THE SOCIO-AFFECTIVE FACTORS ACCOMPANYING CROSS-CULTURAL INTERACTIONS

The disparity between Persian as a second language learners studying in Persian language centers in Iran and Iranian Persian speakers especially language teachers with respect to cross-cultural backgrounds may cause these students to develop some affective problems and negative attitudes which might also impact their socio-cultural appreciations to a substantial extent. Accordingly, the present study targets at exploring some cross-cultural concerns in Persian language teaching centers and the relationships existing among studentsʹ L2 anxiety, their attitudes towards L2 teachersʹ personality features , and their cross-cultural sensitivity levels as well as the differences between these learners with differing Persian vs. non-Persian would-be majors and levels of proficiency as to the three variables under scrutiny. For the purpose of the study, a number of the international students were recruited from some intact classes in the international university of Imam Khomeini (IKIU) located in Qazvin province who were either taking (1) beginning level Persian courses (n=37), or (2) intermediate level classes (n =31). The results may allude to considerable relationships existing among Persian L2 learnersʹ decrease in degrees of anxiety, and increase in their cross-cultural sensitivity as well as attitudes towards the out-group members especially their language teachers.