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Intercultural Awareness and Multicultural Society in a Global Village Essay

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Introduction

Intercultural perspective, advantages of intercultural communication.

Culture implies different things to different groups. For example, anthropologists define culture as the way people live. Others define it as the system that incorporates the biological and technical behaviors of community within their verbal and nonverbal systems.

NASW (2001) defined culture as “the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communication, actions, customs, beliefs, values; and the institutions of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group” (NASW, 2001, 1).

It is the totality of behavior passed from one generation to the other. Intercultural awareness campaigns try to figure out how people understand each other irrespective of their cultural differences (NASW 2000). 21 st century living is described as a multicultural society in a global village.

Therefore, one may ask, what kind of communication and interactions are required to create a climate of respect, diversity tolerance with unified common goals? More so, one may wish to find out whether it is possible for neighbors to embrace their cultural differences (NASW, 2007).

Bennet outlined a great scenario on how a group of primates gathered around a bonfire would fight or take off on the sight of another group of primates heading to their fire place. This is exactly how it happens even to the more advanced primates Homo sapiens.

Arguably, our ancestors avoided people from other cultures in the best way they could. If all measures to avoid their interactions were unsuccessful, they opted for other measures such as converting them into their way of life.

Those who became stubborn to assimilations were ripped out of existence through killing; there is evidence of genocide from the history. Therefore, dealing with cultural differences, understanding it, embracing it and respecting it is vital to intercultural awareness and especially communication (Bennet 1998).

Understanding objective culture is very different to understanding a foreign culture. There exist perspectives, which view that learning about other cultures, their social, economic, political way of life, their linguistics, arts and so forth are sufficient to understand culture.

However, there are professors, in such sectors as linguistics, who still are unable to communicate with people from that particular community irrespective of how broad their knowledge is. Understanding objective culture merely adds knowledge about the foreign culture but does not generate much cultural competence.

On the other hand, understanding phenomenological features that define a group, and the way the group reasons and behaves will mark a step to identifying with the culture of that group. It is defined as subjective culture.

Subjective culture is defined by Bennet (1998) as “the learned and shared patterns of beliefs, behaviors, and values of groups of interacting people” (p. 1). This type of perspective is said to be more likely to lead to intercultural competence. However, it requires understanding objective culture to understand subjective culture and to have social reality (Bennet 1998).

Many people ignore the advantages of cultural orientation. Most of them, view intercultural communication as the grammatical rules applied in spoken and written practices.

To some, learning about cultural practices poses a threat to their values. Some of the non verbal perspectives of communication from various cultures are picked from TV programs and movies, which have very little for communication purposes or, which may be of faulty conceptions (Bennet 1998).

Another problem with cultural perspectives is stereotyping and generalization. For example, it is very common to take notice of people discussing that a certain lady is not behaving like a Latin woman and so forth. This is so especially with the Arabic culture and Islam where gender roles are strictly divided.

It is hard to find women from such communities in leading positions in politics or other fields. Stereotypes occur when behavioral assumptions are held by all members of a particular culture as shared traits. Such characteristics assumedly common can be respected by the observer (positive stereotype) or be disrespected (negative stereotype).

Either of the stereotypes is negative in intercultural communication because they often give false conceptions regarding the community or have partial truth in them. Secondly, stereotyping is an act of encouraging prejudice among the cultures.

However, it is important for a culture to develop identity to make a cultural generalization. Assuming that each person is an individual may lead to naive individualism (Martin & Nakayama 1997).

Intercultural communication focuses on interaction in human beings through giving and receiving processes. Intercultural communication emphasizes on learning about one or more cultures in addition to one’s own culture. This way, it helps in understanding importance of interculturalism.

It offers a better way to analyze interactions to enable great adoption (Bennet, 1998). From my perspective, the course supports the existence of unity, cooperation and creative conflict between multicultural societies simultaneously. This way, it renders a platform for our differences and their uniqueness be felt in synergistic harmony.

Intercultural communication and awareness are equally important in the workplace. With the current market globalization, fields like hospitality, tourism, commerce and research have to acknowledge the importance of intercultural differences and mould the diversification into unified goals.

The increasing globalization and thus diversity of the workforce implies that ignoring cultural diversity in the organization can no longer be ignored. The reasons for heterogeneity in behaviors at our places of work are fully attributed to the cultural diversity (Lum 2007).

Therefore, it is up to the management to identify courses that could match the intercultural variations at the place of work. According to Devine, Baum, & Hearns (1999), management of diversity in the workforce implies understanding the diversified population and understanding the concepts of diversity that can be visible and non visible including sex, age, background, personality, disability and work style.

Proper harnessing of such differences implies creation of productive working environment where every body feels valued and where the potential talents can be utilized fully to meet the organization goals (Devine, Baum, & Hearns 1999).

Therefore, it is important to integrate intercultural communication in the curriculum to help the students understand and differentiate between cultural norms, beliefs and habits in a society and possible deviations of such norms in a society. This can be achieved by allowing students to share their native cultures with their foreign colleagues.

Restrictions should be limited by allowing use of student’s native language where necessary. In this manner, there will be a development of social-cultural awareness and social linguistic presence among the students in addition to their native language and way of life.

Espousing intercultural communication is not necessarily implying that one is changing their cultural identity. Their ethnicity, religion and political backgrounds remain solidly unaffected.

Cakir (2006) has claimed that, “students use English well and get acknowledged, but in doing so, it does not imply they are changing their identity. There is no need to become British or American in order to use English well” (p. 12).

Bennet, MJ 1998, Basic concepts of intercultural communication: Selected readings Intercultural communication: A current perspective, Intercultural Press, New York.

Cakir, I 2006, ‘Developing cultural awareness in foreign language teaching’, Turkish online Journal of distance Education , vol. 7, no. 3, p. 12.

Devine, F, Baum, T & Hearns, N 1999, Resource guide: Cultural Awareness for hospitality and tourism. Web.

Lum, D 2010, C ulturally competent Practice: A Framework for Understanding Diverse and Justice Issues , Cengage Learning, New York.

Martin, J & Nakayama, T 1997, Intercultural communication in contexts, Mayfield publishing, Mountain view.

NASW 2000, Cultural competence in the social work profession, NASW press, Washington DC.

NASW 2001, NASW stands for cultural competence in social cork practice. Web.

NASW 2007, Indicators for the Achievement of the NASW standards for cultural competence. Web.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Intercultural Communication — Intercultural Communication: Understanding, Challenges, and Importance

Intercultural Communication: Understanding, Challenges, and Importance

Categories: Intercultural Communication

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Introduction, the meaning of culture, communication as a part of intercultural communication, intercultural communication defined, the importance of studying intercultural communication, barriers to intercultural communication.

Understanding your own identity.
Enhancing personal and social interactions.Solving misunderstandings, miscommunications & mistrust.
Enhancing and enriching the quality of civilization.
Becoming effective citizens of our national communities
Ethnocentrism
Stereotyping
Discrimination

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Intercultural competence.

Lily A. Arasaratnam Lily A. Arasaratnam Director of Research, Department of Communication, Alphacrucis College
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.68
Published online: 03 February 2016

The phrase “intercultural competence” typically describes one’s effective and appropriate engagement with cultural differences. Intercultural competence has been studied as residing within a person (i.e., encompassing cognitive, affective, and behavioral capabilities of a person) and as a product of a context (i.e., co-created by the people and contextual factors involved in a particular situation). Definitions of intercultural competence are as varied. There is, however, sufficient consensus amongst these variations to conclude that there is at least some collective understanding of what intercultural competence is. In “Conceptualizing Intercultural Competence,” Spitzberg and Chagnon define intercultural competence as, “the appropriate and effective management of interaction between people who, to some degree or another, represent different or divergent affective, cognitive, and behavioral orientations to the world” (p. 7). In the discipline of communication, intercultural communication competence (ICC) has been a subject of study for more than five decades. Over this time, many have identified a number of variables that contribute to ICC, theoretical models of ICC, and quantitative instruments to measure ICC. While research in the discipline of communication has made a significant contribution to our understanding of ICC, a well-rounded discussion of intercultural competence cannot ignore the contribution of other disciplines to this subject. Our present understanding of intercultural competence comes from a number of disciplines, such as communication, cross-cultural psychology, social psychology, linguistics, anthropology, and education, to name a few.

intercultural competence
intercultural communication
appropriate

A Brief Introduction

With increasing global diversity, intercultural competence is a topic of immediate relevance. While some would question the use of the term “competence” as a Western concept, the ability to understand and interact with people of different cultures in authentic and positive ways is a topic worth discussing. Though several parts of the world do remain culturally homogenous, many major cities across the world have undergone significant transformation in their cultural and demographic landscape due to immigration. Advances in communication technologies have also facilitated intercultural communication without the prerequisite of geographic proximity. Hence educational, business, and other projects involving culturally diverse workgroups have become increasingly common. In such contexts the success of a group in accomplishing its goals might not depend only on the group members’ expertise in a particular topic or ability to work in a virtual environment but also on their intercultural competence (Zakaria, Amelinckx, & Wilemon, 2004 ). Cultural diversity in populations continues to keep intercultural competence (or cultural competence, as it is known in some disciplines) on the agenda of research in applied disciplines such as medicine (Bow, Woodward, Flynn, & Stevens, 2013 ; Charles, Hendrika, Abrams, Shea, Brand, & Nicol, 2014 ) and education (Blight, 2012 ; Tangen, Mercer, Spooner-Lane, & Hepple, 2011 ), for example.

As noted in the historiography section, early research in intercultural competence can be traced back to acculturation/adaptation studies. Labels such as cross-cultural adaptation and cross-cultural adjustment/effectiveness were used to describe what we now call intercultural competence, though adaptation and adjustment continue to remain unique concepts in the study of migrants. It is fair to say that today’s researchers would agree that, while intercultural competence is an important part of adapting to a new culture, it is conceptually distinct.

Although our current understanding of intercultural competence is (and continues to be) shaped by research in many disciplines, communication researchers can lay claim to the nomenclature of the phrase, particularly intercultural communication competence (ICC). Intercultural competence is defined by Spitzberg and Chagnon ( 2009 ) as “the appropriate and effective management of interaction between people who, to some degree or another, represent different or divergent affective, cognitive, and behavioral orientations to the world” (p. 7), which touches on a long history of intercultural competence being associated with effectiveness and appropriateness. This is echoed in several models of intercultural competence as well. The prevalent characterization of effectiveness as the successful achievement of one’s goals in a particular communication exchange is notably individualistic in its orientation. Appropriateness, however, views the communication exchange from the other person’s point of view, as to whether the communicator has communicated in a manner that is (contextually) expected and accepted.

Generally speaking, research findings support the view that intercultural competence is a combination of one’s personal abilities (such as flexibility, empathy, open-mindedness, self-awareness, adaptability, language skills, cultural knowledge, etc.) as well as relevant contextual variables (such as shared goals, incentives, perceptions of equality, perceptions of agency, etc.). In an early discussion of interpersonal competence, Argyris ( 1965 ) proposed that competence increases as “one’s awareness of relevant factors increases,” when one can solve problems with permanence, in a manner that has “minimal deterioration of the problem-solving process” (p. 59). This view of competence places it entirely on the abilities of the individual. Kim’s ( 2009 ) definition of intercultural competence as “an individual’s overall capacity to engage in behaviors and activities that foster cooperative relationships in all types of social and cultural contexts in which culturally or ethnically dissimilar others interface” (p. 62) further highlights the emphasis on the individual. Others, however, suggest that intercultural competence has an element of social judgment, to be assessed by others with whom one is interacting (Koester, Wiseman, & Sanders, 1993 ). A combination of self and other assessment is logical, given that the definition of intercultural competence encompasses effective (from self’s perspective) and appropriate (from other’s perspective) communication.

Before delving further into intercultural competence, some limitations to our current understanding of intercultural competence must be acknowledged. First, our present understanding of intercultural competence is strongly influenced by research emerging from economically developed parts of the world, such as the United States and parts of Europe and Oceania. Interpretivists would suggest that the (cultural) perspectives from which the topic is approached inevitably influence the outcomes of research. Second, there is a strong social scientific bias to the cumulative body of research in intercultural competence so far; as such, the findings are subject to the strengths and weaknesses of this epistemology. Third, because many of the current models of intercultural competence (or intercultural communication competence) focus on the individual, and because individual cultural identities are arguably becoming more blended in multicultural societies, we may be quickly approaching a point where traditional definitions of intercultural communication (and by association, intercultural competence) need to be refined. While this is not an exhaustive list of limitations, it identifies some of the parameters within which current conceptualizations of intercultural competence must be viewed.

The following sections discuss intercultural competence, as we know it, starting with what it is and what it is not . A brief discussion of well-known theories of ICC follows, then some of the variables associated with ICC are identified. One of the topics of repeated query is whether ICC is culture-general or culture-specific. This is addressed in the section following the discussion of variables associated with ICC, followed by a section on assessment of ICC. Finally, before delving into research directions for the future and a historiography of research in ICC over the years, the question of whether ICC can be learned is addressed.

Clarification of Nomenclature

As noted in the summary section, one of the most helpful definitions of intercultural competence is provided by Spitzberg and Chagnon ( 2009 ), who define it as “the appropriate and effective management of interaction between people who, to some degree or another, represent different or divergent affective, cognitive, and behavioral orientations to the world” (p. 7). However, addressing what intercultural competence is not is just as important as explaining what it is, in a discussion such as this. Conceptually, intercultural competence is not equivalent to acculturation, multiculturalism, biculturalism, or global citizenship—although intercultural competence is a significant aspect of them all. Semantically, intercultural efficiency, cultural competence, intercultural sensitivity, intercultural communication competence, cross-cultural competence, and global competence are some of the labels with which students of intercultural competence might be familiar.

The multiplicity in nomenclature of intercultural competence has been one of the factors that have irked researchers who seek conceptual clarity. In a meta-analysis of studies in intercultural communication competence, Bradford, Allen, and Beisser ( 2000 ) attempted to synthesize the multiple labels used in research; they concluded that intercultural effectiveness is conceptually equivalent to intercultural communication competence. Others have proposed that intercultural sensitivity is conceptually distinct from intercultural competence (Chen & Starosta, 2000 ). Others have demonstrated that, while there are multiple labels in use, there is general consensus as to what intercultural competence is (Deardorff, 2006 ).

In communication literature, it is fair to note that intercultural competence and intercultural communication competence are used interchangeably. In literature in other disciplines, such as medicine and health sciences, cultural competence is the label with which intercultural competence is described. Some have also proposed the phrase cultural humility as a deliberate alternative to cultural competence, suggesting that cultural humility involves life-long learning through self-awareness and critical reflection (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998 ).

The nature of an abstract concept is such that its reality is defined by the labels assigned to it. Unlike some concepts that have been defined and developed over many years within the parameters of a single discipline, intercultural competence is of great interest to researchers in multiple disciplines. As such, researchers from different disciplines have ventured to study it, without necessarily building on findings from other disciplines. This is one factor that has contributed to the multiple labels by which intercultural competence is known. This issue might not be resolved in the near future. However, those seeking conceptual clarity could look for the operationalization of what is being studied, rather than going by the name by which it is called. In other words, if what is being studied is effectiveness and appropriateness in intercultural communication (each of these terms in turn need to be unpacked to check for conceptual equivalency), then one can conclude that it is a study of intercultural competence, regardless of what it is called.

Theories of Intercultural Competence

Many theories of intercultural (communication) competence have been proposed over the years. While it is fair to say that there is no single leading theory of intercultural competence, some of the well-known theories are worth noting.

There are a couple of theories of ICC that are identified as covering laws theories (Wiseman, 2002 ), namely Anxiety Uncertainty Management (AUM) theory and Face Negotiation theory. Finding its origins in Berger and Calabrese ( 1975 ), AUM theory (Gudykunst, 1993 , 2005 ) proposes that the ability to be mindful and the effective management of anxiety caused by the uncertainty in intercultural interactions are key factors in achieving ICC. Gudykunst conceptualizes ICC as intercultural communication that has the least amount of misunderstandings. While AUM theory is not without its critics (for example, Yoshitake, 2002 ), it has been used in a number of empirical studies over the years (examples include Duronto, Nishida, & Nakayama, 2005 ; Ni & Wang, 2011 ), including studies that have extended the theory further (see Neuliep, 2012 ).

Though primarily focused on intercultural conflict rather than intercultural competence, Face Negotiation theory (Ting-Toomey, 1988 ) proposes that all people try to maintain a favorable social self-image and engage in a number of communicative behaviours designed to achieve this goal. Competence is identified as being part of the concept of “face,” and it is achieved through the integration of knowledge, mindfulness, and skills in communication (relevant to managing one’s own face as well as that of others). Face Negotiation theory has been used predominantly in intercultural conflict studies (see Oetzel, Meares, Myers, & Lara, 2003 ). As previously noted, it is not primarily a theory of intercultural competence, but it does address competence in intercultural settings.

From a systems point of view, Spitzberg’s ( 2000 ) model of ICC and Kim’s ( 1995 ) cultural adaptation theory are also well-known. Spitzberg identifies three levels of analysis that must be considered in ICC, namely the individual system, the episodic system, and the relational system. The factors that contribute to competence are delineated in terms of characteristics that belong to an individual (individual system), features that are particular to a specific interaction (episodic system), and variables that contribute to one’s competence across interactions with multiple others (relational system). Kim’s cultural adaptation theory recognizes ICC as an internal capacity within an individual; it proposes that each individual (being an open system) has the goal of adapting to one’s environment and identifies cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of ICC.

Wiseman’s ( 2002 ) chapter on intercultural communication competence, in the Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication provides further descriptions of theories in ICC. While there have been several models of ICC developed since then, well-formed and widely tested theories of ICC remain few.

Variables Associated with Intercultural Competence

A number of variables have been identified as contributors to intercultural competence. Among these are mindfulness (Gudykunst, 1993 ), self and other awareness (Deardorff, 2006 ), listening skills (Ting-Toomey & Kurogi, 1998 ), positive attitude toward other cultures, and empathy (Arasaratnam & Doerfel, 2005 ), to name a few. Further, flexibility, tolerance for ambiguity, capacity for complexity, and language proficiency are also relevant. There is evidence to suggest that personal spiritual wellbeing plays a positive role in intercultural competence (Sandage & Jankowski, 2013 ). Additionally, there is an interesting link between intercultural competence and a biological variable, namely sensation seeking. Evidence suggests that, in the presence of a positive attitude towards other cultures and motivation to interact with people from other cultures, there is a positive relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural competence (Arasaratnam & Banerjee, 2011 ). Sensation seeking has also been associated with intercultural friendships (Morgan & Arasaratnam, 2003 ; Smith & Downs, 2004 ).

Cognitive complexity has also been identified with intercultural competence (Gudykunst & Kim, 2003 ). Cognitive complexity refers to an individual’s ability to form multiple nuanced perceptual categories (Bieri, 1955 ). A cognitively complex person relies less on stereotypical generalizations and is more perceptive to subtle racism (Reid & Foels, 2010 ). Gudykunst ( 1995 ) proposed that cognitive complexity is directly related to effective management of uncertainty and anxiety in intercultural communication, which in turn leads to ICC (according to AUM theory).

Not all variables are positively associated with intercultural competence. One of the variables that notably hinder intercultural competence is ethnocentrism. Neuliep ( 2002 ) characterizes ethnocentrism as, “an individual psychological disposition where the values, attitudes, and behaviors of one’s ingroup are used as the standard for judging and evaluating another group’s values, attitudes, and behaviors” (p. 201). Arasaratnam and Banerjee ( 2011 ) found that introducing ethnocentrism into a model of ICC weakened all positive relationships between the variables that otherwise contribute to ICC. Neuliep ( 2012 ) further discovered that ethnocentrism and intercultural communication apprehension debilitate intercultural communication. As Neuliep observed, ethnocentrism hinders mindfulness because a mindful communicator is receptive to new information, while the worldview of an ethnocentric person is rigidly centered on his or her own culture.

This is, by no means, an exhaustive list of variables that influence intercultural competence, but it is representative of the many individual-centered variables that influence the extent to which one is effective and appropriate in intercultural communication. Contextual variables, as noted in the next section, also play a role in ICC. It must further be noted that many of the ICC models do not identify language proficiency as a key variable; however, the importance of language proficiency has not been ignored (Fantini, 2009 ). Various models of intercultural competence portray the way in which (and, in some cases, the extent to which) these variables contribute to intercultural competence. For an expansive discussion of models of intercultural competence, see Spitzberg and Chagnoun ( 2009 ).

If one were to broadly summarize what we know thus far about an interculturally competent person, one could say that she or he is mindful, empathetic, motivated to interact with people of other cultures, open to new schemata, adaptable, flexible, able to cope with complexity and ambiguity. Language skills and culture-specific knowledge undoubtedly serve as assets to such an individual. Further, she or he is neither ethnocentric nor defined by cultural prejudices. This description does not, however, take into account the contextual variables that influence intercultural competence; highlighting the fact that the majority of intercultural competence research has been focused on the individual.

The identification of variables associated with intercultural competence raises a number of further questions. For example, is intercultural competence culture-general or culture-specific; can it be measured; and can it be taught or learned? These questions merit further exploration.

Culture General or Culture Specific

A person who is an effective and appropriate intercultural communicator in one context might not be so in another cultural context. The pertinent question is whether there are variables that facilitate intercultural competence across multiple cultural contexts. There is evidence to suggest that there are indeed culture-general variables that contribute to intercultural competence. This means there are variables that, regardless of cultural perspective, contribute to perception of intercultural competence. Arasaratnam and Doerfel ( 2005 ), for example, identified five such variables, namely empathy, experience, motivation, positive attitude toward other cultures, and listening. The rationale behind their approach is to look for commonalities in emic descriptions of intercultural competence by participants who represent a variety of cultural perspectives. Some of the variables identified by Arasaratnam and Doerfel’s research are replicated in others’ findings. For example, empathy has been found to be a contributor to intercultural competence in a number of other studies (Gibson & Zhong, 2005 ; Nesdale, De Vries Robbé, & Van Oudenhoven, 2012 ). This does not mean, however, that context has no role to play in perception of ICC. Contextual variables, such as the relationship between the interactants, the values of the cultural context in which the interaction unfolds, the emotional state of the interactants, and a number of other such variables no doubt influence effectiveness and appropriateness. Perception of competence in a particular situation is arguably a combination of culture-general and contextual variables. However, the aforementioned “culture-general” variables have been consistently associated with perceived ICC by people of different cultures. Hence they are noteworthy. The culture-general nature of some of the variables that contribute to intercultural competence provides an optimistic perspective that, even in the absence of culture-specific knowledge, it is possible for one to engage in effective and appropriate intercultural communication. Witteborn ( 2003 ) observed that the majority of models of intercultural competence take a culture-general approach. What is lacking at present, however, is extensive testing of these models to verify their culture-general nature.

The extent to which the culture-general nature of intercultural competence can be empirically verified depends on our ability to assess the variables identified in these models, and assessing intercultural competence itself. To this end, a discussion of assessment is warranted.

Assessing Intercultural Competence

Researchers have employed both quantitative and qualitative techniques in the assessment of intercultural competence. Deardorff ( 2006 ) proposed that intercultural competence should be measured progressively (at different points in time, over a period of time) and using multiple methods.

In terms of quantitative assessment, the nature of intercultural competence is such that any measure of this concept has to be one that (conceptually) translates across different cultures. Van de Vijver and Leung ( 1997 ) identified three biases that must be considered when using a quantitative instrument across cultures. First, there is potential for construct biases where cultural interpretations of a particular construct might vary. For example, “personal success” might be defined in terms of affluence, job prestige, etc., in an individualistic culture that favors capitalism, while the same construct could be defined in terms of sense of personal contribution and family validation in a collectivistic culture (Arasaratnam, 2007 ). Second, a method bias could be introduced by the very choice of the use of a quantitative instrument in a culture that might not be familiar with quantifying abstract concepts. Third, the presence of an item that is irrelevant to a particular cultural group could introduce an item bias when that instrument is used in research involving participants from multiple cultural groups. For a more detailed account of equivalence and biases that must be considered in intercultural research, see Van de Vijver and Leung ( 2011 ).

Over the years, many attempts have been made to develop quantitative measures of intercultural competence. There are a number of instruments that have been designed to measure intercultural competence or closely related concepts. A few of the more frequently used ones are worth noting.

Based on the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) (Bennett, 1986 ), the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) measures three ethnocentric and three ethno-relative levels of orientation toward cultural differences, as identified in the DMIS model (Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003 ). This instrument is widely used in intercultural research, in several disciplines. Some examples of empirical studies that use IDI include Greenholtz ( 2000 ), Sample ( 2013 ), and Wang ( 2013 ).

The Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory (ICSI) is another known instrument that approaches intercultural competence from the perspective of a person’s ability to appropriately modify his or her behavior when confronted with cultural differences, specifically as they pertain to individualistic and collectivistic cultures (Bhawuk & Brislin, 1992 ). It must be noted, however, that intercultural sensitivity is not necessarily equivalent to intercultural competence. Chen and Starosta ( 2000 ), for example, argued that intercultural sensitivity is a pre-requisite for intercultural competence rather than its conceptual equivalent. As such, Chen and Starosta’s Intercultural Sensitivity scale should be viewed within the same parameters. The authors view intercultural sensitivity as the affective dimension of intercultural competence (Chen & Starosta, 1997 ).

Although not specifically designed to measure intercultural competence, the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) measures five dimensions, namely open mindedness, emotional stability, cultural empathy, social initiative, and flexibility (Van Oudenhoven & Van der Zee, 2002 ), all of which have been found to be directly related to intercultural competence, in other research (see Matsumoto & Hwang, 2013 ).

Quantitative measures of intercultural competence almost exclusively rely on self-ratings. As such, they bear the strengths and weaknesses of any self-report (for a detailed discussion of self-knowledge, see Bauer & Baumeister, 2013 ). There is some question as to whether Likert-type scales favor individuals with higher cognitive complexity because such persons have a greater capacity for differentiating between constructs (Bowler, Bowler, & Cope, 2012 ). Researchers have also used other methods such as portfolios, reflective journals, responses to hypothetical scenarios, and interviews. There continues to be a need for fine-tuned methods of assessing intercultural competence that utilize others’ perceptions in addition to self-reports.

Can Intercultural Competence Be Learned?

If competence is the holy grail of intercultural communication, then the question is whether it can be learned. On the one hand, many researchers suggest that the process of learning intercultural competence is developmental (Beamer, 1992 ; Bennett, 1986 ; Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003 ). Which means that over time, experiences, and deliberate reflection, people can learn things that cumulatively contribute to intercultural competence. Evidence also suggests that collaborative learning facilitates the development of intercultural competence (Helm, 2009 ; Zhang, 2012 ). On the other hand, given research shows that there are many personality variables that contribute to intercultural competence; one could question whether these are innate or learned. Further, many causal models of intercultural competence show that intercultural competence is the product of interactions between many variables. If some of these can be learned and others are innate, then it stands to reason that, given equal learning opportunities, there would still be variations in the extent to which one “achieves” competence. There is also evidence to suggest that there are certain variables, such as ethnocentrism, that debilitate intercultural competence. Thus, it is fair to conclude that, while there is the potential for one to improve one’s intercultural competence through learning, not all can or will.

The aforementioned observation has implications for intercultural training, particularly training that relies heavily on dissemination of knowledge alone. In other words, just because someone knows facts about intercultural competence, it does not necessarily make them an expert at effective and appropriate communication. Developmental models of intercultural competence suggest that the learning process is progressive over time, based on one’s reaction to various experiences and one’s ability to reflect on new knowledge (Saunders, Haskins, & Vasquez et al., 2015 ). Further, research shows that negative attitudes and attitudes that are socially reinforced are the hardest to change (Bodenhausen & Gawronski, 2013 ). Hence people with negative prejudices toward other cultures, for example, may not necessarily be affected by an intercultural training workshop. While many organizations have implemented intercultural competency training in employee education as a nod to embracing diversity, the effectiveness of short, skilled-based training bears further scrutiny. For more on intercultural training, see the Handbook of Intercultural Training by Landis, Bennett, and Bennett ( 2004 ).

Research Directions

In a review of ICC research between 2003 and 2013 , Arasaratnam ( 2014 ) observed that there is little cross-disciplinary dialogue when it comes to intercultural competence research. Even though intercultural competence is a topic of interest to researchers in multiple disciplines, the findings from within a discipline appear to have limited external disciplinary reach. This is something that needs to be addressed. While the field of communication has played a significant role in contributing to current knowledge of intercultural competence, findings from other disciplines not only add to this knowledge but also potentially address gaps in research that are inevitable from a single disciplinary point of view. As previously observed, one of the reasons for lack of cross-disciplinary referencing (apart from lack of familiarity with work outside of one’s own discipline) could be the use of different labels to describe intercultural competence. Hence, students and scholars would do well to include these variations in labels when looking for research in intercultural competence. This would facilitate consolidation of inter-disciplinary knowledge in future research.

New and robust theories of intercultural competence that are empirically tested in multiple cultural groups are needed. As previously observed, the majority of existing theories in intercultural communication competence stem from the United States, and as such are influenced by a particular worldview. Theories from other parts of the world would enrich our current understanding of intercultural competence.

Thus far, the majority of research in intercultural communication has been done with the fundamental assumption that participants in a dyadic intercultural interaction arrive at it from two distinct cultural perspectives. This assumption might not be valid in all interactions that could still be classified as intercultural. With increasing global mobility, there are more opportunities for people to internalize more than one culture, thus becoming bicultural or blended in their cultural identity. This adds a measure of complexity to the study of intercultural competence because there is evidence to show that there are cultural differences in a range of socio-cognitive functions such as categorization, attribution, and reasoning (Miyamoto & Wilken, 2013 ), and these functions play important roles in how we perceive others, which in turn influences effective and appropriate communication (Moskowitz & Gill, 2013 ).

The concept of competence itself merits further reflection. Because the majority of voices that contribute to ongoing discussions on intercultural competence arise from developed parts of the world, it is fair to say that these discussions are not comprehensively representative of multiple cultural views. Further, the main mechanisms of academic publishing favor a peer-review system which can be self-perpetuating because the reviewers themselves are often the vocal contributors to the existing body of knowledge. For a more well rounded reflection of what it means to engage in authentic and affirming intercultural communication, sources of knowledge other than academic publications need to be considered. These may include the work done by international aid agencies and not-for-profit organizations for example, which engage with expressions of intercultural communication that are different from those that are observed among international students, expatriates, or medical, teaching, or business professionals, who inform a significant amount of intercultural competence research in academia.

Historiography: Research in Intercultural Competence over the Years

The concept of “competence” is not recent. For example, in an early use of the term, psychologist Robert W. White ( 1959 ) characterized competence as “an organism’s capacity to interact effectively with its environment” (p. 297) and proposed that effectance motivation (which results in feelings of efficacy) is an integral part of competence. Today’s research in intercultural competence has been informed by the work of researchers in a number of disciplines, over several decades.

In the field of communication, some of the pioneers of ICC research are Mary Jane Collier ( 1986 ), Norman G. Dinges ( 1983 ), William B. Gudykunst ( 1988 ), Mitchell R. Hammer ( 1987 ), T. Todd Imohari (Imohari & Lanigan, 1989 ), Daniel J. Kealey ( 1989 ), Young Yun Kim ( 1991 ), Jolene Koester (Koester & Olebe, 1988 ), Judith N. Martin ( 1987 ), Hiroko Nishida ( 1985 ), Brent D. Ruben ( 1976 ), Brian H. Spitzberg ( 1983 ), Stella Ting-Toomey ( 1988 ), and Richard L. Wiseman (Wiseman & Abe, 1986 ).

While much of the momentum in communication research started in the late 1970s, a conservative (and by no means comprehensive) glance at history traces back some of the early works in intercultural competence to the 1960s, where researchers identified essential characteristics for intercultural communication. This research was based on service personnel and Americans travelling overseas for work (Gardner, 1962 ; Guthrie & Zetrick, 1967 ; Smith, 1966 ). The characteristics they identified include flexibility, stability, curiosity, openness to other perspectives, and sensitivity, to name a few, and these characteristics were studied in the context of adaptation to a new culture.

In the 1970s, researchers built on early work to further identify key variables in intercultural “effectiveness” or “cross-cultural” competency. Researchers in communication worked toward not only identifying but also assessing these variables (Hammer, Gudykunst, & Wiseman, 1978 ; Ruben & Kealey, 1979 ), primarily using quantitative methods. Ruben, Askling, and Kealey ( 1977 ) provided a detailed account of “facets of cross-cultural effectiveness” identified by various researchers.

In the 1980s, research in ICC continued to gain momentum, with a special issue of the International Journal of Intercultural Relations dedicated to this topic. ICC was still approached from the point of view of two specific cultures interacting with each other, similar to the acculturation approach in the previous decade. Many of the conceptualizations of ICC were derived from (interpersonal) communication competence, extending this to intercultural contexts. For example, Spitzberg and Cupach’s ( 1984 ) conceptualization of communication competence as effective and appropriate communication has been foundational to later work in ICC.

Researchers in the 1990s built on the work of others before them. Chen ( 1990 ) presented eleven propositions and fifteen theorems in regards to the components of ICC, building from a discussion of Dinges’ ( 1983 ) six approaches to studying effective and appropriate communication in intercultural contexts. Chen went on to propose that competence is both inherent and learned. The 1993 volume of the International and Intercultural Communication Annual was dedicated to ICC, introducing some of the theories that later become influential in intercultural research, such as Gudykunst’s ( 1993 ) Anxiety/Uncertainty Management (AUM) theory, Cupach and Imahori’s ( 1993 ) Identity Management theory, and Ting-Toomey’s ( 1993 ) Identity Negotiation theory. Contributions to intercultural competence theory came from other disciplines as well, such as a learning model for becoming interculturally competent (Taylor, 1994 ) and an instructional model of intercultural strategic competence (Milhouse, 1996 ), for example. The formation of the International Academy for Intercultural Research, in 1997 , marked a significant step toward interdisciplinary collaboration in intercultural research. Research in the 1990s contributed to the strides made in the 2000s.

In a meta-review of ICC, Bradford, Allen, and Beisser ( 2000 ) observed that ICC and intercultural communication effectiveness have been used (conceptually) interchangeably in previous research. Despite the different labels under which this topic has been studied, Arasaratnam and Doerfel ( 2005 ) made the case for the culture-general nature of ICC, and Deardorff ( 2006 ) demonstrated that there is consensus amongst experts as to what ICC is. The publication of the SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence (Deardorff, 2009 ) and Spitzberg and Chagnon’s ( 2009 ) comprehensive introductory chapter on conceptualizing intercultural competence are other noteworthy contributions to literature in intercultural competence. In 2015 , the publication of another special issue on intercultural competence by the International Journal of Intercultural Relations (some 25 years after the 1989 special issue) signals that intercultural competence continues to be a topic of interest amongst researchers in communication and other disciplines. As discussed in the Research Directions section, the areas that are yet to be explored would hopefully be addressed in future research.

Intercultural Communication

(14 reviews)

Shannon Ahrndt, University of Missouri-St. Louis

Publisher: University of Missouri - St. Louis

Language: English

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Reviewed by Christi Masters, Clinical Associate Professor, Purdue University on 12/19/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This covers a fairly wide range of topics in regard to intercultural learning. For an introductory course (especially geared towards freshmen), this will provide a nice overview of topics. Given the title, I was expecting to see more comprehensive information about culture and communication (e.g., how to communicate more effectively). Chapter 1 covered this more comprehensively than the remaining chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Overall the information is accurate and sources are cited. Writing about this topic can be tricky as we often view this from our own experiences in life, but the author appropriately references material discussed.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The overall topic and broad information is quite relevant. While there are a few examples that are recent, many of the examples (including video clips) were often quite old (and not clearly related to how it is relevant to current times).

Clarity rating: 5

The clarity is excellent. I appreciated how each chapter provides clear learning objectives before getting started. The key terms at the start of each chapter (and being able to click on them for more information) was helpful, especially when thinking of the student perspective.

Consistency rating: 4

Consistency with terminology throughout the text was noted. The consistent start of each chapter with learning objectives and key terminology was helpful. All of the chapters ended with "key takeaways", but two chapters did not include "exercises" at the end of the chapter.

Modularity rating: 5

Although chapter 1 was long and contained more information than others, there were still clear sections and subheadings that aided modularity. Although some of the information builds off previous content/chapters, it would still be feasible to assign a chapter or section and still make sense to the reader and allow for learning based on that specific assignment/chapter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text was organized and flowed well while reading. As mentioned previously, the organization of each chapter was helpful (starting with learning objectives and key terms, and ending with key takeaways and exercises).

Interface rating: 5

The images and charts were clear. The key terms and videos were easy to click on and find. There were no distracting features noted.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

A few minor errors but nothing that hindered content or readability.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Given this is the focus of the text, it covers a range of cultural topics. Again, some of the information/examples are older and it would benefit from more recent examples.

There were many things I appreciated about this text. For example, noting the importance of reflection and reflective practice when it comes to intercultural learning. I wish there was more focus and an explicit statement about intercultural communication competence being a life-long journey - you don't just one day become "competent". While I am sure the author knows that, I think an undergraduate student could read the section on ICC and think there is an "endpoint" where you are finally competent.

Reviewed by Kay L. Colley, Professor of Mass Communication, Texas Wesleyan University on 7/31/23

This book is a comprehensive yet concise read allowing students to really understand the basics of intercultural communication. The glossary provides a great resource for students and anyone who wants to understand how to more effectively... read more

Most intercultural communication texts are written through a lens, so examples veer toward a focus on one area, usually the area of specialization of the author. This text provides a good depth of examples that seem to go beyond your traditional examples in such a text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The basic theories and concepts of intercultural communication are tackled effectively in this text, and content is fairly up-to-date. As this topic changes so quickly, it is difficult to keep intercultural communications up-to-date, but examples and issues are relevant to today.

This text is well-written and more accessible to students than several other texts I have reviewed. A limit on jargon and clear explanations of complicated topics make the text one that students will use.

Consistency rating: 5

Consistent use of terminology and phrasing is clear throughout the book.

Modularity rating: 4

The first two chapters are a bit long, especially chapter 1. Breaking the chapter into a bite-sized portion would be helpful.

Clear flow and logic are present in this text.

I was impressed by how the text looked. It is clear, attractive and written in a font that makes reading easier.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

There are a few grammatical errors, which is common in most texts today. Nothing is glaring, in terms of grammar, but there are some S-V agreement issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The topics that this textbook covers are sometimes hot button. There are some graphics that may be jarring, but that is the nature of intercultural communications. In studying how to communicate effectively across cultures, there are times when issues must be addressed that are uncomfortable.

This textbook is far more accessible to my students than the previous textbook in terms of writing, tone and style. I really believe my students will understand the subject better as they use this text, which is integral to understanding how to communication effectively across cultures.

Reviewed by Marc Pinheiro-Cadd, Associate Professor, Drake University on 12/15/22

While each chapter is of interest and potentially useful for an introductory course to intercultural communication, there is no index and no glossary. This could be addressed using ancillary materials, but it would not suffice as a stand-alone... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The content is unbiased, taking a "neutral" stance on the various topics. The content is consistent with current research in the field, although there are some missing content that would be useful.

My primary motivation for reviewing the text was to find a better presentation of the chapter on gendered communication, i.e., something that addresses more the interaction between males and females. While the text discusses the LGBTQ+ movement and community, it lacks a thorough discussion of communication within the community and with other communities. While the research in this area has not been largely forthcoming, most instructors will want a text (or replacement chapter) that is more current. A chapter devoted to acculturation might be a useful addition.

The text is very clearly written and 100% appropriate for an introductory course. Studnets who wish for or need material that can be applied directly to their lives without difficult jargon, this would be an appropriate selection.

Assessing this is a little difficult given that there is no index or glossary, but based on my reading, it is consistent. The framework remains consistent in that it is a very user-friendly text.

I believe this is one of the strengths of the text. Individual chapters could be used to supplement or replace chapters of other texts. Alternatively, chapters of this text could be omitted and replaced by others more suitable to the instructor and their students. The divisions internally within each chapter have been well chosen.

The first three chapters of the text are the more "theoretical," although they are easily processed by a reader unfamiliar with the field. The remainder of the chapter address various aspects of human society that face some of the issues addressed in the first three chapters.

There were no interface issues to note. Every chart and image were clearly displayed and easily understood.

No grammatical errors were found.

Race, class, and gender were addressed in individual chapters. A discussion of communication between non-binary and binary/cis individuals would be an appropriate addition. No offensive material was detected.

Having known little about OER prior to the search that led me to this text, I was very pleasantly surprised to discover this text. It will be useful for future iterations of my courses.

Reviewed by Elissa Mitchell, Associate Professor, University of Southern Indiana on 11/18/22

This book covers many areas (e.g., stereotyping, beliefs and values, race and ethnicity, social class, gender and sexuality) so it's diverse enough to be used in a broad course, likely as a supplemental text/reading. Each chapter has a good... read more

Content Accuracy rating: 4

While I am not expert in this field, it appears as though the information in this book is based on the appropriate literature and is supported by in-text citations and linked in the references.

This is an up-to-date discussion of intercultural communication, although I would have liked to have seen more of a discussion on nonverbal communication (an important factor). While language or preferred terms may evolve over time, this could easily be updated to reflect those changes. A list of key terms would be a nice addition to each chapter, perhaps included at the end with the key takeaways.

I found this to be a very well-written text. It is fairly informal, not including a lot of unnecessary jargon, and makes the text accessible (ideal for undergraduates). Personal examples and stories are included which engages the reader.

The text is consistent in terms of formatting, style of writing, and additional content (key takeaways, student exercises) throughout

This is a highly modular text and chapters could easily be used independently without assigning the whole text. Chapters on race or gender, for example, could be used as supplemental readings in courses addressing those topics. The chapters can be a bit long so one might even consider breaking up chapters into subsections.

The text is well-organized and flows well. While some chapters start differently than others, I think that helps break up the monotony of some texts. The book starts with an overview of the topic and then each subsequent chapter talks about a specific aspect of culture or identity.

The text is free of significant interface issues or navigation problems. The images/charts are clear and cited & I appreciate the linked in-text citations.

This is a well-written text with few grammatical issues. Those that are present do not detract from the topic or information being presented.

This is an appropriate book for intercultural communication from an American perspective. Those from other nations would likely have a different view. That being said, the U.S. has many cultures and subcultures and this book does a nice job of discussing potential issues and considerations.

Reviewed by Reslie Cortés, Assistnat Professor, James Madison University on 11/9/22

The information provided and the chapter organization is interesting and good but overall, I think this book is more about identity than culture. It covers very little ground to the extent that I would not be able to keep it as my main book and would only be able to use it to supplement a different text. It is also quite short at only 100 pages. So while it could be used as a helpful reference it’s not a stand-alone text.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

While the book often brings in widely accepted concepts regarding prejudice, there is insufficient/inaccurate discussion of how these function through colonialism. For example, in discussion of social class the author points to overpopulation in the global south. This is a myth borne out of colonial discourse which erases exploitation of these countries and has been widely disproven. We have also moved beyond considering oppression as an individual experience and much more structurally.

Does not extensively use “current events” to explain concepts so it feels very anachronistic. This could increase its longevity but also detaches it from everyday experiences.

Writing style is very clear, accessible, and personable. The author refers to themselves in the third person which I think student would like. Most students should be able to easily digest the reading.

The terminology is consistent, however there is an imbalance in paradigmatic coverage. There seems to be an implied assumption that all intercultural communication research has this critical approach which I feel is very inaccurate and limits the coverage on social scientific or interpretive perspectives in the field. In other words, presenting critical perspectives as the umbrella instead of one approach. I myself am I critical scholar, however in a survey course we must address the other paradigms as well.

Chapters are 25 pages or less with plenty of subsections

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The chapters are divided by different identities and while this contributes to a good flow, there is more to intercultural communication than identity. I fear this organization has excluded some important themes such as cultural space, identity performance, globalization and modern-day imperialism, the role of media, cultural practices, language, etc. Furthermore, while intersectionality is discussed, this organization hampers readers ability to see how these functions because the identities are all discussed separately.

Well placed headers, images, charts. Links work correctly.

None detected

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

There seems to be a hesitance address modern-day colonization and imperialism in this book. Additionally, I think it could be updated by using “enslavement” rather than “slavery”. It discusses important social inequalities at length but mostly at an individual level, leaving out explorations of more structural oppressions. There are also some red flags throughout that reveal internalized oppressive discourse of the author. For example the chapter on social class (only 10pgs or so) talks about criminal justice and uses a photograph of a black man being arrested with no contextualization or discussion of rates of arrest in different communities or police brutality. Literally choosing to include this without drawing its relevance to culture. What was their goal for discussing this topic? Out of touch and completely unacceptable.

Reviewed by Caleb Lamont, Adjunct Faculty in Communication Studies, Eastern Oregon University on 9/9/22

Various topics and theories are explored in the text and present them in a fun and engaging way. Everything is easy to understand throughout and students are able to see how one topic connects to another one. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Everything was accurate and relatable to the students.

Everything is very relevant and up-to-date. Granted, some things might need to be revised down the road in future editions to make things more relatable and current but as of today, everything was fine and relevant.

Everything was very easy to understand and flowed clearly from chapter to chapter.

The author was consistent throughout.

Overall, everything is easy to understand throughout and is a solid text the way it is today. Everything flows and builds off of previous chapters/topics.

The text is very well organized and everything flows from the first chapter to the last chapter.

No issues with this, no broken links were found.

While not a major issue, there were several typos and other grammatical errors in the text. Not a major issue at all though, and it did not take away from the material being presented to students.

The examples used were all current and relatable to students but it was more geared toward North American culture it seemed. Expanding the cultural examples being used is suggested for future revisions.

Overall, this is a solid text and does a great job presenting information to students.

Reviewed by Andrea (Ané) Pearman, Assistant Professor, Tidewater Community College on 7/28/22

Although the text covers a vast amount of content, there are foundational aspects of ICC that are not addressed as well as I would prefer. There appears to be a more sociological or cultural anthropology focus to this text and less of a focus on the field of communication. For example, nonverbal communication was barely addressed yet it plays such a significant role in ICC.

I appreciate the listing of key terms at the beginning of each chapter as well as the direct links between the listing and the content within the chapter. I would recommend a well-structured glossary as an addition to this text or a detailed index to the entire text for reference; this would make content even more accessible for students. I appreciate the inclusion (which is not rather standard process) of learning objectives for each chapter but I do not always see the connection within the chapters.

Content, without copiously scrutinizing each chapters’ content and fact checking each and every single reference, appears to be accurate. The author cites sources at the end of each chapter and within the content of the chapters. Links to source citations are added within each chapter’s content for credibility and to enhance further research. I appreciated the links within the "References" section for each chapter to easily access original source content.

Overall, the language of the writing does not tend to “date” the content as the author has written with “timeless” language. The author includes both historical and current examples which may impact the long-term relevance of the text. The inclusion of incredibly current content (text written in 2020 with sources from 2020) may help this text stand the test of time. The language is current and there is a good inclusion of up-to-date examples of some concepts discussed within some of the content (particularly in the Ch. 7 Socialization and Human Sexuality). These examples could easily be updated to keep the content as current as possible.

Clarity rating: 4

The chapters are clearly written with the author’s writing style being very “readable” and I feel that this puts the readers at ease regarding the content. The author’s language is written at a level easily accessible for both higher and lower-level undergraduate course students. The author uses anecdotes and personal examples to make the content more “relatable” and the author tries to create connections with students, overall, with the language style of the writing. However, the somewhat heavy reliance on personal examples by the author can take away from the overall research value- for me, as a reader.

The chapters’ language, formatting and content follow a consistent pattern. I appreciate the use of key terms, learning objectives, photo boxes, “getting real” and “getting plugged in “sections, key takeaways, examples, video links and one level of sub-heading throughout each chapter. I would even value a further level of sub-heading, if possible, in future editions. The flow of content is logical and consistent, but some chapters are significantly longer or include more content than others which requires the professor to break down into addition reading sections for students.

In the text’s current organization, the chapters seem to flow logically into each other or lead logically to the next chapter’s content. Having said this, the chapters are structured in a manner that they can easily be rearranged for teaching style and timing. The subdivision of content with secondary headers within the chapters makes it easier to “pick and choose” if necessary, content to be addressed.

As previously noted, some chapters contain considerably more content than others and this could be modified with either adding more chapters OR more content to other chapters. The flow of content is logical and well-structured. There is consistency in the content included with the exception of some chapters including more pedagogical aids than others.

Interface rating: 4

Basic but, overall, easy to use. Downloadable pdf with links (but it’s easy to lose your original place of reading when using links). Although I appreciate the links for key words and source information, the “open in another tab” option is not available, but it would make the process easier to return to prior reading place.

I did not review the text as an editor nor run through editing software, but I did notice a few slight grammatical issues present; the errors were nominal and none that would impact the author’s credibility.

The examples were very current as well as relevant and, overall, would relate to, or at least interest, students. I found the book to be sensitive to a variety of aspects of culture but found it to be somewhat “American-centric” meaning it was more relevant to North America than subcultures of other geographic areas (like Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe).

I found the text to be an enjoyable read and I think students would find value in the content included. I appreciated the key term links and exercises for students as well as the personal anecdotes of the author. While the coverage of intercultural communication from a sociological perspective was quite thorough, I would not be able to use this as a “stand alone” source for my Intercultural Communication courses but would need to supplement with additional content regarding communication theories as well as more content from cultures outside of the United States.

Reviewed by Sweta Baniya, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech on 4/1/22

The book is less comprehensive than I thought. Though it covers a variety of important topics, I wanted some comprehensive historical grounding of IC and its importance. read more

The book is less comprehensive than I thought. Though it covers a variety of important topics, I wanted some comprehensive historical grounding of IC and its importance.

All content seems accurate.

Content is very relevant

The language is really clear.

Information is very consistent. However, I think the history of IC is missing.

I think so! I like the format.

It seems like there are so many items within one page but those are easily identifiable.

No issues that I can think of

None that I can see.

I think the book is really good. However, I think I wanted a comprehensive history of intercultural communication that will help the students to understand the grounding of IC. I do think the book is really good. However, I am not so confident in using only this text as my major text for my class. The chapter on Race and Ethnicity is really important. I will definitely assign some chapters from the book to my future IC class because the book has important topics.

Reviewed by Gloria Wenman, Adjunct Instructor, English Language Acquisition, Kirkwood Community College on 12/15/21

The textbook covers a wide range of the American cultural landscape. It explains the history of certain issues with tact while also conveying the good and bad of historical figures and impactful decisions (historical as in the past few to many years ago). Explanations are placed with the initiation of a concept. This is convenient as it alleviates the need to grab another book to find the meaning. At times, explanations are tied back to previous concepts to help with understanding, e.g., “the socializing institutions we discussed earlier…” The table of contents could be revised to include headings within each chapter. This would help the reader to see at a glance all that a chapter focuses on, rather than just the chapter's main thesis.

While most of the content consists of statements of fact, the author's opinions are obvious in the words used to examine different concepts. It is usually clear when the author's own viewpoint is being expressed. The content is well referenced with a discussion of the sourced information. In-text citations are linked to the reference page. Most of the references are linked to the originating document. This makes it easy to fact-check a discussed concept or approach. A random sampling showed that the author stayed true to the represented ideas of the linked articles.

Very few ‘currently trending’ words or phrases are used thus lessening the need for interpretation. This lends to the relevance of the material as it prevents ‘dating’ of the material. Much of the textbook is tied to the historical beginnings of certain outcomes. While the interpretation of these may change, hopefully, the facts won’t. When combined with common use words, this will keep the textbook from being outdated within the next decade (as is the case with many printed books).

The author's style of writing helps the reader understand the different approaches used. The contained concepts are well defined and considered from several perspectives. It is also written with good sentence structure and paragraph placement making for a clearer understanding of theories, opinions, and explanations. Headers, sub-headers, and highlighting help to simplify content and connections.

The style of writing is consistent throughout the textbook. Words, phrases, and concepts of the same level of proficiency are conveyed in a similar manner throughout. Chapters are laid out in the same pattern making it easy to pinpoint references, suggested learning outcomes, key terms, key takeaways, and student exercises. The flow of the chapters is similar without any jarring (or chaotic) changes. The call-backs to previous chapters or discussions help to connect the entirety of the communication concept between and within different American ideals, beliefs, and systems.

Moving through the book in a linear fashion allows certain aspects to bloom in a particular way. However, the author’s way of developing the textbook does allow for segmentation. Chapters could be subdivided with the extractions combined in different ways. This helps home in on certain facets that may be at the forefront of common thought, the news of the day, or the planned focus of a class. This makes it easier to pick and choose which portions to use in classroom discussions. While each chapter has a set focus, some of the concepts do overlap. This helps with flow and understanding but may make it more difficult to subdivide without seeming fragmentary.

The textbook is organized into overall categories then subdivided into specific areas of focus. This continuity of structure helps the reader move from one aspect, or focus, of the chapter to another. However, some chapters begin with a story of a recent event, others start with consideration of different research, and yet others begin with an expressed opinion. While this might lend an interesting diversity, it impacts the flow between chapters. This keeps the textbook from being as useful of a classroom tool as it could be. Some chapters have questions after the opening foray, but most do not. The questions are useful because they make the reader immediately question their own biases. They also provide a great starting point for discussion-based classes.

Interface rating: 3

Links within the document help with understanding. The links allow you to click on a keyword or reference and be taken to the definition or usage within the textbook. Getting back to your starting point is not as easy due to the necessity of scrolling back. Clicking on a picture byline or reference did not result in the same issue. Hitting the back button returns you to the exact place in the textbook you left. Perhaps the issue is only true of links within the document rather than those linked to outside sources. While this aspect is probably true of many online documents, having a link that goes backward and forwards could alleviate this.

There are some dropped words, such as indirect articles, and some awkward word usage. However, I didn’t read it with the intent of proofreading, and the meaning and intent appear clear.

The dynamics and inter-connectedness of the different aspects of American culture are well explored. The textbook is somewhat limited to those already in or wishing to integrate into, the existing stratified American culture or to better understand their place(s) in it. For those coming to this country with the wish to understand the culture, and not change their own, this is a great overall introduction. However, while there may be commonalities between cultures, the book doesn’t consider outside backgrounds and cultures.

The textbook is focused on the intersectionality within American culture. It is more intracultural than intercultural. I had looked at this textbook for possible use in an English Language Acquisitions’ Culture and Communication class. This is a high-level class, and in the next lowest (in a progression-based system) we discuss a person’s culture of familiarity in comparison with the American culture. When I first looked at this book, it seemed to be a possibility. After more in-depth consideration though, I don’t think it will work for helping students to understand the American culture as it relates to their own. Thanks to the decent modularity, there are many facets that I can use. I just can’t use it as a whole class. I think this textbook is great, and I certainly like it for its inclusivity of American’s varied cultures.

Reviewed by Kristen Livingston, Associate Instructional Professor, Pittsburg State University on 6/3/21

Very dense- all encompassing and dare I even say "loaded" with all of the connecting ideologies to sociological foundations. I worry that it is not effective in communication practices but may be helpful understanding people which is how connections in communication may be made. I would reduce the overwhelming focus on descriptions and focus on what intercultural means in terms of communication. Intercultural communication can be an overwhelming subject and this may encourage more anxiety with the topic. The key terms would benefit including definitions at the beginning or the end of the chapters to help reiterate the importance of those in relation to intercultural communication. The exercises are helpful to generate discussion/reiteration of content.

The content, in accordance with best practices, theoretical framing, and academic acknowledgments, is referenced adequately. The citations at the end of each chapter clarify anything within the text that may encourage questioning. Intercultural communication is heavily reliant on experience as much as academics- I know this may not be a popular "opinion. Thus, this text does a good job collecting information to help further a classroom discussion.

Since intercultural is tangible and reliant on those individuals communicating, this book is relatively up to date but will not adjusted often. It is helpful to have the historical timelines, case studies, and the author's references to aid in the exploration of content. It will be up to the instructor to guide students through the text and engage them with approaches to understanding the content. It helps to know where we have come from to know where the discussion will allocate further in the classroom.

The seven chapters are clearly written, organized, and offer context for the terminology used throughout the text. It is easy to read, navigate, and connects the subject matter from chapter to chapter. I would appreciate a bit more connectivity to student learning and an understanding that this can be very overwhelming (which at times I felt was without during my reading).

The text is consistent, has a clear identity in reading, and flows from one subject to the next. Some chapters don't have the abundance of student inclusion (exercises) but that may be due to the subject matter in question. It does a good job in framing ideologies, given how the text pulls from a variety of resources, and condenses into a relatively unified voice.

The chapters can be divided easily throughout a semester or a summer course. Given the lengths of chapters, some information may need to be reduced by the instructor through picking and choosing the most important content (due to how much content there is overall). How each chapter is divided into sections is helpful to for discussions and assignments.

The textbook is organized in an easy "map" formation that will lend to understanding one topic to the next. The subject builds upon itself to help set tone, standards, and understanding before moving on.

Everything worked, links were not broken, and imagery was clear without pixelation.

There were some typos that I caught during my brief experience with the text (however, due to how dense the material is, I am not surprise).

This text is HIGHLY relevant and is inclusive by default of subject matter. However, all examples, case studies, and references help to monitor and recognize all aspects of intercultural exploration.

This is a well-written book that just needs some minor considerations as an adoption in class. I think an instructor can cherry pick the materials from this text OR ultimately will choose to create content themselves from OER resources. Overall, I would recommend but each instructor should recognize how much material is embodied in the text, the scope of the text in seven chapters, and what they would like their students to learn most importantly.

Reviewed by Noel Neptune, Lecturer/Clinical Education Coordinator, University of Southern Maine on 3/31/21

Covers the content expected. I appreciate all the works cited sections at the end of the chapters as well to see their references. I think a section at the beginning of each chapter defining key terms would be beneficial. I also like the explanation of some of the exercises that have been used when looking at cultural awareness. It provides a lot of resources to look into to use for courses.

I believe the content is accurate and free of bias, but there are several points in the book that the author tells their own story. I think these would make better boxed out discussion or authors thoughts rather than in the middle of the text. The author also lists all of their references.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The content is up to date but I think many of the sections and references will seem poorly written as time goes on (refers to things in recent history, etc...). I do like the historic timelines of important dates and those will be easy to update. But the in-text references will be harder to update.

Fairly clear but I think a chapter in the beginning that clearly defined key words, or having tabs off of the text to do so would be helpful. Some of the definitions of terms you had to read the whole section to decipher the authors definition. Also, lots of first person story telling. I like the stories, but think they should be separated from the researched information.

The author is consistent throughout the entire book.

The text is obviously divided but I think it may even be more beneficial to break into even smaller segments. I like books that make it easy to break up the reading into small segments with clear places you can stop and resume at later dates. This does have several subsections you can do this with in some chapters but others it doesn't work as well. Chapter 1 is a bit too long and reads dry.

Topics are all introduced but I find the flow of the book a bit choppy for some reason. It might be because the book jumps from personal story to research, then to definitions and back and forth.

I did not have any issues with interface with the online text.

No issues that I noticed but I will admit, this is not my strong point.

It is a book about Intercultural Communications. It can't get much more culturally relevant than that. The examples the text used are all relevant to evaluating cultural awareness and competence.

I like the exercises at the end of the chapters. I also enjoy the authors personal notes, just wish they were introduced outside of the chapter reading. I would also add a list of terms and definitions at the beginning of the chapter for quick reference. Overall a good text. My biggest concern is the amount of timely references made in the book and how they will hold up and read with time.

Reviewed by Cory Geraths, Visiting Assistant Professor of Rhetoric, Wabash College on 2/28/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

This book, unfortunately, is not comprehensive. The textbook proposes a focus on intercultural communication and, while this is a recurring theme throughout (particularly in the opening chapter), much of the content focuses more on the "intercultural" side of "intercultural communication." The selections compiled by the editor into this text stem largely from Sociology and, while this is helpful to a degree from the perspective of interdisciplinarity, Communication teachers looking to use this book in an Intercultural Communication course will find the book quite light in terms of explicit focus on communication theories, practices, and situations. The text does not include an index, though it does include highlighted key terms throughout. Such terms are also noted at the outset of each chapter alongside core learning objectives. Each chapter also ends with a bulleted summary of key themes and most chapters (there is an inconsistency here) also include some exercises for students. Unfortunately, the learning objectives and summaries are often quite lengthy; a more refined list of student goals and key takeaways would be helpful.

The book does not contain, to my eye, significant issues in accuracy of content. The primary issue, as noted elsewhere in this review, stems from the need for a richer focus on Communication Studies as a discipline, broadly, and Intercultural Communication as a rich subfield of that discipline, specifically. Of particular concern, in my view, is that multiple chapters (namely, Ch. 5 on class and Ch. 7 on sexuality) lack a rich engagement with scholarship and other evidence. Rather than drawing upon work by academics and others, these chapters rely primarily on Wiki sources. And, while such sources can be useful as sites for general information, they lack a needed rigor and richness in the context of a textbook to be assigned to students.

This textbook is inconsistent in terms of relevance. At times, examples are up-to-date (as in parts of Ch. 7 on sexuality). More often than not, however, the data marshaled and the examples proffered in this book lack a necessary recency. There are, for instance, multiple occasions where data is marshaled from the 1990s or 2000s. Such data is not explicitly connected to the present moment or even a more recent moment. It is, instead, used without sufficient context in a way that is troubling and would, in my view, lead a faculty member assigning this textbook to have to fill in the gaps on her own.

The seven chapters compiled by the editor into this text are, by and large, clearly written. Terms are clearly defined and highlighted, and the book appears as one would expect a textbook to appear. The prose is accessible was easy to follow. At times, however, I would have appreciated more explicit engagement with the student audience. It is not always clear that these chapters conceive of students as the primary audience; for instance, this is more common in Ch. 1 and Ch. 2 and much less so in later chapters.

By and large, the textbook has a clear flow and is consistent in terms of terminology and framework. Because the chapters are taken from a variety of original open-access sources, however, there are occasional repeats in key terms and the style of language/prose is not always as consistent as one would like. Moreover, as noted elsewhere in this review, there are a few chapters that lack exercises for students at the end.

The textbook can certainly be divided into modules over the arc of a semester, quarter, or other class. I wish, though, that the chapters were more even in length. Ch. 1 and Ch. 2 are quite dense, and would likely need to be split up over a few days (depending on the level of the course and one's students). The latter chapters, on the other hand, were quite short and, at times, led to me desiring more information, content, and examples. That said, chapters all contain helpful subheadings and would be easily assigned to students in this regard.

Yes. The textbook, as compiled, moves from overarching theory in the beginning chapters to more specific subject areas. This makes sense at a logical level.

Yes. I found no significant issues with the interface. Links (at least those I clicked, worked) and images, charts, and figures were clear on the pages.

There are a handful of grammatical errors in this text. I noticed a few typos, words missing or out of order, and so forth. By and large, however, this is not a distracting issue.

I found no significant issues here. The textbook works purposefully to cite examples across identity categories and life experiences.

I went into my reading of this text hopeful that I could assign it in a forthcoming upper-division Intercultural Communication course. I am, however, disappointed with the end product due to the reasons that I have noted above. And, for those reasons, I will look elsewhere for an open-access text on intercultural communication.

Reviewed by Kerric Harvey, Associate Professor, The George Washington University on 1/15/21

This is not just a comprehensive assemblage of material about the topic, but it actually stretches the conventional boundaries of "intercultural communications" in the best way possible -- and in a way that is long overdue. Intercultural communication, as a field, has always been one of those subjects best approached as a "praxis," a vibrant, supple, dynamic combination of theory and practice that must react to changes in the "real world" just as nimbly as it responds to the development of new concepts and hypotheses. As such, any textbook in this discipline must be sensitive to shifting social values and cultural conventions to a degree that isn’t necessarily the case with other dimensions of communications studies, per se. Ahrndt’s text fulfils this requirement at the Olympic level. She not only covers the best and most enduring of the legacy material, but expands what “intercultural” means to include sub-divisions within the American “body cultural,” including LGBTQ+ populations, hearing impaired, differently-abled, gender fluid, religious, and other affinity groups not usually addressed in a text of this sort. She also addresses the “intercultural” communication dynamics among African-American, Native American, and Latinex, and several types of Asian, Arab, and Indian sub-continent populations whose immigrants and American-born descendants interact with Americans of European descent.

Interpreting the word “accuracy” to mean the degree to which the text presents without error the theories, concepts, specialized vocabularies, relevant canonical literatures, and real-world case studies used to create a teaching instrument, this text is remarkably accurate across a wide range of core and cognate fields and sub-fields of intercultural communication. The author also does an excellent job with the photograph captions that pepper the text, providing clear, concise, but comprehensive commentary for these illustrations that accurately capture the political context of the events, issues, and objects they depict without overt editorializing or, at the other extreme, falling back on such vapid, "pro forma" descriptions that the captions rob the photos of their cultural vibrancy. Not being able to fact-check the entire text, I can’t guarantee that single piece of information it contains is correct in all ways, but I didn’t see any conspicuous errors, or even anything that suggested less than scrupulous attention to factual detail.

This is an extra-ordinarily relevant text. It’s really the model for understanding what “culture” means in the 21st century, especially in pluralistic societies and taking into account the meta-societies created by the emerging acceptance of multiple identities on many dimensions. Even the case studies are contemporary to the moment (this review is being written in January 2021), including as they do references to the Marriage Equality Act, the Summer of Ferguson, Take Back the Night, the Parks 51 controversy, and on-going tensions about Confederate flags and statues. Although as time progresses and events continue to unfold, these “teaching examples” might diminish in terms of their immediacy, they will still provide emotionally accessible insights into tensions, topics, and events that will retain salience for a very long time to come. The text can also be easily amended to augment the current material with anecdotes and information that “brings it up to speed” in subsequent editions.

One of the real joys of reviewing this text was how easy it was to read. The author moves along at a lively rate without short-changing important concepts or down-grading important theories into superficial versions of themselves. Instead, she condenses material without diminishing it, and does so using clear, approachable language that is deftly crafted and judiciously punctuated. Ideas are presented in digestible form and linked concepts are explored without falling into cumbersome, complicated grammatical constructions. Every chapter begins with a list of “key words” and any technical language or specialty vocabulary is explained organically within the text as it flows from point to point.

This book is very consistent in terms of tone and authorial approach as well as structure and organization. Each chapter is organized the same way, utilizing the same elements, and the informational content itself is recognizably the same authorial “voice” all throughout the work. Terminology remains consistent throughout the entire text, as well.

This book would be very easy to use as a course text. It’s broken up into subject-specific chapters that make intuitive sense, and each chapter is well-organized in a way that would translate easily to classroom presentation. Chapters build on each other as the book unfolds, but not to the extent that would prohibit instructors from re-arranging the chapters according to a different course organization, or using some and not others. This useful modularity continues within each chapter itself, in that instructors can avail themselves of all that each chapter offers, or can extract chapter sub-sections that can still stand on their own as teaching tools.

This book is very well-organized, in a way that leverages its modularity while simultaneously making it easy to use as a fully intact text, in its entirety. Specifically, each chapter begins with information about the source of the material within it, followed by a list of keywords and the learning objectives for that chapter. This is followed by the central material, augmented along the way with exercises, illustrations, relevant tables and graphs, and magazine-style “sidebars” in which the author raises pertinent questions or provides a more granulated look at the chapter’s main issues through a short “case study-like” story. Each chapter concludes with an executive summary of “key takeaways,” a chapter bibliography, and more structured and elaborate student exercises.

As far as I can tell, there are no serious problems with the technological interfaces or the various links associated with this book. It’s an especially nice feature to be able to click on citations to add immediate texture and enhancement to what’s being covered in the text at hand.

I didn’t find any grammatical issues in the text. There were a few instances of odd spacing and of double-words, although I strongly suspect that’s a casualty of my own computer clunky “reading” of the pdf rather than something that’s actually there in the text itself. I did notice that the word “Dutch” was not capitalized in the caption for the photo of Tiger Woods.

This book is absolutely culturally sensitive – in fact, I’d call it an exemplary model of how to do that well and gracefully. It’s also wonderfully diverse in the author’s attention to breaking up monolithic labels for what are rightfully heterogeneous populations. For example, she writes eloquently and sensitively about the diverse as well as the shared immigration experiences of the variety of Spanish-speaking peoples in the United States today, noting contrasts among Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central American, and other Latino and Latina groups. She repeats this useful approach several times, even when discussing the social biographies and the residual communication environments for different types of European immigrants. In subsequent editions, I’d love to see her complexify her discussion of the Native American experience a little more, focusing perhaps on the meaningful linguistic differences as well as cultural norms among different tribal groups and addressing the special situations faced by reservations in the Far North, as well as those on which casinos are located, a challenging setting for intercultural communication if ever there was one. Another place where what she’s already doing well could be expanded would be a bit more material on the escalating presence of immigrants from the Indian sub-continent, especially the women who are making such remarkable contributions to American science and medicine.

This is a highly readable, deeply sensitive, excitingly contemporary text. It preserves the best of the field’s canon while simultaneously introducing culturally salient, socially relevant, and intellectually invigorating new material that is highly relatable for today’s students and easily adaptable to a wide range of courses. I’m so taken with it that I’m already trying to figure out how I can use it in the courses I already teach, or use it as a springboard into ones I’ve yet to develop.

Reviewed by Jackie Mosley, Associate Professor, University of Arkansas on 1/6/21, updated 2/2/21

I have yet to find a textbook that fits with my Cultural Competence course, and this might just be the one! This text covers various theories of cultural competence, without going into a "boring theories section", which is difficult to find. The material is presented in an easy way for my undergraduate students to comprehend with tangible examples, rather than larger concepts and ideas that are often boring or more difficult to understand.

Content is timely and accurate.

This book is super relevant right now, and could be utilized in so many different types of social sciences courses. This text was written in 2020, which is imperative, given the current climate in the United States and has timely topics related to cultural events.

Text is very easy to comprehend, especially for undergraduate students in introductory courses related to cultural competence.

Consistent terms and material.

I love that the Learning Objectives are very clear and then what major terms will be focused on in the module - very helpful for readers (students) and faculty who want to organize for their own class. I also enjoy the Takeaways at the end of the module that are bulleted - easier to read quickly vs. a large paragraph of a summary. I think students would enjoy this too.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

I feel that the material (especially in the 1st module) jumps around and covers a lot of material, that I'm not quite sure how I would adapt in my own classroom. It will make it difficult to specify which pages to read (or sections), but it is do-able. Just wish introductory terms were focused on first, and then go into more of the contextual issues later. But I also recognize, each curricula is organized by an Instructor's own preferences; and I may try to use the organization of this text for my class, is possible.

I enjoyed being able to click on citations or other images to discover more; very useful for an online textbook. I do wish there was a way to "highlight" specific things you like in the text that students can see, basically the Instructor telling students what is most important to read (I've seen this in other platforms and really enjoyed that).

No grammar issues.

Inclusive book to all types of identities and communities related to cultural competence in the United States in today's modern age.

Overall, this book is perfect for any course on cultural competence or diversity, equity and inclusion. It covers all the major groups/communities in the US; however, it could use more research and discussion on other diversity issues: ageism, body size issues and neuro-diversity.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Intercultural Communication
CHAPTER 2: Social Categorization, Stereotyping, and Discrimination
CHAPTER 3: Beliefs, Values, and Cultural Universals
CHAPTER 4: Introduction to Race and Ethnicity
CHAPTER 5: The Impacts of Social Class
CHAPTER 6: Gender and Gender Inequality
CHAPTER 7: Socialization and Human Sexuality

Ancillary Material

About the book.

Intercultural Communication examines culture as a variable in interpersonal and collective communication. It explores the opportunities and problems arising from similarities and differences in communication patterns, processes, and codes among various cultural groups. It explores cultural universals, social categorization, stereotyping and discrimination, with a focus on topics including race, ethnicity, social class, religion, gender and sexuality as they relate to communication.

About the Contributors

Shannon Ahrndt , University of Missouri-St. Louis

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8.4 Intercultural Communication Competence

Learning objectives.

Define intercultural communication competence.
Explain how motivation, self- and other-knowledge, and tolerance for uncertainty relate to intercultural communication competence.
Summarize the three ways to cultivate intercultural communication competence that are discussed.
Apply the concept of “thinking under the influence” as a reflective skill for building intercultural communication competence.

Throughout this book we have been putting various tools in our communication toolbox to improve our communication competence. Many of these tools can be translated into intercultural contexts. While building any form of competence requires effort, building intercultural communication competence often requires us to take more risks. Some of these risks require us to leave our comfort zones and adapt to new and uncertain situations. In this section, we will learn some of the skills needed to be an interculturally competent communicator.

Components of Intercultural Communication Competence

Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in various cultural contexts. There are numerous components of ICC. Some key components include motivation, self- and other knowledge, and tolerance for uncertainty.

Initially, a person’s motivation for communicating with people from other cultures must be considered. Motivation refers to the root of a person’s desire to foster intercultural relationships and can be intrinsic or extrinsic (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). Put simply, if a person isn’t motivated to communicate with people from different cultures, then the components of ICC discussed next don’t really matter. If a person has a healthy curiosity that drives him or her toward intercultural encounters in order to learn more about self and others, then there is a foundation from which to build additional competence-relevant attitudes and skills. This intrinsic motivation makes intercultural communication a voluntary, rewarding, and lifelong learning process. Motivation can also be extrinsic, meaning that the desire for intercultural communication is driven by an outside reward like money, power, or recognition. While both types of motivation can contribute to ICC, context may further enhance or impede a person’s motivation to communicate across cultures.

Members of dominant groups are often less motivated, intrinsically and extrinsically, toward intercultural communication than members of nondominant groups, because they don’t see the incentives for doing so. Having more power in communication encounters can create an unbalanced situation where the individual from the nondominant group is expected to exhibit competence, or the ability to adapt to the communication behaviors and attitudes of the other. Even in situations where extrinsic rewards like securing an overseas business investment are at stake, it is likely that the foreign investor is much more accustomed to adapting to United States business customs and communication than vice versa. This expectation that others will adapt to our communication can be unconscious, but later ICC skills we will learn will help bring it to awareness.

The unbalanced situation I just described is a daily reality for many individuals with nondominant identities. Their motivation toward intercultural communication may be driven by survival in terms of functioning effectively in dominant contexts. Recall the phenomenon known as code-switching discussed earlier, in which individuals from nondominant groups adapt their communication to fit in with the dominant group. In such instances, African Americans may “talk white” by conforming to what is called “standard English,” women in corporate environments may adapt masculine communication patterns, people who are gay or lesbian may self-censor and avoid discussing their same-gender partners with coworkers, and people with nonvisible disabilities may not disclose them in order to avoid judgment.

While intrinsic motivation captures an idealistic view of intercultural communication as rewarding in its own right, many contexts create extrinsic motivation. In either case, there is a risk that an individual’s motivation can still lead to incompetent communication. For example, it would be exploitative for an extrinsically motivated person to pursue intercultural communication solely for an external reward and then abandon the intercultural relationship once the reward is attained. These situations highlight the relational aspect of ICC, meaning that the motivation of all parties should be considered. Motivation alone cannot create ICC.

Knowledge supplements motivation and is an important part of building ICC. Knowledge includes self- and other-awareness, mindfulness, and cognitive flexibility. Building knowledge of our own cultures, identities, and communication patterns takes more than passive experience (Martin & Nakayama). As you’ll recall from Chapter 2 “Communication and Perception” , on perception, we learn who we are through our interactions with others. Developing cultural self-awareness often requires us to get out of our comfort zones. Listening to people who are different from us is a key component of developing self-knowledge. This may be uncomfortable, because we may realize that people think of our identities differently than we thought. For example, when I lived in Sweden, my Swedish roommates often discussed how they were wary of befriending students from the United States. They perceived US Americans to be shallow because they were friendly and exciting while they were in Sweden but didn’t remain friends once they left. Although I was initially upset by their assessment, I came to see the truth in it. Swedes are generally more reserved than US Americans and take longer to form close friendships. The comparatively extroverted nature of the Americans led some of the Swedes to overestimate the depth of their relationship, which ultimately hurt them when the Americans didn’t stay in touch. This made me more aware of how my communication was perceived, enhancing my self-knowledge. I also learned more about communication behaviors of the Swedes, which contributed to my other-knowledge.

The most effective way to develop other-knowledge is by direct and thoughtful encounters with other cultures. However, people may not readily have these opportunities for a variety of reasons. Despite the overall diversity in the United States, many people still only interact with people who are similar to them. Even in a racially diverse educational setting, for example, people often group off with people of their own race. While a heterosexual person may have a gay or lesbian friend or relative, they likely spend most of their time with other heterosexuals. Unless you interact with people with disabilities as part of your job or have a person with a disability in your friend or family group, you likely spend most of your time interacting with able-bodied people. Living in a rural area may limit your ability to interact with a range of cultures, and most people do not travel internationally regularly. Because of this, we may have to make a determined effort to interact with other cultures or rely on educational sources like college classes, books, or documentaries. Learning another language is also a good way to learn about a culture, because you can then read the news or watch movies in the native language, which can offer insights that are lost in translation. It is important to note though that we must evaluate the credibility of the source of our knowledge, whether it is a book, person, or other source. Also, knowledge of another language does not automatically equate to ICC.

Developing self- and other-knowledge is an ongoing process that will continue to adapt and grow as we encounter new experiences. Mindfulness and cognitive complexity will help as we continue to build our ICC (Pusch, 2009). Mindfulness is a state of self- and other-monitoring that informs later reflection on communication interactions. As mindful communicators we should ask questions that focus on the interactive process like “How is our communication going? What are my reactions? What are their reactions?” Being able to adapt our communication in the moment based on our answers to these questions is a skill that comes with a high level of ICC. Reflecting on the communication encounter later to see what can be learned is also a way to build ICC. We should then be able to incorporate what we learned into our communication frameworks, which requires cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability to continually supplement and revise existing knowledge to create new categories rather than forcing new knowledge into old categories. Cognitive flexibility helps prevent our knowledge from becoming stale and also prevents the formation of stereotypes and can help us avoid prejudging an encounter or jumping to conclusions. In summary, to be better intercultural communicators, we should know much about others and ourselves and be able to reflect on and adapt our knowledge as we gain new experiences.

Motivation and knowledge can inform us as we gain new experiences, but how we feel in the moment of intercultural encounters is also important. Tolerance for uncertainty refers to an individual’s attitude about and level of comfort in uncertain situations (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). Some people perform better in uncertain situations than others, and intercultural encounters often bring up uncertainty. Whether communicating with someone of a different gender, race, or nationality, we are often wondering what we should or shouldn’t do or say. Situations of uncertainty most often become clearer as they progress, but the anxiety that an individual with a low tolerance for uncertainty feels may lead them to leave the situation or otherwise communicate in a less competent manner. Individuals with a high tolerance for uncertainty may exhibit more patience, waiting on new information to become available or seeking out information, which may then increase the understanding of the situation and lead to a more successful outcome (Pusch, 2009). Individuals who are intrinsically motivated toward intercultural communication may have a higher tolerance for uncertainty, in that their curiosity leads them to engage with others who are different because they find the self- and other-knowledge gained rewarding.

Cultivating Intercultural Communication Competence

How can ICC be built and achieved? This is a key question we will address in this section. Two main ways to build ICC are through experiential learning and reflective practices (Bednarz, 2010). We must first realize that competence isn’t any one thing. Part of being competent means that you can assess new situations and adapt your existing knowledge to the new contexts. What it means to be competent will vary depending on your physical location, your role (personal, professional, etc.), and your life stage, among other things. Sometimes we will know or be able to figure out what is expected of us in a given situation, but sometimes we may need to act in unexpected ways to meet the needs of a situation. Competence enables us to better cope with the unexpected, adapt to the nonroutine, and connect to uncommon frameworks. I have always told my students that ICC is less about a list of rules and more about a box of tools.

Three ways to cultivate ICC are to foster attitudes that motivate us, discover knowledge that informs us, and develop skills that enable us (Bennett, 2009). To foster attitudes that motivate us, we must develop a sense of wonder about culture. This sense of wonder can lead to feeling overwhelmed, humbled, or awed (Opdal, 2001). This sense of wonder may correlate to a high tolerance for uncertainty, which can help us turn potentially frustrating experiences we have into teachable moments. I’ve had many such moments in my intercultural encounters at home and abroad. One such moment came the first time I tried to cook a frozen pizza in the oven in the shared kitchen of my apartment in Sweden. The information on the packaging was written in Swedish, but like many college students, I had a wealth of experience cooking frozen pizzas to draw from. As I went to set the oven dial to preheat, I noticed it was strange that the oven didn’t go up to my usual 425–450 degrees. Not to be deterred, I cranked the dial up as far as it would go, waited a few minutes, put my pizza in, and walked down the hall to my room to wait for about fifteen minutes until the pizza was done. The smell of smoke drew me from my room before the fifteen minutes was up, and I walked into a corridor filled with smoke and the smell of burnt pizza. I pulled the pizza out and was puzzled for a few minutes while I tried to figure out why the pizza burned so quickly, when one of my corridor-mates gently pointed out that the oven temperatures in Sweden are listed in Celsius, not Fahrenheit! Despite almost burning the kitchen down, I learned a valuable lesson about assuming my map for temperatures and frozen pizzas was the same as everyone else’s.

Discovering knowledge that informs us is another step that can build on our motivation. One tool involves learning more about our cognitive style, or how we learn. Our cognitive style consists of our preferred patterns for “gathering information, constructing meaning, and organizing and applying knowledge” (Bennett, 2009). As we explore cognitive styles, we discover that there are differences in how people attend to and perceive the world, explain events, organize the world, and use rules of logic (Nisbett, 2003). Some cultures have a cognitive style that focuses more on tasks, analytic and objective thinking, details and precision, inner direction, and independence, while others focus on relationships and people over tasks and things, concrete and metaphorical thinking, and a group consciousness and harmony.

Developing ICC is a complex learning process. At the basic level of learning, we accumulate knowledge and assimilate it into our existing frameworks. But accumulated knowledge doesn’t necessarily help us in situations where we have to apply that knowledge. Transformative learning takes place at the highest levels and occurs when we encounter situations that challenge our accumulated knowledge and our ability to accommodate that knowledge to manage a real-world situation. The cognitive dissonance that results in these situations is often uncomfortable and can lead to a hesitance to repeat such an engagement. One tip for cultivating ICC that can help manage these challenges is to find a community of like-minded people who are also motivated to develop ICC. In my graduate program, I lived in the international dormitory in order to experience the cultural diversity that I had enjoyed so much studying abroad a few years earlier. I was surrounded by international students and US American students who were more or less interested in cultural diversity. This ended up being a tremendous learning experience, and I worked on research about identity and communication between international and American students.

Developing skills that enable us is another part of ICC. Some of the skills important to ICC are the ability to empathize, accumulate cultural information, listen, resolve conflict, and manage anxiety (Bennett, 2009). Again, you are already developing a foundation for these skills by reading this book, but you can expand those skills to intercultural settings with the motivation and knowledge already described. Contact alone does not increase intercultural skills; there must be more deliberate measures taken to fully capitalize on those encounters. While research now shows that intercultural contact does decrease prejudices, this is not enough to become interculturally competent. The ability to empathize and manage anxiety enhances prejudice reduction, and these two skills have been shown to enhance the overall impact of intercultural contact even more than acquiring cultural knowledge. There is intercultural training available for people who are interested. If you can’t access training, you may choose to research intercultural training on your own, as there are many books, articles, and manuals written on the subject.

Reflective practices can also help us process through rewards and challenges associated with developing ICC. As we open ourselves to new experiences, we are likely to have both positive and negative reactions. It can be very useful to take note of negative or defensive reactions you have. This can help you identify certain triggers that may create barriers to effective intercultural interaction. Noting positive experiences can also help you identify triggers for learning that you could seek out or recreate to enhance the positive (Bednarz, 2010). A more complex method of reflection is called intersectional reflexivity . Intersectional reflexivity is a reflective practice by which we acknowledge intersecting identities, both privileged and disadvantaged, and implicate ourselves in social hierarchies and inequalities (Jones Jr., 2010). This method brings in the concepts of dominant and nondominant groups and the privileges/disadvantages dialectic we discussed earlier.

While formal intercultural experiences like studying abroad or volunteering for the Special Olympics or a shelter for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and asexual (LGBTQA+) youth can result in learning, informal experiences are also important. We may be less likely to include informal experiences in our reflection if we don’t see them as legitimate. Reflection should also include “critical incidents” or what I call “a-ha! moments.” Think of reflection as a tool for metacompetence that can be useful in bringing the formal and informal together (Bednarz, 2010).

“Getting Competent”

Thinking under the Influence

Communication and culture scholar Brenda Allen coined the phrase “thinking under the influence” (TUI) to highlight a reflective process that can help us hone our intercultural communication competence (Allen, 2011). As we discussed earlier, being mindful is an important part of building competence. Once we can become aware of our thought processes and behaviors, we can more effectively monitor and intervene in them. She asks us to monitor our thoughts and feelings about other people, both similar to and different from us. As we monitor, we should try to identify instances when we are guilty of TUI, such as uncritically accepting the dominant belief systems, relying on stereotypes, or prejudging someone based on their identities. She recounts seeing a picture on the front of the newspaper with three men who appeared Latino. She found herself wondering what they had done, and then found out from the caption that they were the relatives of people who died in a car crash. She identified that as a TUI moment and asked herself if she would have had the same thought if they had been black, white, Asian, or female. When we feel “surprised” by someone different, this often points to a preexisting negative assumption that we can unpack and learn from. Allen also found herself surprised when a panelist at a conference who used a wheelchair and was hearing impaired made witty comments. Upon reflection, she realized that she had an assumption that people with disabilities would have a gloomy outlook on life. While these examples focus on out-groups, she also notes that it’s important for people, especially in nondominant groups, to monitor their thoughts about their own group, as they may have internalized negative attitudes about their group from the dominant culture. As a black woman, she notes that she has been critical of black people who “do not speak mainstream English” based on stereotypes she internalized about race, language, and intelligence. It is not automatically a bad thing to TUI. Even Brenda Allen, an accomplished and admirable scholar of culture and communication, catches herself doing it. When we notice that we TUI, it’s important to reflect on that moment and try to adjust our thinking processes. This is an ongoing process, but it is an easy-to-remember way to cultivate your ICC. Keep a record of instances where you catch yourself “thinking under the influence” and answer the following questions:

What triggers you to TUI?
Where did these influences on your thought come from?
What concepts from this chapter can you apply to change your thought processes?

Key Takeaways

Getting integrated: Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in various cultural contexts. ICC also has the potential to benefit you in academic, professional, personal, and civic contexts.
A person with appropriate intrinsic or extrinsic motivation to engage in intercultural communication can develop self- and other-knowledge that will contribute to their ability to be mindful of their own communication and tolerate uncertain situations.
We can cultivate ICC by fostering attitudes that motivate us, discovering knowledge that informs us, and developing skills that enable us.
Identify an intercultural encounter in which you did not communicate as competently as you would have liked. What concept(s) from the chapter would have helped you in this situation and how?
Which of the following components of ICC—motivation, mindfulness, cognitive flexibility, and tolerance for uncertainty—do you think you are most competent at, and which one needs the most work? Identify how you became so competent at the first one and some ways that you can improve the second one.
Choose one of the three ways discussed to cultivate ICC and make a list of five steps you can take to enhance this part of your competence.

Allen, B. J., Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity , 2nd ed. (Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2011), 9, 65, 186–87.

Bednarz, F., “Building Up Intercultural Competences: Challenges and Learning Processes,” in Building Intercultural Competencies: A Handbook for Professionals in Education, Social Work, and Health Care , eds. Maria Giovanna Onorati and Furio Bednarz (Leuven, Belgium: Acco, 2010), 39.

Bennett, J. M., “Cultivating Intercultural Competence,” in The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence , ed. Darla K. Deardorff (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2009), 127–34.

Jones Jr., R. G., “Putting Privilege into Practice through ‘Intersectional Reflexivity’: Ruminations, Interventions, and Possibilities,” Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping 16, no. 1 (2010): 122.

Martin, J. N., and Thomas K. Nakayama, Intercultural Communication in Contexts , 5th ed. (Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2010), 465.

Nisbett, R. E., The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently…and Why (New York: Free Press, 2003), 44–45.

Opdal, P. M., “Curiosity, Wonder, and Education Seen as Perspective,” Studies in Philosophy and Education 20 (2001): 331–44.

Pusch, M. D., “The Interculturally Competent Global Leader,” in The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence , ed. Darla K. Deardorff (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2009), 69.

Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Lori Halverson-Wente & Mark Halverson-Wente

Lori Halverson-Wente & Mark Halverson-Wente
Rochester Community and Technical College via Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project

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An Essay about Intercultural Sensitivity and Competence in Higher Education

Jonathan van Melle

Jonathan van Melle

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Intercultural sensitivity is one of the more influential fields of intercultural communication, engagement, equity, and inclusion. It describes the standard ways in which people experience, interpret, and interact across cultural differences. Intercultural sensitivity starts with the awareness that there are genuine differences between cultures and that these variations are commonly mirrored in the approaches by which people communicate and relate to one another. By recognizing how one experiences cultural predictions about one’s effectiveness of intercultural communication can be made. Educational interventions can be tailored to facilitate intercultural sensitivity development. Generally, this development signifies a move from an ethnocentric view to an ethnorelative view. Researchers have undertaken several approaches, not only to understand ethnocentrism but also to attempt to reduce it in Higher Education Institutions. In this essay, we first discuss the concepts of intercultural sensitivity and intercultural competence and how these are connected. Then, we present several studies focused on internationalisation practices to develop students’ intercultural sensitivity and/or competence, finalising with an alternative pedagogical approach to intercultural sensitivity development -The Creative Action Methodology (CAM).

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Intercultural communication competence (ICC)

Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is defined as the ability to interact effectively and efficiently across cultures, as well as the ability to connect properly in a variety of cultural contexts. It is a method of carrying out communication activities in a given context in order to evoke the desired response. Competent communicators should be able to communicate effectively with others and with their surroundings. To allow effective communication in the global context, ICC requires the ability to understand one’s own culture as well as the cultures of others. Intercultural communication competence consists of a range of behavioral skills and cognitive effectiveness that facilitate and promote appropriate and active communication among people of different cultures (Fantini 458). Effective intercultural communication is stemmed by behaviors that culminate with having the desired goals of the interaction accomplished. Appropriate ICC includes behaviors which meet the needs and suits the expectations of a specific culture, the relationship between the communicators, and the characteristics of the situations.

Intercultural Communication Competence is necessary because it facilities individuals to cope with the unexpected, connect to the frameworks that are uncommon, and adapt to the non-routine situations. In addition, ICC helps in the development of vital skills which encompass the ability to listen, accumulate and emphasize cultural information, manage anxiety, and solve conflicts (Jandt 11). To develop intercultural communication Competence, there is need to adapt to new and indeterminate situations and not just staying in comfort zones. Conversely, personal change is necessarily required to enhance learning about oneself and others and in establishing a basis from which to build relevant skills, attitudes, and competence. Besides looking at the definition and the importance, this paper also focuses on the components of Intercultural Communication Competence which encompass motivation, knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, and skills. Components of intercultural communication competence There are many mechanisms of intercultural communication competence. Some of the main parts include knowledge, motivation, attitude (Tolerance for uncertainty), skills, and behaviors. Motivation Motivation refers to the needs, feelings, and intentions related to actual engagement in or anticipation of intercultural communication and can be intrinsic or extrinsic. A persons motivation to communicate with people is crucial if he or she is driven by a healthy curiosity towards intercultural encounters to learn about self and others and establish a foundation from which to build a significant competence, relevant attitudes, and skills. Intrinsic motivation makes ICC a voluntary, rewarding and lifelong learning process. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is driven by an external reward such as money, recognition, or power. Individuals will probably be more motivated, intrinsically and extrinsically, towards intercultural communication when in dominant groups as compared to when they are in non-dominant assemblies. Knowledge Knowledge is a supplement to motivation, and it forms a significant part of building ICC. It involves cognitive flexibility, self-awareness and of others, and mindfulness. To develop knowledge of personal identity, communication patterns, and culture takes more than a passive experience, in fact, people learn who they are by interacting with others (Moon 42). Self-knowledge is primarily cultivated through communicating and listening to different individuals and not just sitting in comfort zones. Conversely, other knowledge can be efficiently developed by directly and thoughtfully encountering other cultures. These efforts can be achieved through education in learning institutions. Furthermore, ICC can be realized by learning different languages. However, it is worth noting that knowledge of other language does not automatically equate to intercultural Communication Competent. Similarly, cognitive complexity and mindfulness play significant roles in building ICC. As attentive communicators, there is need to focus on the interactive process. Intercultural communication competence requires one to adapt to his or her communication situations, based on skills that are effective and appropriate at a given moment, and later reflect on the encounters to determine what can be learned from them to be incorporated in his or her communication framework. Cognitive flexibility, the ability to revise and supplement the existing knowledge to generate new ideas, helps in prevention of stereotypes, averting old thoughts, and discourage prejudging other people to a conclusion. Therefore, it is essential for one to understand about ones self as well as others and develop the ability to reflect on and adapt to knowledge and gain new experience. Attitude Attitude refers to the way individuals perceive information about others and the comfort level in uncertain situations. People usually have different responses depending on whether they are communicating with persons of mixed race, gender, or nationality. Conditions of uncertainty become apparent most often as they progress. However, an individual with low tolerance perhaps is incompetent in communication. Positive attitudes towards ICC exhibit patience in seeking information, which increases situational understanding leading to successful outcomes. High tolerance of uncertainty is steered by intrinsic motivation towards intercultural communication competence, and the curiosity promotes engagement of individuals, who may be different because the self and other knowledge gained is found rewarding.

Cultivating intercultural communication competence Experimental learning and reflective practices are the primary ways through which intercultural communication competence can be built. Being competent implies the ability to assess situations at hand, make judgments and apply the knowledge gained to new contexts. Conceptualization of competence varies depending on the individuals roles (professional or personal) and their stages of life. Sometimes people can figure out what they are expected of them in particular situations; however, they perhaps act unexpectedly to satisfy the requirements of the circumstance (Moon 50). Competence promotes the ability to significantly cope up with the unexpected, connect to different frameworks of communication, and adapting to the non-routine.

Intercultural communication competence can be cultivated through fostering attitudes that prompt motivation, discover informational knowledge, and develop the required skills to realize the expected outcomes. Moreover, there is need of developing a sense of wonder about the culture which can lead to feeling overwhelmed, humbled or owed. This feeling may correlate to a high tolerance for uncertainty and can help in turning potentially frustrating experiences into existence into teachable moments. Another step that can boost motivation among communicators is discovering knowledge that informs. Furthermore, cultivation of ICC involves an understanding of personal cognitive styles and how people learn. Consequently, individuals can gather information, organize and construct meaning, and apply the knowledge gained to ensure that the desired outcomes of communication are achieved.

As cognitive styles are explored, the difference in how to perceive and respond to information can be discovered improving the way events are explained, organizing the world and use of logging rules. Some cultures put more focus on tasks, objective and analytic thinking, precision and detail, independence and inner direction while others emphasize on people and relationships, metaphorical and concrete thought, and a group harmony and consciousness. Seemingly, development of intercultural communication competence in individuals is a complicated learning process. Knowledge is accumulated and assimilated into the existing communication frameworks at the basic education levels. At higher levels, people transformative learning takes place where situations that challenge the individuals accumulated knowledge and their capability to accommodate it is tested (Fantini 469). Also, developing skills essential in effective communication is another part of Intercultural Communication Competence. These skills encompass the ability to listening, accumulating, analyzing and processing information, solving conflicts, and managing anxiety. In addition, reflective practices help in addressing the challenges which are associated with intercultural communication competence. As people are exposed to new experiences, they perhaps have both negative and positive reasons however it essential to note their defensive reactions. As a result, the triggers which likely create barriers to efficient and effective intercultural communication and interactions can be identified. Intersectional reflexibility is a more complicated reflection method through which intersecting identities, both disadvantaged and privileged, are acknowledged, and communicators can implicate themselves in social inequalities and hierarchies. To become an active intercultural communicator, it is vital to recognize the significance of individual skills and the constraints of various contexts. There are several ways through which ICC knowledge can be applied in the contemporary world. First and foremost, people ought to engage in a dialogue which helps in building a foundation for curiosity, openness, and empathy. Also, an interpersonal ally can be created to develop essential intergroup relations among individuals with different cultures. The goal is trying to find a way of achieving an equitable unity despite people having contradictory truths (Fantini 472). Moreover, social justice and transformation should be promoted by first acknowledging that inequalities and oppression exist and device ways of curbing the issues. In conclusion, intercultural communication competence involves several behaviors, skills and attitudes which promotes and facilitates efficient and appropriate conversation across various cultures in a global world. ICC is necessary as it establishes significant connections among people from diversified social, ethnic, and racial origins. Also, it is essential for induction and development of required skills in listening, accumulating information, solving conflicts, and managing anxiety. The primary components of intercultural communication competence are motivation, knowledge, attitudes, behavior and skills. ICC is inherently cultivated through practical learning and reflective practice. Apparently, the development of pragmatic intercultural communication competence fosters significant skills which prompt motivation among communicators promoting the efficiency of the process.

Works cited Fantini, Alvino E. “Assessing intercultural competence.” The sage handbook of intercultural competence (2009): 456-476. Jandt, Fred E. An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community. Sage Publications, (2012): 3-14. Moon, Dreama G. “Critical reflections on culture and critical intercultural communication.” The handbook of critical intercultural communication (2010): 34-52.

Language Learning: Why Is Intercultural Communication Important?

March 24, 2023

Thanks to fast transportation, global media, and the world wide web, we are now more connected than ever to other people worldwide.

Working with the international community for economic survival means countries and cultures can no longer operate in a vacuum. Because of this, intercultural communication is no longer a choice but a must .

In addition, misunderstandings resulting from a lack of familiarity with another culture are often embarrassing. Blunders like these can make it difficult, if not impossible, to reach an agreement with another country or close a business contract with a foreign partner. For travelers, a faux pas can also make interactions more awkward. In this article, we’ll be discussing the importance of intercultural communication.

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Intercultural Communication Definition

The capacity to communicate with people from diverse cultures is referred to as intercultural communication. Interacting effectively across cultural lines requires perseverance and sensitivity to one another’s differences. This encompasses language skills, customs, ways of thinking, social norms, and habits.

There are many ways in which people all around the world are similar, yet it is our differences that truly define us. To put it simply, communication is the exchange of ideas and information between individuals by any means, verbal or otherwise. Sharing knowledge with others requires familiarity with social norms, body language, and etiquette.

Having the ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries is critical for the success of any intercultural or multinational endeavor. Additionally, it helps improve relationships by facilitating two-way conversations, which in turn foster mutual understanding between people of diverse backgrounds.

Intercultural Communication Examples

There are several facets to intercultural communication competence, from language skills to knowledge of social practices and cultural norms. These capabilities are constantly used throughout organizations and in all forms of communication. Here are a few examples of intercultural communication in action:

It can be challenging for multinational corporations to find appropriate product names that will not offend customers in their target markets due to linguistic differences. For instance, Coca-Cola initially considered renaming its brand KeKou-KeLa for the Chinese market. However, they didn’t take into account that this cute moniker means “female horse stuffed with wax” or “bite the wax tadpole.” Unsurprisingly, a rebrand was necessary. Coke then looked up 40,000 Chinese characters to get a phonetic equivalent and came up with “ko-kou-ko-le,” which roughly translates to “happiness in the mouth.”

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Business Relationships

Respecting the social norms of another culture requires an understanding that practices may vary. While Americans value making small talk with potential business partners, the British may try humor, while the Germans may jump right to the point.

In contrast, people from Thailand don’t bat an eye when asked what may be seen as intrusive questions in the West, such as whether you’re married or what you do for a living. Similarly, Americans prefer first names, but in Austria, titles are used to prevent coming off as disrespectful.

Advertising

You may have heard the popular myth that the Chevrolet Nova of the 1970s was a resounding flop in Latin America due to its name, since “no va” translates to “no go” in Spanish . The car was a smashing success since the name “nova” also means “new.” Nevertheless, there are innumerable examples of poorly translated advertisements across cultures that led to more severe outcomes.

For example, the Spanish equivalent of the American “Got Milk?” campaign featured the phrase “Tienes leche?” which translates as “Are you lactating?” The campaign completely bombed, ruining the brand’s reputation in that area. This mishap could have been avoided with more thorough focus group testing of intercultural communication.

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Public Relations and Media Events

Executives from the United States frequently interview international media and publicly appear in other countries. Working knowledge of the language is obviously necessary for such work, but words alone can’t account for how people will interpret things like tone of voice, the pace of speech, gestures, and facial expressions. In Japan, for instance, it’s rude to point out. Instead, you should wave politely in that direction. Similarly, the Indian equivalents of “please” and “thank you” are sometimes seen as overly formal and even disrespectful.

The Importance of Intercultural Communication

When we investigate the cultural influences on communication, we gain a deeper understanding of both areas. Additionally, it aids in expanding our knowledge of who we are as individuals and as a society.

Understanding our communication styles, habits, and tendencies and how they may serve or work against us when interacting with others from other cultural backgrounds is a valuable personal benefit of studying intercultural communication.

When seen in a broader context, intercultural communication can shed light on a wide range of human experiences, from the process of defining the workings of the brain to the power of languages in bringing people together.

As the world gets more interconnected, the ability to communicate successfully across cultural boundaries is becoming more and more vital. Since we are now able to travel to more places, we are exposed to other cultures and ways of living.

The ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries is crucial for the successful collaboration and relationship-building of multiethnic and international communities. It is also essential for avoiding and resolving conflicts. If you want to learn about other people and their customs and find common ground around the world, this is how to do it.

Intercultural Communication Competence

There are a variety of skills that are necessary for effective intercultural communication; some of them may be taught, while others are inherent and just require practice. Let’s take a look at some of the most crucial personal competencies for intercultural communication, as opposed to just linguistic ones like speaking, listening, and body language.

Self-awareness: Recognizing how your personal views, behaviors, and possible prejudices and stereotypes might affect a conversation is a massive step in improving your ability to have meaningful interactions with others.
Empathy: Intercultural communication relies heavily on empathizing with others and gaining insight into their experiences.
Respect: Even if you don’t agree with or appreciate every aspect of another person’s or group’s culture, you may still respect them by recognizing their right to do so.
Emotional intelligence: Learning to pick up on the subtleties of communication is essential when working with people from other cultures. Whether you get what is being communicated or not depends on how well you use your senses, how well you know yourself, and how well you can empathize with others.
Adaptability: One of the goals of intercultural communication is to teach people how to modify their way of speaking to replace ambiguity, conflict, and antagonism with clarity, harmony, and cooperation. That’s why it’s important to be adaptable in our thinking, reactions, and interactions with others, as well as in our speech, listening, and body language.
Patience: Effective communication across cultural boundaries doesn’t happen immediately. That’s why you need to have patience. Don’t rush through the process of becoming well-versed in best practices; instead, take your time and make them part of your routine. Due to cultural differences, it may take more or less time than usual to absorb new information.
Positivity: Maintaining an optimistic attitude when interacting with people of other cultures is crucial. Misunderstandings occur all the time, and in most cases, it’s not because someone was trying to be deliberately unclear. Those of us who aren’t well-versed in other cultures often fail to grasp the intended meaning of a message. This is why it’s essential to look at every intercultural exchange in a constructive light.

Improving Your Intercultural Communication Skills

Here are some steps you can take to begin improving your intercultural communication skills:

Acquire Cultural Knowledge

Discovering the world through the lens of other people’s beliefs, values, and ways of expression is a fascinating and eye-opening experience. Educating yourself on the fundamentals of intercultural communication, such as language and gestures, is just as important as expanding your knowledge of the world’s diverse cultures.

Watch International Shows

To truly immerse oneself in the nuances of a different culture, indulging in international films in their original language proves far more rewarding than enduring subpar English dubs. It’s akin to embarking on a sensory journey, where the cadence of speech, the inflections, and the expressions hold the essence of the culture itself. Delving into Indian, Turkish, or Chinese cinema unveils a tapestry of traditions, values, and societal dynamics that might otherwise remain obscured in translation.

Enhancing this experience can be as simple as grabbing a beverage from the drinks fridge , settling comfortably, and letting the cinematic journey unfold. Modern streaming platforms offer a treasure trove of international TV shows and films, granting viewers a window into distant cultures from the comfort of their homes.

Speak to People

When you have coworkers or neighbors from other countries, you gain access to a wealth of undiscovered possibilities. In-depth conversations with people about their backgrounds and the culture shock they may have felt upon arriving in your country can yield a great deal of valuable knowledge and perspective. If they are treated with respect and dignity, people all around the world are happy to have their voices heard.

Take in What You Hear and See

There are a wide variety of ways to enhance your intercultural communication competence. Among these are learning when to ask open-ended questions, stick to yes/no answers, and decide when to use humor. The two most crucial pieces of advice for improving your communication skills are to listen attentively and to watch what others do.

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Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a tourist taking a trip overseas, a businessperson negotiating a merger, or a professor teaching a classroom full of international students, you need to be aware of the importance of effective intercultural communication.

In today’s interconnected world, the ability to communicate across cultural boundaries is more important than ever. It facilitates communication across linguistic and cultural boundaries, leading to more tolerance, acceptance, and, ultimately, stronger relationships amongst people of diverse backgrounds.

Enrolling in a language program is an excellent first step if you’re interested in learning more about intercultural communication and identifying and overcoming your own cultural biases. You can improve your language skills and your ability to communicate across cultures by enrolling in one of the Middlebury Language Schools’ immersion programs . Teaching both beginners and more advanced students, our immersion and graduate programs cover a wide range of languages.

When you need help learning a new language, Middlebury Language Schools is here to guide you. Contact us today !

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Intercultural Communication Competence

Self evaluation, application, learning outcomes.

Intercultural communication competence is a global communication tool that describes a wide variety of communication issues that appear within firms that have people from diverse social, religious, and educational backgrounds. Intercultural communication which is also called cross-cultural communication tries to understand how people from different backgrounds carry themselves when they are together, how they communicate, and their perceptions of the world around them (Gudykunst, 2003). This discipline also seeks to understand a situation where people from diverse backgrounds interact with each other and apart from the language it also focuses on social variables, patterns of thought, and the different cultures of the people interacting with each other. This is a multi-disciplinary area of study because it plays a role in anthropological studies, applied linguistics, cultural studies, psychology, and communication studies and has also formed a background for international business.

This paper is therefore going to make a self-evaluation of intercultural communication at the beginning of the course and then apply one of the general content areas to my intercultural experience, competence, and life behaviors (Kennedy, 2003). The areas I will tackle are perceptions and cultural manifestations. Finally, the paper will address how this course has changed my experience and how I will implement the new learning in my life especially in my workplace. Before this course, my intercultural communication competence was not that good and I barely understood culture, society, and models of communication. I did not understand the role of globalization and information on communication between cultures and societies which do not share the same ideals. My understanding of computer-mediated technologies in society was also limited and I was also not aware that intercultural communication would contribute to professional success in the workplace.

At the beginning of the course, I had scant knowledge on how culture influences the excellent dissemination of messages in channels that are radically different from the conventional channels (Kim, 1994). The course, therefore, made me aware that culture significantly influences communication behavior, especially in the modern digital age. The course also helped me to understand how key concepts in intercultural communication can pose problems when applied to emerging communication contexts. At the beginning of the course, I did not know the difference between high context cultures and low context cultures but as the course progressed, I was able to understand high context cultures possess greater social knowledge and the modes of communication in such contexts are not that explicit. This means that people from high context cultures cannot rely on subtle non-verbal cues and situational variables when using contemporary digital forms of communication because, in high context cultures, messages can be transformed in the absence of these non-verbal cues.

At the beginning of the course, my knowledge of communication across cultures using technology was scant but as I progressed with the course, I was able to comprehend how the use of technological channels in intercultural communications renders the ever troublesome conventional non-verbal cues redundant. The course also enlightened me on the issues associated with the convergence of global values that encourage intercultural communication to create a potential for more interaction between people from diverse cultural backgrounds. It has enlightened me on the role of technology in the effective development of new and dynamic political social and cultural movements through new modes of intercultural communication. When I began this course, I had little understanding of the role of intercultural communication skills in personal and professional life and I also did understand the role of knowledge in intercultural communication.

However, the principles learned in this cause have enlightened me on the role of effective intercultural skills in personal and professional life and how they encourage personal and organizational effectiveness. Intercultural communication, as I have understood so far is quite important in the modern workplace which is a radical departure from the traditional heavy economy industries like agriculture and production industries. The modern workplace is built around the principles of the modern-day knowledge economy which is heavily supported by the use of information and data meaning that communication is the pillar of the modern-day workplace. My understanding of communication prior to this course was just about sending and receiving messages but the course has really opened my would of communication by introducing me to communicate across cultures. It has enabled me to understand that effective intercultural communication skills determine how well a person, a firm, or a country acquires and applies knowledge thus boosting its chances of excelling in various aspects of performance.

The second part of this paper will focus on three principles of intercultural communication. These are perception, manifestations of culture, and influences of cultural values and norms. To start with, intercultural communication is affected by perceptions. The perceptions people have about other people from different cultures affect the way these people from diverse cultures relate and communicate with each other, personally or even at the organizational level. Perceptions of communication are often treated as a pointer of the traits of communication in different relationships and these perceptions are usually related to variations in communication behaviors. These communication perceptions include synchrony, difficulty, and getting personal, and to start with, getting personal is a function of the interpersonal distance between two people who are relating or communicating with each other, either in the workplace or at a personal level. How people perceive each other from a personal perspective, therefore, determined the closeness or the distance of the participants in the communication process. When these interlocutors associate in close interpersonal relationships, they actually perceive higher levels of intimacy than those participants whose interpersonal relationships are quite distant.

Synchrony as an aspect of perception in intercultural communication refers to the texture of the coordination of interaction between the participants. There is smooth coordination of interaction where the participants in the communication process are familiar with each other’s pattern of communication and without this familiarity; the coordination of interaction will be quite rough. People who have been communicating with each other across cultures for a long period of time tend to perceive a higher degree of synchrony in their communication, interactions, and relationships while people who are not used to communicating with each other record a lower degree of synchrony in their communications.

Difficulty in intercultural communications perceptions refers to obstacles to communication that make communication lacking in terms of basic information exchange. In my case, one of the elements that really affect my intercultural communication in the workplace is the personal aspect where I easily relate with people whose personal ideals are related to mine and find it hard relating with people whose personal ideals are not in tandem with mine (Geertz, 1973). Concerning synchrony, as explained in the literature review above, I communicate easily with people of diverse backgrounds whom I have a history of communicating with and sometimes find it hard connecting with people with whom we share a background but we have a little history of communicating with each other.

Culture and its manifestations create world views and values that affect intercultural communication. When people from more than one culture interact, the cultural conflict may affect how they communicate with each other because of the conflicting values and world views they hold. However, this is a traditional concept because the traditional cultural barriers have been broken by technology. People are nowadays getting a huge amount of information from all over the world and few people are relying on the traditional village set up for to affirm their ideas. This traditional village setup used to inculcate values and world views that hindered communication with people from different cultures. For example, there are some African cultures that believe that women are not supposed to be heard and their opinion is not considered important (Geertz, 1983). A person with such a world view will definitely clash with another one from a different culture where the voice of women is respected.

Some people allow their religious beliefs to dictate how they relate with other people who may not share the same religious ideals. Simply put, cultural and social changes that have been brought by globalisation and digital revolution have really watered down the influence of manifestations of culture on intercultural communication (Chen, 2000). The conception of culture and the dynamic trends in the cultural realm provide important basis for the interpretation of the process of intercultural communication. In my case, I do not belong to the traditional cultural set up that is highly likely to be affected by cultural manifestations meaning that values and world views cannot affect the way I communicate with people form diverse backgrounds. I belong to the information age where the digital revolution has broken the cultural barriers that used to impede intercultural communication. This digital age has opened my world and I am able to understand people I don’t share a background with way before I meet them because of the avenues of intercultural understanding provided by the easy access to information.

There are certain changes that I have experienced as I undertook this course. Initially, I used to form negative perceptions and prejudices that used to affect the way I related and communicated with people from different backgrounds. I used to allow my cultural values and norms to control my communication patterns and this used to affect my effectiveness at the personal level and in the workplace. However, this course has opened my world view and I have learnt some basic things that will really improve my intercultural interactions in the workplace. I have learnt to be tolerant to people whom I may not share the same ideals and try to understand their perspectives. I have learnt that understanding cultural differences and accommodating them can lead to a rich workplace culture where people learn and benefit from the cultural diversities that exist. Finally, I have learnt that negative perceptions, prejudices and basic assumptions are only subjective variables that hinder intercultural communication and hamper organisational and personal effectiveness that emanate from synchronised interactions in the workplace. This course has therefore enabled me to form meaningful relationships by applying the principles of intercultural communication.

Chen, G. (2000). Communication and global society . New York: Peter Lang.

Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures . New York: Basic Books.

Geertz, C. (1983). Essays in interpretive anthropology . New York: Basic Books.

Gudykunst, B. (2003 ). Intercultural Communication Theories . NY: Sage.

Kennedy, P. (1993). Preparing for the twenty-first century . New York: Random House.

Kim Y.Y. (1995). Intercultural Communication Theory. CA: Sage.

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StudyKraken. (2021, December 31). Intercultural Communication Competence. https://studykraken.com/intercultural-communication-competence/

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CORRESPONDENCE
21 May 2024

Lack of effective intercultural communication is hobbling academia — fix it for research equity

Shoumit Dey ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2655-9921 0 &
Pooja Sharma 1

Hull York Medical School, York, UK.

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Across cultures and geographies, effective communication drives progress in business and elsewhere. Yet, in academia, little attention seems to be paid to the issue — despite the well-documented biases and inequities experienced by scholars from marginalized communities and lower-income countries (see, for example, Nature 608 , 437–439; 2022 ).

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Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment and Research (CILMAR) Global Partnerships and Programs

Purdue University’s Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment and Research is pleased to invite applications for funding to support intercultural assessment and research during the 2024-2025 academic year. This Seed Grant program supports faculty, staff and graduate students who wish to engage in the assessment of intercultural learning outcomes, conduct studies of intercultural competency development, and/or generate new intercultural theoretical development, but lack the resources to do so.

Grant Amount: Upto $5000 (matching funds are encouraged from deans, heads and supervisors) Call for 2024-2025: The call is here .

Review process

In the review process, we will prioritize applications that will:

Conduct research or assessment
Present a clear plan for intercultural assessment or research
Connect work explicitly to the CILMAR vision
Contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion work
Demonstrate significant impact at Purdue

Please note that travel is an allowable but low priority budget item for CILMAR seed grants; travel necessary for data collection will be more persuasive than travel to disseminate findings. The number and amount of awards will vary dependent upon requests for support and available funding.

Expectations

CILMAR Seed Grant recipients will be expected to:

Utilize intentional, reflective experiential/active learning pedagogies of engagement with cultural differences
Formative assessment of the attitudes, knowledge, skills or behavior of intercultural competence or related constructs (e.g., multicultural/diversity awareness, global citizenship, cultural intelligence, intercultural communication/interaction, etc.)
Program evaluation of an intercultural learning intervention in a course, study abroad or virtual exchange program, co-curricular program, diverse research team, etc.
Experiments, ethnography, or other common quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies that develop cultural/intercultural understandings or theories
Validation of new intercultural scales or inventories
Exploration at the intersection of global/international and diversity/equity/inclusion and social justice scholarship
Serve as a mentor to faculty and staff in the Purdue community interested in intercultural teaching and learning scholarship by participating in CILMAR writing groups, training seminars, and communities of practice
Pursue appropriate dissemination outlets for their projects in peer-reviewed academic conferences and journals

Application

Applicants should be employed and/or pursuing a course of study at Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus during the 2024-2025 academic year.

*Statewide Polytechnic and Purdue Indianapolis faculty are eligible.

Please use the proposal template to complete the application. Submit the completed proposal, CV and endorsement email here by Friday, March 1, 2024.

For more information, please contact [email protected] .

Next Steps

CILMAR will make a public announcement on social media in the first week of April 2024.
Award recepients will present the idea to the CILMAR staff.
At the end of the project you will be required to submit a white paper and a recorded video.

Note: Submit a white paper and video-recorded presentation of findings from the funded project to be published on the Intercultural Learning Hub by April 2025. The template for white papers can be found here . The video needs to to uploaded using Kaltura only; please watch this video for instructions.

SEED GRANT RECIPIENTS

Alejandra Magana. $4000 for her project Transformative Pedagogy as an Approach to Promote Students’ Self-Awareness of Their Identities in the Context of Teamwork.

Zhixu (Rick) Yang and Franki Y.H. Kung, $2000 for their project The Experience of Mechanistic Dehumanization of Asian Workers in the U.S.: A Mixed-Methods Scale Development Study.

Siddhant Joshi, $2000, to assess the intercultural competence of the students engaged in a cross-culturally team-based experiential learning setting.

Adrie Koehler and Hannah Kim, $1480, to investigate the personal and teaching intercultural competencies of the students enrolled in the Teacher Education Program.

Jianfen Chen, Yao Yang , $1450, to map out the cross-cultural challenges, needs, and supports that international students have encountered within the pandemic context.

Wanju Huang , $2000, to examine the effectiveness of intercultural learning modules in enhancing students’ ICC, and explore to what extent a service-learning group project that involved the learners to recreate the ICC modules impact students’ practice of their ICC.

Huai-Rhin Kim , $1000, to investigate how BTS influences their fans to develop their intercultural communicative competence.

Sharon Li, Franki Kung , $2000, to explore how the internalization of “positive” Asian American stereotypes lead to negative workplace implications through dehumanization.

Kelsey Patton, Siqing Wei, Seungyoon Lee , $2000, to explore the career networks of international students searching for work in the U.S. post-graduation.

Diane Wang, Gary Burniske, Wilella Burgess , $1000, to conduct intercultural assessment of an undergraduate overseas STEM research experience for U.S. students.

Siqing Wei, Li Tan, Matthew Ohland , $2000, to examine the extent to which international students boost team-based learning effectiveness in undergraduate engineering education.

Alice Wilcoxson, Scott Lawrance , $396, to initiate programmatic development and assessment of intercultural competence as a healthcare provider in the Purdue Master of Science in athletic training program.

Temitope Adeoye, Virginia Cabrera, Michael Lolkus, Daniella Castellanos Reyes, and Marquetta Strait , $2000, to evaluate the use of digital intercultural learning badges for College of Education Teaching Assistants

Casey Haney and Jennifer DeBoer , $300, to reconceptualize intercultural competency through a study of international students' development of cross-cultural skills and attitudes

Elizabeth Karcher and Paul Ebner , $2000, to create intercultural learning opportunities in an animal science curriculum

Huai-Rhin Kim , $2000, to study the impact of learning styles on intercultural learning outcomes

Christi Masters and Lata Krishnan , $2000, to compare the results of group versus individual debriefs of the Intercultural Development Inventory®

Jill Newton, JoAnn Phillion, Rose Mbewe, Bima Sapkota, and Lili Zhou , $2000, to investigate intercultural competence development through a virtual global social justice in education course

Jacob Stensberg , $2000, to assess intercultural competence development through a music-centered intercultural curriculum

Marquetta Strait , $1010, to assess Supplemental Instruction (SI) leaders' culturally responsive practices in non-traditional learning environments

Joe Tort, Siddhant Sanjay Joshi, Kirsten Davis, Francisco Montalvo, Niall Peach, Bruno Staszkiewicz, and Akash Patil , $400, to explore engineering students' experiences and learning outcomes from participating in virtual team projects with international partners

Siqing Wei, Cristian Vargas, and Olivia (Tiantian) Li , $630, to study how international graduate students socially construct their academic paths in Engineering Education

Jonathan Ying , $720, to compare intercultural learning and competence in a face-to-face course using an evolutionary, evidence-based approach versus a virtual experiential intercultural learning course

Jaime Bauer Malandraki and Chenell Loudermill , $700, to assess the effectiveness of a grads training program to improve intercultural competence of graduate students

Elizabeth Karcher , $2160, to create intercultural assignments that embed intercultural learning pedagogies within an animal science context

Huai-Rhin Kim and Jungsun Kim , $1750, for a Systematic and Phenomenological Investigation of Intercultural Competency among Undergraduate Students at Purdue University

Sharon Li , $850, to develop and validate a scale for perceived immigrant contribution

Megan Sapp Nelson , $1180, to introduce Full Professors to mentoring and intersectional, cross-cultural communication education

Pamela Sari , $2000, for Intercultural Learning between Asian international and Asian American students within Asian-interest student organizations

Jieyu Shi , $1000, to enhance intercultural learning in hospitality and tourism students through internationalizing the curriculum

Nathan Swanson , $1400, to address the persistent under-representation of minoritized and first-generation students in study away programs

Phuong Tran , $500, to design a Multicultural Reader to foster intercultural competence in first year writing students

Jonathan Ying , $460, for Program evaluation of an intercultural learning intervention in a management course

Sweta Baniya , $2000, for a comparative analysis and assessment of intercultural communication of the disaster-affected digitally networked societies of Nepal and Puerto Rico

Bradley Dilger, Hadi Banat, Parva Panahi, Rebekah Sims and Phuong Tran , $4000, to link mainstream and international/L2 writing classes in order to support development of intercultural competence among all students, offering a socially just, effective model for fostering inclusion and community

Rebecca Johnson , $400, to assess the foundation of cultural competence within the School of Nursing faculty

Elizabeth Karcher , $1600, to identify best practices for promoting intercultural learning in short-term agricultural study abroad programs, specifically in the development of empathy

Colleen Kelly , $2000, to complete a three-article dissertation comprised of attempts to shed insight on the BEVI institutional signature phenomenon

Kristen Kirby , $1000, to demonstrate competencies within 80% of graduating senior students and faculty that impact patient care within the six constructs articulated by the AAC&U Intercultural Knowledge and Competence VALUE Rubric by May 2022(student) and 2021 (faculty)

Tatjana Babic Williams , $1300, to integrate a more intercultural approach into the curriculum of the Italian language program in the School of Languages and Cultures

Bradley Dilger , Hadi Banat, Parva Panahi, Rebekah Sims and Phuong Tran, $2000, for pairing native and non-native English-speaker first-year writing classes to determine how writing curricula and pedagogy influence the development of undergraduate students' intercultural competence

Louis Hickman , $2000, for the investigation of the relationship between beliefs about cultural controllability and intercultural competence development through a lab-based experiment with pre- and post-testing using the Cultural Controllability Scale

Yeling Jiang , $500, to understand Asian students' behaviors in US culture based on a virtual reality simulation

Nastasha Johnson , $2000, for a three-part intercultural intervention plan for Purdue Libraries faculty and staff that combines formative assessments and development workshops with reflective assignments to increase the intercultural competence of participants

Vasundhara Kaul , $1400, to understand the ways in which transgender people (called 'third gender') in Southern India cope with violence in their lives

Lata Krishnan , $1000, to develop a new Speech, Language and Hearing study abroad opportunity with a service-learning component

Kyongson Park , $500, to examine the relationship between academic, social, and linguistic integration of international students on campus from a process-oriented perspective

Heidi Parker and Margaret Hegwood , $2000, for the intentional development of global and intercultural competence in students enrolled in GEP 200: Research and Design for the Global Engineering Grand Challenges

Ronald Smith, Myron McClure and Robert Stwalley , $1500, to provide an effective way for students to become aware of the importance of intercultural competence and stakeholder diversity and inclusion throughout the design process of the Agricultural & Biological Engineering capstone project

Hadi Banat, Parva Panahi, Rebekah Sims, & Phuong Tran, $2000, for a research study of intercultural competency development in First Year Writing courses

Xueting Dou , $500, for a conceptual framework for the development of intercultural sensitivity through community-based cultural tourism

Louis Hickman , $500, for a new theoretically based approach to intercultural learning and assessment

Horane Diatta-Holgate , $2000, for the cultivation of classroom environments that facilitate academic achievement, motivation and development of intercultural attitudes, skills and knowledge using data from instructors and their students

Elizabeth Karcher , $500, for creating collaborative video blogs with students studying abroad

Vicki Kennell , $2000, for the evaluation of the intercultural training of writing tutors in comparison to a control group who received no intercultural intervention

Anne Lucietto , $500, for the comparison of IDI data, pre-study abroad, between Purdue STEM students and others found in referenced studies, in which STEM students fell into more ethnocentric levels of intercultural competence.

Monica Miller , $2000, for a project integrating and assessing self-awareness interventions in the pharmacy curriculum

Heidi Parker , $2000, for a study abroad research project which incorporates the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and the Global Competence Certificate (GCC) into the curriculum.

Darryl Reano , $500, for GeoConnections and Place-Based Education at Heritage University: Preliminary analysis and results from an introductory environmental science course

Goals: Learning Outcomes and Evidence

Per the recommendations of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) Transparency Framework and the NILOA Excellence in Assessment Standards, we provide the goals for each program offered through CILMAR.

75% of Seed Grant recipients will demonstrate generation of creative and innovative new knowledge relevant to intercultural competence. Each Seed Grant recipient will complete one white paper, one video presentation, and one conference presentation or journal article. These will be assessed, as categorized by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Creative Thinking VALUE Rubric , for innovative thinking and for connecting/synthesizing/transforming. In this baseline year of data-analysis for creative quality, the goal will be 75% at level three (high milestone) or above on both items.

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COMMENTS

Intercultural Awareness
NASW (2001) defined culture as "the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communication, actions, customs, beliefs, values; and the institutions of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group" (NASW, 2001, 1). It is the totality of behavior passed from one generation to the other. Intercultural awareness campaigns try ...
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Using two key terms, "intercultural competence" and "intercultural communication competence," the online search focused on published works from 2000 to 2023. A total number of 87 published papers were recorded from the WoS and SCOPUS databases.
Intercultural Communication: Understanding, Challenges, and Importance
This essay on intercultural communication introduces the general scope and background of intercultural communication and how it promotes peace among countries of the world. ... A. B. (2005). Intercultural Communication Competence: A Transformational Learning Process. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(2), 195-214. Kluckhohn, F ...
8.3 Intercultural Communication
Intercultural communication is communication between people with differing cultural identities. One reason we should study intercultural communication is to foster greater self-awareness (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). Our thought process regarding culture is often "other focused," meaning that the culture of the other person or group is what ...
Intercultural Competence
Summary. The phrase "intercultural competence" typically describes one's effective and appropriate engagement with cultural differences. Intercultural competence has been studied as residing within a person (i.e., encompassing cognitive, affective, and behavioral capabilities of a person) and as a product of a context (i.e., co-created by the people and contextual factors involved in a ...
Intercultural Communication
Intercultural Communication examines culture as a variable in interpersonal and collective communication. It explores the opportunities and problems arising from similarities and differences in communication patterns, processes, and codes among various cultural groups. It explores cultural universals, social categorization, stereotyping and discrimination, with a focus on topics including race ...
(PDF) An Essay about Intercultural Sensitivity and Competence in Higher
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2.1: Sample Essays
Samovar, Larry A., et al. Communication between cultures. Boston, MA, Cengage Learning, Boston, MA, Cengage Learning, This page titled 2.1: Sample Essays is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lori Halverson-Wente & Mark Halverson-Wente ( Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project ) .
PDF Intercultural communicative competence: creating awareness and ...
included sections on the importance of promoting intercultural communication and the understanding of cultural differences. Other arguments supporting a more ... intercultural awareness must be combined with language learning, where we use ... From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship: essays and reflections ...
8.4 Intercultural Communication Competence
Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in various cultural contexts. There are numerous components of ICC. Some key components include motivation, self- and other knowledge, and tolerance for uncertainty. Initially, a person's motivation for communicating with people from other ...
2: Intercultural Communication Interview Essay
This page titled 2: Intercultural Communication Interview Essay is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lori Halverson-Wente & Mark Halverson-Wente (Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project) .
An Essay about Intercultural Sensitivity and Competence in Higher
Intercultural sensitivity is one of the more influential fields of intercultural communication, engagement, equity, and inclusion. It describes the standard ways in which people experience, interpret, and interact across cultural differences. Intercultural sensitivity starts with the awareness that there are genuine differences between cultures and that these variations are commonly mirrored ...
Intercultural communication: Where we've been, where we're going
To that end, the field has approached research from various perspectives. While it is impossible to review all areas of intercultural communication in this essay, we outline and briefly review three key areas of research that have been the focus of intercultural researchers: identity, intercultural communication competence, and adaptation.
Intercultural communication competence (ICC)
Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is defined as the ability to interact effectively and efficiently across cultures, as well as the ability to connect properly in a variety of cultural contexts. It is a method of carrying out communication activities in a given context in order to evoke the desired response.
The Intercultural Competence. Developing Effective Intercultural
The intercultural communication. competence (ICC) refers to the active. possession by individuals of qualities which. contribute to effect ive intercultural. communication, and can be defined in ...
Why Is Intercultural Communication Important?
Intercultural Communication Competence. There are a variety of skills that are necessary for effective intercultural communication; some of them may be taught, while others are inherent and just require practice. Let's take a look at some of the most crucial personal competencies for intercultural communication, as opposed to just linguistic ...
What is Intercultural Communication and Why is it Important?
"Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication." (Wikipedia) "Intercultural communication is the study and practice of communication across cultural contexts." (Milton J. Bennett, Ph.D. Intercultural Development Research Institute)
Revisiting intercultural communication competence: Where to go from
This short essay is a reflection and assessment of 25 years of scholarship on the important topic of intercultural communication competence. The essay acknowledges significant theoretical contributions to date, including the 'ABC' (affect, behaviors and cognition/knowledge) triumvirate of most current models and describes three suggestions for future theoretical research: (1) move beyond ...
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(e.g., curiosity). Of the various components of intercultural competence, however, most military intercultural training programs emphasize the behavioral outcomes (e.g.,abilitytoconductcross-culturalnegotiations). The fact that intercultural competence is so often assessed by self-report has
Intercultural Communication Competence
Intercultural communication competence is a global communication tool that describes a wide variety of communication issues that appear within firms that have people from diverse social, religious, and educational backgrounds. Intercultural communication which is also called cross-cultural communication tries to understand how people from ...
Lack of effective intercultural communication is hobbling academia
Lack of effective intercultural communication is hobbling academia — fix it for research equity. Across cultures and geographies, effective communication drives progress in business and ...
Seed Grant program
Jaime Bauer Malandraki and Chenell Loudermill, $700, to assess the effectiveness of a grads training program to improve intercultural competence of graduate students. Elizabeth Karcher, $2160, to create intercultural assignments that embed intercultural learning pedagogies within an animal science context. Huai-Rhin Kim and Jungsun Kim, $1750, for a Systematic and Phenomenological ...

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Article contents

A Brief Introduction

Clarification of Nomenclature

Theories of Intercultural Competence

Variables Associated with Intercultural Competence

Culture General or Culture Specific

Assessing Intercultural Competence

Can Intercultural Competence Be Learned?

Research Directions

Historiography: Research in Intercultural Competence over the Years

Further Reading

Related Articles

Intercultural Communication

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Table of Contents

Ancillary Material

About the Contributors

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8.4 Intercultural Communication Competence

Components of Intercultural Communication Competence

Cultivating Intercultural Communication Competence

“Getting Competent”

Key Takeaways

Margin Size

2: Intercultural Communication Interview Essay

An Essay about Intercultural Sensitivity and Competence in Higher Education

Jonathan van Melle

Marco Maia Ferreira

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Intercultural communication competence (ICC)

Related Topics

Language Learning: Why Is Intercultural Communication Important?

Intercultural Communication Definition

Intercultural Communication Examples

Business Relationships

Advertising

Public Relations and Media Events

The Importance of Intercultural Communication

Intercultural Communication Competence

Improving Your Intercultural Communication Skills

Acquire Cultural Knowledge

Watch International Shows

Speak to People

Take in What You Hear and See

Final Thoughts

Intercultural Communication Competence

Lack of effective intercultural communication is hobbling academia — fix it for research equity

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Competing Interests

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