Agentive engagement in intercultural communication by L2 English-speaking international faculty and their L2 English-speaking host colleagues

Abstract The present study investigated agentive one-on-one intercultural communication between L2 English-speaking international faculty and their L2 English-speaking host colleagues in relation to identity (re)construction. Two foreign professors and their Chinese faculty colleagues participated in the study. The research instruments consisted of reflective journal writing and in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that the occasions of the faculty’s communication at Chinese universities were both influenced by and influenced a number of factors. These factors represented self- and other-positioning, agency, appropriation of native speakerism, face-threatening acts, and alterity. Based on the findings of the study, research implications are provided.