臺日與臺新交流對小學生跨文化溝通之認知能力的影響

THE IMPACTS OF TAIWANESEJAPANESE AND TAIWANESESINGAPOREAN EXCHANGE ACTIVITIES ON PRIMARY STUDENTS' COGNITIVE COMPETENCE IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

研究目的：本研究之目的在探討兩所臺灣小學國際交流活動（一所為臺日，另一所為臺新）對小學生跨文化溝通之認知能力的影響。研究設計／方法／取徑：本研究以開放式問題問卷（學習單）與半結構式訪談蒐集資料，由研究者設計問卷，發放參與交流的小學生填寫，並訪談40位參與交流的小學生。研究發現或結論：本研究之發現有以下四項：一、就文化知識而言，國際交流活動有助於小學生對交流國家文化的認識，但無法促進對其文化體系的系統性理解。二、就溝通規則而言，小學生對溝通規則的覺知乃是建立在師長所強調的「禮貌」概念上，但對於溝通內容之適當性的認識有限。三、就連結與比較而言，國際交流活動有助於小學生印證所學或打破刻板印象，了解文化異同，但小學生未能展現比較不同國家深層文化內涵的能力，也易以偏概全。四、就詮釋與認知彈性而言，交流過程所累積的異文化經驗與知識有助於學生運用認知彈性進行詮釋。整體而言，小學生的詮釋類型多元，但有歸因錯誤、流於空洞以及本質主義的問題。研究原創性／價值：回顧國內外針對小學生實體國際交流之研究，未見針對跨文化溝通之認知能力的專門研究，就此而言，本研究可彌補此不足之處，具有其開創性。此外，本研究對小學生跨文化溝通之認知能力的分析成果與建議，亦有助於未來小學生國際交流活動與跨文化溝通訓練課程之規劃。

Purpose The purpose of this research was to explore the impacts of two primary schools' international exchange activities (one Taiwanese －－ Japanese and the other Taiwanese－－Singaporean) on primary students' cognitive competence of intercultural communication. Design/methodology/approach Open-ended questionnaires (worksheets) and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data in this research. The researcher designed the questionnaires which were completed by primary students participating in exchange activities. The researcher also interviewed 40 participating primary exchange students. Findings This research derived four findings: 1. Regarding cultural knowledge, international exchange activities promoted the primary students' knowledge of exchange countries' cultures, but they did not facilitate systematic understanding of their cultural systems. 2. Concerning communication rules, the primary students' perception of communication rules was based on the concept of manners as emphasized by their teachers. However, the primary students' perception of the appropriateness of communication content was limited. 3. With respect to relating and comparison, international exchange activities contributed to the primary students' confirming what they had learned, eliminating stereotypes and learning cultural similarities and differences. Nevertheless, the primary students exhibited little competence of comparing in-depth cultural contents between different countries and demonstrated the fallacy of hasty generalisation. 4. Regarding interpretation and cognitive flexibility, the accumulated experience and knowledge of other cultures through the process of exchange facilitated the primary students' employment of cognitive flexibility in interpretation. Generally, the primary students' interpretations were diverse but exhibited the problems of misattribution, a lack of meaning, and essentialism. Originality/value In previous research on primary students' face-to-face international exchange activities, cognitive competence in intercultural communication has been neglected. The present research is original in that it compensates this deficiency. In addition, the analytical results and suggestions provided by this research on primary students' cognitive competence in intercultural communication can facilitate the design of primary schools' international exchange activities and intercultural communication training programmes.