Intercultural Communications
A. Hoseinzadeh
Abstract
The presence of foreign students in Iran is one of the most important platforms where one can understand the depth and dimensions of intercultural communication. Such a communication includes interpersonal, intertextual, intersubjective and interactive ones leading to common understanding and connection ...
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The presence of foreign students in Iran is one of the most important platforms where one can understand the depth and dimensions of intercultural communication. Such a communication includes interpersonal, intertextual, intersubjective and interactive ones leading to common understanding and connection between actors from different cultural fields. The purpose of this article is to show the different dimensions of intercultural communication among foreign students at Al-Mustafa University in Mashhad. Here intercultural communication has been examined with an emphasis on socializing and friendship in the interpersonal dimension; on familiarity with language and literature, customs and cultural heritage in the inter-textual dimension; on the perceptions before and after attending the university in the inter-mental dimension; on exchange and economic interaction and in the political dimension, with emphasis on the differences and animosity in the relationships between people with different cultural backgrounds. This research was conducted based on a disproportionate stratified sample consisting of 180 foreign students from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and African countries. The results show that, firstly, there is a meaningful interaction between the four dimensions of intercultural communication; Secondly, the amount of intercultural communication among students is average or below average. Thirdly, acquaintance of students with language, literature, and culture and having a positive perception of each other create common understanding, which in turn strengthens and facilitates their intercultural communication. Fourthly, distrust, stereotyped and ethnocentric thinking, and the lack of a common language hinder the formation of stable and effective intercultural communication.
