A Qualitative Exploration of Intercultural Contact between Domestic and International Undergraduate Students

ABSTRACT To assess the influence of quality of contact on attitudes towards intercultural communication while quantity remained constant, 21 domestic-international undergraduate student pairs engaged in four 30-minute semi-structured interaction tasks over the course of a semester. Following each interaction, the 42 participants wrote reflections. Using content analysis, these reflections were coded for major themes. Predominant themes common to both domestic and international students include: Thought-provoking, Learning, and Connection. The least predominant themes common to both domestic and international students include: Stereotype-confirm, No Personal Change, Own-reject, and Awkward. Examination of the most and least predominant themes indicate support for the contact hypothesis.