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Delving into EFL graduates' intercultural sensitivity and experiences: Three Indonesian narrative case studies
Moh. Arif Mahbub
Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia, and Universitas Islam Jember, Indonesia
Ima Chusnul Chotimah
Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia, and Universitas PGRI Jombang, Indonesia
Nunung Suryati
Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia
Yazid Basthomi
Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia, and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
Niamika El Khoiri
Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia
Scholarship on intercultural sensitivity (henceforth IS) suggests expanding research in Asian countries in this topic (Choi, 2023). Addressing this lacuna, drawing upon Chen and Starosta's (2000) intercultural sensitivity scale (ISS), our narrative case study sought to explore IS level attainment by three Indonesian EFL students. We collected data from the participants through semi-structured interviews and interpreted by performing reflexive thematic analysis. The findings evidenced that the participants' voices revealed rich layers of IS levels, particularly concerning their intercultural knowledge, attitudes, and awareness. Ahmad and Zacky (pseudonyms) demonstrated a high level of IS in almost all five IS dimensions, such as showing a sense of accepting cultural diversity and a high confidence level, showing respect and empathy, being adaptive and collaborative, and showing proactive efforts. In contrast, Ayu showed a lack of proactive effort, empathy, and adaptation. Practical implications for stakeholders in education systems are presented and discussed.
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Authors: Moh. Arif Mahbub is a faculty member at Universitas Islam Jember, Indonesia. He is currently a doctoral student at Universitas Negeri Malang, specialising in ELT. His research interests include intercultural communicative competence and material development for vocational English students. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8960-9717 Email: rifelbarzmahbub@gmail.com, moh.arif.2302219@students.um.ac.id Ima Chusnul Chotimah is a faculty member at Universitas PGRI Jombang, Indonesia. She is currently a doctoral student at Universitas Negeri Malang, specialising in ELT. Her research interests include ELT media and teaching-learning methods. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2465-3490 Email: imachus.stkipjb@gmail.com Dr Nunung Suryati is a professor at Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia. Her area of specialisation is ELT. She obtained an MEd from Curtin University of Technology and her PhD from the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her research interests include lesson study, literacy pedagogy, and coursebook evaluation. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4672-2952 Email: nunung.suryati.fs@um.ac.id Dr Yazid Basthomi is a faculty member of the Department of English, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia, and a research fellow in the Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia. A past convener of the Masters and Doctoral Programs in ELT, his professorship is in applied linguistics. He has co-supervised PhD theses at the University of New England and Charles Darwin University, Australia. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3314-3334 Email: ybasthomi@um.ac.id Dr Niamika El Khoiri is a faculty member of the Department of English, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia. Her expertise includes discourse analysis, literature, and academic writing instruction. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0840-3571 Email: niamika.el.fs@um.ac.id Please cite as: Mahbub, M. A., Chotimah, I. C., Suryati, N., Basthomi, Y. & El Khoiri, N. (2024). Delving into EFL graduates' intercultural sensitivity and experiences: Three Indonesian narrative case studies. Issues in Educational Research, 34(4), 1410-1428. http://www.iier.org.au/iier34/mahbub.pdf |