Abstract
Mainland Chinese students (MCSs) represent the predominant non-local student group in Hong Kong and their cross-cultural adaptation has attracted research attention. However, most research was not specifically focused on their communication with Hong Kong locals and, was atheoretical. We take a language and social psychology approach by invoking Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) and Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language (L2 WTC) to study intergroup communication between MCSs and locals. Twenty-eight MCSs journalled their encounters with locals, including: a) a brief description of the encounter; b) the language(s) used for the interaction; c) their evaluations of the local, themselves and the encounter; and d) if given a free choice, their willingness to communicate with this local again. They journalled their positive and negative encounters for seven days, either consecutively or non-consecutively. A total of 204 positive encounters and 193 negative encounters were collected between April and August 2023. Preliminary coding revealed that common contexts for MCSs to interact with locals included dining at restaurants, shopping, taking a taxi or public transit, and having social interactions with local students and friends. As expected, they often assigned positive attributions to accommodative locals (e.g., warm, polite, kind and friendly) and negative evaluations to nonaccommodative locals (e.g., indifferent, rude, impatient and unfriendly). These evaluations were closely related to their willingness to speak to this local again. This study explored intergroup communication and how CAT and L2 WTC can work together to better account for such communication.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Not published / presented only - Jun 2024 |
Event | The 18th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology - Talinn University, Talinn, Estonia Duration: 12 Jun 2024 → 16 Jun 2024 |
Conference
Conference | The 18th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology |
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Abbreviated title | ICLASP18 |
Country/Territory | Estonia |
City | Talinn |
Period | 12/06/24 → 16/06/24 |
Keywords
- Mainland Chinese students
- Hong Kong locals
- intergroup communication
- Communication Accommodation Theory
- Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language