Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence - Center for ...

Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence
Assertion No. 6
Service programs offer unique opportunities for sojourners and hosts, beyond traditional
educational exchanges
This assertion was not adequately explored in the survey; no specific questions addressed this
area. The implications of the assertion are also not entirely clear. Possibly more on this later.
Assertion No. 7
People are changed (presumably in positive ways) as a result of this experience
Discussion
Responses provided in Part I of the survey provide insights in this regard. For example, the
following are based on comments made by British and Swiss alumni:
- absolutely all alumni stated that they had had positive IC experiences
- 16 continued language study (13 in Spanish) upon returning from Ecuador
- 7 pursued a related field of study upon return
- 1 remained in Ecuador to work in another capacity
- 27 (i.e., all but 1) developed new intercultural relationships (friends, colleagues, a
boyfriend, a Colombian spouse, and 2 by hosting visitors from abroad
- 10 now work in a related field or in intercultural or multicultural settings
- and all cited a variety of ways they continue to utilize their newly developed intercultural
abilities such as a desire and interest to learn more about other cultures, respect for diverse
perspectives, increased intercultural understanding, enhanced communication skills, and
continued use of Spanish
Others commented that they:
- developed an ability to make friends quickly and easily
- confidence to go to a country and survive
- learned salsa dancing, a great social activity
- realized how privileged they are in the UK
- learned to make the most of every opportunity
- appreciate more what one has, one’s own country
- got to know another part of the world
- can more easily approach people from a different culture
- accept how other cultures function differently
- more open to accept differences (even among the French-Swiss)
- more open to new things
- adapts more easily
- more easy-going (e.g., accepts restructuring at work)
Comments made by volunteers in interviews at the end of their program reinforced many of the
same ideas made by alumni who had already returned home:
(BV6+1)
- experience very enjoyable
- now thinks more about her own culture and its components
- knows more about Ecuador and South America
Center for Social Development
Washington University in St. Louis
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