Developing Intercultural Competence

When we go abroad to travel，study or work，or when we communicate，cooperate，or negotiate in a multicultural working environment，we may feel delighted and excited．In the same time，we may also feel frustrated，irritated，misunderstood，or annoyed．It is possible for us to get into an argument，a conflict or even a lawsuit．

When we are in a situation of intercultural conflicts，is there anything we can do other than tolerate passively or just walk away？Can we go further when we communicate with people with different cultural values？Can we find a solution to our dispute？Don’t say NO too easily．In many circumstances，we can solve the problem to various extents by learning the skills of intercultural competence．

We don’t naturally acquire intercultural competence and the ability to communicate comfortably with the people in a culture when we have learned only the knowledge about their culture，such as American culture，which is the most familiar to us．Why do so many people still feel anxious or have frictions when they go to work in America or have business with the Americans？We should be aware that knowledge of a certain culture does not automatically give us the ability to communicate successfully．

This is because a specific communication involves a specific context—the understanding of the‘specific’values of‘specific’parties／groups and their ‘specific’identities，‘specific’environment and‘specific’mentality and mood．The key to developing intercultural competence is exploring these‘specific’factors and how to make use of them flexibly and contextually．

Exercise 1

Hold a free exchange with your partner on following questions：

—Are you an introverted person？

—Are you unwilling to communicate with others when you are tired or annoyed？

—Does this mean that you are weak in communication？

Exercise 2

Sometimes we need to realize that some general impressions will prevent us from truly understanding an individual，no matter where he or she comes from．

Discuss with you partner or your classmates some different situations alongside some“familiar”cultural understanding．The first example is already given：

A． White people are rich．The customer who is now entering our shop is a white man．I’m going to talk with him a lot and try to sell him a Louis Vuitton bag．

But these situations also exist：

—Due to the economic slump in some countries，some white people are living a difficult life．It is no easy thing for them to buy a Louis Vuitton bag．

—Different white people hold different attitudes towards money．Some refuse to spend money on luxuries in spite of being rich．

—People who identify themselves as a“white man”may not be recognized as such by certain groups in certain contexts．

B． India is as dirty as a rat hole．Why do you want to travel there？

But these situations also exist：

﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

C． Japanese women are gentle and obedient．I am very lucky to marry a Japanese woman！

But these situations also exist：

﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

D． Europeans are respectful and enjoy a high level of equality．

But these situations also exist：

﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

Exercise 3

Attitudes and moods of the participants play an important role in the process of intercultural communication．Good communication requires a relaxed，peaceful mood，curiosity and a positive attitude．

Read the following examples．You can follow your heart or you can try to settle down to think about it in a different way．

Try to use our own words to express the alternative answers and then feel the change of moods and thoughts after you become more open and more relaxed．Some examples are already given．

A． I’m mad at you！Don’t talk to me now！

Instead you can say：I’m in a bad mood now．Give me half a day to calm down．I will talk to you in the evening．

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

B． Men and women bathe in the same pool！OMG！That is disgusting！

Instead you can say：Let’s go and see what it is really like．

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

C． Travelling abroad is too tiring and troublesome．I’lljust stay at home to watch some soaps and play cards．

Instead you can say：I heard that the buffet in that passenger liner is so varied that you don’t get the same food for three days．It’s awesome for a foodie like me．I have to sign up for it．

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

D ．Chinese bread is too sweet and soft．It’s no bread at all．I will buy some palatable bread and take it with me．

Instead you can say：This Chinese bakery looks nice．I should go in and check whether they have something else that I like．

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

E ．Northern Chinese are heavy drinkers．I would rather not drink with them．

Instead you can say：I was forced to drink two shots by them．It’s not that terrible！

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

or：﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍ 7sNZ5yeKkLRWDTC5ncNixTSKJzQ3GAAzc6hcT/XIrwjX0CfRU5QWDVgfjlf8dsXF