Intercultural Communication

Kathleen Arroyo
University of Maryland University College

INCA Survey Reflection

Communicative Awareness- I scored a 6 which is intermediate level.

Knowledge Discovery- I scored a 5 which is intermediate level.
Respect for Others- I scored an 8 which is full level.
Empathy- I scored a 5 which is intermediate level.
Tolerance of Ambiguity- I scored a 6 which is intermediate level.
Behavioral Flexibility- I scored a 5 which is intermediate level.
The data tells me I am at intermediate competence in regards to my
intercultural competence. I am developing my skills but I know how to deal
with basic situations and I respond to most situations in the same way. I
respond in a neutral way to most situations. Respect for others was the only
category I score at a full level meaning I already intuitively know how to deal
with the situation based on past experience.
I agree with the results of this survey. Having living overseas for some
stretches of my life and also having served in the Army has given me a lot of
insight on other cultures. I have seen how differently people in other cultures
and also that its not my place to judge them or try to change them. I also
feel very neutral towards other people, like the manual said I am neither
approving nor disapproving of them. I just let them do what they feel
naturally according to their customs and cultures. I think I may benefit from
becoming more accommodating to them but I feel like when two people
meet in the middle it works the best.

3 Critical Incidents
8. Jacquie taught English for 10 years in China and Japan. When she
returned to Canada, she started teaching in the LINC program. She
really enjoyed the multicultural classroom and felt challenged to
meet the learning needs of her diverse class. She was, however,
having a lot of trouble with one student who seemed very glum and
critical. This student, 45, had a doctoral degree (also called Ph.D.)
from her country. She never smiled in class and seemed to test
Jacquie every time she taught grammar or vocabulary. In fact,
Jacquie felt that the student enjoyed upsetting her. One day, Jacquie
confronted the student in class and told her that she should change
to another class if she was not satisfied. The student didnt leave
after this confrontation but seemed more content and did not
second- guess Jacquie after that.
This critical incident underscores the importance of teachers
awareness of students cultural orientations as a factor influencing students
perceptions related to teaching and learning and affecting their preferences
and related expectations (Eilam & Vidergor, 2011). The teacher and student
had different ideas of how each other should act based on their cultural
experiences. Jacquie felt that because she was the teacher, she was in
charge and everyone in the class was expected to listen to her and do what

she said. Jacquie was also used to the cultural customs of China and Japan
because she had taught there for so long.
These societies are hierarchal based, meaning because Jacquie was
the teacher, she was in charge and students did not challenge her or
question her. A study done by Arlene Young (2011), found that the culturally
based tendency of Asian instruction to be one-directional from teacher to
student will be exacerbated by reluctance to participate based on
apprehensions regarding poor skills in spoken English. This means that
Jacquie is used to speaking to her students and expecting them to listen and
stay quiet because that is what she is used to from the Asian culture. Also,
Asia places a high priority on being able to do something perfectly or not at
all. If a student felt like they didnt speak perfect English with little to no
accent they would not speak to Jacquie because they wouldnt want to be
embarrassed.

Cross-cultural studies should also consider the life

experiences and circumstances of individual (Cardona Molt, Florian, Rouse,

& Stough, 2010). There is no background on the student in this scenario
except that they are older and they already carry a Ph.D. from their country.
A Ph.D. is a very high achievement and it is possible the student was more
knowledge than Jacquie on teaching in general and they wanted to ensure
that Jacquie was a competent teacher. It is also possible the student felt that
Jacquie was not experienced or that she was not asserting the authority she
had as a teacher. According to the incident, once the student challenged
Jacquie and Jacquie gave her an ultimatum she not only stopped, she

became much more respectful towards Jacquie. This indicates that once
Jacquie asserted her dominance as teacher, the student felt much more
comfortable based on her life experiences and cultural expectations.
9. There is a student in my class who is always late. That is not the
only problem. When I ask him a question, he goes on and on and on
and makes the rest of the class wait and wait. I want to tell him to
get to the point. Finally, I have to cut him off because he loses track
of the time he is taking up in class on his issue. I tell him that if he
wants to continue talking about it, hell have to do it on his coffee
break. He doesnt understand our concept of time. We are on a
strict schedule and things have to be done by a certain time; as
well, things are scheduled to take a certain amount of time. I dont
like it eitherI hate it.
First, we must understand and acknowledge our and the others
probable perceptions of time, the weight we give to punctuality, the likely
scope of time as an agenda issue in the negotiation, the (dis)comfort we
have with things taking as long as they take (Macduff, 2006). The
professor in this incident has a certain expectation for their students. They
expect the students to be on time, for students to get to the point quickly
while speaking, and things to be done by a certain time. The student
obviously does not share these expectations. It is not clear whether the
Professor has previously their expectations on this matter, but at this point

they are obviously very frustrated with the student and they assume that
anyone else in this situation would feel the same way they do.
The teacher needs to sit down and reflect on how they expect things to
be done and then convey this to the student. Misunderstandings and
miscommunication often occurs between supervisors and international
research students due to difference in cultures (Yeoh & Terry, 2013). The
teacher cannot expect the student to act and think the same way the
teacher does because culturally they are different. In this incident, the best
thing for the teacher to do is figure out what they expect of the students and
clearly communicate it to the class while asking for understanding. If the
teacher wants all students to be in class by a certain time they must say that
and explain what will happen if the students are not there. When this
particular student starts talking the teacher may say they can give a few
words.
It would also be helpful to both the teacher and student to sit down
privately and discuss their differences. This would give both the reasoning
behind why they act like this. It also helps each other to understand the
cultural backgrounds making them act like this. Time is not a singularity in
any culture (Todd, 2009). This means that different cultures not only value
time differently, but in different contexts as well. Nobody has a universal
value of time, they value time during business and time at home differently.

11. George really infuriated me because when it was time to hand in

his assignment, he gave me a whole bunch of lame excuses. It really
upset me because I felt that he was not taking his work seriously
and did not pay attention to the deadlines. I explained the
assignment very carefully and put the deadlines up on the board
so when he made up excuses to cover himself, he really made me
mad. I felt bad, though, because there was another student who
didnt have his assignment done either, but he apologized and said
hed hand it in later that day. He never did hand it in on that day; he
handed it in a few days later, but since he had apologized, somehow
I accepted that and was nice to him.
This person feels like they cannot forgive someone unless they receive
an apology from the other person. Without them, it is difficult for people to
feel as if their wrong has been taken seriously by the other (Marshall, 2014)
and this person feels like the student who didnt apologize didnt take the
assignment seriously, and also didnt take the teacher seriously. People
expect others to apologize if they do the wrong thing. The teacher feels like
the person who apologized took them seriously because they took the time
to come and say they were sorry, even though they were even later with
turning in the assignment.
The decision as to whether or not to apologise should be made on
moral grounds alone, and need not be wrapped up in utilitarian concerns
about whether an apology should work in terms of promoting forgiveness

(Hornsey & Wohl, 2013). This is exactly what happened in this case. The
student who did apologize did so only to receive forgiveness (and probably
only so they could turn their paper in later). They did not turn their paper in
when they said they would, yet it was perceived as ok because they had
previously apologized to the teacher. The student who did not apologize may
have felt they did not deserve forgiveness.
Actual victims proved to be quite sensitive to whether the apologies
were coerced or voluntary, with more voluntary apologies resulting in more
favorable responses to the offender (Jehle, Miller, Kemmelmeier, & Maskaly,
2012). In this case, the teacher gave a very favorable response to the
student who voluntarily apologized, even when he turned in paper several
days later. The teacher gave an unfavorable response to the student who
didnt apologize, although it doesnt say if that student ever turned in their
paper.

References

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