General Research on Intercultural Facework Competence of Non―English Major Postgraduates.docVIP

General Research on Intercultural Facework Competence of Non―English Major Postgraduates 　　【Abstract】This paper examines different intercultural facework competence in various intercultural conflicts between English major and non-English major postgraduates based on S.Ting-Toomey’s face-negotiation theory. Data were collected by questionnaire called DCT and analyzed with Mean Comparison and ANOVA. The results show that （1） the facework competence of non-English major postgraduate students is lower than English major students in genera； （2） gender difference has been found to be a significant factor. 　　【Key words】face-negotiation theory； facework competence； intercultural conflicts 　　Introduction 　　Postgraduate students， as major members of future elites， are more likely to interact with foreigners. Therefore， its significant to assess their intercultural communication competence， in which the most tough one is conflict-management capacity for face， which refers to projected image of a person’s self in a relationship network （Ting-Toomey， 1988） is the most crucial factor for Chinese people. 　　Facework Competence Model 　　Facework competence is conceptualized as an optimal integration of knowledge， mindfulness and communication skills in managing self’s and other’s face-related concerns （Ting-Toomey， 1997）. There are three core dimensions in facework competence model： knowledge， mindfulness and communication skills. 　　Knowledge refers to the process of in-depth understanding of certain phenomenon via a range of information gained through conscious learning and personal experiences （Ting-Toomey A-Kurogi， 1998）. Knowledge plays a fundamental role in formulating individual’s intercultural competence. 　　Mindfulness （Thich， 1991） means attending to one’s internal assumptions， cognitions and emotions and simultaneously attuning attentively to the others’ assumptions， cognitions and emotions. That is individuals have to have the access or ability to empathy via c