INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE OF FOREIGN STUDENTS IN SELECTED

UNIVERSITY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Neal Igan Garcia Roxas1 Danilo S. Vargas2

Central Luzon State University1 Cnetral Luzon State University2
nealiganroxas@gmail.com 1 dsvargas@clsu.edu.ph2

ABSTRACT
Due to globalization, exchange of human resources between countries have been rampant,
hence, intercultural communications between beings of different nationalities and cultures grew
prominent in the Philippines especially in educational institutions. This study seeks to gain a deeper
understanding of the communication processes happening inside the intercultural space. The
researcher chose and interviewed 10 foreign students in Central Luzon State University and other
universities in Baguio City that qualified the requirements proposed in the study.
Majority of the respondents were females, however, sexual preference did not influence the
academic performance of the respondents. The duration of their study in the Philippines did not
improve their situation as well. Religion and Language culture became the most influential aspect
of being a foreigner. The results showed that the respondents suffered greatly from language and
attitude problems. Moreover, family, friends, and religion greatly motivated the respondents to
study harder. According to the interviews, most of the respondents did not receive any special
program or treatments from the institution that they are enrolled in. No language subjects were
required for them to take, that is why some of the respondents could not speak or understand other
language aside from their native one.
Communication barriers caused them to diverge away from the natives. On the other hand, some
respondents experienced a different process wherein albeit of the communication barriers,
accommodative features were utilized such as showing of interests, and sympathy, that cause the
foreigners and the native to converge into each other and effectively communicate.
interactions and communication had been
INTRODUCTION triggered. The rising international market for
products and resource had called for
The world today was characterized initiatives among policymakers to promote a
by an ever-growing population of people
communicating with different linguistics and more culturally sensitive and diverse
cultures (Hybels, 2009). The diversity of society.
people in a society had grown therefore
In addition, higher
enlarging the intercultural space among us.
educational institutions had increased their
Due to globalization, the need for a effort to maximize the incentive of students
wider understanding of intercultural studying abroad (Salisbury, 2011). Students

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had travelled among other universities
outside the country to attain higher quality of
education (Bart et al, 2012). Internationally
competitive students had been the aim of
almost every university in the world,
according to ISO International Organization
for
Standardization (2017).
According to the abovementioned
study, in 2007, almost 3 million of students
around the world were studying in a different
country. It had been believed that these
students were insufficiently adjusted to
higher education in their host country.
However, overall achievement rates
of international students were higher than
drop-out rates (Barker and Westwood, 2012).
Objectives of the Study
This study mainly aimed to describe the
communication processes happening in an
intercultural space particularly inside the
academic and social lives of the foreign
students of Central Luzon State University
and Baguio City. The following were its
specific objectives:
1. To determine the socio-demographic
characteristics of the respondents;
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
“The world today is characterized by an
ever growing number of contacts resulting in
communication between people with different
linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This
communication takes place because of contacts
within areas of business, military cooperation,
science, education, mass media, entertainment,
tourism but also by immigrations brought about
by labor shortage or political conflicts.”
- Jens Allwood (2016) As
societies throughout the world become more
culturally diverse, intercultural contact
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This has shown that there were
improvements on the interactions inside an
intercultural space most especially among
students. The challenge of diversity was
eventually being surpassed by people due to
global demand of human resources.
Universities around the country have been
accepting foreign students and sending their
students to other countries to achieve a higher
level of learning and educational resources.
Thus, the interaction of intercultural beings is
higher in the academic field. This study shall
gain information on a deeper understanding
of intercultural communications and its
perceived influence on the academic
performances of the foreign students.
2. To describe the cultural identities of
the respondents;
3. To identify the agents of socialization
used by the respondents inside and
outside of the classroom;
4. To determine the perceived influence
of cultural identity and agents of
socialization to the academic
performance of the respondents;
5. To determine the intercultural
communication characteristics of the
respondents.
among people increase subsequently in
various means in their lives (Franko et. al,
2012). Communication among others from a
totally different culture requires an extensive
knowledge in effective communication
(Esber, 2012). This has convinced
policymakers to increase their efforts in
opening up countries for international
encounters among others (Aggarwal et al.,
2015). In the Philippines, many universities
have been accepting international students for
academic purposes.
Identity by definition, refers to the ideas of a
sense, developed in early years of childhood,
of oneself as both an agent and an object that
is seen, thought about, liked and disliked by
other (Benet-Martinez, 2015). This shall help
determine the factors that are included in the
cultural identity of a person.
Moreover, cultural identity can be shaped
and molded through interactions among
people with different cultural backgrounds
that can be gradually constructed as one’s
identity (Larrain, 2014). The differences
between these cultures had challenged the
communication between people.
According to Samiksha (2016), there
are six characteristics to an effective
communication. The first important thing is
that it should be composed of two or more
persons exchanging ideas with each other.
Communication cannot be thought in
the absence of the exchange of ideas. In order
to finish the process, encoding and decoding
of messages must be accomplished.
Mutual understanding means that the
receive should receive the message with the
same enthusiasm as to how it was given. It
builds relationship between the source and the
receiver to successfully achieve so.
In the broad sense, socialization is defined as
a process through which an individual
becomes a part of a society (Anastasiu, 2015).
This learning process makes it possible for
individuals to learn and acquire knowledge,
beliefs, practices and traditions of the social
system they wish to belong in.
According to Ibrahim et al. (2016), two
distinctions of socialization must be operated:
primary socialization and secondary
socialization. Primary socialization refers to
social interactions and learnings that a person
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experiences during adolescence. This is
basically practiced at home with families and
other people related with child care.
Secondary socialization on the other hand,
involves strong interaction of a person to his
environment and not only inside the family. It
is where people influence others and vice
versa during interchange of social beliefs and
insights.
However, socialization cannot be achieved
over a short period of time but rather,
gradually through the help of different agents
of socialization.
1. Family
In European societies, the
family no doubt the most
important agent of
socialization. Raising and
educating children are the
basics of socialization
(Gonzales-Mena, 2010). In
sociological literature devoted
to family, it defined as a group
of individuals wherein the
members are connected
through generations
2. Peers
According to an article
published in Boundless (2017), peer
group socialization begins as early as
when a child steps out of his doorsteps.
Peer groups are important in adolescence
because it is when a person develops an
identity that is separated from that of
when he was with his parents. 3. Religion
and Church Religion is an important
avenue of socialization for many people.
Like other institutions, churches,
mosques, and temples have their own
beliefs to share and
 teach upon people who wish to
be a part of it (Root, 2016).
4. Media
Mass media: newspaper,
radio, magazines, books,
video games, movies,
television—present a very
different aspect of
socialization because it does
not involve actual
interactions. It is a one-way
process of learning.
However, due to the rise
modern technology, the
internet became a very
prominent medium in
socialization where people
could interact to whomever
they wish to wherever in the
world (J. Gonzales-Mena,
2010).
According to Bart et. al (2012), more the 3
million students are studying outside their
country to achieve a higher quality of
education. They aim to increase their
potential not only in academics but also
socially.
A study by Bond et. al (2008) used
three categories that were assumed to
influence the study performances of foreign
students in British universities, namely the
following; (i)teaching style;
(ii)English language and
communication;
(iii)Assessment Methods. The results then
showed that the level of details given in
lectures, speed of lectures, academic
resources, group or individual assessments
are the important drivers of the academic
performances of the international students.
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A study by Eze et. al (2015) states that there
are four major factors that affect the
performances of the international students.
1. Language barriers
This has been the major
hindrance for the international
students who are non-native
English speakers. It is
suggested that the native
language or main language of
the foreign country must be
learnt in order to communicate
successfully in an intercultural
space.
2. Adjustment Barriers This is the
individual’s inability to adjust in
the interpersonal requirements
demanded by the new
environment. And by
environment, it means that not
only language but also on the
culture, and lifestyle of the people
living in that country. 3.
Academic Issues Academic
concerns represent the major
transition phase of international
students. This is mostly consisting
of prior teaching style, academic
performance and work load
issues.
4. Cultural Issues This has been the
biggest issue in the
international affairs, the
conflicts between cultures.
Ethnicity, language, traditions
all come in this factor of
communication.
No matter where you are in the world,
communication is important. But
crosscultural communication can require
much effort than just interchanging ideas
through verbal and non-verbal manners.
Culture has a large impact on how people
work and do business, therefore, intercultural
competence have critical implications on
globalization (Sinden, 2014).
METHODOLOGY
This study used the descriptive
method of research. This kind of research
design aims at finding out “what is” of a
certain situation (Kowalczyk, 2015). The
study mainly intends to describe the perceived
influence of the major variables that embody
intercultural communication to the academic
performance of the respondents as well as to
understand intercultural communications in a
deeper perspective.
Purposive sampling method was utilized in
this study. The researcher chose CLSU and
Baguio City because foreign students mostly
study in those areas. The researcher chose 10
foreign students from 5 different countries
who met the following requirements:
• Must be a citizen of a foreign country;
dual citizenship was also accepted by
the study;
• Must be enrolled in a university in the
Philippines; BS, MS, PhD, exchange
students, were all accepted by the
study.
The study used the qualitative technique
of data collection which included scheduled
one-on-one interviews that gathered richer
information and obtained a deeper
understanding of the intercultural
communication process among foreign
students.
Descriptive statistical methods were
utilized in analyzing the data that were
gathered in the study. Frequency and
percentage were used in analyzing nominal
data like socio-demographic and
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communication characteristics of the
respondents.
The study was based on Howard Giles’
Communication Accommodation Theory
(CAT). The theory was designed to explain
why people reduce or increase their
communication efforts among themselves as
well as the social consequences of doing so.
Moreover, Giles’ theory states that major
accommodative strategies involve
convergence and divergence of
communicative features. Converging towards
or diverging away from each other can be
achieved through verbal and nonverbal means
including language, choice of words, accent,
pitch, gestures, eye contact, and one’s speech
rate.
Giles furthermore concluded that people
converge with those they like, respect and
those who have power over them and diverge
away from those whom they don’t get much
along with. Indeed, it is possible to converge
on some communicative features while
simultaneously, diverging on others.
More specifically, these convergence or
divergence of communicative features affect
the social and academic competence of
foreign students. The study will then use the
following intervening variables that embodies
intercultural communication to determine
how these factors influence the academic
performance of the foreign students, namely:
communication characteristics, agents of
socialization, and cultural practices. The
socio-demographic characteristics of the
students will also be used such as name, age,
gender, and nationality. In order for students
to become more competent, global
opportunities must be opened for them in a
less culture-bound manner. (Ozturk, 1992)

Figure 1. Research Paradigm
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 1. Socio-
demographic Characteristics Age
Less than half of the respondents
were 22 (30%) and 26 years old (30%). Few
of the respondents were 20 years old (20%)
while the least number were age 19 (10%)
and 29 (10%).
Sex
Out of all the respondents, 70% are females
and only 30% are males. However, neither
being female or male changed the situation of
the foreign students.
Nationality
Majority of the respondents have dual
citizenship namely: Filipino-American,
African-American, and Mexican-American
(30%). There are some Thai (20%) and
Indonesians (20%). Lastly, a Burmese (10%)
and a Korean (10%) were the least members
of the respondents.
As presented, the pool of respondents
is a diversity of Asian and Western
nationalities which is relevant in this study to
really understand and interpret intercultural
communications.
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Educational Background in the
Philippines
As presented in the earlier parts of this study,
foreign students could be enrolled student of
undergrad and postgrad courses as well
exchange students. More than half of the
respondents were taking their Bachelor’s
degree in the country (60%). This percentage
was consisted of foreign students enrolled in
St. Louis University and University of the
Cordilleras in Baguio City. Only few were
taking Master’s degree (30%) and all of them
are from Central Luzon State University.
Only one of the respondents was an exchange
student of Maejo University and Central
Luzon State University (10%).
Moreover, majority of the respondents
had been studying in the Philippines for 3
years now (60%) and only very few had been
studying for 1 year and 11 months (20%). The
least number of the respondents had been
studying in the country for 9 months (10%)
and 3 months (10%). But the interviews
showed that all of the respondents, regardless
of the duration of their study in the country
were struggling the same.
1. Cultural Identity Religious
Activities
Religion affects culture
greatly because it is one of the pillars of
human traditions. The table below shows the
religion that the respondents believed in and
practiced.
Islam
One of the respondents was a Muslim
and believed in the Islamic religion (10%).
This comprised of religious activities such as
the following: wearing of Hijab for women
when men are around; prayers five times daily
in the mosque or a quiet and clean place
(Subuh, Dzuhur, Ashar, Magrhib, and
Isya); prohibition to eat pork or any food
with pork; reading of the holy book Qur’an;
Fasting during Ramadhan Feast and
celebration at the end of fasting or Eid al
Fitr.
Nonetheless, all of the religious
activities that were mentioned had
significant help and motivation to the
respondent’s
study, spirituality, and life in general
Christianism
More than half of the respondents were
Christians (70%). They practiced activities
such as the following: Sunday services;
praise and worship; Bible studies; cell group
meetings and prayers every night.
According to the respondents, they were not
very active in practicing these religious
activities. They did irregular prayers,
attended Sunday services not on a weekly
basis and deviously practiced other
activities in general.
Buddhism
Only few of the respondents practiced
Buddhism (20%). They describe the religion
as more of a way of life which does not
require much activities that were separated
from their daily routine. Buddhism, according
to them, was living their lives on its principles
and morality. This was comprised of only
praying at night.
On the contrary, Bennet (2016) stated that
assumptions that communication and
interactions styles are relate to religious
beliefs or any divine interventions are afoul.
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Culture
The culture of the foreign students was one
of the fundamentals of this study. Mostly
with their language, religion, and now with
their culture in general. However, the
respondents described theirs as somewhat
the same with the Filipinos, only different
on the following aspects: food,
money/currency, education, language, and
time management.
Five of the respondents described the
Filipino food as too sweet or sugary.
According to them, it was hard at first to
familiarize their tastes in Filipino food.
Indonesians, Thais, Koreans, and Burmese
preferred spicy food because most of their
local food tasted so.
There was also difference in currency
and value of money from each country.
Moreover, the Philippine education system
had started to shift into K-12 but was still
described as very different
by the respondents.
Language differences will
be described and be given emphasis in the
latter parts of this chapter and how it
influenced the academic performance of the
respondents.
The respondents needless to explain the
Filipino culture of time management. All of
the respondents described it late and tardy.
The way people use and regard time is
influenced by their culture and lifestyle
(Larrain, 2014).
2. Agents of Socialization
Interaction with other people was relevant to
the experiences of the foreign students while
they were staying and studying in the
Philippines. This section presents the
socializing features of the respondents.
 Humans perception are
greatly influence by the different approach,
value, and beliefs of the social organization
that we belong to (Ibrahim et. al, 2016).
Peer Groups
The table below shows the range of number
of friends the respondents have here in the
Philippines. This describes how interactive
the respondents were, as well as the activities
they did with their friends.
Some of the respondent had 10-20 friends
(40%). They said that it was really hard to
make friends in a foreign country mostly
because most Filipinos did not want to talk to
them. Only those who tried to approach them
or showed interest became their friends. Few
had 20 and more friends (30%). These are the
respondents that met good people in the
country.
However, less than half of the
respondents had 0-10 friends (30%). They
had very few inner circle friends because
they had encountered bad experiences with
Filipinos.
Moreover, activities with friends included
eating (90%), talking (90%), studying (70%),
and travelling (30%). The respondents
described these activities as normalized
activities that friends and acquaintances did
during their free time.
Family
Family plays a great role in the socialization
of the respondents. However, none of the
respondents had a family member or relative
here in the country. All of their parents,
siblings, cousins and other members were all
abroad but through mediated communication,
they still had the chance to socialize with
them. According to the respondents, their
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families were the initial inspiration of their
lives. Raising and educating at home were the
basics of socialization, hence, family was the
most important agent of socialization
(GonazelsMena, 2010).
Most of the respondents belong to a
nuclear family (80%). This means that they
were dependent among their parents, and is
considered as the most traditional type of
family. And the rest belongs to the extended
family (20%). This means that they live with
their grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles
at home.
Purpose of Utilization of Internet and
Social Media
The table below presents how the
respondents utilized internet and social
media. The purpose of internet and social
media had been divided into three: for
entertainment, communication, and
as information source.
As entertainment, the respondents used
Youtube (100%), Online movies and TV
series websites (70%), Spotify and other
music platforms (40%).
Moreover, social media served as
communication platforms for the
respondents. They used Facebook (100%),
Instagram (100%), Messenger (100%),
Twitter (80%), Line (60%), Kakao Talk
(60%), and BBM (40%). Texting was not
mostly used in foreign countries that was why
the respondents relied on using social media
platforms.
In addition to that, news and information
source was also a purpose of the internet.
Google was the most used platform by all of
the respondents (100%). This site greatly
helped the respondents through providing
ideas and information that they needed for
their assignments and exams. Google also
served as translator for the respondents who
could not speak and understand other
languages. This was a oneway process of
receiving and learning and did not involve
actual interactions (GonzalesMena, 2010).
Moreover, Yahoo updated some of the
respondents with current news and events
(30%). It provided local and foreign news for
the respondents. One Muslim respondent
checked the news most of the time to know
the updates on the war going on in Mindanao
that involves Muslims as well.
Intercultural Activities
However, almost all of the respondent
did not have any activities or programs in
their universities (70%). On the other hand,
few of the respondents had orientation
program, and welcome parties accommodated
by Central Luzon State University whenever
foreign students will enter the university
(40%).
According to the majority of the respondents,
having no special programs or activities for
them made it extra harder to adjust in the
Philippines. Some of the respondents entered
their university just like a normal Filipino
student except the fact that they were not and
they did not know most of the things in the
country at the time.
3. Perceived Influence of Cultural
Identity and Agents of Socialization to
Academic Perofrmance Religious
Activities
Religious activities were practiced by most of
the respondents during their study in the
Philippines. Moreover, these activities greatly
influenced the academic performance of one
of the respondents. According to Husarida,
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Muslim, her religion was one of the few
things that motivated her and brought
enlightenment to her whenever she was
feeling sad, lonely, homesick, and lost in the
foreign country. In general, it helped her grow
as a person to achieve more successes in her
study and in her life.
However, practicing religion in the
Philippines also had its downfall. It was
mentioned earlier that a Muslim must pray
five times every day, even during classes.
Specifically, Subuh at 4:12am, Dzuhur at
12:02pm, Ashar at 3:24pm, Magrhib at
6:32pm, and Isya at 7:47pm. There were
times that the respondent would be late for her
classes because she had to pray inside her
dormitory which is far from her classrooms.
There are no mosques in Central Luzon State
University or anywhere near the area that was
why she prayed at her room.
Christian respondents described their
religion as non-strict and does not require
too much activities or rituals which means it
did not consume their time nor had any
significant influence on their academic
performance.
Culture
Language influenced the academic
performance of the respondents the most. As
mentioned in the earlier parts, it became a big
problem to their comprehension of what they
were studying. Most of them received limited
information because they could not speak and
understand the language.
Other than that, food, money, and other
cultural and lifestyle differences did not have
any significant influence to the academic
performance of the respondents.
Peer Groups On the contrary, social media distracted
the focus of the respondents. Platforms such
Friends had a great role in the respondent’s
as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were
adjustment factors. According to the
very addicting for the respondents. Scrolling
respondents, friends had always been helpful
down their newsfeed or chatting with their
in their studies and in explaining things that
friends consumed most of their time that were
they could not understand. They acted as their
supposedly allotted for studying or reviewing
support group in the Philippines. Friends also
their lessons.
had their contribution on the emotional
stability of the respondents. Being away from 4. Intercultural Communication
their family, and home country was a great Characteristics Source
struggle for the respondents but their friends
The table below presents the source of
made sure to make them feel at home while in
information that the respondents were
a foreign country. Most of the respondents
receiving. This discusses who they talk to or
described Filipinos as funny and outgoing.
where they get information from while
Social communication skills with compatriots
staying in the Philippines. All of the
greatly influenced the efficiency of
respondents used internet as their source of
international students in education in a
information (100%). Moreover, almost all of
foreign country (Chen et. al, 2009).
the respondents communicated with Filipino
Family friends, and Co-foreigner friends (90%) while
more than half of them talked with their
According to the respondents, family was
Family, and Professors/Instructors/Superiors
considered as the primary inspiration of their
(70%).
goals in life. In their academic performance,
family was their motivation. Whenever they The table below shows the subjects of
were feeling bad, lonely, and homesick which communication between the respondents who
hinders their efficiency academically, they they talk to or where they get the information
would talk to their family and would from. This discusses what they talk about
immediately feel better. during the process. All of the respondents
answered lifestyle or everyday instructions as
However, one of the respondents
the subject matter of their conversations
described her family’s influence as force and
(100%). This was comprised of how to’s such
pressure. This put weight on her and added
as riding public utility vehicles, buying food
frustrations. But according to her, she tried to
from the public market, or even just walking
accept them as challenge to study harder and
in the street. A situation regarding this was
be what she wanted to be. Internet and
described by one of the respondents.
Social Media
Moreover, most of the respondents also said
Internet was very helpful in the studies of
that they usually talk about their home
the foreign students. As it is a wide platform
country and vice versa, the Philippines (70%).
of information, they gather ideas and the
Most of the conversations they had with
things they did not know at websites. Some
Filipinos are composed of questions asking
also used it as translators whenever they were
about their home town,
having a hard time understanding something.

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 In addition, school works was also
the subject of some of their conversations
(70%). They talk about assignments,
upcoming exams, and they review lessons
notes with others. Some of the respondents
also answered common interests such as
music, movies, fashion, novels etc. as the
matter of their communication (40%) and
lastly, only few said they talk about gossips
(30%).
Language
All of the respondents used both English and
Filipino when talking (100%). However,
some of the respondents also used their native
language even in the Philippines such as:
Siamese (20%), Bahasa (20%),
Hangul/Hanguk (10%), and Mranmabhasa
(10%). These respondents used their language
when they were communicating with their
families, foreign friends, and some Filipinos
who were interested in learning their
language.
Channel
The table below displays the medium in
which the communication process happens.
Specifically, it could be through face-to-face,
mediated, verbal, and nonverbal modes of
communication. All of the respondents used
all channels of communications (100%).
All of the respondents stated that
horizontal communication was mostly
demonstrated and practiced inside their
homes. This means that all members of the
family interact and give or receive
information when communicating. On the
hand, their government use vertical
communication. From the highest entity of
the hierarchy down to the smaller units.
Information Gain and Utilization
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Through communication, information
was transmitted by the source and gained by
the receiver, or vice versa. The table below
shows if the respondents gained and utilized
complete information or limited/incomplete
information from their source. More than half
of the respondents gained limited/incomplete
information (70%) while only few of them
said that they gained complete information
from their source (30%).
Moreover, all the
respondents answered that they utilized the
information that they had received, even if
some were complete, and some were not
(100%).
Communication Barrier
During the communication process,
barriers are hindrances that are experienced
by the source and the receiver that causes
ineffective communication. This greatly
affected the communication process of the
respondents because they had experienced
different kinds of barriers such as the
following: language barrier (100%), attitude
barrier (70%), geographical barrier (30%),
use of different accents (30%), and use of
jargons (20%).
Figure 2. Intercultural communication
model of divergence and convergence
During communication process
between intercultural beings, interactive
mode of communicating was used. In this
case, both the native and the foreigner could
either serve as the source and receiver,
respectively. In the diagram above, it was
showed how both ends of the process
received limited or incomplete information
due to the communication barriers
experienced. Aside from that, it also caused
the foreigner and the native to diverge away
from each other, stopping the relationship
that could have been formed through
communication.
On other hand, both foreigner and native
received complete information in this
process. This was because accommodated
features had been added in this diagram to
show to reciprocate communication barriers
so that the information gain would not be
hindered.
Accommodative features include
showing sympathy, patience in explaining
and understanding, good listening, and
displaying interest towards one another.
These features caused the foreigner and the
native to converge into each other that could
start as a good relationship between the
intercultural beings.
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
After conducting the interviews, and
analyzing the data gathered, the researcher
came up with the following conclusions:
1. There is a diverse pool of foreign
student in the Philippines. Not
only from Asia but also from
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3781250
Western countries and other
continents of the world.
2. Foreign students suffer greatly
from language and attitude
problems. There are foreign
students who came in the
Philippines that did not know how
to speak English or any other
language aside from their native
language. Moreover, universities
did not require them to take
language subjects.
3. Communication barriers such as
language and attitude will always
be present in intercultural
communications, and it will cause
divergence among the foreigners
and the natives. However, if
accommodative features shall be
used, convergence between them
could most probably occur.
4. Most of the respondents received
no special treatment or programs
when they enrolled in the
Philippines. This added the
struggle of the foreign students.
5. Aside from language and religion,
other cultural aspects do not have
significant influence to the
academic performance of the
foreign students.
For further studies and researches in
the same field of communication, the
researcher recommends the following:
1. Conduct the study on a larger
scale or number of respondents;
consider the diversity of the
respondents that shall be chosen.
2. Specify and focus on the academic
dimension of the study; determine
or navigate the specific influence
 or if possible, effects of Beausaert, Grohnert, Niemantsverdriet, and Rienties
intercultural communications. (2011), Understanding Academic Performance of
International Students
3. Research on the universities in the
country on how they
Bennett M.J. (2016), The Value of Cultural Diversity:
accommodate the foreign students Rhetoric and Reality
studying in their institution.
4. Focus on the cultural aspect of the Benet-Martinez V. (2015), Cultural Identity Dynamics
foreign students and how it affects and Intersubjective Cultural Representations
them while here in the
Philippines; specify and dig Bertelsen P., Ozer S., Schwartz S., Singla R. (2017),
deeper on the cultural differences Ladakhi Students’ Negotiation of Cultural Identity in
the Context of Globalization-based Acculturation
of the respondents and the natives.
5. Research on how the natives
Bond A., Lebcir R. M., Wells H. (2008), Factors
perceive intercultural Affecting Academic Performances of International
communications. Students in Project Management Courses: A Case
6. Explore on the other sides of Study from a British Post 92 University
intercultural communications in
the country. Specifically, how Boundless (2017), Family, Peers, Church, and School
ethnic groups in the Philippines
communicate in our society. This Esber, Betse, C., (2012), Intercultural Communication
shall cover the Ilocanos, and Education in Multicultural Societies
Kapampangans, Maranaos,
F.A., Ibrahim, J.R., Heuer, (2016) Cultural and Social
Igorots, and other native ethnic Justice Counseling, International and Cultural
groups or tribes. Psychology
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Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3781250