Summary
Raja, Iza Sharina, and Nik Norazira are the authors of the scientific work titled The Foreign Students’ Experience. According to the writers of this article, communication advancement and globalization have united people from all walks of life. It is now feasible for individuals from different cultures to grasp information communicated on various social media platforms, regardless of geographical distance or cultural differences. For instance, Facebook has made it possible for people worldwide to create their profiles, which has increased cross-cultural understanding. People often use Facebook throughout the process of intercultural adaptation to learn about their host country, build contacts, and stay informed of potential occurrences. Raja and the other authors note that Facebook is not just for social networking (Raja et al., 2020). Many college students often utilize Facebook to enhance their educational experience by sharing information with peers, publishing new material, and participating in online discussions.
Research Problem
This article’s research problem is to identify how Facebook influences intercultural sensitivity and learning. The authors focused on looking at how international students and how they affect their intercultural adaptation. The advances in intercultural sensitivity that may be attributed to online interactions between international students and their classmates are investigated in this study paper. The research is beneficial because social media is essential to a student’s life in the modern world. Through the research article, people can comprehend that social media, especially Facebook, has been a unique tool in encouraging informal and interactive learning among students.
Article Analysis
The thesis of this article is appropriate and robust in that it challenges readers with a debatable point of view and has been supported with evidence. Utilizing questionnaires, the study gathered data from international learners residing in Malaysia about the impact of Facebook on intercultural learning. Due to the researchers’ determination to acquire enormous volumes of information, questionnaires were the most suitable way of study; they were also the most cost-effective approach. According to the paper, this approach to data collecting was suitable since the necessary information was obtained. The data in the research article has been analyzed correctly in that it has presented reliable and more accurate data. Also, there are no statistical errors in the research article. The conclusion of the research article has restated the primary argument, which is how international students in Malaysia use Facebook and their intercultural competency (Ozdemir, 2017). The conclusion has included a summary of the main points of the paper. The authors did not simply repeat the content in the research paper. Instead, they have shown readers how facts and examples used in the paper fit together.
Connection of the article with the lessons
According to the week 6 lesson, Higher education has become more diverse. Most American students are attending universities and colleges, and several institutions are admitting international students to increase the diversity of the student population. The lesson was about intercultural communication in the education setting. Intercultural competence and sensitivity are essential for enhancing human and ethnic connections, particularly in heterogeneous cultures. The article explains how social media, such as Facebook, has played a significant role in the socialization process and how it has enhanced intercultural communication competency (Raja et al., 2020). Facebook has facilitated cross-cultural communications by opening a new space for intercultural interactions in higher learning institutions. Through Facebook, students are encouraged to meet and talk online. Students have been able to form Facebook groups whereby they post questions to acquire answers from peers and teachers. They can share videos, files, links in personal messages, and group page walls.
Opinion on research
In my opinion, this research article is clear, accurate, valid, rigorous, and sequential. The data added by the researchers s very provable and verifiable. The authors have presented their information in a manner that is easily understood, and evidence has been well provided. The research applies to my life because I am one of the many people who use social media, particularly Facebook, daily. Through the research, I could not agree less that social media is vital in everyone’s life. Facebook has made it easier for efficient communication between individuals from various cultural backgrounds.
Reference
Ozdemir, E. (2017). Promoting EFL learners’ intercultural communication effectiveness: a focus on Facebook. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 30(6), 510-528.
Raja Zainal Hassan, R. R., Hassan, N. A., Sallehuddin, I. S., & Abdul Aziz, N. N. (2020). Facebook for intercultural communication: The international students’ experience. Journal of International Studies, 16, 25-37. https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2020.16.2
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