Exploring Chinese International Students’ Intercultural Competence in Australian Classrooms

Abstract

With the incrinsing of Chinese international students (CIS) in Australian universities, intercultural competence has become key siklls to classroom interaction between students and tutors. Existing studies often examine intercultural competence from a single-method or single-perspective approach. This study investigates CISs’ intercultural competence in classroom interactions through a mixed-methods design that incorporates both students’ and Australian tutors’ perspectives. Guided by the widely recognised three-factor framework of intercultural competence, affective, knowledge, and behavioural, the study identifies key challenges and opportunities shaping competence development.

 This research examines how the three interrelated factors interact in multicultural classrooms. It addresses three questions: (1) What affective factors influence CISs’ intercultural competence development, and why? (2) What knowledge factors influence this development, and why? (3) What behavioural factors influence this development, and why? Data were collected through a survey of 328 CISs and semi-structured interviews with 21 CISs and 17 Australian tutors.

The main argument of this thesis is that enhancing the intercultural competence of CISs is both paradoxical and gradual. It is a continuous, cyclical process of negotiation among affective, knowledge and behavioural factors, in which Australian tutors play a crucial auxiliary role.

The findings show that CISs’ intercultural competence emerges as a co-constructed process shaped through classroom interaction, negotiation, and friction. CISs must to recognise their own strengths and actively engage with challenges is crucial to this process. Tutors support this development by helping students address difficulties while also leveraging these tensions to stimulate reflection and learning.

The study provide a understanding of intercultural competence of CIS and offers practical guidance for CISs, tutors, and institutions.