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Title "THE IMPACT OF ETHNOCENTRISM ON INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN"

Author(s) Ms. Sehrish Manzoor

Abstract Ethnocentrism is ubiquitous in workplaces involving employees from diverse cultures and nationalities. It comes into play when employees from different cultures interact with one another. The present study explores the impact of ethnocentrism on the intercultural communicative competence of (Pakistani and foreign) university teachers serving at the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad and the International Islamic University, Islamabad. The study utilizes the Generalized Ethnocentrism scale to measure the degrees of ethnocentrism of the participants. The Three Factor Model of Social Identity (Cameron, 2004) and the model of Intercultural Communicative Competence (Byram, 2009) are incorporated as theoretical frameworks. The study employs the survey and interviews as research methods for data collection. Inferential statistics, involving correlation analysis and regression analysis, are used to interpret data in statistical terms. SPSS version 20.0 is used to interpret the responses put forth by the sample in the survey. The results reveal that ethnocentrism reflects a significant and negative impact on intercultural communicative competence in the case of highly ethnocentric teachers. It is discovered that highly ethnocentric teachers have formal as well as informal relations with co-workers of their in-group culture. However, they have limited interaction with foreign colleagues, mainly for fulfilling official requirements at the workplace, which results in communication gaps among colleagues of different cultures. They lack knowledge associated with the culture of their foreign colleagues, cannot sort out miscommunication with them, and choose an appropriate mode of interaction needed for intercultural communication. Critical cultural awareness cannot be provoked due to the absence of awareness of foreign cultures. Therefore, cultural relativism, which is extremely important for the survival and progress of an institution, cannot be attained at the workplace. The study incorporates analytical approach and delves into the causes leading to strong ethnocentrism and gives recommendations to mitigate the intensity of ethnocentrism by accepting cultural variations and enhancing communicative competence and intercultural competence of employees serving at multicultural workplace settings. The present study contributes to the discipline of linguistics as it highlights the role of cognitive dimension of the social identity in demotivating a person for acquiring knowledge, v skills, and attitudes required for intercultural communication and evading interaction with foreign colleagues. The study is significant for employees serving at multi-national companies, overseas students and teachers. As they encounter people from different cultures daily, therefore their ethnocentric tendencies and behaviours should be countered and they must acquire intercultural communicative competence for ensuring effective intercultural communication.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2025-07-01

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