Overseas Study Tour And The Development Of Students' Intercultural Competence

Now we are in a new era that has been characterized as 'globalization',which is an inevitable result due to the advances in information and communication technologies.It affects social cultures and education institutions because it changes the teaching conditions and learning environments as well.As a result,educators,not only professors in universities,but also teachers in primary schools in China have felt the sense of urgency and the sense of responsibility to cultivate students with global perspectives.Thus it becomes more and more popular for primary or secondary school students to participate in overseas study tour programs.Interestingly,as the number of students involved grows daily,the debate increases relevantly.People doubt the efficiency of such programs,claiming those programs are no more than commercial activities.Therefore,as a participator who once led nine primary students to America for two weeks,I decide to use ethnography,narrative inquiry and the questionnaire to explore the issue.The study is conducted on 9 fourth grade students(3 females and 6 males)in a key primary school in Hangzhou,who had limited personal contact with English speakers.By narrating students' experience in USA with abundant first hand materials I collected from students' written biographies or diaries and conducting a paired t-test on four factors of cultural intelligence,a major conclusion of the study could be got that the overseas study tour experience impact positively not only on students' intercultural communication competence but also on their personal development.Certainly,it doesn't mean there is no way to improve such study tour programs.The pedagogical implication of the study is discussed by presenting some suggestions for leading teachers,participants and third parties at last.