Intercultural Communication Challenges in the Implementation of Kouryuukai Program

Authors

  • Ni Luh Gede Meilantari
  • Ladycia Sundayra
  • I Ketut Adi Artha
  • Luh Diah Masniari

Keywords:

communication barriers, cultural exchange, communication accommodation theory

Abstract

Globalization has intensified cross-cultural encounters, including through informal cultural exchange programs known in the Japanese context as kouryukai (???) — gatherings between native Japanese speakers and foreign students aimed at introducing cultural practices, building interpersonal relationships, and enhancing language proficiency. Despite its informal nature, kouryukai harbors considerable communicative complexity, as differences in linguistic backgrounds, communication styles, and social expectations frequently generate diverse communication barriers among participants.

Drawing on Howard Giles' Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), which distinguishes between convergence, the adaptive alignment of one's communicative style toward an interlocutor, and divergence, the deliberate maintenance of communicative differences to assert group identity; this study investigates the forms of communication barriers experienced by Indonesian university students in kouryukai and the strategies they employ in response. Employing a qualitative case study approach, data were gathered through triangulated methods of interview, observation, and documentation from students who had attended a minimum of two sessions. The findings reveal recurrent patterns of communicative barriers alongside the accommodation strategies participants deployed to navigate them.

Keywords: communication barriers, cultural exchange, communication accommodation theory

Downloads

Published

2026-11-07

How to Cite

Meilantari, N. L. G. ., Sundayra, L., Artha, I. K. A. ., & Masniari, L. D. . (2026). Intercultural Communication Challenges in the Implementation of Kouryuukai Program. Proceeding of International Conference on Japanese Studies, Language and Education, 7(1), 120-125. Retrieved from https://proceedings.aspbji.id/index.php/icjsle/article/view/163

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2026): Proceeding of International Conference on Japanese Studies, Language and Education (ICJSLE)

Section

Articles 
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