International exchange participants’ cross cultural adaptations in an aiesec exchange program

ABSTRACT The present study examines the cross-cultural adaptation of the international exchange participants who took part in an exchange program hosted by AIESEC in Hanoi organization..

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS & CULTURES OF ENGLISH SPEAKING

COUNTRIES

GRADUATION PAPER

Course: QH2016.F1.E1

HÀ NỘI – 2020

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA NGÔN NGỮ VÀ VĂN HOÁ CÁC NƯỚC NÓI TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

SỰ THÍCH NGHI ĐA VĂN HOÁ CỦA TRAO ĐỔI SINH NƯỚC NGOÀI TRONG CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TRAO ĐỔI

CỦA TỔ CHỨC AIESEC

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: TS Nguyễn Thanh Hà Sinh viên: Lê Hương Giang

Khóa: QH2016.F1.E1

HÀ NỘI – 2020

Signature of Approval:

_

I hereby state that I, Le Huong Giang, from class 16E1, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (programme) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the

library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Date

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Foremost, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my supervisor Dr Nguyen Thanh Ha for her encouraging guidance as well as critical comments for my work Had

it not been for her dedication, my graduation thesis would not have been completed due

to all of the self-doubt, setbacks and uncertainties I could not have imagined a better supervisor and I am forever thankful for this opportunity to work with her

In addition, I am immensely grateful for my family’s unwavering and wholehearted support that helps me strive for the best in the months taken to bring this paper to fruition My heartfelt thanks also go to my anonymous international friends, who were willing to participate in the study and made this project possible On a personal note, thank you, Khanh Linh, for all of the laughs that you bring Your presence is truly a blessing in my life

ABSTRACT

The present study examines the cross-cultural adaptation of the international exchange participants who took part in an exchange program hosted by AIESEC in Hanoi organization Specifically, it focuses on finding the factors influencing the adaptation process and the adaptive changes that took place The study is qualitative in nature Semi-constructed interviews were used to gather the data among three research participants and analyzed with inductive thematic analysis

The findings highlight several factors affecting the exchange participants’ adaptation during the six-week program Environmental factors include host receptivity and organizational activities while the individual factors concern personality, communication competence, preparedness and cultural distance

Regarding the adaptive changes, there is evidence that the participants undergo various transformative changes in terms of attitude, behaviour and knowledge These changes occur in the form of new cultural knowledge gain, transformed perspective and attitudes, and adoption of new coping strategies for tribulations of the host environment Also, there is little evidence that the exchange participants abandon their old cultural habits in their time in the program

TABLE OF CONTENT

1.1 Definitions of exchange program 4

1.3 AIESEC and Vietnam Youth Icon (VYI) program 6

2.1 Cross-cultural adaptation definitions 7 2.2 Problem-based view and growth-based view of cross-cultural adaptations 9 2.3 Adaptive changes in cross-cultural adaptations 11

2.3.1 Intercultural knowledge gain 11 2.3.2 Transformed perspectives and attitudes 12

2.1 Criteria for the selection of participants 19 2.2 Participants’ general background 19

1 Overview of participants’ experiences in VYI program 22

2.1 Research question 1: The factors that the participants perceived to influence

Appendix 4: Hanoi Survivor Booklet IV

LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES

Figure 1: Stress-Adaptation-Growth Dynamic

Table 1: The basic information of the participants

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Research problem and rationale

Thanks to globalization and technological innovation, there have been significant changes in the way people work, study or perform their daily tasks Many researchers have pointed out that there will be a higher demand for intercultural competences in the current century (Finegold & Notabartolo, 2010) As a result, there has been an exponential need for youths to participate in exchange programs focusing on the development of intercultural skills and mobility It was predicted in The Global Student Mobility 2025 report that the demand for international students might increase to 7.2 million in 2025 (Gu, Schweisfurth & Day, 2010) Besides long-term study abroad programs in which students get academic credits in a foreign environment, there is a burgeoning number of short-term cross-cultural exchange programs powered by non-governmental organizations or non-profit organizations These programs focus on fostering youth’s personal development, enhancing intercultural competences as well as providing cultural learning

People have different experiences when travelling abroad (Baldwin, Coleman, Gonzal & Shenoy-Packer, 2014) Living in a foreign country can make people feel happy, proud, satisfied, and comfortable, but sometimes, they will feel sad, unsatisfied and uncomfortable (Mazidatul, 2013; Brislin, 2000; Hall, 1959; Hofstede,

2001, as cited in Brisbin et al., 2006) It was hypothesized that as a person enters a new culture, tribulations and challenges might arise as they find many of the habitual behaviours in the old setting cease to be effectual in the new setting Also, he or she might suffer from severe psychological dislocation and a sense of loss (Kim, 2017) These experiences could foster transitions within an individual, as they have to adapt

to the new culture to lessen the difficulties and increase comfortability Over time, through active interactions that facilitate new cultural learnings, most people are able

to enhance their levels of functional and psychological efficacy vis-a-vis the host environment (Kim, 2017) Thus, the duration of the trip played an essential role in the experience of the people: many researchers reported difficulties felt during short-

term trips differ from those felt by those who travel abroad for a longer time, say one

to five years (Kim, 2005, as cited in Baldwin et al., 2014)

In the summer of 2019, I worked as the Organizing Committee President of Vietnam Youth Icon—an international exchange program hosted by AIESEC in Hanoi During this time, I also found myself engaging with the program exchange participants closely I had witnessed a variety of modifications in their beliefs, attitudes and behaviours to better fit with daily life in Vietnam, such as using Vietnamese phrases

to express their ideas, adjusting their mindset or changing their working style Thus,

I am also motivated to find out whether they are aware of these transformative adaptive changes Also, I want to see if these changes were affected by any internal

or external factors so as to help the future exchange participants be more aware of them

For the reasons mentioned above, I find it promising to conduct research on international exchange participants' cross-cultural adaptations in the context of an AIESEC exchange program in Hanoi, Vietnam Therefore, the research problem of this study is:

International exchange participants' cross-cultural adaptations in an AIESEC exchange program

The research will focus on answering these questions:

1 What factors did the exchange participants perceive to influence their

cultural adaptations during the exchange program?

2 What adaptive changes did the exchange participants experience during their exchange program?

2 Significance

Existing literature has been focusing mainly on the development of intercultural competence and cultural adaptation of students who join school-based or university-based exchange programs in America and European countries Most of the conducted research also concentrated on famous or prestigious programs—like Aupair, Erasmus Mundus in Europe Not much has been done on AIESEC’s volunteering programs, which are becoming popular recently in Asia This study is expected to enrich the knowledge about exchange participants’ adaptations in the context of AIESEC

exchange programs in Southeast-Asian countries, which have rich cultural backgrounds More specifically, it looks into the external and internal factors that have impacts on the adaptation process as well as providing evidence on adaptive changes In general, the result of this study is expected to act as a source of reference for future researchers who want to conduct similar research about cross-cultural adaptation

3 Scope

While cross-cultural adaptation is a broad subject and can be researched from different perspectives and through different methods, due to the time and human resource restrictions of a graduation thesis, this project focused on studying three exchange participants who took part in the VYI exchange program in summer 2019 Their cultural adaptations were investigated after they had finished the exchange and had returned home All the information was shared from the exchange participants' memory, knowledge and perspective

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Exchange program

1.1 Definitions of exchange program

An exchange program refers to a program, predominantly university-based or organization-based, which encourages a student to live and study in a foreign country The program grants credit for courses taken at the foreign institution and some also arrange for a work-study or internship agreement (Diamond, 2006) In their study, Engle and Engle (2003) concluded seven critical components for creating a study abroad programs, namely program duration, entry language competence of participants, the extent to which target language was used in coursework on-site, the context of academic work, type of housing arrangements, provisions for guided cultural/experiential learning, and structured opportunities for students to reflect on their cultural experiences

1.2 Types of exchange programs

Based on the duration, there are two different types of exchange programs, long-term

and short-term programs The long-term programs, which last anywhere from six months to a couple of years, tend to focus more on professional knowledge development (He, Lundgren & Pynes, 2017) This type of program is designed to provide participants with opportunities to stay in a foreign country and finish an international task, commonly a pre-decided course or an assignment The short-term programs, on the other hand, primarily provide participants with contact with local cultures from two to eight weeks (Chan, Liu, Fung, Tsang & Yuen, 2018) Some researchers believe that the longer the students involved in a target culture, the more their intercultural sensitivity and cultural learning they developed (Medina-Lopez-Portillo, 2004) However, Gaia’s (2015) study on the impacts of short-term faculty-led study abroad programs suggests that should the goal be to increase cultural awareness and understanding, the short-term program could be a useful and practical option

Exchange programs also vary in their purposes Adults often cross the borders for

working or living advantages Employment in other countries brings about benefits such as social and economic betterment Other people may have overseas

assignments relating to their vocations, such as journalists, researchers, diplomats, government employees, artists, etc Meanwhile, most student exchange programs serve mainly academic, social and personal development while fostering internationalization for the participants For instance, the Au Pair program is one notable example of short-term intercultural exchange programs among European youth “Au pair” is originally a French term that refers to the European practice of learning the language and experiencing the culture of a foreign country through immersion in the home life of a host family while assisting with childcare and light housework (Chuang, 2013) A person joining this program—usually referred to as

“an Au pair”, would provide the host family with up to 45 hours of labour work a week in exchange for a home to stay in and reimbursement for the required credit course they had to take The purpose of the program is for the students to have intercultural experiences at reasonable costs Erasmus is another favoured program during the past decade which allows students to study at universities in the EU member states for three months or up to a year to advance their language skills and work internationally (Souto-Otero, Huisman, Beerkens, De Wit & Vujic, 2013) Additionally, volunteer exchange programs have also become more and more sought after by the global youth in recent years Müllerová (2011) defined volunteering as a voluntary, freely chosen activity for the good of others (as cited in Šuba, 2017) The benefit is also two-fold, as it provides new skills and supports the personal growth of volunteers (Tošner & Sozanská, 2006) In her research about the students’ motivation

to volunteer overseas, Šuba (2017) claimed that volunteering abroad is a way to spend time within another culture, to become part of a new community and to experience life from a different perspective According to Zelenka and Pásková (2012), volunteer tourists are young people for whom volunteering abroad is an opportunity to explore new countries and cultures (as cited in Šuba, 2017)

All in all, although these programs have different topics and foci, they all share the goals of promoting participants’ cultural knowledge and experiences while improving their language skills and personal development In my research, I focus on the cultural adaptation of international exchange participants in a short-term exchange program

hosted by AIESEC in Hanoi, which will be further introduced in the later part of this paper

1.3 AIESEC and Vietnam Youth Icon (VYI) program

Founded in 1948 by seven young people from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,

The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, AIESEC—short for Association

Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales—is a global,

non-political, independent, not-for-profit organization run by students Since its foundation, AIESEC has been facilitating the leadership development of young people through their projects, programs and values (AIESEC Annual Report, 2014-

2015, as cited in Sora & Nguyen, 2016) AIESEC has three main products with aims

to provide cross-cultural exchange opportunities, namely: Global Volunteer, Global Talent and Global Entrepreneur These opportunities have distinct differences in terms of requirements, duration, involved stakeholders and they can take place in the form of an overseas volunteer trip or an internship in a foreign country Nonetheless, they all aim to provide cross-cultural experiences and foster participants’ leadership development Since 1948, AIESEC claims to have engaged and developed leadership

in over 1,000,000 young people that have been through an exchange experience with AIESEC products

In previous literature, research on intercultural experience with AIESEC internship programs had been discussed (Borchgrevink & Skard, 2004; Gross, 2014; Puumala, 2015; Šuba, 2017) However, these studies focused mostly on Western exchanges, with little concern on exchange programs that took place in South-East Asia For example, upon reflecting on her personal experience as an AIESEC exchange participant in Timișoara, Romania for three months, Haley Gross (2014) found out the importance of intercultural communication training in terms of promoting an individual’s global awareness She concluded that AIESEC provided “a platform for people across the world to become fluent in communicating across many cultures” (Gross, 2014, p.27)

My research focuses on studying the exchange alumni from VYI program, an exchange opportunity of the Global Volunteer program—a six-week cross-cultural experience for people who want to experience Vietnamese culture, gain personal

development and leave an impact on the world (Develop Your Leadership, 2019) VYI is a social program run by AIESEC in Hanoi—a branch of AIESEC International, to provide the youth in Hanoi with intercultural knowledge, social and leadership skills The program also aims to raise the Vietnamese youth’s awareness

of social issues and encourage them to act toward a better society In Summer 2019, VYI had it 15th season with the topic “Child Abuse”, focusing on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 4: Quality Education and number 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institution by the United Nations (see Appendices 1 and 2) Any AIESEC exchange participant who chose to join VYI would work directly with the Organizing Committees of the program in Hanoi to ensure the facilitation of the workshops, events and weekly camps AIESEC chose the attendees of the program

in Hanoi through two recruitment rounds and they would be officially accepted after paying a small fee for the facilitation of the program The exchange participants must

be from 18-30 years old, have intermediate to higher-intermediate English skills and have not resided in Vietnam for more than two years prior to the program There was

no requirement for knowledge of Child Abuse since teaching documents would be provided for those who were eligible to join the program

After applying for and getting into the program through a rigorous interviewing process by AIESEC, the exchange participants came to live in Hanoi, Vietnam, for six weeks, from 19th June to 31st July 2019 During this time, they voluntarily worked with the committees of the program for at least 25 hours a week to prepare the content, teaching materials, logistics and executive program’s camps, events and workshops for program attendees When the program finished, they could stay for personal travelling or come back to their countries, at which point AIESEC was no longer responsible for their actions and decisions but might provide them with the necessary support

2 Cross-cultural adaptation

2.1 Cross-cultural adaptation definitions

To date, there has been extensive research on the topic of cultural adaptation, especially in the United States and the European countries (Abbink, 1984; Berry, U Kim, Minde, & Mok, 1987; Coleman, 1987; Noels, Pon, & Clément, 1996; Wilpert,

1984, as cited in Kim, 2000) The literature tended to focus on either long-term or short-term adaptation Studies of long-term adaptation concerned immigrants and refugees moving to and living in a new culture more or less permanently Famous works on this topic dealt with anthropological and sociological concepts such as acculturation or assimilation and saw the adaptation process as natural adaptive changes occurred over time (Taft, 1977) More recent works have focused on short-term adaptations when people temporarily move to a new culture, especially with the increase in the number of international student exchange programs and multinational trade These people are often called “sojourner”—“a person who has grown up in one culture and has temporarily, for at least a month, moved into another culture, who depends to some extent on the host environment to meet his personal and social needs” (Guirdham, 1999, p 280)

The view of cultural adaptation as a process of learning and unlearning has been iterated in the existing literature Anderson (1994) stated that cultural adaptation is a typical process of environmental adaptation that entails learning to live with change and difference This was mirrored in Kim’s work (2001) when she proposed that cultural adaptation is the process one goes through in adjusting to another culture Kim also claimed that cross-cultural adaptation unfolds over time in a process that entails two interrelated sub-processes, acculturation and deculturation, in which acculturation involves the acquisition of the new cultural patterns and practices and deculturation is the unlearning of some of the old cultural elements (2015) From these processes, adaptive changes would take place Baldwin et al also claimed that

"the general idea of cross-cultural adjustment is one of unlearning one culture and learning another" (2015, p 251)

In 2017, Kim consolidated the related themes and terms regarding cross-cultural adaptation into one superordinate concept: “the dynamic process by which individuals upon relocating to new, unfamiliar, or changing cultural environments establish (or reestablish) and maintain relatively stable, reciprocal, and functional relationships with those environments through direct or indirect contact and communication” (Kim, 2017, p 31) This definition offers a bigger picture of the cross-cultural adaptation process, where the process itself is viewed as achieving an

overall “fit” between a sojourner’s internal conditions and the conditions of the host environment (Kim, 2017) It also emphasizes the fundamental role of communication between the individual and the host environment for the adaptation to take place

2.2 Problem-based view and growth-based view of cross-cultural adaptations

In studies on both long-term and short-term exchanges, many scholars emphasized the problem-based nature of cross-cultural adaptation, as most intercultural experiences were seen as confusing and disorienting because of the shocks and uncertainties often associated with alien cultural environments (Anderson, 1994; Ady, 1995) These shocks were often described as “cultural shocks”—“anxiety resulting from losing all of the familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse” (Oberg, 1960, p.177) Common symptoms of culture shocks include psychosomatic disorder, a sense of loss and confusion and a feeling of impotence related to the inability to deal with the new environment (Taft, 1977; Bennet, 1977; Zaharna, 1989; Balwin et al., 2014) Various works concerning the problem-based view had emphasized the “acculturative stress” as an alternative term for “cultural shock” by Oberg in the adaptation process of immigrants (Berry & Sam, 1997; Mishra, Sinha & Berry, 1996) “Acculturative stress” was defined as a reduction in the health status of individuals who are undergoing acculturation (Berry, Kim, Minde & Mok, 1987) According to Berry et al (1987), sojourners who were in temporary contact and without social support might experience more stress than those who more permanently settled in a new place like immigrants

Additionally, various researchers have discussed the learning and growth-facilitating nature of the adaptation process (Adler, 1972; Ruben & Kealey, 1979) Adler (1975) suggested that cross-cultural adaptation was a transitioning experience reflecting “a movement from a state of low self and cultural awareness to a state of high self and cultural awareness” (p.15) Multiple works have supported this theory by attempting

to identify the stages of the adaptation process with the view to tracing adaptive changes over time Brein and David (1971), Church (1982) and Furnham (1988) gathered evidence on what was called the U-curve hypothesis, which described the initial optimism and elation in the adaptation process, followed by the subsequent dip

or "trough" in satisfaction and a gradual recovery to higher adjustment levels An

extension of the U-curve, the W-curve depicted the return-home phase in which the sojourners went through an adaptation phase similar to the one experienced abroad (Brein & David, 2971; Gullahorn & Gullahorn, 1963; Trifonovitch, 1977, as cited in Kim, 2000) However, a study by Ward et al (1998) suggested that sojourners did not always start their adaptation with the feelings of optimism and elation but with a more linear, progressive process of psychological adaptation

In her Integrative Theory of Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation (2001),

Kim presented her Stress-Adaptation-Growth Dynamic Model (Figure 1) to capture the essence of the cross-cultural adaptation process In this model, the adaptation process is described not as a linear process but a cyclical one, with the continuation

of learning and growth Although Kim’s model describes the process of cross-cultural adaptation in relation to time, it does not determine any fixed phases of the process like the U-curve or W-curve does

Figure 1: Stress-Adaptation-Growth Dynamic Model

It is notable that individual adaptive experiences in cross-cultural settings, both long term and short term, are problem-based and growth-oriented In this research, I adopted the view by Kim (2001), which states that cross-cultural adaptation is a double-edged process, which is simultaneously troublesome and enriching By facing difficulties in an alien environment, people acquire new cultural learning and change their old ways to improve their quality of life Adaptations occur as long as the sojourners remain in interaction with the host environment

2.3 Adaptive changes in cross-cultural adaptations

2.3.1 Intercultural knowledge gain

In cross-cultural adaptation study, many scholars had investigated intercultural knowledge gain as a component that contributed to intercultural communication (Bennett, 1993, 2008; Gertsen, 1990; Gudykunst, Ting-Toomey, & Wiseman, 1991,

as cited in Czerwionka, Artimonova & Barbosa, 2015) Gill (2007) saw intercultural learning as an integrated part of cultural adaptation Intercultural knowledge is shown

to impact adaptations of abroad students positively and assist effective and appropriate interactions in a diverse culture (Hullett & Witte, 2001; Lussier, 2007) Similarly, Wiseman, Hammer and Nishida (1989) mentioned that cultural knowledge provides an essential kind of information to understand people from other cultures Other research also showed that intercultural experience is a transformative learning process which leads to a journey of personal growth and development (Adler 1975; Anderson 1994; Byrnes 1965; Furnham 2004, as cited in Gu, 2010)

According to Lussier (2007), intercultural knowledge encompasses knowledge of the big C culture (class, sex, race, significant values), and small c culture (daily life, politeness conventions) Stier (2006) provided a more detailed description which includes knowledge of “history, language, non-verbal behaviour, world-views, ‘do’s and don’ts’, values, norms, habits, customs, taboos, symbols, behavioural patterns, traditions, sex roles etc.” (p.6) To date, both quantitative and qualitative data has been collected regarding this topic For example, Chieffo and Griffiths (2004) on examining intercultural knowledge expressed by students at the end of short-term study abroad programs in diverse countries found six prominent themes: knowledge and appreciation of another country or culture, tolerance, patience, and understanding, course-related knowledge, home and host country differences, and language and communication issues Williams (2009) analysis suggested students gain “better understanding of their hosts, their habits, traits, values, or lifestyles” (p 295) Additionally, Czerwionka et al (2015) contributed to the field by examining the intercultural knowledge development process through the students’ self-reports pre and post a 6-week abroad program They discovered that the collective knowledge encompassed “People, Daily life, Interactions, Values and Politics, Schedule, and Big

C” (p 90) and the knowledge development was more salient at the beginning of the program than at the end

2.3.2 Transformed perspectives and attitudes

Attitude change has been conceptualized as a critical aspect of cross-cultural adaptation (Taft, 1977; Ruben, 1989; Kealey, 1989; as cited in Kim, 2000) For example, the “U-curve theory” mainly uses the changes in satisfaction and positive attitudes towards the host society as an indicator of adaptation (Church, 1982) A lot

of research on cross-cultural exchange programs has pointed out their influence on participants' attitudinal changes For instance, Hepple et al (2017) noted that directly interacting and building relations with people across cultures developed empathetic intercultural viewpoints Hepple also conceptualized intercultural understanding as three interrelated elements: recognizing culture and developing respect; interacting and empathizing with others; and reflecting on intercultural experiences and taking responsibility (2007)

Additionally, Taylor (1994) argued that becoming interculturally competent is related

to the process of perspective transformation This process includes questioning underlying psycho-cultural assumptions and habitual expectations in terms of how and why they constrain the way of seeing oneself and others, thus leading to an altered perspective These kinds of perspective changes happen when sojourners recognize different aspects of other cultures At the same time, it fosters an understanding of a different culture with customs that contradict the previously accepted presuppositions (Mezirow, 1991) Similarly, Choi and Kim (2018) confirmed staying in a foreign region had positive changes in students’ attitudes towards other cultures In general,

a positive attitude toward the host country, increasing global-awareness, as well as intellectual and personal-growth were reported in students who took short-term exchanges (Church, 1982; Gorka & Niesenbaum, 2001; Jurgens & McAuliffe, 2004; Lewis & Niesenbaum, 2005)

2.3.3 Behavioral changes

In many cross-cultural adaptation theories, adaptation encompasses two processes: acculturation—attaining native cultural practices in areas concerning the daily functioning of the strangers (e.g habits and cultural norms) and deculturation–

abandoning at least some of the cultural habits According to Kim (2000), to adapt means to adjust behaviours to “optimize the stability of the internal structure and its accommodation to external conditions” (p 38) Newcomers are forced to suspend the behaviour patterns that symbolize who they are in the old environment and adopt the patterns of the new culture Thus, they undergo significant transformative changes Theoretically, the highest degree of adaptation is assimilation, in which the newcomer internalizes cultural practices of the host culture, losing many original cultural habits and faces little to no external conformity However, this is usually seen in long-term adaptations only

Gaia (2005) found that short-term exchange programs can be transformative since many of her informants reported the experiences as life-changing, as much as they did in long-term ones Specifically, they began to understand themselves as a part of

a larger whole and understand the world beyond the country, state, regional and national boundaries Gu et al (2010) claimed that as students adapted to the new environment, they gradually noticed that they were becoming one of the others When studying behaviour adaptations at a technology global working team, Anawati and Craig (2006) found that members of the team attempted to change their way of speaking or writing to improve communication and synergy with members from different cultures These included using simpler, descriptive and to-the-point language, allowing more “think time” in conversations, paying more attention to the tone of voice and speech tempo Also, they found that the longer members stayed in the team, the more they accepted others' culture and wanted others to accept theirs Regarding long-term adaptation, a study of Indian immigrants in the United States found that the immigrants who originally had vegetarian food habits underwent significant changes over time towards increasingly nonvegetarian habits (Gupta, 1975) Moreover, research had found significant decreases of cultural habits and customs among different ethnic immigrants (Hispanics, Haitian, etc.) upon relocating

to a new country (Namazi, 1984; Morgan, 1987; Suro, 1998; as cited in Kim, 2000)

2.4 Factor affecting cross-cultural adaptation process

When an individual is exposed to a new culture, he or she may acquire a certain number of that cultural beliefs, behaviours and ways of thinking to better fit in the

new environment Many scholars have pointed out a wide range of factors that could improve the cross-cultural adaptation process, namely previous travel experience, knowledge of the language, willingness to travel, flexibility, personality, background, nationality and ethnicity (Church, 1982; Hold, 1994; Baldwin et al., 2015) Based on previous literature related to my study, I have incorporated these factors into two broader categories: environment factors and individual factors

2.4.1 Environmental factors

2.4.1.1 Host receptivity

The term host receptivity was mentioned in Kim’s (2017) study on cross-cultural adaptation It describes the degree to which the host nation accepts the exchange participants in their interpersonal network, providing them with multiple forms of support, namely technical, informational, material, and emotional Several researchers have pointed out the mediating role of host national receptivity in sojourners' adaptation process If the host environment has positive attitudes towards the newcomers, it provides them with better opportunities to socialize, thus, ultimately enhances cross-cultural adaptation For example, research by Sewell and Davidsen (1956) noted that positive exchange experiences, less frequent and severe frustrating experiences, more exceptional academic were associated with “more favourable arrival perceptions of the United States, with the students having received more informal guidance, greater contact with Americans during the sojourn” (as cited

in Church, 1982, p.550) Lee (1997) and Temple (1999) also claimed that a person could fit in the new environment and negotiate triggered events better when they have support from a host or a third-country national

It is notable that in certain places, visitors from a particular group can be more warmly welcome from others For example, people in a smaller town can be less receptive to visitors from a lesser-known and more visibly different culture than people in big cities (Kim, 2017)

2.4.1.2 Host conformity pressure

Along with host receptivity, exchange participants are usually faced with host conformity pressure when entering a new culture This term refers to the extent of pressure a host country challenges a newcomer “implicitly or explicitly, to act in

accordance with the normative patterns of the host culture” (Kim, 2017, p.8) Due to its deep-rooted expectations and assumptions about them, host conformity could mediate the newcomers’ actions The newcomers may feel the pressure to adopt certain communication norms or practices based on analyzing the host explicit or implicit expressions of confusion, disapproval, or even prejudice and discrimination Similar to host receptivity, in some countries like the United States where there are more ethnically heterogeneous and multicultural societies, the host nationals tend to hold more tolerant attitudes toward ethnic differences, therefore exercising less pressure on ethically different people (Kim, 2017)

2.4.2 Individual factors

2.4.2.1 Personality

Kim (2017) argued that an individual’s adaptive potential is affected by their predispositions toward the situation The view that personality traits, mindset and personal strengths are vital in the adaptive process is shared among many researchers (Ahadi & Puente-Díaz, 2011; Wilson, Ward, & Fischer, 2013; Kim, 2017; Geeraert,

Li, Ward, Gelfand, & Demes, 2019)

Several research studies have supported the notable impacts of personality on an individual’s adaptation process to a new culture Gardner (1962) argued that “having

a well-integrated personality, a central organization of the extroverted type, a value system that includes socialization of cultural universals, and a high degree of sensitivity toward others” (as cited in Church, 1982, p.554) will increase the ability

of international communication and reduce difficulties in adjusting to another culture Church (1982) also concluded that positive adjustments of sojourners could lead to less authoritarianism and increased assertiveness, modernism and flexibility In her work, Kim pointed out some adaptive personalities that attribute to more positive adjustment, namely openness, positiveness and personality strength (Kim, 2017)

2.4.2.2 Preparedness

Another critical factor that can affect the adaptation process is the sojourners' level

of preparedness A sojourner preparation for an exchange can involve their cultural learning, language learning and readiness to move to a new environment More realistic goals and expectations are expected in sojourners as a result of better

preparation for the host society (Black & Gregersen, 1990; Searle & Ward, 1990) Research by David (1969) showed that voluntary immigrants are likely to enter the host environment better prepared for relocation than those who are reluctant and forced to do so by circumstances (as cited in Kim, 2017)

It was also hypothesized that people who previously sojourned could adapt to a new culture more efficiently, and vice versa, people who could not cope in earlier sojourns may not sojourn again (Church, 1982) The number of previous sojourns, however, might not be as crucial for the adaptation process as the depth, intimacy, or similarity

of previous cross-cultural experience

of the sojourner’s with the host environment, the more comfortable and less stressful the adjustment process would be (Church, 1982; Ward & Kennedy, 1999; Kim, 2017) In a series of work, Ward and her colleagues found out that immigrants and sojourners experienced higher levels of sociocultural adaptation when they perceived more similarities between the host culture and their own (Ward, Bochner & Furnham, 2001) Kim (2017) later introduced the term ethnicity proximity to describe the closeness in cultural, linguistic, and physical features between cultures She argued that sojourners’ foreignness communicating through their outstanding physical and accents could contribute to the degree to which the locals welcome and accommodate them

Sojourners' motivations to exchange also contribute to the overall adaptation process (Ting-Toomey, 1999; Kim 2001) Bochner (2006) explained that as if the sojourners know that their foreign stay is temporary, their motivation to try to integrate into the society differs from that of immigrants, who are more committed to integrating into the new society more or less permanently People who voluntarily move to a new culture also face fewer difficulties than those who do so involuntarily like the

refugees, as the transition can be a toll on their psychological well-being (Ward et al., 2001)

2.4.2.4 Communication

Communication plays a crucial role in cross-cultural adaptation; without communication, adaptation cannot occur (Kim, 2001) According to Church (1982), better language skills are associated with more social interactions with host nations and less challenging adaptation The more efficient the communication, the easier to

establish relationships In her Integrative Theory of Communication and

Cross-Cultural Adaptation (2001), Kim claimed that strangers need to be competent in the

host communication to communicate effectively with the host environment Through host communication competence, a person gains successful adaptation, which is achieved by participating in host communication activities (including interpersonal and mass communication) Communication activities could be conceptualized as

having two basic, inseparable dimensions: personal communication—internal mental

activities that prepare an individual to act and react in certain social situations, and

social communication—when two or more people interact with each other knowingly

or not (Ruben, 1976) In this part, Kim’s theory of personal and social communication

in cross-cultural adaptation, as well as similar scholars’ works, will be discussed

Regarding personal communication, Kim (2001) maintained that it includes three

components: cognitive, affective and operation competence, which intertwine and together reflect an individual’s "capacity to select and enact behaviours that are likely

to be effective and appropriate in various social situations" (p.117) Cognitive competence refers to knowledge of the host communication system, cultural understandings and the ability to process new information in an alien environment The affective competence concerns sojourners’ motivation to adapt, to be flexible, empathic and able to manage ambiguities in the new culture Operational competence encompasses technical skills (the skills needed to carry out the daily activities), synchrony (the communication skills that are compatible, congruent and harmonious when communicating with the host members) and resourcefulness (ability to accommodate their behaviour and adjust to unfamiliar cultural settings) The three components together enhance an individual’s participation in the host environment

and host social communication Kim also noted that sojourners who possess an advanced level of the three different dimensions of personal communication are likely

to have more advantages in the host environment (2001)

Concerning social communication, Kim (2001) suggested that communication with

host nationals is crucial for cross-cultural adaptation Host communication alleviates the adaptation stress by providing opportunities for support from the host nationals and simultaneously fostering cultural learning as the sojourners’ gain valuable information about the natives’ mindset and behaviours (Heckathorn, 1990; Ho & Sung, 1990; Milroy, 1982) At the same time, this cultural learning plays a pivotal role in enhancing an individual’s host communication competence (Puumala, 2015)

In previous literature, many studies supported Kim’s theory Lee & Chen (2000) also put communication at the centre of the adaptation process They also discovered that better host communication of the Chinese students led to better psychological adjustments in Canadian culture Masgoret and Ward (2007) suggested “language is the primary medium through which cultural information is communicated”, therefore

it promotes one’s cultural learning (p.63) The theory that an insufficient level of language skills results in difficulties in adaptation also exists in literature Rohrlich

& Martin (1991), Paige (1993) and Kokkonen (2010) all stated that the ability to use the target language in communication with the host country was students’ most significant concern when it came to cultural adaptation since inadequate language skills could cause acculturation stress and frustration It can be seen that language, communication and social interaction skills contribute significantly to sociocultural adaptation (Masgoret & Ward, 2007)

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

1 Research design

This study adopts a qualitative case study design, which provides the capacity to explore in-depth the experiences and perspectives of individual participants in context and through careful reflection

2 Participants

2.1 Criteria for the selection of participants

The participants are chosen based on various criteria:

(1) they all joined and completed an exchange in VYI program season 15 during summer 2019

(2) they come from another country rather than Vietnam and had been staying in Vietnam for the full six weeks

(3) they have been working closely with me long enough to feel trusted and open to intimate conversations

There are no further requirements regarding the participants' age, gender or academic background

In VYI 15, eight exchange participants joined the program, coming from four different countries, namely Thailand, Taiwan, Egypt and Singapore However, the three participants from Egypt later dropped out of the program at week three because

of personal reasons As a result, there were only five exchange participants who completed the exchange program

Since I have been working as the Organizing Committee President of VYI, I have close relationships with the five participants who completed the program I contacted all five people and three of them gladly agreed to take part in the study

2.2 Participants’ general background

Table 1: The basic information of the participants

All names are pseudonyms chosen by the participants and all of them are now residing

The questions used in this interview were developed based on the conceptual framework from the literature review, to encourage the participants to reflect upon their experiences in the VYI program and recognize the cultural learning and adaptations that they had gone through

Each participant was interviewed online with the choice of platforms (Skype, Facebook, Google Hangout) agreed on by both the interviewee and the interviewer

to ensure convenience and comfortability The interviews were carried out using English Each interview lasted for 60 to 90 minutes and was audio-recorded After the interview, the researcher would decide if further interviews are needed to provide more data on emerging themes and concepts

Pilot

Before conducting the interviews, preliminary data was collected to identify the effectiveness of the interview questions as well as the richness of collected information Since there were three Singaporeans in the participants, which posed the threat of repetitive answers, I decided to do the pilot interview with two Singaporeans, Jack and Phoebe Both interviews lasted approximately 60 minutes and were conducted in English

After carefully analyzing the collected data, I realized the first version of the interview questions had some problems, as it seemed a bit leading, which restricted the interviewees from naturally sharing about their experiences and did not give enough space for the participants to reflect and discuss other aspects of the adaptations they made in Vietnam Additionally, because I was the former Organizing Committee President of the program, the participants seemed to hold back their negative views about the experiences Although the collected data could answer my

research questions, I did have to go back and ask for more clarification from the participants

Modification

After the pilot interview, I decided to modify my interview questions to eliminate the leading ones and prepare more follow up questions so I could get more information from the participants I also ensured the participants I am no longer a member of AIESEC in Hanoi so they can speak their mind freely, and the information would be kept for research purposes only With the new questions, I was able to get enough deep reflection on the beliefs and perspectives of the participants The questions were also categorized into three phases: pre, while and post exchange in order to support the participants’ reflections in chronological order

4 Data analysis

There were two main parts of the data analysis process: transcribing and coding After the interviews were completed, the collected audios were transcribed The research applied word-by-word transcription in order to make the analyzing process easier and avoid missing information Since there were no fixed rules for transcription, and the format of transcription was often decided by individual researchers according to the intended use (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009)

The researcher relied on open coding or thematic coding technique in combination with existing theories in the literature review to point out and analyze emerging concepts and themes relating to exchange alumni’s cultural learning and cultural adaptations

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

1 Overview of participants’ experiences in VYI program

In the program, the five exchange participants would work at least 25 hours a week along with an organizing team consisting of five Vietnamese AIESECers Per week, the main activities of the program include joining two content meetings with the organizing team, preparing materials and facilitating one midweek camp and one weekend camp for Vietnamese students

Outside the aforementioned working activities, the participants spent their free time hanging out with the program attendees around Hanoi or traveling and exploring some famous Vietnamese cities, namely Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh, Sapa The participants organized these activities by themselves after making sure they had fulfilled their working hours with AIESEC in Hanoi They claimed that VYI was a memorable and eye-opening experience since they did acquire much new knowledge about it Also, they claimed the exchange to be very transformative since it opened their perspectives and changed their attitudes During the program, they struggled most with working issues and language barrier After the exchange, all participants reported a change in their attitude, mindset, gained cultural knowledge, improvement

in working skills and an expansion of friendships and networks

Jim

Jim is a 22-year-old Thailand man, who is studying Liberal Arts in a university in Bangkok, Thailand Of all the VYI exchange participants, he was the only one who had previously joined a long-term exchange program to Brazil for a year In his opinion, that exchange experience had shaped his mindset and changed his world view significantly He also had been to Da Nang city in Vietnam before for travel purposes Impressed by the beautiful scenery, the rich culture and the rich history, he signed up for VYI intending to explore more of the Northern side of Vietnam The program theme of Child Abuse also intrigued him, as he hoped to learn more about the issue and spread awareness about it

With an open mindset and former skills learned in his long-term exchange trip to Brazil, Jim did not struggle much to adapt to a new environment He mostly faced troubles with the difference in working style, as he found it hard to work along well

with a few other exchange participants For him, the factors that impact his adaptation process were communication skills, personal attitude, and relationships with other people After the exchange, he reported having an increased empathetic attitude with cultural differences among the cultures

Carrie

Carrie is a 22-year-old Singaporean woman Before VYI, she had not joined any exchange program However, she did have some traveling experience in Thailand, Australia and Malaysia For her, visiting a new culture allowed one's perspective to open and shape his/her personal development Before coming to Vietnam, she felt quite curious about the people and the culture, which motivated her to look up facts about Vietnam on the internet before the trip It provided her with expectations about the dos and do-nots, thus supporting her adjustment process

During her time in Vietnam, Carrie noted that she did not find it extremely hard to adapt to the new environment, as she noticed many similarities between the host country and her own in terms of working and living styles She also mentioned her appreciation for Vietnamese’s friendliness and supportive attitude in supporting her adaptation process Harmonious relationships with Vietnamese friends and international exchange participants were also highlighted as a factor that affected her experience positively She also pointed out that the exchange program transformed her into a braver and more confident person

Ted

Ted was the youngest among VYI 15 program participants He is a 20 years old Taiwanese Ted also worked for AIESEC in Taiwan, therefore he had witnessed the impacts of cross-cultural exchanges when people joined AIESEC exchange He chose VYI because of the topic of the program as well as his aspirations to explore the world

In the program, Ted struggled the most when his insufficient English ability hindered him from establishing meaningful conversations with his friends, who possessed fluent English skills To cope with the stress and frustration in the adaptation process,

he engaged in the form of critical reflection to be more in control of his negative feelings Regarding the factors affecting his adaptive experience, Ted showed

appreciation towards his international exchange participants, who formed group support in the new environment Another factor that he also noted was the supportive attitude of his Vietnamese friends At the end of the exchange, he reported having a more comprehensive viewpoint of himself and increased respect for other cultures

2 Findings and discussion

2.1 Research question 1: The factors that the participants perceived to

influence their cultural adaptation

2.1.1 Individual factors

Personality

In the interviews, all of the participants noticed some personal factors that had impacted their adaptation process; however, the extent to which it influenced the experience were determined by the participants Personality was a notable theme in participants' comments In his interview, Jim commented on how his personality influenced his experiences Both he and other participants shared the same trait of being daring and adventurous They were not afraid to try new things and be exposed

to the new culture Jim said that thanks to this trait, he got on well with other counterparts, especially with Ted, who also liked to “explore new cultures”

Ted: I guess that they [the exchange participants] had a very adventurous and dare-to-try spirit where you know, they were not afraid of the new experiences

of trying new food Like dog meat So I guess that's one thing I appreciate from them

A similar important personality trait mentioned by all the participants was mindedness Like adventurous, it enabled them to perceive and interpret situations in the new environment and reduce judgments or discriminations

open-Ted: For me, when you go for these kinds of exchanges, you have to keep your mind open So that is a way you can be able to gain the most out of it I had to attend these exchange activities with an open mindset and not shut myself off

so that I could make the most out of it

Similarly, Jim believed that “because of the open attitude, people understood each other, and became so close.” Their openness resulted in more acceptance of differences, and they saw stressful situations as an opportunity to get to know people

from other cultures Thus, this trait became a “threshold for receptivity” (Steward & Healy, 1985, p.137) as the external stimuli (intercultural conflicts) was transformed into a flow of information (cultural differences) for the participants

Also, each participant has their unique personality that was proven to be helpful in a cross-cultural environment Jim also emphasized that he was a straightforward person who would speak his mind when encountering a problem He noted how this helped

in managing conflicts, which was a crucial skill in an intercultural environment

Jim: ( ) when working here [in Vietnam], there were a lot of different people with different mindsets So there will be conflicts, right? When I had questions

or if I had problems with someone, I approached that person in order to clear the problems or to get the solution I would not wait for them to approach me

or hold anger towards them That only led to negative things, you know Carrie’s personality also had a relative impact on her adaptation process Her introvertedness initially prevented her from establishing intimate relationships with her coworkers Carrie admitted in the interview that she “did not really care much” about other exchange participants for the first two weeks However, since she claimed

to be a friendly person, she still bonded with other people on the program well later

in the exchange program

Carrie: As an introvert, I don't think I'm able to make friends immediately If

I see someone, I think usually it would take me time to warm up to that person and develop a stronger friendship afterwards But I'm not the kind of person who can easily strike a conversation with someone and immediately, comes across as a bubbly friendly person It's not that I'm not friendly, but it takes time for me to get close to someone and to make friends

In addition, the participants confirmed that their perseverance encouraged them “not

to give up easily when facing a frustrating situation” and pushed them to constantly seek ways to adapt

All in all, the data suggested that the participants’ personalities had a generally positive impact on their adaptive experiences In a sense, it prepared them to face the challenges in the new culture For example, Carrie was aware that due to her introverted characteristic, she might not be able to make friends with new people

immediately, but it would not stop her from becoming friends with them later, thus making friends was not a stressful issue for her As for Jim, his straightforwardness encouraged him to quickly solve intercultural conflicts and prevented further frustrations All the participants generally benefited from the dare-to-try spirit as it motivated them to embrace their fear and went out of their comfort zone to immerse themselves in the host country It could be seen that this finding was in line with many other studies in the field Open-mindedness, risk-taking, readiness, willingness to communicate was found to be positively correlated with an individual’s communication competence in cross-culture environment (Tamam, 1993; Fiske & Maddie, 1961; Steward & Healy, 1985; van den Broucke, de Soete, & Böhrer, 1989; McCroskey & Richmond, 1991; as cited in Kim, 2001) These traits also promoted

the participants’ involvement in the host environment and made it more accessible

Preparedness

Preparedness played a crucial role in shaping the ways the participants acted in the new environment Overall there are three main types of preparations that took place Firstly, the participants prepared their mindset for the trip For example, Ted prepared himself mentally to experience the culture without any hesitations The participants also clarified their motivations to join VYI Two prominent reasons motivated the participants to take the exchange trip were the fulfilment of personal interests (topic

of the program, self-development experience or aspiration to explore Vietnam) and eagerness for social contributions (to educate the youth, to spread awareness about Child Abuse) Their decision to join the program was entirely voluntary

Secondly, the participants did some research to have an overview of what their life in Vietnam would look like Carrie shared that she had watched some videos about Vietnam on Youtube, so she “knew what to expect” In order to prepare for the exchange, Jim did some extensive reading about Vietnam history, people and societies so he could imagine “how life was going to be”

Additionally, since all participants had previous cross-cultural experiences, they all prepared to face cultural differences and tried to diminish prejudgments As a result, they had a sense of readiness for new learnings of the host country, which they later confirmed supported their adjustment to the new environment