Department(s)

Communication

Document Type

Article

Version Deposited

Published version

Publication Date

2026

Keywords

Apprehension, willingness to communicate, intergroup, accommodation, intercultural communication competence, study abroad

Abstract

Study abroad contexts can generate apprehension and reluctance to communicate across cultural difference, constraining opportunities for meaningful intercultural engagement. This qualitative study examines how students described intercultural willingness to communicate and intercultural competence during study abroad. Using Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) as an interpretive framework, semi-structured interviews were analyzed thematically, yielding four interrelated themes: intercultural apprehension as it relates to a willingness to communicate, intergroup dynamics, accommodation, and intercultural communication competence. Participants described how apprehension and perceived group boundaries shaped whether interaction felt possible or worthwhile, while accommodation (both behavioral and psychological) helped them remain engaged, manage perceived distance, and navigate uncertainty. They also described intercultural communication competence less as an automatic outcome of exposure and more as something experienced in practice through repeated interaction, reflection, and reciprocal adjustment. This study contributes to intercultural communication and study abroad research by showing how willingness to communicate and participants’ perceived changes in competence are linked to interactional conditions, intergroup interpretations, and accommodative effort, shifting attention from exposure to the communicative processes that make intercultural engagement possible, sustained, and meaningful over time.

Publication Title

Intercultural Communication Education

Volume

9

Issue

2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.29140/ice.v9n2.103424

Comments

Publication can be accessed at this link: https://doi.org/10.29140/ice.v9n2.103424 

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