Impact of Bilingual Language and Their Proficiency on Role Behaviors in Strategic Decision-Making Meetings

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Objectives:This paper investigates whether (1) Hong Kong bilinguals exhibit different role behaviors in interconnected Cantonese (L1) and English (L2) strategic decision-making meetings; (2) individuals with higher L2 proficiency exhibit more task-facilitating role behaviors, while individuals with lower L2 proficiency likely exhibit more relational-maintenance role behaviors; and (3) English proficiency affect the role behavior of Hong Kong bilinguals.
Methods:The study adopted a schema developed by Benne and Sheats and Barker, Wahlers, Watson, & Kibler. The data consisted of 22 meeting transcripts with a total copra of 65,397 words of English dialogs and 120,998 Chinese characters. The number and frequency of the role behaviors of each participant were codified, counted, and compared to examine the impact of language use and L2 proficiency on role behaviors.
Results:The results showed that Hong Kong bilinguals performed more task-facilitating and relational-maintenance role behaviors in Cantonese meetings than in English meetings. Findings also revealed that L2 proficiency influenced task-facilitating role behaviors when making decisions in English and that the individuals who performed more task-facilitating role behaviors in English meetings had a tendency to perform more task-facilitating role behaviors in Cantonese meetings.
Conclusion:The study clarifies when and why Hong Kong bilinguals communicate differently in their L1 and L2 meetings. The study provides possible markers for improving the quantity and quality of intercultural communication. When bilinguals with intermediate L2 proficiency participate in an intercultural meeting requiring interactive decision making, the challenge is to create a communication structure where their communication potential can be more fully utilized.

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