Language Magazine – Chris Cartwright
“Dr. Keeley had a “hunch” that people who were most fluent in a target language were also those who were motivated to appreciate and connect with the culture and people of the language they were learning. To test his hypothesis, he measured both the oral language-acquisition acumen (fluency) and intercultural competence of 86 Chinese students studying at his university’s business school in Japan. All of the participants in his study had been in Japan for one and a half to two years, if not longer; all of them had studied the Japanese language and tested in the language at the appropriate levels to gain admission. But he noted that some students were far more able to communicate with their Japanese classmates and faculty than others.” (more)