| dc.description.abstract | The effects of international volunteering have been widely discussed. However, research is
mostly limited to a certain population that does not include minorities. To extend and
contribute to this topic, second-generation Vietnamese Germans were interviewed to
investigate the perceived impacts of diaspora volunteering on intercultural competence and
identity. Deardorff’s process model of intercultural competence (2006) and the Global People
Competence Framework by Spencer-Oatey and Stadler (2009) serve to identify competencies
that the participants developed. The perceived impacts were reflected in seven categories:
attitude, contact with Vietnamese people, Vietnamese language, communication and
interaction, reflection, identity, and other impacts. Though the participants have developed
intercultural competencies, they had difficulties to report on them. Their development was
further influenced by their level of reflection, the time span between their service and the
interviews, their friends, and their studies. The development of identity was considered an
important outcome. This shows that the impacts on identity are worth considering in further
research on diaspora volunteering and intercultural competence. The participants learned to
understand others and themselves through contact and effective interactions with their ethnic
in-group. All in all, the voluntary service was perceived as having a great influence on the
participants’ lives. | |
