Intercultural Communication: Dayan Ivy Lois J. Espartero

INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
DAYAN IVY LOIS J. ESPARTERO
BY THE END OF THE LESSON, THE LEARNER WILL BE ABLE TO:
• Define intercultural communication

• Demonstrate effective intercultural communication skills in a speech
situations
• Develop appreciation for different cultural perspectives
• Apply learning and thinking skills, and ICT literacy in understanding
intercultural communication
• Communicate sensitively, taking into consideration a listener’s gender,
religion, beliefs and traditions and
• Reflect on your learning about intercultural communication
DEFINITION AND NATURE OF
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
• Happens when individuals interact, negotiate, and
create meanings while bringing in their varied cultural
background. (Ting-Toomey, 1999)
• Intercultural Communication among people from
different nationalities (Gudykunst,2003)
• Others look at it as communication that is influenced by
different ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations
• Both interpretation show that intercultural
communication takes place when people draw from
their cultural identity to understand values,
prejudices, language, attitudes and relationships
(Gudykunst & Kim, 2003)
• Intercultural communication is the sending and
receiving of messages across languages and cultures
DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL OF
INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY
• Offers structure that explores how people experience cultural
differences.
• According to Bennett and Bennett (2004), there are six (6) stages.
1. Stage 1: Denial
2. Stage 2: Defense
3. Stage 3: Minimization
4. Stage 4: Acceptance
5. Stage 5: Adaptation
6. Stage 6: Integration
STAGE 1: DENIAL
• The individual does not recognize cultural
differences.
• This stage is often created based on the belief
that a person’s culture is the only real culture
• People in this stage often fail to see cultural
differences and tend to isolate themselves
from other groups.
EXAMPLES
An individual in denial stage might be
heard saying:
1. “All cities are the same, they all have
tall buildings, fast food chains, and coffee
shops.”
2. “As long as we speak the same
language, there’s no problem”
STAGE 2: DEFENSE
• The individual starts to recognize cultural
differences and is intimidated by them, resulting in
either a superior view on own culture or an
unjustified high regard for the new one.
• During this stage, learners often feel as though
their culture is the only good culture (Bennet, 2011)
• A person in defense may feel threatened by other
cultures and their differences.
• An individual in defense stage might be heard
saying:
1. “This culture does not view life the way we do,
our culture is certainly better.”
2. “Their ways are better than my own; I wish I
were one of them.”
3. “I wish that these people would just talk the
way we do.”
STAGE 3: MINIMIZATION
• Although individuals see cultural differences,
they bank more on the universality of ideas
rather than in cultural differences.
• People in this stage, begin to recognize that all
people are people, whether they have different
traditions and cultures or not. (Cushner,
McClelland & Safford, 2012, p.158)
An individual in minimization stage might be
heard saying:
• “Once we see through the cultural differences,
we really are just the same.”
• “It’s a small world after all.”
• “No matter what their culture, people are pretty
much motivated by the same things.”
STAGE 4: ACCEPTANCE
• The individual begins to appreciate important
cultural differences in behaviors and eventually
in values.
• This stage promotes the belief that one’s own
culture is just one of the many cultures that
exist in the world.
An individual in acceptance stage might be
heard saying:
• “These people and I have different values and
experiences, and I think we can learn from one
another”
• “I always try to study about a new culture
before I go there or interact with the people.”
STAGE 5: ADAPTATION
• The individual is very open to world views when
accepting new perspectives.
• Learners begin to be more competent in how to
communicate with people of other cultures.
• An important aspect of this stage is that the
learner will be able to see the word through
another’s “eyes”
An individual in adaptation stage might be heard
saying:
• “To address our issue, I have to adjust my
approach to consider both my own and my
counterpart’s background.”
• “I can maintain my values and also behave in
culturally appropriate ways.”
STAGE 6: INTEGRATION
• Individuals start to go beyond their own cultures
and see themselves and their actions based on
multifarious cultural viewpoints.
• Individuals that often reach integration are often
culture mediators. They are able to help others
understand different cultures and promote unity
between these two cultures. (Cushner, McClelland
& Safford, 2012, p.165)
An individual in integration stage might be heard
saying:
• “I can look at things from the perspective of
various cultures”.
• “Everywhere is home, if you know enough about
how things work there.”
• “I feel most comfortable when I’m bridging
differences between the cultures I know.”
Once you understand these stages, you may apply it
to,
1. Recognize communication behaviors which differ
from your own
2. Take into account what can influence these types of
behaviors
3. Try to analyze how linguistic and cultural
communities differ in terms of communication
behavior and influencing factors
(Allwood, 1985)
CHARACTERISTICS OF
COMPETENT
INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
DAYAN IVY LOIS J. ESPARTERO
WORLD BANK IDENTIFIES THE FF. TRAITS THAT
DEFINE A COMPETENT INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATOR
1. FLEXIBILITY AND THE ABILITY TO TOLERATE HIGH LEVELS OF UNCERTAINTY
2. REFLECTIVENESS OR MINDFULNESS
3. OPEN-MINDEDNESS
4. SENSITIVITY
5. ADAPTABILITY
6. ABILITY TO ENGAGE IN DIVERGENT THINKING (FOR THINKING CREATIVELY) AND
SYSTEMS-LEVEL THINKING (OR THINKING HOW EACH ONE IN A SYSTEM OR
ORGANIZATION INFLUENCES EACH OTHER)
7. POLITENESS
TIPS TO AVOID BEING BIAS WHEN TALKING TO
PEOPLE
1. Avoid stereotypes i.e., generalizations about a certain group.
2. Challenge gender norms; avoid “he” and “man” to refer to a general
group of people. To remedy this, you may use plural pronouns or
rewrite a sentence to avoid using pronouns. The use of his or her is
also acceptable.
3. Do not talk down on younger people and the elderly.
4. Be sensitive to the religious practices of others.
5. Be polite at all times; do not belittle people you perceive to be on a
lower social class than you.

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INTERCULTURAL

• Define intercultural communication

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