This qualitative assessment method measures friendship patterns, as well as degree of comfort in seeking out relationships with individuals from different backgrounds.

This podcast episode examines how food affects our lives and how we come to find some as "yum" and others as "yuck."

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Source: Snodgrass, L. L. (2017). The effects of internship abroad curricular experiential interactions on the cultural intelligence of program participants (Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University).

This dissertation examined the impact of internship abroad experiential curricular interactions on the development of culturally intelligence of participants using pre- and post-test Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) scores. The study indicated that the experiential programs, that embedded elements of critical culture, including critical knowledge, critical thinking, critical pedagogy, and critical community, had significant effects on the growth in cultural intelligence. 

Human behavior is complex. While it may be tempting to attribute someone’s actions to “human nature” or some sort of individual quirk, it’s usually not so simple. Therefore, this activity aims to get participants thinking critically about three dimensions (universal, cultural, or personal) of human behavior and the nuances between them.

We all have experienced moments where we just can’t seem to understand each other. Moments of miscommunication commonly occur in our everyday interactions, and cultural differences can sometimes further complicate these situations. Therefore, this activity is designed to get participants thinking about not only how miscommunication happens but also how understanding culture can help us to mitigate scenarios where misunderstandings occur. 

This activity is designed for students who are preparing to study abroad. Students may receive an overwhelming amount of advice before they go abroad, so this activity is meant to help them prioritize and determine what is most important to them. This activity may also help them rethink their priorities or their perceptions of what it means to study abroad, as they may encounter information that had not occurred to them before.

This activity is based on the equilintegration (EI) theory, which explains the process through which humans construct a belief and values system by interacting with the world around them to get their needs met. This activity asks participants to consider how variables—like geography, race/ethnicity, gender, economic/social class, or physical ability—interact with environmental or contextual factors, such as family, media, or education, interact to form one’s EI self.

This activity is based on the Intercultural Development Continuum™ (IDC), which was created by IDI, LLC. Participants will identify statements indicative of various orientations on the Intercultural Development Continuum and reflect on connections between the orientations and their own life experiences. 

Source: Rapoport, A. (2017). Perception of global citizenship among international participants of study abroad programs. World Studies in Education, 18(1), 5-21.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of a short-term study abroad program on the development of global identity and global citizenship among international students of a US university. The results showed that the students lacked understanding and acceptance of changes in the global-national-local hierarchy or an intent to participate in globally important actions.

Rejection sensitivity, a term that originates in the field of psychology, is when a person expects and reacts intensely to rejection because of past traumatic experiences. This activity aims to examine rejection sensitivity that stems from past experiences related to identity (for example, discrimination based on gender, race, sexuality, etc.). Participants will be asked to think about their own identities and how they might experience or contribute to sensitivity to rejection, for themselves and/or others.

For this activity, participants use picture cards to learn how to identify familiar and unfamiliar cultural experiences, exhibit curiosity in unfamiliar cultural practices, articulate deep cultural knowledge for outsiders, and practice emotional resilience and tolerance of ambiguity.

The ability to adapt in new or unfamiliar situations is a crucial life skill. However, in cross-cultural interactions, it can be difficult to decide when we should adapt to a different culture’s expectations, or when it might be more appropriate to refrain from enacting unfamiliar customs and norms. Therefore, the goal of this activity is to guide participants through this decision-making process (using Stella Ting-Toomey's model of Transcultural Communication Competence) and allow them to understand and reflect on their ability to adapt.

Source: Mody, M., Gordon, S., Lehto, X., & Adler, H. (2017). Study abroad and the development of college students' travel venturesomeness. Tourism Management Perspectives, 24, 126-138.

Applying a pre-post design, the study found that the intercultural competence and personal development obtained through study abroad had a mediating effect on student venturesomeness for students who traveled to culturally proximate countries.

Source: Czerwionka, L., & Cuza, A. (2017). Second language acquisition of Spanish service industry requests in an immersion context. Hispania, 100(2), 239-260. 

The study focuses on Spanish service industry requests in the context of food and drink for English-speaking learners of Spanish and examines their development of requests throughout a six-week study abroad program in Spain. The study compared the difference between native speakers of Spanish and non-native speaking learners. Results showed pragmatic acquisition over the program with a change in the learners' requests and an increase in appropriateness of the requests over time. 

Source: Czerwionka, L., & Cuza, A. (2017). A pragmatic analysis of L2 Spanish requests: Acquisition in three situational contexts during short-term study abroad. Intercultural Pragmatics, 14(3), 391-419.

This study investigated the acquisition of second language requests by learners and native speakers in a short-term study abroad program in Spain and in the contexts of food and drink, general merchandise, and familial. 

This activity uses the Atlantic article, "These are the Americans Who Live in a Bubble" to teach participants to: 1. Identify the communities that expose them to sameness and to difference. 2. Define "deep relationships." 3. Assess their opportunities and readiness for deeper relationships across difference.

This activity teaches participants to: 1. Examine their personal and social networks. 2. Reflect on the relationships in their lives, gaps in these relationships, and their diversity. 3. Brainstorm ways to fill in their relationship gaps and improve their diversity. 4. Analyze their own self-awareness of relationships and diversity.

This activity teaches participants to: 1. Understand different perspectives, build empathy, and become aware of privilege and how it affects power dynamics. 2. Learn why privilege matters and how it impacts their lives. 3. Develop skills in communication, self-management, self-awareness, and building relationships with others. 

Man on Fire tells the story of a white minister, Charles Moore, who set himself on fire in 2014 to protest the racism in his small town of Grand Saline, TX. The film uses his act as a vehicle 1)  to explore what small town racism looks like in contemporary America and 2) to question the efficacy of his death in changing the situation.

Source: Jesiek, Brent K., Qin Zhu, Sang Eun Woo, Julia Thompson, and Andrea Mazzurco. (2014). "Global Engineering Competency in Context: Situations and Behaviors." Online Journal of Global Engineering Education, 8(1).

In response to the need of establishing a more robust definition and developmental theory of global engineering competency, the study reports findings of a collected literature and interviews and focus groups with practicing engineers on engineering practice in a global context. The categories of situations and behaviors evident in the data set contain technical coordination, understanding and negotiating engineering cultures, and navigating ethics, standards, and regulations.

Source: Jesiek, B. K., Haller, Y., & Thompson, J. (2014). Developing Globally Competent Engineering Researchers: Outcomes-Based Instructional and Assessment Strategies from the IREE 2010 China Research Abroad Program. Advances in Engineering Education, 4(1), n1. 

The study reports on a summer engineering research abroad program – International Research and Education in Engineering (IREE) 2010 China. The authors used a mixed-method approach to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data. Data source included primarily surveys, scenario-based tasks, reflective activities and blogs, interviews, focus groups, and trip report. The findings report improved learning outcomes from IREE in perceptions of readiness for a sojourn abroad, language proficiency, universal-diverse orientation, and global engineering competency.

Source: Behnke, C., Seo, S., & Miller, K. (2014). Enhancing the study abroad experience: A longitudinal analysis of hospitality-oriented, study abroad program evaluations. Tourism Management, 42, 271-281. 

The authors applied a mixed-methods approach to identify programmatic characteristics that were related to increased student satisfaction with their study abroad experience. The results indicated that the students appreciated active components and local guides in the programs.