Japanese Speakers' Remedial Episode Avoidance in Problematic Situations With “Americans”

What is it about?

Using in-depth interviews, I describe Japanese speakers' experiences of not engaging in a remedial episode to deal with problematic situations with native English speakers: Their views of the code elements and the boundaries were reinforced, and their stereotypes about the other group persisted. They did not engage in a remedial episode because of their lack of confidence in their ability to speak English, distant relationships with others, and perceptions of themselves and Americans as belonging to different groups. Their not doing so, in turn, resulted in confirming these 3 factors.

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Why is it important?

The study contributes to the research on negative events in intercultural communication by describing the interactional dynamics of how participants' views of boundaries and stereotypes can be reinforced.