development of ICC. Due to lack of the published studies on the relationship of ICC and acculturation strategies, but the close relationship between ICC and acculturation strategies are obvious, further studies, models, concepts, and findings on ICC should not be limited to ICC. On the contrary, further exploration may reveal that the relationship between ICC and acculturation strategies are related and connected.
Sensitivity Scale (ISS), and intercultural communicative understanding is measured by the Personal Report on Intercultural Communication Understanding ( PRICA) . The results showed that differences in relationships with Americans outside the classroom were mainly in ICC and intercultural communicative understanding. Factors such as gender, nationality, number of American friends and education level were not predictors of participants' ICC and intercultural communicative understanding. Furthermore, it was found that length of time in the US influenced foreign students' intercultural communication competence, but not intercultural communication understanding. It can therefore be seen that international students' acculturation in the US context is related to their ICC. The study suggests that universities could provide on-campus or off-campus activities involving Chinese and American students to encourage interaction outside of the classroom. At the same time educators and administrators at universities can help Chinese students to improve their adaptation and ICC skills.
However, there was interesting research with a reverse perspective about Chinese international students in America. Imamura and Zhang ( 2014) examined 284 European Americans (n=284) perceptions on Chinese international students who used acculturation strategies as well as the impact of these strategies on participants' willingness to communicate with Chinese students by using a 7- point semantic differential scales questionnaire. The results showed that the American participants preferred to communicate with Chinese students who were more actively assimilated and integrated. They were more willing to communicate with students than with those who were isolated and marginalised. From the above, it can be concluded that the choice of acculturation strategies is closely related to international students' acculturation, which in turn promotes their willingness to communicate and thus the development of the student ICC. The research suggest that future research could examine how the perceptions of host country nationals towards the acculturation strategies used by people from other countries.
With the increase in the number of overseas students in Southeast Asia, some southeast Asian countries also have interests in carrying out intercultural and acculturation studies related to overseas students. Take Malaysia as an example. Shafaei
and Razak (2016) used a 6-point Likert scale to examine intercultural adaptation factors and adaptation-producing outcomes among 1,172 master's students in Malaysian public schools, developing a conceptual model and testing it empirically. Primarily, the socio- cultural and psychological adaptation of international postgraduate students and their adaptation outcomes ( i. e. perceived psychological well- being, perceived academic satisfaction and word of mouth) were examined, and personal factors ( i. e. English proficiency, media use, intention to stay in Malaysia after graduation, adjustment attitudes and attachment attitudes) and situational factors (i.e. social support, perceived stereotypical images and perceived complexity) were empirically test. The results indicated that among the predictable variables ( i. e. , personal and situational factors) , only two relationships were not significantly supported: (a) media use and psychological adjustment; and ( b) attachment attitudes and socio- cultural adjustment. All other relationships in the model were significantly backed. The study also found that international students ICC influenced their psychological well- being and academic satisfaction. The findings of this study provide some insights for Malaysian higher education policy makers as well as university administrators to retain and attract more international students.
Simultaneously, Mahmud and Foong (2019) investigated the perceptions of 42 international students ( n= 42) at a Malaysian public university on the nuances of communication competence, acculturation attitudes, and linguistic- cultural adaptation using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The findings revealed that the students' acculturation strategies for becoming acquainted with the host culture improved their intercultural communication skills, making them more culturally sensitive. This area of research could be useful in developing social programs for Malaysian educational institutions to increase the value of intercultural mobility for the successful integration of international students into their new environment.
However, studies on ICC perceptions or acculturation conducted in the Thai context have also attracted interest. For example, Rujipak and Limprasert ( 2016) investigated the adjustment of 389 international students ( n= 389) at Thai public universities in the form of a self- reported questionnaire, divided into sociocultural
adjustment and psychological well- being and the association between sociocultural adjustment and psychological well- being in the host culture. The findings showed no significant differences between genders in terms of cross- cultural adjustment, living with others, and length of stay in the host country age group and country group contributed significantly to the differences in international students' cross- cultural adjustment. The study recommends that international student departments in Thai universities should focus on service and support improvements to assist and facilitate the intercultural adjustment of their international students.
Chaiyasat (2020) also conducted a qualitative study over four years during the academic year 2016- 2019, using open- ended questions to gain insight into the intercultural adaptation experienced by 22 French exchange students while living in Thailand and participating in an exchange program. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the experiences of exchange students from France in four main areas of life: (1) language constraints and possible solutions; (2) culture shock and related stress from different cultures; ( 3) cultural adaptation; and ( 4) the development of French exchange students' intercultural adaptation to the collectivist environment in Thailand through extracurricular activities. The findings suggest that Thai universities should make efforts to increase meaningful intercultural contact between non-domestic and domestic students, such as collaborative projects or peer- assisted cultural learning programs, so that international students feel welcome and have accelerated cultural adaptation experiences during their stay in Thailand.
In conclusion, the above literature review mainly focused on most closely studies on the ICC or intercultural adaption of international students in public universities in the USA, Malaysia and Thailand. Most of these studies have used quantitative research, with a few using qualitative or using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. However, none of them focused on international students’
ICC perceptions and acculturation strategies used by them in private universities. Since ICC and acculturation strategies are closely related, and the researcher has also not found any studies on ICC and acculturation strategies among international students in
private universities in Thailand. Hence, this research fills this gap and put the ICC and acculturation strategies together.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This present chapter delineates the methodology utilized in the study, involving research design, population and sample, research instruments, data collection and data analysis.