Exploring transcultural competence in the internationalised university classroom: the role of intercultural friendships and plurilingualism in the construction of a transcultural identity

ABSTRACT

This mixed-methods study explores whether undergraduates in a multilingual, multicultural university – and more specifically in a multi-dimensionally internationalised classroom – manifest transcultural competence when starting university studies. The article precisely focuses on the role of intercultural friendships and personal and family plurilingualism in the construction of an identity that reveals such competence, namely, a transcultural identity. Data include profile and transcultural competence questionnaires as well as interviews and classroom observations. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses show that first-year undergraduates in such a university display transcultural competence at the start of their studies, but more so students with intercultural friendships, personal or family plurilingualism, or belonging to a multi-dimensionally internationalised classroom. Qualitative data document that this educational context may trigger affordances for diversified plurilingual intercultural interactions in which transcultural competence may manifest in the form of a complex transcultural ‘twenty-first-century youth identity’ that is linked to sensitivities and attitudes valuing heritage as well as a transnational way of life.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• intercultural friendships
• internationalised classroom
• plurilingualism
• transcultural competence
• transcultural identity

Acknowledgments

We are deeply grateful to Dr. Roberto Molowny-Horas for his advice on statistical analyses and all volunteering students who participated in this study as well as the Deans and coordinators who helped in the data collection. We are also grateful to the anonymous reviewer for the insightful comments on early versions of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Pogorelova and Trenchs-Parera (2018) and Pogorelova (2016) have also explored intercultural adaptation during study abroad, another manifestation of transcultural competence.

2 University, data collection year and participants’ names are not provided to preserve anonymity. Marina's case study has been further anonymyzed.

3 4.8% BA, 36.2% MA and 50.6% PhD students; 38% study abroad.

4 Questions from Newman, Trenchs-Parera and Ng (2008) and Pérez-Vidal (2014).

5 Given this article’s scope, no new component analysis was undertaken and only mean scores from questionnaires were considered for inferential statistics. New analyses will be undertaken in the future.

6 Numbers of enrolment are not provided to preserve students' anonymity.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain, and European Regional Development Fund under Grant reference AEI/FEDER, UE-PGC2018-098815-B-I00.

Notes on contributors

Mireia Trenchs-Parera

Mireia Trenchs-Parera, Professor of Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism, coordinator of the Intercultural Spaces, Languages and Identities research group (GREILI-UPF) and lead researcher of the TRANSLINGUAM-UNI Project.

Andreana Pastena

Andreana Pastena, PhD Student in Humanities (research line: Intercultural Spaces, Languages and Identities), member of GREILI research group and researcher of the TRANSLINGUAM-UNI Project.