Cultural Communication and Adaptation A Case Study of Hanban Officers in Thailand
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This qualitative research aims to analyze factors that impede cultural communication and adaptation, and adaptive strategies under Thai culture of Hanban officers in Thailand. It employed Young Yun Kim’s theory of cultural communication and adaptation (2004) as a conceptual framework. In-depth interviews were used to collect data from 17 informants, consisting of 13 Hanban officers and 4 Thai officers associated with Hanban officers. The result shows that problems in cultural communication and adaption of Hanban officers in Thailand were caused by three factors, comprising (1) the state of ignorance, misunderstanding, and ambiguity of Hanban officers toward their basic knowledge about Thai culture, as well as their unfamiliar performances in Thai cultural contexts, (2) Hanban officers’ anxiety about making communication mistakes with Thais, and (3) the pressure of the difference between Thai and Chinese working style. However, in order to live in Thai context and environment appropriately and contentedly, Hanban officers have dealt with these problematic issues by communicating in Thai language, interacting with Thai people, conforming to Thai working practices, seeking advice from other people, and being open to embrace cultural differences.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which allows others to share the article with proper attribution to the authors and prohibits commercial use or modification. For any other reuse or republication, permission from the journal and the authors is required.References
Boonard, S. (2015). Intercultural Adaptation Process of Laos and Cambodian Students in Ubon Ratchathani University. Journal of Communication Arts, 33(2), pp. 91- 105.
Bureau of International Cooperation Strategy. (2010). Strategy in Chinese Teaching and Learning in Thai Higher Education. Bangkok: Bangkok Blog Publication.
Bureau of International Cooperation Strategy. (2020). Thailand-China Cooperation in Higher Education. Proceeding of Meeting between Office of the Higher Education Commission of Thailand and Hanban Office (Thailand). Bangkok: Bureau of International Cooperation Strategy.
Ebernard, D. M. et al, (2020). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (23rdedition). Retrieved 13 November 2021. From http://www.ethnologue com/ethnoblog/gary-simons/ welcome-23rd-edition.
Foreign Workers Administration Office. (2020). Statistic of Foreign Workers in Thailand in 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2021. From https://www.doe.go.th/prd/alien /statistic/param/site/152/ cat/82//sub/0 /pull/category/view/ list-label.
Huang, X. (2012). The Effect of Cross-Cultural Communication and Adaptation of Chinese Volunteer Teachers in BangkoK Dhurakij Pundit University. Retrieved 15 December 2021. From DOI: https://doi.nrct.go.th/ ListDoi/listDetail?Resolve_DOI=10.14458/DPU. the.2014.45.
Kaur, J. (2010). Achieving Mutual Understanding in World Englishes. World Englishes, 29(2), 192-208.
Khunsit, O. (2012). Communication and Cultural Adaptation of Thai Expatriates Working in Subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations in Neighboring Countries. (MA Thesis Communication Arts, Chulalongkorn University).
Kim, Y. Y. (2004). Long-term Cross-cultural Adaptation: Training Implications of an Integrative Theory. In D. Landis, J M. Bennett & M. J. Bennetteds. Handbook of Intercultural Training, (pp. 337-362). Sage Publication.
Kung, S., Pradtana, Y., Chalermchai, P. &. Bangkochmas, E. (2019). Influencing Factors of Cross-Cultural Adaptation Process of Chinese Students Studying in the Upper Northern Thai Universities. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 10(1), 65-74.
Naing Soe, W. (2018). Fostering Intercultural Communicative Competence for Effective Communication Skills in the ESP Classroom. Suthiparithat Journal, 32(special), 94-106.
Pang, H., (2017). The Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Chinese Students in the U.S. Retrieved 20 October 2021. From http://www.celea.org.cn/pastversion/lw/pdf/panghon gmei.pdf.
Song, X. (2019). The Cultural Adaptation Experiences of Chinese Higher Education Students in the American Deep South: A Comparison across Disciplines. (MA Thesis Business Administration, The University of Southern Mississippi).
Teeraputtigunchai, B. (2018). Communication Problems and Cross-Cultural Adjustment of Foreigners Working in Educational Institututions, Phetchabun Province. Academic Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Burapha University, 26(50), 189-212.
Triandis, H. C. (1970). Attitude and Change. New York: John Wiley. United Nations. (n.d.). Official Languages. Retrieved 22 December 2021. From https://www.un.org/en/ sections/about-un/official-languages/ index.html.
Wongsa, S. (2018). A Survey of Teaching and Learning of Chinese Volunteer Teacher in Secondary Schools in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Journal of Social Academic, 11(2), 362-370.
Zhang, Y. (2014). A Study of the Problems, Needs, and Wants of Thai Language and Culture for Chinese Volunteer Teachers in Thai Schools. (Master of Arts in Language and Culture for Communication and Development, Mahidol University).
