Intercultural Communication and Barriers in Malaysian Public Universities: The Mediating Effect of Intercultural Willingness to Communicate

• Main Authors: Rajan, Pragash Muthu, Alam, Sultana, Kia, Khor Kheng, Subramaniam, Charles Ramendran SPR
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: anxiety/uncertainty management; intercultural willingness to communicate; intercultural communication; ethnocentrism; undergraduates
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/apssr/vol21/iss2/9; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/apssr/article/1371/viewcontent/RA_208_revised.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Underpinned by anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of intercultural willingness to communicate (IWTC) on the relationship between intercultural barriers (anxiety, uncertainty, and ethnocentrism) and intercultural communication among undergraduates in five Malaysian public universities. A quantitative method using a questionnaire was employed to gather data for the study, and analyses were performed using structural equation modeling (SEM) - partial least square (PLS). The analysis of responses from 450 undergraduates revealed that intercultural willingness to communicate mediates the relationship between anxiety, uncertainty, ethnocentrism, and intercultural communication. This study further revealed that anxiety, uncertainty, and ethnocentrism have a direct negative influence on intercultural willingness to communicate and an indirect negative influence on intercultural communication.