Gerontology & Geriatric Research

Abstract

An Experimental Group Session for Cross-Cultural Social Skills Learning for International Students in Japan

Tomoko Tanaka and Minako Nakashima

As the acquisition of social skills for new environments is critical for cross-cultural adaptation, we conducted a small, experimental group session to develop a cross-cultural social skills learning program for international students in Japan, based on cognitive and behavioral learning techniques. A total of nine international students, four males and five females, enrolled in a Japanese university participated in the session. They learned cognitive and behavioral social skills, which focused on culture-specific behaviors through self-assessments, lectures, role-plays, feedback, and discussions. There was an increase in self-evaluation scores of behaviors and cultural understanding and positive attitudes were demonstrated. A total of 77 Japanese host students later watched video recordings of the role-plays and evaluated the performances using micro and macro-evaluation items. The performances of the international students and their impressions of these performances improved throughout the session. Extended effects related to their cross-cultural adaptation were investigated by a follow-up survey 1 year later. This method could be integrated into the health education curriculum for international students.