Speaker
Description
In English for Tourism contexts, students often engage in cross-cultural interactions that reveal deeply held assumptions about other cultures. While intercultural competence is a key learning goal, little is known about how tourism students perceive cultural bias in themselves and others. This qualitative study explores the ways in which tourism undergraduates identify and interpret cultural biases during real or simulated intercultural communication. Drawing on the Stereotype Content Model (Fiske et al., 2002) and Intercultural Communicative Competence (Byram, 1997), the study uses semi-structured interviews and critical incident prompts to gather students’ accounts of intercultural encounters. Thematic analysis reveals how perceptions of warmth and competence shape students’ judgments of cultural others and how these perceptions influence their language use and professional identity. Findings highlight the need for TESOL educators to address cultural bias explicitly and integrate perception-based reflection into English for Tourism curricula. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how students' perceptual awareness supports intercultural sensitivity and language development.
Biography
Truong Nguyen Khanh Dan is a lecturer at the University of Economics – The University of Danang, Vietnam. She has a strong background in teaching language skills in General English and English for Specific Purposes (Tourism). Her research interests include intercultural communication, first-language interference in second-language acquisition and the use of technology in language learning. With experience in teaching and a passion for research, she is dedicated to exploring the role of perception, cultural bias, and reflective practice in intercultural communication training within TESOL and tourism education.
