Cross-Cultural Communication in the Algerian Society: Interaction and Communication between West African students and Algerian students at Mostaganem University.

Abstract

Nowadays it is indispensable to be equipped with various interactional skills because globalization involves increasing contacts between individuals coming from different cultural backgrounds. The necessity to undertake this study came from multiple experiences (interactions, communication, education…) as a West African foreign student at Abdlhamid Ibn Badis Mostaganen University since 2014. So this current study aims to show the importance of an effective communication skills that the students from different cultural backgrounds use to interact with each other and understand how teachers can help them improve their intercultural communication competencies. The result from the data have also shown that the West African students are more aware about interculturality than their Algerian classmates; even though both groups of students seemed to be culturally well equipped. The teachers also have positive attitudes towards the target cultures from the interviews and the classrooms observations. Moreover, the goal of this study is also to underline some cross-cultural communication issues that may be behind the communication and interaction difficulties between those two group of students.