How Can an Internship Abroad Transform Your Intercultural Communication Skills?

Japanese universities push students to ace the TOEIC, but the test mainly checks grammar, not the ability to understand and converse across cultures. A case study of a young English major shows how working in a multicultural environment reshaped his speech. Using a survey, a journal, an interview and TOEIC scores, researchers tracked his progress. Results revealed higher communicative confidence and language level, but especially a shift from indirect Japanese-style sentences to the more direct style common in Western cultures. Critical incidents recorded in the journal highlighted moments where the student had to adapt quickly, learning to read non‑verbal cues and manage cultural conflicts. The study proves that experiential learning outside the classroom is key to building intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Interacting with diverse people not only boosts English proficiency but also makes students more confident and flexible communicators, ready for an increasingly global world.

Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) was defined by Byram (1997) as the ability to use language appropriately in diverse cultural contexts. Current research distinguishes four components: cultural knowledge, positive attitude, communication strategies, and linguistic skills. In the examined case, the shift from an indirect to a direct speech style reflects a restructuring of communication strategies, moving from a high-context Japanese norm to a low-context Western one. Deardorff's (2006) studies suggest that experiential learning, especially in international work settings, promotes cultural metacognition: students reflect on biases, norms, and values, enhancing their ability to negotiate meanings. Moreover, combining quantitative data (TOEIC scores) with qualitative sources (journal, interviews) enables methodological triangulation, reducing bias and providing a fuller picture of ICC development. Pedagogical implications include integrating international internships, joint projects with foreign partners, and role‑play activities that simulate real situations, to bridge the gap between linguistic and cultural competence.