From dilemmatic struggle to legitimized indifference: Expatriates’ host country language learning and its impact on the expatriate-HCE relationship

We address the lack of knowledge concerning the role of host country languages in multinational corporations based on an inductive qualitative study involving 70 interviews with Nordic expatriates and host country employees (HCE) in China. Building on the strongly discrepant views of expatriates and HCEs, we demonstrate how expatriates’ willingness to learn and use the host country language lead to different types of expatriate-HCE relationships, ranging from harmonious to distant or segregated. In doing so, we emphasize the subtle and fragile connection between expatriates’ attitude towards HCEs’ mother tongue and trust formation in addition to the construction of superiority-inferiority relationships.     

中学英语课堂中文化教学的阶段性衔接

新课程目标对文化教学的强调及当前跨文化交流的日益频繁,要求现代语言教学不仅仅是在语言文字上下功夫,更应是为实用交际的畅通提供有力的工具.英语课堂中的文化教学具有隐蔽性、长效性.在中学英语课堂,逐步实施文化教学.把语言知识和文化知识结合起来,向学生展现英语国家独特的社会风貌,揭示与之相关的思维方式与价值观,增强学生的社会文化意识,培养学生的文化交际能力,使学生成为跨文化交际的应用型、外向型和复合型人才.     

Unpacking the “skill – cross-cultural competence” mechanisms: Empirical evidence from Chinese expatriate managers

International management (IM) literature identifies several important skill sets (namely, self-maintenance, perceptual, interpersonal, language and communication skills) that are important for expatriates’ cross-cultural management. However, how skills influence each other and work synergistically towards expatriate competence has not been well examined. Based on the theoretical perspectives of learning, social dynamics and the IM stream, we develop an integrative model to investigate the joint effects of skills on cross-cultural competence (CCC), by surveying and interviewing Chinese expatriate managers. We find that self-maintenance skills, interpersonal skills, and language skills do not relate to CCC directly, while perceptual skills contribute to CCC mainly through communication skills. Our study demonstrates that competence goes beyond understanding local culture and lies in the ability to effectively interact and communicate within the host context. This study contributes to expatriate literature not only by revealing the skill – CCC mechanisms, but also by extending knowledge into an emerging market context which provides theoretical and practical guidance for competence-building of expatriates from China.     

文化语境与交际

语境是与语言有关的因素，语言是在语境中呈现，在语境中生成意义。人类交际中的社会文化特征是理解语言的重要因素，交际的过程也就是语境建构的过程。由于文化的差异和语境的复杂性，跨文化交际中的顺应比较困难。文化语境成为制约语言理解的各种因素。文化语境是理解交际的认知基础，它有利于我们解读语言交际的性质，消除话语的歧义。     

Impact of a local host on the success of an international assignment

This longitudinal study examined whether contact with a local host in the Netherlands positively impacts on the adjustment and performance of “Western” expatriates with English or French as their first language. Thirty‐one expatriates were put in contact with a Dutch host with whom they would have regular contact over nine months; another 30 similar expatriates would have no contact with a host. After a five‐month period of contact with a host, there was a positive impact on interaction adjustment. The results also indicated that expatriates who valued the contact highly derived more benefit from it. Contact with a host seems to be especially worthwhile for expatriates who have to deal with host nationals on a daily basis. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A study focusing on American expatriates’ learning in host countries

This study examines the learning process and situations while expatriates are living and working in a foreign country. The survey was conducted on 70 American expatriates via individual e‐mails and the World Wide Web. The study found that expatriates gained the culture of their host country through reflective learning. Cross‐cultural training programs should be examined based on expatriates’ actual needs. Finally, several learning situations that would be helpful in reducing expatriates’ cultural difficulties are: previous cross‐cultural experience, language competency, long‐term relationships with the host people, and information about the host country originating from the home country as well as the host country.     

How to talk to an expatriate

ABSTRACT

Fueled by increasing global mobility, there is an ever-growing need for expatriates. This increasing demand poses many challenges for organizations to motivate their employees to successfully complete international assignments. This study addresses this issue by offering a new perspective on how effective leader communication may serve as a tool to increase expatriates’ cross-cultural motivation and boost their chances of success. All three dimensions of motivating language are proposed to have the ability to enhance an expatriate’s cross-cultural intrinsic motivation, as well as his or her cross-cultural self-efficacy. The implications of the framework, as well as future research, are discussed.     

Would you work abroad? The effect of English proficiency on Chinese employees’ willingness to accept international assignments

The process of globalization has led to a considerable number of expatriates working abroad. In this article, we investigate whether those with a higher level of English proficiency are more willing to accept international assignments. To examine our hypotheses, we conducted a time-lagged survey of 239 employees from Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs). The results reveal that employees’ English language proficiency is positively related to their willingness to accept international assignments, and that their openness to corporate globalization mediates this relationship. In addition, employees’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) moderates the mediating effect of English language proficiency on willingness to accept international assignments via openness to corporate globalization. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

The Importance of Relationship Quality: Maximizing the Impact of Expatriate Contact with a Local Host

Contact between expatriates and a local host‐a specific type of peer mentoring‐has been shown to result in benefits to adjustment, social support, and intercultural competence. This longitudinal study examines the role of the quality of this contact. Expatriates in the Netherlands were randomly divided into an experimental group (N = 33) in which 21 participants had developed high‐quality contact with their host, and a control group (N = 32) that had no host. The results suggest the higher the quality of the contact, the more benefit the expatriate experienced. Moreover, expatriates with low‐quality contact did not experience a detrimental effect. Theoretical and practical implications for mentoring in general, and peer mentoring of expatriates specifically, are discussed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Using English as Economic Capital in a Chinese–Australian Workplace: Implications for Teaching Business English in China

With China’s economic growth over the past 30 years, a large number of Chinese enterprises are facing the challenge of developing their businesses internationally. Thus, it has become necessary to improve the effectiveness of transnational and intercultural business communication for these enterprises. In this article, through narrating the first author’s ethnographic observations in a Chinese–Australian company, the researchers explore the challenges of transnational and intercultural business in terms of English communication and services. They suggest how these challenges can be met from the perspective of future employees in globalizing enterprises and practitioners of Business English education in Chinese universities. This study contributes to developing effective practices for transnational and intercultural communication and services in globalizing enterprises and the pedagogy of Business English in Chinese universities, with the aim of enabling future university graduates to develop language as economic capital in a globalized business context.     

文化因素与外语翻译教学

为了培养出合格的译者,外语教学必须注重文化信息的学习和积累。建立更有效的学习模式,要加强文化知识的渗透力度,文化知识要与语言学习融合,培养学生的主动学习能力,提高教师素养以及跨文化交际能力。     

Dimensions of expatriates adjustment in distant subsidiaries: A field study of a sub‐Saharan African institutional distance

The aim of this study is to investigate the determinants of expatriates’ adjustments in distant and complex multinational subsidiaries. Using the institutional theory as a basis for expatriates’ assignments in complex subsidiaries, the work employed a sequential mixed methodology of data collection. An in‐depth face‐to‐face interview with 21 senior expatriate executives and a quantitative survey of 204 expatriates working in various multinational subsidiaries in Ghana served as data for the work. Consequently, a structural equation modeling (SEM) and a content analysis were the basis of the data analysis. Findings showed host country culture plays a significant role in determining expatriate adjustment in distant subsidiaries. Findings also showed expatriates’ competence in cross‐cultural communication significantly determines expatriates’ adjustment in distant subsidiaries. The work recommends an intensive training of expatriates in cross‐cultural communication and host cultural values and behaviors for international assignees.     

Language ability and adjustment: Western expatriates in China

Although the standard of English proficiency is rising in China, using English in conversations with Chinese host nationals may be difficult. Therefore, proficiency in the Chinese language may promote the adjustment of foreign business expatriates in China. To test this proposition, a mail survey was directed to Western business expatriates assigned to China. Controlling for the time expatriates had spent in China, results showed that their language ability had a positive association with their sociocultural adjustment. Not surprisingly, this positive relationship was strongest for interaction adjustment and weakest for work adjustment. The straightforward implications of these clear findings are discussed in detail. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates: The role of emotional intelligence and gender

The study examines the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) of expatriates on international assignments. Based on a sample of 269 French expatriates operating in 133 countries, our analysis finds a significant and positive relationship between EI and expatriates’ general living, interactional and work-related CCA. Additionally, it shows that cultural similarity only facilitates general living adjustment and not interactional or work adjustments. Finally, our analysis reveals an interesting interaction effect between gender and the ability to appraise and express emotions: the influence of the latter on all three dimensions of CCA tends to be slightly stronger for male than female expatriates. The study offers important practical implications for organizations concerning the identification and development of successful expatriates.     

Temporal boundaries and expatriate staffing: Effects of parent–subsidiary work-time overlap

By integrating the boundary-spanning perspective with the expatriate staffing literature, we explore why and how temporal boundaries between multinational enterprise (MNE) parent and subsidiary locations affect MNEs’ deployment of expatriates in foreign subsidiaries. Temporal boundaries, defined as local work-time schedule differences, delimit the degree of work-time overlap between two locations. A lack of work-time overlap between MNE parent and subsidiary locations creates significant barriers in day-to-day, remote real-time communication, resulting in increased deployment of expatriates as intermediaries by parents to overcome these barriers. Conversely, greater parent–subsidiary work-time overlap enables more remote real-time communication via digital technologies, altering the cost–benefit analysis of deploying expatriates over local nationals, consequently reducing parents’ reliance on expatriates as intermediaries. Therefore, we posit a negative relationship between parent–subsidiary work-time overlap and the expatriate ratio in a subsidiary. Further, we posit that the negative relationship is weakened by home – host country distance in terms of information and communication technology development and linguistics because technological and semantic boundaries can reduce the effectiveness of parent–subsidiary real-time communication. Empirical analyses of 22,556 subsidiaries established by 5,912 Japanese MNEs operating in 31 host countries between 1990 and 2018 support our theorizing.     

浅议英语口语教学中跨文化交际能力的培养

跨文化交际能力在大学英语口语教学中体现在语言能力、语用能力、策略能力.、跨文化能力。我国传统英语教学忽视了对学生跨文化差异意识的培养,导致其跨文化交际能力普遍较低。应改变学生的思维方式,注重学生跨文化差异意识的培养,在课堂教学中把语言教学与文化教学结合起来,并把文化教学寓于语言教学之中,努力探索语言中深刻的文化内涵,增强学生对目的语文化的领悟力和敏感性。     

Going abroad to play: Motivations,challenges, and support of sports expatriates

Professional athletes moving abroad for their career is a novel phenomenon in international human resource management (IHRM). This exploratory article charts the motivations of sports expatriates to move abroad to play, as well as adjustment challenges and sources of support. A survey was conducted with 77 professional athletes in 10 different sports. The main motivations to move abroad were interest to experience life abroad, followed by the search for new challenges. In terms of challenges, different coaching style and communication issues were most often mentioned. Support was mainly informal, through team mates rather than professional providers. Our article contributes to the literature because it is one of the first studies focusing on sports expatriates from an international HR perspective. Our study provides information on a vulnerable group of expatriates; they are young in age and under extreme performance pressure. Sports expatriates need all the support they can get, and yet, little professional support is offered.     

Language and identity in the shadow: A multi-case study of a Japanese multinational corporation

This paper explores how different organizational identities can be constructed by the use of multiple languages within a multinational corporation’s (MNC) subsidiaries. Scholars are increasingly interested in the importance of language in international business but little is currently known about how identities interact with language across an MNC’s subsidiaries. Applying language and social identity theory, this paper analyses the interactions between organizational identity and the use of multiple languages within the lines of communication in the Thai, Taiwanese and US subsidiaries of a Japanese MNC, focusing especially on communications with customers and headquarters. The findings reveal the range of uses of different languages in the lines of communication and the attendant sharing and shaping of social identities in each subsidiary, thus highlighting the importance of the contexts of subsidiaries. In addition, in a sharp contrast to the approach to linguistic identity assumed in the current literature, the findings reveal how national identity can be sustained independently of the use of language. Moreover, the findings also reveal that perceived identity is influenced not only by actors’ language abilities and ethnicity, but also by their post-colonial views on both parent and host countries, and how this underpins shadow organizational structures.     

高校英语口语技能教学互动模式的实践研究——英语口语技能的开发原理和实践方案

知识是生命的宝库和源泉.语言科学在知识获取中具有非常的意义和价值.英语作为一种途径在语言习得中必不可少.它在不同国家文化与跨文化语言交际中都起到很总要的作用.就英语学习而言,要向熟练掌握各项技能,我们应重点学习听、说、读、写和翻译.相对而言,口语技能更具挑战和影响力.     

Strangers on the board: The impact of board internationalization on earnings management of Nordic firms

The internationalization of firms has led to boards becoming more international as well. In this study, we investigate the consequences of board internationalization. In particular, by drawing on research on language and board dynamics, we identify theory-based reasons why board internationalization could increase, or decrease, earnings management practices. We use agency theory, stressing how board internationalization may positively or negatively affect monitoring quality of boards. Next to agency theory, we use theories explaining how language differences in the boardroom complicates communication and how differences in language structures (referred to as linguistic relativity in the literature) affect directors’ perception and detection of earnings management practices. Using a sample of 3249 firm-year observations representing 586 non-financial listed Nordic firms during 2001–2008, we find that the presence of non-Nordic foreign directors on the board is associated with significantly higher levels of earnings management. Our analysis indicates that this effect is driven by language-related factors, as well as by the level of foreign board members’ accounting knowledge.