IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v5y2019i1d10.1057_s41599-019-0365-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sharing the same languages helps us work better together

Author

Listed:
  • W. Quin Yow

    (Singapore University of Technology and Design)

  • Tony Zhao Ming Lim

    (Singapore University of Technology and Design)

Abstract

Collaborative problem-solving, the mutual engagement of people in a coordinated effort to solve a problem together, plays a critical role in the increasingly complex, linguistically diverse, and interconnected world. In particular, being able to communicate in the same languages provides a critical platform for facilitating problem solving among members of a multilingual team. Little research has explored whether sharing the same spoken languages would boost collaborative problem-solving over and beyond the effects of possible confounding variables such as language proficiency, personality, ethnicity, nationality, and non-verbal intelligence. This study manipulated the sharing of same languages by pairing 118 English-speaking bilingual participants either with someone who shares the same two spoken languages as themselves (English-same pair) or with someone who differs in one language (English-different pair). We explored whether such sharing of the same languages enhances collaborative problem-solving in multilingual pairs. Participants completed the Raven’s Matrices individually, as well as an insight problem-solving task (Triangle of Coins task) and a divergent thinking task (Mind-mapping) in pairs. English-same pairs performed better than English-different pairs in the insight problem-solving task but not in the divergent thinking task. English-different pairs collaborated (mean number of turns per minute) and communicated (mean number of utterances) more than English-same pairs in the divergent thinking task, although the effect of pair type on communication was fully mediated by a difference in ethnicity within pairs. More collaboration could have been needed between English-different pairs in the divergent thinking task to achieve comparable performance as English-same pairs, possibly due to the different communication processes experienced by English-different pairs. This study provides insights to the role of sharing spoken languages in enhancing collaborative problem-solving in small multilingual groups.

Suggested Citation

  • W. Quin Yow & Tony Zhao Ming Lim, 2019. "Sharing the same languages helps us work better together," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:5:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-019-0365-z
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-019-0365-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-019-0365-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-019-0365-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tsedal Beyene & Pamela J. Hinds & Catherine Durnell Cramton, 2009. "Walking Through Jelly: Language Proficiency, Emotions, and Disrupted Collaboration in Global Work," Harvard Business School Working Papers 09-138, Harvard Business School.
    2. D. Sandy Staples & Lina Zhao, 2006. "The Effects of Cultural Diversity in Virtual Teams Versus Face-to-Face Teams," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 389-406, July.
    3. Patrick T. Terenzini & Alberto F. Cabrera & Carol L. Colbeck & Stefani A. Bjorklund & John M. Parente, 2001. "Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Classroom," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 72(5), pages 509-531, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xuli Tang & Xin Li & Feicheng Ma, 2022. "Internationalizing AI: evolution and impact of distance factors," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(1), pages 181-205, January.
    2. Hiromi Kawasaki & Satoko Yamasaki & Mio Yamakido & Yoshihiro Murata, 2022. "Introductory Disaster Training for Aspiring Teachers: A Pilot Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-12, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Blanes I Vidal, Jordi, 2020. "Face-to-face communication in organizations," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 106580, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Nader Ale Ebrahim & Shamsuddin Ahmed & Zahari Taha, 2009. "Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review," Post-Print hal-00593358, HAL.
    3. Boyer O’Leary, Michael & Wilson, Jeanne M. & Metiu, Anca, 2011. "Beyond Being There: The Symbolic Role of Communication and Identification in the Emergence of Perceived Proximity in Geographically Dispersed Work," ESSEC Working Papers WP1112, ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School.
    4. Bruce A. Reinig & Ira Horowitz & G. E. Whittenburg, 2011. "A Longitudinal Analysis of Satisfaction with Group Work," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 215-237, March.
    5. Jolanta Maj & Aneta Hamza-Orlinska, 2024. "Exploring Inclusion in the Remote Startup Landscape: A Case Study Analysis," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2024(4), pages 1-19.
    6. Gabor Bekes & Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano, 2022. "Cultural homophily and collaboration in superstar teams," CEP Discussion Papers dp1873, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Lionel P. Robert Jr & Alan R. Dennis & Manju K. Ahuja, 2018. "Differences are Different: Examining the Effects of Communication Media on the Impacts of Racial and Gender Diversity in Decision-Making Teams," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(3), pages 525-545, September.
    8. Craig M. Elliott II & Olivia Stransky & Ricardo Negron & Melinda Bowlby & Jessica Lickiss & Diksha Dutt & Nandini Dasgupta & Peter Barbosa, 2013. "Institutional Barriers to Diversity Change Work in Higher Education," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(2), pages 21582440134, May.
    9. Fasanmi, Samuel Sunday & Ogunyemi, A.O., 2018. "Relationship between Social Networking Platforms and Performance of Virtual Teams in Nigeria Telecomunnication Industry," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(1), pages 1-30, March.
    10. Lin Chien Chiang, 2016. "Utilizing Virtual Team: Lessons Learned from MMORPGs Players," Journal of Business Administration Research, Journal of Business Administration Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 5(1), pages 42-53, April.
    11. Richter, Nicole Franziska & Martin, Jonathan & Hansen, Sofie V. & Taras, Vasyl & Alon, Ilan, 2021. "Motivational configurations of cultural intelligence, social integration, and performance in global virtual teams," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 351-367.
    12. Elena Cizmaș & Emőke-Szidónia Feder & Mădălina-Dumitrița Maticiuc & Silvia Vlad-Anghel, 2020. "Team Management, Diversity, and Performance as Key Influencing Factors of Organizational Sustainable Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-33, September.
    13. Julie J. Park & Young K. Kim & Kristyn Lue & Jia Zheng & Roshan Parikh & Cinthya Salazar & Arman Liwanag, 2021. "Who Are You Studying With? The Role of Diverse Friendships in STEM and Corresponding Inequality," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(8), pages 1146-1167, December.
    14. Sherae Daniel & Ritu Agarwal & Katherine J. Stewart, 2013. "The Effects of Diversity in Global, Distributed Collectives: A Study of Open Source Project Success," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 312-333, June.
    15. Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2008. "Virtuality, Innovation and R&D Activities," MPRA Paper 27267, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Apr 2009.
    16. Xiaowen Guan & Hye Eun Lee, 2022. "Does Culture Really Matter? A Comparison Between Victims’ Cognitive and Communicative Responses to Cultural In-Group Versus Out-Group Perpetrators in Social Predicaments," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    17. Raphael Lissillour & Jean Michel Sahut, 2023. "Uses of Information Systems to Develop Trust in Family Firms," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 65(2), pages 127-141, April.
    18. Giambatista, Robert C. & Bhappu, Anita D., 2010. "Diversity's harvest: Interactions of diversity sources and communication technology on creative group performance," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 116-126, March.
    19. Eisenberg, Julia & Mattarelli, Elisa, 2017. "Building Bridges in Global Virtual Teams: The Role of Multicultural Brokers in Overcoming the Negative Effects of Identity Threats on Knowledge Sharing Across Subgroups," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 399-411.
    20. Ingmar Geiger, 2020. "From Letter to Twitter: A Systematic Review of Communication Media in Negotiation," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 207-250, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:5:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-019-0365-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.