Chapter 8 Intercultural Communication Competence Chapter 8 Intercultural Communication Competence

Chapter 8 Intercultural Communication Competence

Chapter 8

Intercultural Communication Competence



We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.

The gentleman pursues harmony instead of homogeneity; the vulgar man seeks uniformity at the sacrifice of harmony.

I do not want my house to be walled on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.


Learning Objectives

• perceive the factors underlying intercultural communication competence

• identify the various components of intercultural communication competence

• master the strategies and skills for improving intercultural communication competence


Case 1 The Frankfurt Incident

Kim Yong Nam 金永南（朝鲜最高人民会议常任委员会委员长，朝鲜第二号人物）

Madeleine Albright 马德琳·奥尔布莱特（前美国国务卿）• If you were a high-level airline security

official, what could you do to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future?



Improving Intercultural Communication Competence D

The Dimensions of Intercultural Competence C

The Components of Intercultural Competence B

A Intercultural Communication Competence A


Text A: Intercultural Communication Competence

• Intercultural communication: common, necessary part of people’s personal and professional lives

• Intercultural competence: ability to become effective and appropriate in interacting, the sensitivity to cultural diversity

• Cultural awareness: an important role to overcome difficulties to ensure smooth communication with people from different backgrounds

• Intercultural communication competence: ability to effectively and appropriately execute communication behaviors t

o elicit a desired response in a specific environment


Case 2 The Bottle of Wine

John: American

Mazen: John’s Saudi Arabian neighbor

• Why did John buy the wine?

• Why didn’t Mazen say anything to John about the wine?

• Why didn’t Mazen’s sister shake hands with John?

• Why did John put his arm around Mazen and his sister?

• Why did Mazen suddenly end John’s conversation with his sister?

• What does this story tell us about communication across cultures?


While-Class Learning: Text B

• Pre-reading Questions:

What kind of qualities a competent intercultural communicator should have?


Text B.

The Components of Intercultural Competence

• contextual • appropriate and effective behaviors • sufficient knowledge, suitable motivations, and

skilled actions


While-Class Learning: Text B

• The Components of Intercultural Competence

1. Contextual Components

2. Individual Components

a. Motivation

b. Knowledge

c. Attitudes

d. Behaviors and Skills


B.1 Contextual Components of Intercultural Competence

1.1 sensitive to the contexts, or “situational features” • specific relational context, particular situational

context• association between individuals

e.g. a Canadian woman living with a family in India

1.2 communicator’s social position within a speech community


B.2 Individual Components

a. Motivation

• overall set of emotional associations

• different aspects of the emotional terrain ( 领域） contribute to the achievement of intercultural competence

• Reasons for lacking motivation:

（ 1 ） don’t need to know much ；（ 2 ） be uncomfortable ；（ 3 ） historical events or political circumstances.



b. Knowledge

• cognitive information about the people, the context, and the norms of appropriateness in a specific culture

• various cognitive aspects: about ourselves, about others, and about various aspects of communication

• important kinds of knowledge:

（ 1 ） culture-general information

（ 2 ） culture-specific information



c. Attitudes • Tolerance for Ambiguity: ease in dealing with much

unknown situations• Empathy: walk in another person’s shoes • Nonjudgmentalness: do not judge others according

to our own culture

(1) Description: convey factual information

(2) Interpretation: attach meaning to description

(3) Evaluation: clarify how we feel about something

Only descriptive statements are nonjudgmental.



d. Behaviors and Skills

• actual appropriate and effective performance

• two levels of behavioral competence

(1) macro level: many culture-general behaviors

(2) micro level: general behaviors are implemented in culture-specific ways

e.g. Chinese students, in basic public speaking classes in America


Case 3 The Wedding Guest

an American external consultant

an Indonesian engineer

• Why didn’t the Indonesian tell the project leader that he was not doing well?

• What is the contextual meaning we can get from the case?


While-Class Learning: Text C

• The Dimensions of Intercultural Competence

1. The Knowledge Dimension

2. The Affective Dimension

3. The Psychomotor Dimension

4. The Situational Features Dimension


C.1 The Knowledge Dimension

how much one knows about the culture of the person with whom one is interacting

• includes some background knowledge about other intercultural communication participants

• clarifies cognitive simplicity and rigidity and ethnocentrism as barriers


C.2 The Affective Dimension

the degree to which one approaches or avoids intercultural communication

• motivation

• attitudes


C.3 The Psychomotor Dimension

how to do culture in actions, involved with behaviors and skills

• the actual enactment of the knowledge and affective dimensions

• includes verbal and nonverbal performance and role enactment

(1) good verbal and nonverbal performance: makes us be able to engage in a conversation

(2) role enactment: how well one executes the appropriate verbal and nonverbal messages


C.4 The Situational Features Dimension

the actual situation in which intercultural communication occurs

• situational features affecting competence include:

the environmental context

previous contact

status differential

third-party interventions


Case 4 Who Pays for the Drink?

Septi, a Romanian boy who just came to the Netherlands

• Why did Septi seem to be uncomfortable

about the Dutch girl’s paying for the drinks?

• Why did the Dutch girl feel Septi’s behavior very strange?

• What’s the cultural misunderstanding in the case?


While-Class Learning: Text D• Pre-reading Task: What can we draw from the

following sentences which come from different cultures?

(1) Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. (Buddhism)

(2) Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you. (Confucianism)

(3) This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you. (Hinduism)

(4) No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.” (Islam)

(5) Respect for all life is the foundation. (Native American)


While-Class Learning: Text D.

Improving Intercultural Communication Competence

• Three most common aspects for improving

1. task performance: doing well at our job

2. ability to adapt to the new culture

3. ability to establish healthy interpersonal relationships


While-Class Learning: Text D

• strategies and skills that lead to the improvement

• 1. Knowing Ourselves

• 2. Appreciating Similarities and Respecting Differences

• 3. Developing Empathy

• 4. Keeping an Open Mind


Text D.1 Knowing Ourselves

• know about our own culture: the first step to reduce ethnocentrism and guard against prejudice

• develop cultural awareness: cultural beings • recognize our communication style

• helpful suggestions to know ourselves


Text D.2 Appreciating Similarities and Respecting Differences

• Culture shows as many similarities as differences. • We share a series of crucial characteristics that link

the people of the world together. • Cultures are different due to a host of various

factors. • two attitudes toward differences: polar opposites,

being different in degrees (reasonable)• Differences are particular points on the continuum,

not the two ends. • Cultural differences do not create conflict. Instead,

they enrich our world. • Beauty is in the coexistence of different cultures.• helpful suggestions for us:


Text D.3 Developing Empathy be able to see things from the point of view of others so that we

can better know and adjust to the other people • direct energy toward communication partners (constant self-

focus: most common of all barriers) • go beyond personal boundaries and understand those from

distance or other cultures• To improve empathy (1) pay attention to the spontaneous emotional expressions of

others and the situation where the interaction place (2) be expressive (3) aware of specific behaviors that members of a particular

culture or co-culture might find impertinent or insulting (4) resist the tendency to interpret the other’s verbal and

nonverbal actions from our own culture’s orientation • integrate both thinking and feeling— understand not only what

others say (content) but also how they feel (empathy)• helpful suggestions to develop empathy ：


Text D.4 Keeping an Open Mind

• Diversity is adaptive.• Through intercultural encounters, we can

develop more valid and balanced understandings of other cultural ways.

• Be tolerant of others, learn from others.• helpful suggestions for us:


Case 5 Improved Communication

Mr. Wang, A strong Chinese man

Aaron and I• How does this case relate to intercultural

communication?• Why did the author have a bad impression

on the Chinese man?• How did he change his opinion

about the Chinese man?


Case 6 Jane Martin

• Is Jane’s communication with South Koreans intercultural or does working for the same corporation mean that Jane and her South Korean counterparts share a common culture?

• Is Jane’s age factor in communication with her Korean counterparts?

• If you are Jane, how do you think you could improve your interpersonal and intercultural communication with your Korean counterparts?

Jane Martin, who works for a U.S. company that has a major branch in South Korea


Thank You

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Chapter 8 Intercultural Communication Competence Chapter 8 Intercultural Communication Competence