Perceptions of international teaching assistants: The interrelatedness of intercultural training, cognition, and emotion

Abstract

Studies of perceptions of non‐native speakers have traditionally focused on the effects of global stereotypes and nonverbal behaviors on audience receptivity. The affective mindset of the audience has until now been largely ignored. Another factor that has been ignored is the intercultural sensitivity of audience members, particularly of U.S. undergraduates who are taught by international teaching assistants (TAs). This study (N = 422) tested the underlying relationships among 1) intercultural training of U.S. undergraduates exposed to the Intercultural Sensitizer, role playing, and a disclosure statement highlighting that the speaker, an international TA, was speaking in a second language; 2) dispositional or situational attributions made by members of the audience; 3) the emotions experienced by audience members; and 4) audience members’ comprehension and evaluation of speaker competence. Results generally confirmed the hypotheses of the interrelatedness between intercultural training, cognition, and emotions in perceptions of non‐native speakers.

Keywords:

• cognition
• emotion
• international teaching assistants
• intercultural
• perceptions
• sensitivity training
• IT As