation has a positive interrelationship with each other, suggesting that people who have a higher CQ tends to have a better adaptation of international students in China. Another result from Nunes, Felix, and Prates (2016)’s showed the correlation between CQ and expatriate performance mediated by cultural adaptation. These studies reinforce the strong relationship between CQ and adaptation of the sojourners in foreign soil, thus, CQ represents the capability to effectively adjust and manage themselves in a different cultural context (Ang et al., 2007; Heppner et al., 2017), which could have a great impact on ‘Sociocultural Adaptation.’. 14.

(27) Sociocultural Adaptation It is normal for sojourners to face the situation like culture shock as they have entered in a different cultural environment. Winkelman (1994) divided culture shocks into four phases as the following: (1) the honeymoon or tourist phase, (2) the crisis or cultural shock phase, (3) the adjustment, reorientation and gradual recovery phase and (4) the adaptation, resolution or acculturation phase. As stated, the adjustment has showed in 2 of the phases, which can indicate the importance of the adaptation of the sojourners itself. Behavior or social skills are the foundation of the cultural learning process (Masgoret & Ward, 2006) and the process has been developed into 2 trends, which are the framework of communication competence (Bochner, 1982) and the framework of a norms and values of the different communication style (Masgoret & Ward, 2006). Therefore, sociocultural adaptation can be referred to the ability to find the way around and adjust in the new cultural setting (Masgoret & Ward, 2006) and also showed that there are the connections between language ability, the understanding of culture and lastly, the sociocultural adaptation. One of the studies mentioned in the practical implementation of Taiwanese students in United States that openness to experience, diligentness and English language ability (even to understand the language discrimination) are important factors for the adaptation of Taiwanese international students (Wang & Wang, 2017). In other words, it is better for ones to have better understanding of the cultural knowledge since it can become useful when it comes to cultural interaction with the host culture. In addition, they also mentioned that it would be helpful to help international students understand language discrimination in order to cope well when it occurs. In short, it basically means that with the support of language and CQ, it could help international student adjusts better in foreign country. Adaptation refers to the level ability to adjust to a new environment that complies with conditions of the host country and a development of cultural skill, social and communication skills to adjust effectively with the beliefs, values and norms of the hostculture (Castro, 2003). Lafromboise, Coleman and Gerton (1993) also suggested that with a good adaptation skill, individuals tend to perform better and also have a successful relation with people in certain host country. For international students, there are many challenges of the adjustment that international students have to face, for example, living away apart from their family, having a limited resources and struggling with the unfamiliar language (Pedersen, 1991; Sandhu, 1995). In the 1960s and 70s, researchers usually only focused on international students’ academic performance (Halamasdaris & Power, 1999). During this period, it was important to find what. 15.

(28) factors had the effect on students’ academic success. They mentioned that with a proper adjustment skill, it could relate directly to the success of the academic performance. In later years, for international students, it cannot only be measured by the academic success but it is essential to look further in other aspects of the adaptation including psychological adaption, which contains the new perspective of satisfaction with social and academic life, lack of loneliness and international students’ well-being (Halamasdaris & Power, 1999). In lots of studies, generally, the adaptation will be divided into 2 main categories, which are psychological and sociocultural adaptation (Ward & Kennedy, 1993). Psychological adaptation deals with the influence of social support, personality and strategies of the individuals to cope with the differences, whereas Sociocultural Adaptation (SA) is influenced by physical aspects such as the length of stay, cultural knowledge and language ability (Ward, 1996). In short, SA can be defined as the ability showing how well ones can “fit in” and “interact” in the new society effectively and in order to fit in, it requires mainly on the communication and social interaction skill, which can be developed as sojourners have lived their social life in the new environment. The common measurement of SA usually helps to define the level of difficulty as ones perform their routine such as making friends, managing school and the knowledge of local language (Ward & Rana-Deuba, 1999). In other words, it means that SA can be conducted better with the knowledge of new culture’s norms and values. The culture learning framework stresses the significance of social skills and social interactions. Cross-cultural difficulties happen when ones have difficulties to deal with their daily life in social interactions including both verbal and non-verbal communication, rules, norms and practices (Masgoret & Ward, 2006). For the adaptation, it has the direct impact on international students since they have to live in an unfamiliar place and they still have to keep up their performance in college; grades, assignments and presentations. Moreover, there are studies suggesting that international students from different countries might have a different way to adjust to the new environment due to the different beliefs. It is indicated that international students from African, Asian, and Latin American international college students, are more likely to value interpersonal connections comparing with other nationalities. The belief of the collectiveness helps these international students to easily cope in the problematic situations (Cross, 1995; Mori, 2000). In contrast, many individuals from independent cultures such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Australia, are more likely to value uniqueness, which reflects their belief of individualism. 16.

(29) (Constantine, Gainor, Ahluwalia, & Berkel, 2003) and in Taiwan, there are students from different countries from all around the world comes to this island. The number of international students have grown more and more every year from approximately 30,000 people to 117,000 people in 2007 to 2017 as it is shown in a statistic from the Ministry of Education (2012). Therefore, this is the reason why SA can help to measure the adjustment of the growing number of international students showing the ability to ‘fit in’ through the scale of sociocultural adjustment.. The Relationships Among the Variables Mandarin Language Ability and CQ Foreign language now plays a major role in this period of globalization (Cole & Deskins Junior., 1988), and as the world becomes more competitive, the ability to communicate also becomes more important (Schorr, 2010). According to Earley (2002), CQ reflects a person's capability to adapt appropriately to the new culture. In some language, it could have a huge impact on the adaptation due to the tones and phonemes in the particular languages. For mandarin language, it can cause confusion towards many international students since it requires the correct pronunciation to be able to communicate with the host members. As it mentioned previously that language can help to convey the understanding of the culture, it is important for international students who are studying abroad to have proper level of language ability or at least some knowledge about the local language and with this, it might possibly help to increase level of CQ. Lastly, it could stat that there is some connection between mandarin language ability and cultural intelligence as it has shown in many studies mentioned above. This relation demonstrates the importance of the relationship between mandarin language ability and cultural intelligence. Hypothesis 1: Mandarin Language Ability has a relationship on Cultural Intelligence. Mandarin Language Ability and Sociocultural Adaptation As mentioned by Ward and Kennedy (1999), it illustrated that language skills and communication competence are related to SA and with a better understanding of the host country language, it would be easier for ones to go through the SA process. Moreover, Kim (1988), illustrated that with the help of the effective communication, it can help to emphasize on the successful adaptation. It is hard for many international students to confess that they are too shy to 17.

(30) admit that they do not understand what is being said by the locals and they tend to nod their heads out of politeness (Palmer, 2009). “Language skills are important because they affect the quality and quantity of intercultural interactions” (Ward, 2004). With the complicated language like Chinese, it can cause a lot of misunderstanding due to different tones of the words. Theoretically, knowing Chinese could help international to adjust better in both their social life and academic life like both Barratt and Huba (1994) and Lewthwaite (1997) once mentioned that there is the positive relation between the language ability to adaptation and academic success. In shorts, it can be suggested that mandarin language ability will have the effect on the sociocultural adaptation. Hypothesis 2: Mandarin Language Ability has a relationship with Sociocultural Adaptation. CQ and Sociocultural Adaptation As it is illustrated clearly about all the four dimensions of the CQ, which are Metacognitive CQ, Cognitive CQ, Motivational CQ and Behavioral CQ. Assumingly, all of the aspects can help enhance the understanding and motivating the concept of adjustment for people living abroad such as employees and international students. According to Van Dyne, Ang and Livermore (2009), they clarified those 4 aspects related directly to cross-cultural perspective. Firstly, Metacognitive CQ is about the bigger picture of how one-self thinks and also how others think by carefully observing. In other words, it refers to the ability to know and understand our own thoughts based on cultural knowledge. Basically, it is all about awareness of what is going on, planning the strategy to encounter with the differences and also checking or monitoring the interactions that has been engaged. It is comparing what we expected with our actual experience with what actually happened. Secondly, it is the Cognitive CQ, which concerns about understanding of cross-cultural issues and differences. This is all about the knowledge that helps to understand the culture and its role in order to shape the way to do business and interact with others cross-cultural context. Thirdly, it comes down to Motivational CQ, it shows the interest and drive to adapt crossculturally, which helps to determine whether or not you have the confident to work through the challenges and conflict of international assignment. Lastly, it is the Behavioral CQ. This connects directly to action both verbal and non-verbal because it is important to know how and when to act appropriately in a cross-cultural situation. For instance, when one needs to communication, it is crucial to know the exact words or phrases in order to give out the specific types of messages. To 18.

(31) conclude, having flexible actions that can tailor to the specific cultural context. Hence, it can be assumed that if one has a high CQ, it means that one can also have a better adjustment in the international setting. Hypothesis 3: Cultural Intelligence has a relationship with Sociocultural Adaptation. Mandarin Language Ability, CQ and Sociocultural Adaptation Language can be considered as a tool that is used in a community in order to tell the meaning or experience (Jandt, 2013) and also the means that can be used to understand the culture since it affects and reflects culture just as culture affects and reflects the language (Selmer, 2006). Furthermore, it can also be seen as the barrier for many expatriates to complete their assignments (Puck, Kittler, & Wright, 2008). Therefore, by knowing the language, it can increase the ability to understand the culture better, which relates directly to the CQ. However, many people often think of the fact that host members would be fluent in their native language but none of this is true and the same will hold true for the expatriates as well. By trying to be perfect in the foreign language it can lead to a failure to adapt to local culture (Wang & Tran, 2012) but still, it shows the relationship between the language and adaptation of the expatriates. In addition, there is a study showed that culturally intelligent employees often work with colleagues from different countries better than employees who do not have very high CQ, since they have a better understanding of the host culture (Zielinski, 2007). According to Selvarajah (2004) successful integration needs an important factor like the ability to communicate with the host language. Hence, the previous studies have revealed that CQ significantly affects the cultural adaptation (Jyoti & Kour, 2015; Lee & Sukoco, 2010; Ramalu, Rose, Kumar, & Uli, 2010; Ramalu, Wei, & Rose, 2011). Huff (2013) revealed that the sojourners who can adapt to the host culture environment better are the ones who have a high level of CQ and also with the knowledge of the local language, it can even strengthen the relationship of all the 3 variables and it will become easier for sojourners to interact with host nationals and from the above discussion, it can be concluded that cultural intelligence will mediate both mandarin language ability and also SA. Hypothesis 4: Cultural Intelligence mediates the relationship between Language Ability and Sociocultural Adaptation 19.

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(33) CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY This chapter outlines the research framework, research procedure, research sample and population, data collection, data analysis, research instrument and the pilot test showing how the study will be conducted later on.. Research Framework H2 H4 Mandarin Language Ability. H1. Cultural Intelligence. H3. Sociocultural Adaptation. Gender Age Education Length of Stay Nationality. Figure 3.1. Research framework. Research Hypotheses Regarding on the review of the previous literature, the research questions and the framework presented in figure 3.1, the following hypotheses were proposed: Hypothesis 1: Mandarin Language Ability has a relationship on Cultural Intelligence. Hypothesis 2: Mandarin Language Ability has a relationship with Sociocultural Adaptation. Hypothesis 3: Cultural Intelligence has a relationship with Sociocultural Adaptation. Hypothesis 4: Cultural Intelligence mediates the relationship between Language Ability and Sociocultural Adaptation.. 21.

(34) Research Procedure The procedure for this research is briefly described below: 1. Reviewing relevant literature: Literature review was conducted in order to understand the relationship between the all of the 3 variables in this study. Hence, the literature review supported the research questions proposed in this study. 2. Identifying the research topic: Based on a review of the literature, the research topic was identified. 3. Proposing research questions and hypothesis: Based on the literature review and purposes of this study, the research questions were identified and then research hypothesis were established accordingly. 4. Designing research method and identifying research subjects: The research design was based on a quantitative, non-probability and snowballing sampling method and hence, this quantitative approach was chosen to answer the research questions in this study. The justifications for adopting this method were provided in the research method section of this study. In line with this, during the course of the development of the topic and purposes of this study, a suitable research sample was identified. 5. Instrument Selection: After discussing the research structure with the advisor and some professors, adequate questionnaires were selected based on previous measurements of the variables. A copy of this questionnaire is found in the appendix section of this study. 6. Conducting the data collection: The sample was collected based on convenient sampling. The reason for choosing this sampling method was discussed in the data collection section. 7. Analyzing the data: The data was collected and coded using Microsoft Excel. It was later analyzed using IBM SPSS. SPSS was used to do descriptive statistics of the demographic variables as well as the other statistical methods used in this study. Detailed explanations of these statistical methods were provided in the data analysis section of this research. 8. Writing up research findings: Descriptive statistics was used to report the findings of this study. Thus, the research findings from the hypothesis was reported and conferred in the discussion part of this study. 9. Presenting the final report: Based on the research findings, conclusions, recommendations and limitations were presented.. 22.

(35) A summary of the research procedure is provided. (Figure 3.2):. 1. Reviewing relevant literatures. 2. Identifying the research topic. 3. Proposing research questions and hypothesis. 4. Designing research method. 5. Selecting the instrument. 6. Conducting the data collection. 7. Analyzing the data. 8. Writing up research findings. 9. Presenting the final report. Figure 3.2. Research procedure. 23.

(36) Research Method To fulfill the research purpose, quantitative approach was adopted and a questionnaire was employed for this study. As Creswell (2012) stated that quantitative research is used to study the problems by describing the trends or explaining the correlation between variables mention in the particular study. Hence, the reasons for choosing this method was based on the nature of the research hypotheses in this study which was based on the assumptions that all of the variables were positively correlated to each other, moreover, employing a quantitative method helps in establishing significance of the relationships. Therefore, since precise measurements were necessary for the validity of the research, quantitative research method was selected to implement in this study in order to objectively seek precise measurement and analysis of the variables.. Research Population and Data Collection Due to the expected contribution of this study, the population of this study was the international students and university students in Taiwan. In 2016, there were 116,416 international students in Taiwan both diploma and non-diploma (Ministry of Education, 2018). Therefore, the method used of this study was non-probability and snowballing sampling technique to collect the data. Non-probability and snowballing sampling technique were applied to find the target participants of international students. A soft copy of the questionnaire was sent as attachment to a group of friends with different nationalities who has been studying in Taiwan and the questionnaires were snowballing through other international students. Furthermore, the Office of International Affair of National Taiwan Normal University was asked to distribute the questionnaires out via e-mail to all alumni, exchange students and also students who currently studying in National Taiwan Normal University and Mandarin Language Center. Lastly, the hard copy was also handed out at the Mandarin Language Center area to gain more participants. Moreover, the sample size for international students in Taiwan was calculated based on Yamane formula (Yamane, 1967) (see figure 3.3).. 24.

(37) 𝑛=. 𝑁 1 + 𝑁𝑒 '. Figure 3.3. Yamane formula Source: Adopted from “Statistic” by Yamane, 1967, an Introductory Analysis (2nd Edition). Copy right 1967 by New York: Harper and Row Where, n = the sample size N = the size of the population e = the error of 5 percentage points By using Yamane’s formula of the sample size with the 5% error, there should be at least 500 questionnaires distribute, and expected 400 questionnaires will be received, which resulted in a response rate of 80%. However, of the questionnaires that will be received could be found both invalid due to the incomplete data, therefore, the final result of the usable questionnaires might be reduced. Lastly, through the introduction of several international students, there were approximately 400 international students filled in the questionnaire and finally, this study gained 351 valid responses from the participants.. Research Instruments The research instrument of this study was a questionnaire and it comprise of three parts: language ability, cultural intelligence and sociocultural adaptation. Please see the appendix for a full and completed copy of this questionnaire. These measures are described below:. Mandarin Language Ability Mandarin Language Ability can illustrate the understanding of the culture, which can later show the cultural adjustment as hypothesized. Language and culture can be reversed with each other, they are inseparable and highly interrelated as once claimed that “culture is communication” (Hall, 1959, p. 97), the reverse is also true: “communication is culture.” Language composes with many components of subset: linguistic component (sounds, signs, and grammar), a paralinguistic component (tone, pitch, volume, speed, and affective aspects), an extralinguistic component (nonverbal aspects such as gestures, movements, grimaces, etc.), and a sociolinguistic dimension 25.

(38) (a repertoire of styles appropriate for different circumstances). Noted that all of the components are interrelated to each other and by understanding every dimension, it needs the understanding of the cultural background (Fantini, 1995). Therefore, it is important to examine language ability to understand the adjustment. To be concluded, in this study, mandarin language ability was measured by asking the respondents to rate themselves on their competency or their language ability in the following scales from 0 to 5 from no competence to fluent, near native (Swift, 2002), see also table 3.1. Table 3.1. Mandarin Language Proficiency Scale Scale. Description. 0. No competence. 1. A few words or phrases. 2. Can get by in limited circumstances. 3. Can get by in most circumstances. 4. Confident. 5. Fluent/Near native. Cultural Intelligence Cultural Intelligence was measured by (Ang, Van Dyne, Koh, 2006; Ang, Van Dyne, Koh, Ng, Templer, Tay, & Chandrasekar, 2007) CQ with the 20 items that can be divided into fourfactor model involving with four items for metacognitive CQ, six for cognitive CQ, five for motivational CQ, and five for behavioral CQ. Sample items include “I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I apply to cross cultural interactions” for metacognitive CQ; “I know the legal and economic systems of other cultures” for cognitive CQ; “I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures” for motivational CQ; and “I change my verbal behavior when a cross cultural interaction requires it” for behavioral CQ. CQs item is rated on a 7-point Likert’s scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Higher scores represent higher cultural intelligence. Hence, this instrument helped to show the ability to understand culture in unfamiliar context because when ones have to move to the new environment, they usually face the struggle of fitting in in the new culture. Shrinivas, Harrison, Shaffer, and Luk (2005) also stressed on the 26.

(39) importance of adaptation of the sojourners, which can be identified into two types, which are sociocultural adaptation and psychological adaptation (Searle & Ward, 1990). Cronbach’s alphas in the past studies showed high reliability of this questionnaire scale (Imai & Gelfand, 2010; Nel, Nel, Adams, & De Beer, 2015). For instance in Imai and Gelfand (2010), the overall result of the cronbach’s alphas was stated as (α = 0.92), along with high reliability for the four-dimensional subscales: metacognitive CQ (α = 0.90), cognitive CQ (α = 0.91), motivational CQ (α = 0.89) and behavioral CQ (α = 0.90). Table 3.2. Cultural Intelligence Questions CQ Factor. Questionnaire Items. Meta Cognitive CQ 1. I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I use when interacting with people with different cultural background.. Meta Cognitive CQ 2. I adjust my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from a culture that is unfamiliar to me.. Meta Cognitive CQ 3. I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I apply to cross-cultural interactions.. Meta Cognitive CQ 4. I check the accuracy of my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from different cultures.. Cognitive CQ 1. I know the legal and economic systems of other cultures.. Cognitive CQ 2. I know the rules (e.g., vocabulary, grammar) of other languages.. Cognitive CQ 3. I know the cultural values and religious beliefs of other cultures.. Cognitive CQ 4. I know the marriage systems of other cultures.. Cognitive CQ 5. I know the arts and crafts of other cultures.. Cognitive CQ 6. I know the rules for expressing non-verbal behaviors in other cultures.. Motivational CQ 1. I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures.. Motivational CQ 2. I am confident that I can socialize with locals in a culture that is unfamiliar to me.. (continued). 27.

(40) Table 3.2. (continued) CQ Factor Motivational CQ 3. Questionnaire Items I am sure I can deal with the stresses of adjusting to a culture that is new to me.. Motivational CQ 4. I enjoy living in cultures that are unfamiliar to me.. Motivational CQ 5. I am confident that I can get accustomed to the shopping conditions in a different culture.. Behavioral CQ 1. I change my verbal behavior (e.g., accent, tone) when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.. Behavioral CQ 2. I use pause and silence differently to suit different cross-cultural situations.. Behavioral CQ 3. I vary the rate of my speaking when a cross-cultural situation requires it.. Behavioral CQ 4. I change my non-verbal behavior when a cross-cultural situation requires it.. Behavioral CQ 5. I alter my facial expressions when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.. Sociocultural Adaptation Sociocultural Adaptation was measured by using sociocultural adaptation Scale or SCAS in many studies (Antonakopoulou, 2001; Hsu, 2012; Simic & Tanaka, 2010; Ward & Kennedy, 1993a, 1994; Ward & Rana-Deuba, 1999; Yang et al., 2006; Zhao, 2010). It was assessed with 25 relevant items from the SCAS from Ward and Kennedy (1999) 41-item scale. For SCAS, it requires participants to choose the amount of difficulty using five-point scale. It rates from no difficulty, slight difficulty, moderate difficulty, great difficulty to extreme difficulty. With higher scores (great difficulty), it indicates the greater of social difficulties and sociocultural adaptation problems (Ward & Rana-Deuba, 1999). The 25 chosen items of SCAS (α = 0.85) can be divided into 3 categories, which are academic adaptation, survival adaptation and also interpersonal adaptation. In addition, SCAS can be proven as the scale that is reliable regarding to the previous researches (Ward & Kennedy, 1993, 1994a, 1994b) and as it was stated to originally develop as an assessment of intercultural competence with emphasis on behavioral domains 28.