Welcome Home: Dimensions of Communicative Reverse Adaptation Faced By Chinese Students Upon Return to China

• In Event: Intercultural Research in Cultural Adaptation

Abstract

This qualitative study describes the challenges faced by students from China as they reentered their own culture facing a reverse culture shock following a study abroad program in the United States. Areas of focus include differences in interpersonal communication style (compliment usage, politeness strategies, verbal directness, greetings to strangers and responses in hierarchical relationships), independence and group behavior (traveling alone versus with others, preference for group photos, dealing with crowded streets and buses and changes in traffic rules), and channel switching (shift in available social media, shift from speaking in English to speaking in Chinese). Each of these differences resulted in a reverse culture shock challenge. The reasons for the communicative differences and their impact on reverse culture shock were examined using “western” communication theories. The key to a successful reentry is adaptation to the expectations of their native culture. Implications of the study are discussed.

Authors

• Carrol R Haggard, Fort Hays State U

• Zhengyu (Tracy) Zhang, Fort Hays State U