ORAL COMMUNICATION IN CONTEXT

LESSON 5: UNIVERSITY OF MAKATI

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION HIGHER SCHOOL NG UMAK

Time Started : ___________

Time Ended : ___________

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this lesson, the students must be able to:
• define culture and intercultural communication;
• demonstrate understanding of one’s culture and show appreciation for different cultures; and
• describe how intercultural communication occurs and identify problems associated with it.

INTRODUCTION

“Annyeonghaseyo! Konnichiwa! Hello! Kumusta ka?”

These are just some of the many ways we greet people. No matter where you are in the world or what
language you speak, communication is important. It is also affected by our many differences including culture.

Culture refers to all the characteristics common to a particular group of people. These features are learned
and are not intrinsic or given by nature. Culture is something that is handed down from one generation to another
by parents, schools, media, and the broader community. It is a social system that is comprised of values, norms, and
ways of behaving—including the way we dress, the food we eat, the music we listen to, and even how we
communicate.

Culture is an expression of our modes of living and thinking. It is reflected and can be seen in our literature,
religious practices, and even in recreation and enjoyment. It is something that varies not just from country to country,
but could also differ from one place to another. To better understand one’s culture, you have to look into their
history, ethnicity, religion, ecology, technology, as well as their educational and social backgrounds.

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Each and every one of us were brought up in a different culture. Before proceeding to the next topic, take
some time to fill out the activity below to get a better understanding of your own culture. Draw or illustrate your
answers to each of the panel.

CORE CONTENT

Intercultural Communication
One of the skills that is essential in the 21st Century is global
competitiveness. In order for us to be globally competitive individuals,
we must learn how to engage in intercultural communication. It is our
ability to communicate, interact, and work with people of varying
nationalities, backgrounds, cultures, and even languages across the
world. According to Ting-Toomey (1999), intercultural communication
happens when an individual interact, negotiate, and create meanings
while bringing in their varied cultural backgrounds. It is a kind of
communication that is influenced by differences in ethnicities, religions,
and sexual orientations. Simply put, intercultural communication is the
sending and receiving of messages across languages and cultures.

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However, communicating across cultures can be pretty challenging. Intercultural communication can flow
smoothly and become very interesting for cross-cultural groups but it may also not go as planned when cultural
collisions occur. It happens when we are not accepting or understanding of our cultural differences. One example
of cultural differences is our varying forms of greeting. In East Asian countries, people bow their heads as a way
to say hello. In Western countries, however, it is typical to shake hands, hug, and even kiss cheeks of the people
they are meeting.

More often than not, whenever you engage in intercultural communication, your speech is continuously
accompanied by gestures, facial expressions, and other body movements that may add to whatever you are
saying and effectively deliver your message across. However, it is still very important that we understand the many
communication patterns in other cultures.

The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity

Created by Dr. Milton Bennett, the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) offers a structure
that explores how people experience cultural differences. There are six stages in the DMIS model and each stage
shows how we progress through cross-cultural sensitivity.

STAGE
1 DENIAL
This stage is based on the belief that a
person’s culture is the only real culture.
An individual fails to see cultural
differences and tends to isolate
themselves from other groups.

STAGE
2 DEFENSE
In this stage, an individual feels as though
their own culture is the only good culture
and may feel threatened by other
cultures and their differences. The
individual tends to be critical and has a
narrow focus on what’s appropriate and
correct.

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STAGE
3 MINIMIZATION
A person begins to find commonalities
between themselves and people of other
cultures, banking on the universality of
ideas. There is recognition that all people
are people despite differences.

STAGE
4 ACCEPTANCE
This stage promotes belief that one’s
culture is just one of the many cultures in
the world. Curiosity and desire to learn
arise. A person appreciates important
cultural differences in behaviors and
eventually in values.

STAGE
5 ADAPTATION
Individuals become more competent in
how to communicate with people of other
cultures. They are now open to
worldviews when accepting new
perspectives. They have learned to see
the world through another’s eyes.

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STAGE
6 INTEGRATION
Individuals start to go beyond their own
cultures and see themselves based on
different cultural viewpoints. They are
now able to understand different cultures
and promote unity among them.

Barriers to Intercultural Communication

Just like any other forms of communication, there are factors that may affect any intercultural communicative
situation. One of these is ethnocentrism or the belief that one’s own cultural behaviors, norms, ways of thinking
and being are superior to all other cultural groups. It means that one sees his/her own culture as the only correct
way of living. In extreme cases, a group may try to change or convert others to their own beliefs— if unwilling, it
may result to devastating results like wars and genocide (e.g. Hitler’s idea of Aryan supremacy).

The oversimplification or distortion of views of another race, ethnic group, or even another culture is
referred to as stereotyping. Perhaps the most common barrier to intercultural communication, stereotypes could
either be positive or negative. They exist in our subconscious and are difficult to remove once established. An
example of this is the common belief that people who wear eyeglasses are smart or studious.

These two barriers often result to prejudice and discrimination. When we have negative attitudes towards
a cultural group based on little or no experience of that culture, we often take overt actions to exclude, avoid, or
distance ourselves from other groups. A good example of this is the negative perception towards people who have
tattoos. Some companies will go as far as not accepting job applicants who are tattooed. In Japan, full-body
tattoos are associated with the Japanese mafia or Yakuza and are frowned upon in a conservative Japanese
society.

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Developing Intercultural Competence

As countries around the world become more interconnected, communicating across cultures becomes
increasingly important. Our ability to function effectively across cultures or intercultural competence, enables us
to develop open-mindedness, patience, and flexibility. It also provides deeper understanding of intercultural
attitudes and worldviews.

The World Bank (2010) published a list of characteristics of competent intercultural communicators which
includes (1) flexibility and the ability to tolerate high levels of uncertainty, (2) reflectiveness or mindfulness, and
(3) open-mindedness and sensitivity. Practicing intercultural competency also involves avoiding stereotypes,
challenging gender norms, respecting age differences, being sensitive to other religious practices, and being polite
at all times.

When you pay attention to your words and actions, engage in the process of empathizing across cultures,
and gain knowledge and experiences about the world around you, intercultural competence will surely follow.

ACTIVITY
Learn more about other cultures. Choose five (5) different countries and research on the different aspects
of each culture. You may use words or pictures to show your answers. Use the table below as your guide and
reference.

COUNTRY Philippines

FLAG

LANGUAGE Filipino
VERBAL
Kamusta ka?
GREETINGS
NONVERBAL
Mano
GESTURES
Adobo,
FOOD
Sinigang
When rain
pours while the
sun is brightly
shining, Filipinos
PECULIAR believe that it’s
BELIEFS caused by a
tikbalang (a
half-human,
half-horse
creature).

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SELF-CHECK
Write your answers to the following questions:

1. What aspects or features of your own culture do you like and dislike? Why?
2. If you were to be born into a different culture, what would it be? Explain your answer.
3. List down situations or instances wherein we have to engage in intercultural communication in this digital
era.
4. As a student, how can you practice and improve your intercultural competence?

ASSIGNMENT
Reflect on what you have learned after this lesson by completing the chart below.

I thought…
What were your
thoughts or ideas
about intercultural
communication prior to
the discussion of this
lesson?

I learned that…

What new or additional

ideas did you learn
after taking up this
lesson?

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REFERENCES

Bulan, C. T. (2002). Comm 3: Practical Speech Fundamentals (Experimental Edition). Quezon City: College of Arts
and Letters, University of the Philippines.
Oral Communication in Context. (2017). C&E Publishing, Inc.
Dye, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from Stages of DMIS: http://meldye.weebly.com

Images courtesy of Google Image Search

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