The Impact of Bilingualism and Biculturalism on Improving Intercultural Communication in Ramallah’s Private Schoolرسالة ماجستير

Abstract

The world consists of multiple countries that uphold several diverse cultures and languages throughout generations. Each of these countries is trying to grasp on to their own heritage and identity. Communication is the key element for these countries to express verbally and non-verbally their needs and ideology. Hence, when it comes to communication between individuals of different backgrounds, a cultural and linguistic gap is made, or is it? Answering this question will generate huge influence and awareness upon individuals who are oblivion to what can and what can’t cause clashes and confusions between societies. This research aims at answering the main question “Can biculturalism and bilingualism distort or facilitate intercultural communication?” This is the main question that will guide the public into seeking what those two factors can have impacts on communication in the Palestinian society. The researcher will conduct this research through one method to achieve solid, satisfying results. This method is done by distributing a well-defined questionnaire among high school students who were born in a foreign country, outside of Palestine and have returned to Palestine after a duration of time. There is much to expect from the outcome of the survey such as finding a pattern in miscommunication among the Palestinian citizenship and his foreigner interlocutor. It can contribute to the Palestinian community in a large scale. First, by getting a closer look at the culture of Palestine and not generalizing it under the label of Eastern cultures since it has its own customs. This will be the cultural aspect of the study. The other aspect is the language of the different dialects in Palestine which can also cause misunderstandings. Both will be beneficial to the global eye to understand both cultures. 13 The results of the study showed that the individuals who are bilingual and bicultural didn’t face any obstacles or problems when they returned to Palestine after being abroad for a long duration. There are many possible reasons for this. Some of them may be due to frequent visitations, parent’s role and technology.