Cultural, Interpersonal Relationships and Communication Challenges as Perceived by Nigerian Post-graduate Students in a Public Academic Institution in Malaysia

Abstract

This study explored Nigerian post-graduate students’ perceptions of intercultural communication challenges faced in the wider socio-cultural context of society as well as in the setting of a higher education institution in Malaysia. Core findings of two focus group interviews with fourteen Nigerian students are reported. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded. Inductive qualitative analysis was used to determine categories and themes which emerged in the focus groups’ data. The main highlights discovered were the issues of local media’s indiscriminate generalizations and biased coverage of activities of Nigerians. The informants also referred to Malaysians’ natural proclivity for silence and their poor responsiveness in communicative interactions, the language barrier as well as religion-induced discriminations as factors contributing to the inefficacy of intercultural communication. The findings are discussed with reference to the macro-cultural patterns of world cultures as well as the culture-specific qualities of the Malaysian society.