Intercultural Communication Study in China

Intercultural communication studies as an academic study area in China has mushroomed in recent decades, first taken up—and still mainly led—by scholars in English as a foreign language education, with important contributions from communication scholars. The scholarship is generally represented in continuous discussion on the conceptual front with broadening appreciation of this topic area to consider all its complexity, while data-based research is still in its infancy. Major research topics have largely concentrated on language-related communication aspects, from cultural influence on language learners to language use in numerous situations to reproduce culture and affect intercultural communication. Emerging topics reflect efforts to more directly connect China and global contexts in intercultural communication study.