Intercultural Communiation Apprehension: The Case of Anadolu University for the Erasmus Student Exchange Program

The purpose of this study is to describe interpersonal communication processes that the individuals establish with natives while they live in different cultures. In the study, firstly, interactions between culture and communication were investigated, and then, the concept of intercultural communication apprehension was examined with the data collected from students who came from various Asian and European countries to Anadolu University as well as Anadolu students who went to European countries in the scope of Erasmus student exchange program. In order to be able to determine whether the students felt communication apprehension within the cultures they were visiting, the descriptive model as a quantitative research approach was employed in the study. The data was collected with McCrosky's Intercultural Communication Apprehension Scale, which is a 14 item, five-point Likert type instrument. Additionally, the extent of the students' participation to cultural activities in the Universities they visited and the relationship between the students' achievements and their perceptions of communication apprehension were also investigated. Findings revealed that Turkish and European students had lower communication apprehension than Asia students. However, this finding should not be lead to the misunderstanding that apprehension is the only indicator in intercultural communication process. In further studies, in order to be able to analyze the communication process better, effects of cultural characteristics on communication process should be examined in detail along with the apprehension factor.