SCT-based perspectives of intercultural mediation view it as the mental process of meaning-making and connecting new and existing cultural knowledge, as well as the scaffolding provided by others in this process. This presentation aims to identify, describe and classify instances of intercultural mediation, drawing on extensive data from short-term study abroad of foreign language students in six different countries.
Earlier discussions in intercultural language learning had focused mainly on intercultural mediation as the intercultural speaker’s ability to navigate different cultures and to act as an intermediary between them. Current research has expanded the discussions to include SCT-based views of intercultural mediation as the mental process of meaning-making and connecting new and existing cultural knowledge, as well as the scaffolding provided by others in this process. The current study is part of a larger project on the effect of short-term study abroad on the intercultural development of foreign language learners. It aims to identify, describe and classify instances of intercultural mediation, drawing on extensive data from student journals, interviews, field observations and document inspection. The results suggest that intercultural mediations can be broadly classified as being ‘mediations for self’ and ‘mediations for others’. They can be further elaborated and classified according to the mediators (e.g. teachers or homestay hosts), acts and events involved (e.g. explaining a new sociocultural practice or comparing a new culture with one’s own culture), as well as the motives and reasons behind the mediations (e.g. to make sense of a new cultural experience or to re-examine and to re-construct one’s identity).
