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20Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 17–32that there are other factors that play an essential role in ICC development such as one’stendency, motivation and ability to engage in this experience. However, the precisenature of intercultural gains remains ambiguous as long as the mechanism of suchdevelopment is under-researched.In order to examine the link between ICC and personality traits in greater depth, a setof key traits (e.g. psychological adjustment, homesickness, motivation, andconscientiousness) has been identified. For example, it is found that academic and socialself-efficacy should also be mentioned as important beliefs in the domain of education(Constantine et al., 2004, p. 237). These beliefs should be added to the list of key traitssince they impact one’s confidence to approach or avoid academic challenges as well as tomake contact with other individuals (Ward et al., 2001, p. 247; Popescu et al., 2014, p.150). Nevertheless, the list is not limited by these personality traits.In particular, to explore the influence of psychological factors on the adjustmentprocess of international students to a new culture, Baier (2005, p. 49) identifies thatinternational students with a higher level of self-confidence and self-efficacy were morelikely to leave their home country and come to the US. Nevertheless, the researcher failsto identify any significant difference in the statistical analysis results on levels ofpersonality variables such as self-efficacy and self-confidence and cultural adjustmentbetween international students from western and non-western backgrounds (ibid.) ascultural heritage must be acknowledged when analysing the adaptation process ofinternational students.The topic of international students’ adjustment to a new cultural environment hasattracted close interest from scholars and researchers (Shieh, 2014, p. 61; van der Zee &van Oudenhoven, 2013, p. 930; Wilson et al., 2013, p. 908; Milstein, 2005, p. 226). Forexample, Winkelman (1994, p. 121) found that culture shock was associated with thefeelings of confusion, loss and impotence a person experiences when he/she lossesaccustomed cultural cues as well as social rules. Moreover, this chapter reviews the threecauses of this phenomenon; “1) the loss of familiar cues, 2) the breakdown ofinterpersonal communication, and 3) an identity crisis” according to Milstein (2005, p.219). International students who come to a new culture experience both psychologicaland physical reactions, which involve emotional, interpersonal, social and cognitivecomponents with impacts results from changes in their socio-cultural relations(Winkelman, 1994, p. 121).1.3.   Overview of the literature on the Saudi contextAccording to Hofstede’s (Hofstede, 2011, p.11) cultural framework, Saudi Arabia has acollectivist culture in which the ties among individuals are extremely strong, familyvalues are imposed on children from early childhood, and people provide support not onlyto their families, but also to members of their society (Alsubaie et al., 2015, p.24; Havril,

Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 17–32212015, p.562). Hofstede’s ‘power distance’ dimension shows a particularly high score (95percent) (Davis, 2014, p.3; Khan et al., 2016, p.51), which signifies that members of Saudisociety maintain a hierarchal order which creates social and gender inequality andminimises individualism (Alsubaie et al., 2015, p.24). Another high scored dimension –‘uncertainty avoidance’ – means that Saudi culture heavily relies on rules and may beresistant towards innovations and new ways of thinking, to ensure the survival ofcultural values and traditions (Alsubaie et al., 2015, p.24).The Arabic language has some peculiarities which pose certain difficulties forinternational students (Gutierrez et al., 2009, p. 20). More specifically, its characteristicfeature is diglossia, or the simultaneous use of two language varieties (higher and lower)in one speech community (Palmer, 2013, p. 59; Suchan, 2014, p. 3). The higher variety isModern Standard Arabic (MSA), which is widely employed for writing or forcommunication in academic circles. International students learning the Arabic languageoutside the Arab world are taught MSA (Ryding, 1995, p.226; Gutierrez et al., 2009,p.20). The lower variety is Spoken Colloquial Arabic (SCA), which people use foreveryday communication. Despite the fact that the emphasis in many educationalprogrammes has long been put on developing students’ skills in MSA, Palmer (2013,p.59) asserts that many international students choose the programmes which providethem with an opportunity to learn both varieties. With regard to SCA, this variety allowsinternational students to engage in informal communication with Arabs and penetratedeep into their culture (Palmer, 2013, p.62). However, in view of the fact that SCA isviewed as an ‘ungrammatical’ variety, “students who wish to learn spoken varieties ofArabic are often left to their own devices” (Palmer, 2013, p.64). Hence, it is claimed thatinternational students who learn the Arabic language outside the Arab world fail tocommunicate with Arab nationals when they come to an Arab country (Gutierrez et al.,2009, p.20).The importance of ICC for those who study and work in Saudi Arabia is difficult tooverstate. The research carried out by Karolak and Guta (2014, p.45) clearlydemonstrates that the faculty in one of the largest private universities – PrinceMohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU) – consists of people from 27 countries. In view ofthe existing multi-ethnicity, educators and students need ICC to understand each other.An ethnographic study of Lauring (2011, p.231), provides evidence that interculturalcommunication between Danish expatriates and Saudi employees was viewed as aprocess that hindered decision making within a company. In light of this, some employeesare excluded from participation in intercultural communication. As this was a Saudisubsidiary of a Danish corporation, Saudi employees are exposed to exclusion. However,as Lauring (2011, p.231) reveals, the failure to engage in intercultural communication isattributed to the reluctance of culturally diverse employees to pay attention to eachother’s needs and intentions.

22Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 17–321.4.  Theoretical frameworkFive-Factor Model (FFM) of Personality is especially useful for addressing researchquestions and for generating insights into the role of personality traits in shapinginternational students’ ICC. The trait approach draws parallels between personalitytraits and individual’s skills and behaviour and, more importantly, predicts the formationof specific skills and competencies, referring to personality traits (Kline, 2013, p. 4;Cooper, 2015, p. 90). FFM is found to be crucial for recognising valid predictors ofpersonality and for making generalisations (Costa & McCrae, 2009, p. 307; Barrick &Mount, 2012, p. 227), and it has previously been used very successfully for highereducation analysis (Block, 2010, p. 8). The framework is based on the dimensions nnesstoExperience,Conscientiousness and Agreeableness (Rothmann & Coetzer, 2003, p. 69). John andSrivastava (1999, p. 113) summarise a Big Five Trait taxonomy, presented in table (1)below:

Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 17–32Table (1): Personality Traits Index Meaning23

24Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 17–322.  MethodTo assesses the relationship between the two phenomena, namely the personalitytraits and ICC of international students in Saudi Arabia, I used a mixed methodapproach, which “opens the door to multiple methods, different worldviews, and differentassumptions, as well as to different forms of data collection and analysis” (Creswell,2014, p. 11). I incorporated both quantitative and qualitative approaches as it helps to“develop rich insights into various phenomena of interest that cannot be fully understoodusing only a quantitative or a qualitative method” (Venkatesh et al., 2013, p. 21).Furthermore, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative methods allows to strengthenthe advantages of both approaches and minimise their limitations. In the currentresearch, quantitative and qualitative approaches are employed sequentially to gaincomplete explanations; qualitative data are used to gain additional insights into theresults obtained in the quantitative phase. Another reason for choosing this approach isthat divergent or convergent results may be produced from combining qualitative andquantitative methods; this enhances the understanding of the phenomena being studied.Thus, the absence of one method may leave the research questions partially or totallyunanswered (Hashemi & Babaii, 2013, p. 829). Therefore, I consider the mixed-methodsapproach as a useful strategy that best provides in-depth answers to the researchquestions.2.1.  Data collection toolsThe quantitative instruments, AIC and IPIP-NEO-120, were administered to eachparticipant to explore the relationship between personality traits and ICC. I then usedthe qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews to investigate whichpersonality traits help students to cope with intercultural situations. The participantswere international learners of Arabic; thus, the two quantitative tools were translatedinto Arabic. In order to reduce potential challenges arising from translating datacollection tools for research†, I utilised “back-translation” in both phases of the currentstudy, which requires at least two translators (Hilton & Skrutkowski, 2002, p. 2). Thetwo translators who interpreted the tools used in this study are professional translatorsholding degrees in translation from English to Arabic and Arabic to English.In terms of measuring the participants’ ICC, I used AIC which was designed in the‘Your Objectives, Guidelines and Assessment’ (YOGA) format as part of a researchproject conducted by the Federation of the Experiment in International Living (Fantiniand Tirmizi, 2006, p. 6). Since this research project intends to generate insights into the†As Hilton and Skrutkowski (2002, p. 1) noted, ‘translating questionnaires for cross-cultural researchis fraught with methodological pitfalls related to colloquial phrases, jargon, idiomatic expressions,word clarity, and word meanings’.

Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 17–3225role of personality traits shaping international students’ ICC, the AIC is employedbecause personal characteristics, which are related to this study, such as flexibility andopen-mindedness, are listed as components of ICC (Fantini, 2009, p. 198).I chose to utilise the IPIP-NEO-120 as a means of data collection on five personalitytraits of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness.The IPIP-NEO-120 consists of 120 negative and positive statements, 24 items for eachtrait (Maples et al., 2014, p. 1072). I used this self-reporting tool because the study aimsto identify the specific personality traits of international students and the relevance ofthese traits to their ICC by exploring the participants’ actual behaviours. Based on theBig Five personality theory (Othman et al., 2014, p. 116), the IPIP-NEO was introducedin 1996 as a reaction to the restrictions such as the fees to use commercial personalityinventories like the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) (Goldberg et al.,2006, p. 86; Maples et al., 2014, p. 1070).The current study’s data was analysed through SPSS statistics version 20. Prior toactual analysis, the data was screened for the missing values, and study variables weretested for accuracy and normality. Following data screening, reliability analysis for thetwo instruments was done. Multiple linear regression was used to explain the correlationbetween the dependent variable; ICC, and independent variables; personality traits.2.2.  Data collection siteThis research was conducted at Umm Al Qura University, in Holy Makkah thatprovides a uniquely multicultural campus, compared to other universities in theKingdom of Saudi Arabia, and broadening the multicultural nature of the student bodycontinues to be a goal for the university. International students benefit from inclusion inthe community and classes, allowing them to interact with Saudi nationals andpromoting intercultural understanding. A growing body of research has found that amixture of international and local students plays a vital role in developing students’ ICC(Gurin et al., 2004, p. 30; Vande Berg et al., 2009, p. 25; Stemler et al., 2014, p. 45).Umm Al Qura University provides support for international students, which reducesthe obstacles that they may face during their study-abroad experience (About UQU,2017). Cultural mentors have been put forward as facilitators of students’ ICCdevelopment (Vande Berg et al., 2009, p. 25; Spenader & Retka, 2015, p. 22). Given thesecharacteristics, the researcher has chosen Umm Al Qura University, because it hasachieved a diversity that facilitates intercultural interactions among staff and students,thereby helping students enhance their ICC (Medina-López-Portillo, 2004, p. 196; Gutel,2008, p. 173; Stemler et al., 2014, p. 41; Engberg & Jourian, 2015, p. 3).

26Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 17–322.3.  ParticipantsThe researcher recruited bachelor degree students from the Institute of ArabicLanguage for Non-Native Speakers at Umm Al Qura University. The Institute isdedicated to serving as a global destination for those aspiring to learn the Arabiclanguage using advanced technologies. All 444 enrolled students receive a free education,free housing with rich social amenities, a monthly living allowance, a free annual roundtrip ticket home, free textbooks and free medical services (Overview, 2017). A total of 120male and female international students had been given information sheets and invited totake part in the quantitative phase after signing the consent forms. One-hundred andeight students returned the surveys (87 male students and 21 female students). Thecompleted surveys were 95 of which 79 male and 16 female students. This genderimbalance can be attributed to the low number of female students at the institution whorepresent 20.7%. The majority of participants (N 43) were between 24 to 26 years of agerepresenting 45.3%, followed by 20 to 23 years old (N 26) with 27.4%, then (N 17) 17.9%of them are 20 years old or younger and finally (N 9) 9.4% were older than 26.3.  FindingsThe results of the study reveal the correlations between ICC and personality traits.The discussion of the results is interlaced with reference to academic theory in order tobetter understand the implications and significance of these findings to provide meaningand insight to be attached to these findings as simply reporting on these findings is notenough. These findings will also be used in the development of the qualitative researchinstrument, namely the interview questions. Any themes that emerge through thequantitative inquiry will be expounded and elaborated during the interviews.This test relates to the correlation between ICC and personality traits. The findingsindicated that Openness was positively associated with ICC with (t 6.684, p.value .000)as seen in the following table (2).Table (2): Coefficients between ICC and Personality . 0-5.301.000

Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 06.481Conscientiousness.598.309.1191.935.05027a.   Dependent Variable: ICCb.   F 18.816, p .000, adj R2 .171It would thus appear that the more openness a person is, the more likely they are topossess ICC. In addition to this, Conscientiousness again is found to have a positivecorrelation with ICC with (t 1.935, p.value .050) as presented in table (2). WhereasNeuroticism emerged as being the trait had a strong negative correlation with ICC (t 5.301, p.value .000). Extraversion also had no correlation with ICC (t -1.411,p.value .159). This may come as a surprise given that this trait is associated withindividuals who are sociable, energetic and talkative (Hayes & Joseph, 2003, p. 726).That said however, as highlighted within the first part of the findings where it emergedthat extraverts tended to ‘take charge’ and become excited relatively easily. Additionally,this study found that Agreeableness was not related to ICC development (t .706,p.value .481).In keeping with the above findings, Wilson et al.’s (2013, p. 900) study in which therelationship between personality and sociocultural adaptation was examined andanalysed using FFM, and through a meta-analysis of secondary sources, found that threeout of the five dimensions of personality, namely Agreeableness, Extraversion andConscientiousness were positively correlated with peoples’ ability to adapt and integrateinto new cultural environments. It is prudent to note that, unlike others (Propat 2009, p.332), Wilson et al. (2013, p. 900) included contextual factors such as length of residencyabroad, previous cultural experiences, cultural knowledge and perceived discrimination.These were dubbed ‘situational factors’ and were contrasted with the personalitymeasures as part of the study (Wilson 2013, p. 906). This is mirrored by the empiricalfindings of Blume et al. (2010, p. 1065) and Kappe and van der Flier (2010, p. 142), whoakin to the present study, suggest that Conscientiousness, Extraversion andAgreeableness are relevant in the development of ICC especially in attributes such ascultural awareness, increased training ability and being able to have successful andmeaningful relationships with people from different cultures; the present study hasfound the two relevant personality traits of Conscientiousness and Openness as being keyin the development of ICC.

28Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 17–324.  ConclusionsIn addition to the issues emerging around extraversion and the extent to which thestudy suggests that this may not be as important for ICC, these issues will be exploredfurther. Participants who identify as extraverted will subsequently be asked to outlinetheir key strengths. The findings suggested that conscientiousness and openness had agreater correlation with ICC; self-identified extraverts will then be asked how they dealwith cultural diversity and the behaviours of others around them. They will also be askedof their listening skills as well as values; conscientious individuals tend to have valuessystems which are more human centric, thus they are likely to spend time cultivating.The present study finds that extraverts, despite being regarded as having a high socialaptitude in the literature, did not score highly on ICC. interviewees will thus be askedabout their communication styles and the extent to which they adapt these depending ontheir surroundings.ReferencesABOUT UQU, 2017. [online]. Umm Al Qura University 2016. [11 April, 2017]. Available from:https://uqu.edu.sa/en/main/AboutUsALSUBAIE, H., VALENZUELA, F,R., and Adapa, S., 2015. ‘The advent of Western-style shoppingcenters and changes in Saudi women’s purchasing behavior’. In: E.G. Hatem and R. Eid (Eds.),Emerging research on Islamic marketing and tourism in the global economy, Hershey: IGIGlobal.BAIER, S.T., 2005. International Students: Culture Shock and Adaptation to the US Culture.Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations.BARDI, A. and GUERRA, V.M., 2011. Cultural values predict coping using culture as anindividual difference variable in multicultural samples. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology,42(6), pp. 908-927.BARRICK, M.R. and MOUNT, M.K., 2012. Nature and Use of Personality in Selection. In: N.SCHMITT, ed, The Oxford handbook of personnel assessment and selection. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, pp. 225-251.BENNETT, J., 2011. Developing intercultural competence for international education faculty andstaffAssociation of international education administrators conference workshop, SanFrancisco, CA, pp. 20-23.BLOCK, J., 2010. The five-factor framing of personality and beyond: Some ruminations.Psychological Inquiry, 21(1), pp. 2-25.BYRAM, M., GRIBKOVA, B. and STARKEY, H., 2002. Developing the intercultural dimension inlanguage teaching. A practical introduction for teachers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe, pp. 141.

Rings & Allehyani/ International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 12(1) (2020) 17–3229CONSTANTINE, M.G., OKAZAKI, S.

explain ICC concepts can be traced back to Dell Hyme's notion of "Communicative Competence" developed in 1966 (Rajagopalan, 2008, p. 404) which is defined as "a social judgment about how well a person interacts with others" (Lusting & Koester, 2010, p. 65). Communicative Competence itself was a reaction to Chomsky's "Linguistic Competence" (Rajagopalan, 2008, p. 404), which .