intercultural competence
Intercultural competence is the ability of successful communication with people of other cultures. This ability can exist in someone at a young age, or may be developed and improved due to willpower and competence. The bases for a successful intercultural communication are emotional competence, together with intercultural sensitivity.
Interculturally competent is a person who captures and understands, in interaction with people from foreign cultures, their specific concepts in perception, thinking, feeling and acting. Earlier experiences are considered, free from prejudices; there is an interest and motivation to continue learning.
Basics
Cultures can be different not only between continents or nations, but also within the same company or even family. (geographical, ethnical, moral, ethical, religious, political, historical) resp. cultural affiliation or cultural identity.
Typical examples of cultural differences
The perception is different and often selective [1]:
- In Arabic countries the odors (of condiments, coffee etc.) are often perceived in more differentiated ways than in, for example, North America. [citation needed]
- In Asian countries the conception of time is rather past-oriented (ancestors, values), in Latin American countries as well as southern European countries, rather present-oriented, and in western Europe as well as North America rather future-oriented (achieving goals). [citation needed]Behavior and gestures are interpreted differently:
- Showing the thumb held upwards in the Americas, especially Brazil and the United States, means "everything's ok", while it is understood in some Islamic countries as a rude sexual sign. [citation needed]
- "Everything ok" is shown in western European countries, especially between pilots and divers, with the sign of the thumb and forefinger forming an "O". This sign means in Japan "now we may talk about money", in southern France the contrary ("nothing, without any value"), in some Latin American countries, Eastern Europe and Russia it is an indecent sexual sign. [citation needed]
- In North America as well as in Arabic countries the pauses between words are usually not too long, while in Japan pauses can give a contradictory sense to the spoken words. Enduring silence is perceived as comfortable in Japan, while in India, Europe and North America it may cause insecurity and embarrassment. Scandinavians, by Western standards, are more tolerant of silent breaks during conversations. [citation needed]
- Laughing is connoted in most countries with happiness - in Japan it is often a sign of confusion, insecurity and embarrassment. [citation needed]
- In the UK and Commonwealth countries the word "compromise" has a positive meaning (as a consent, an agreement where both parties win something); in North America and Ireland it may, at times, have negative connotations (as both parties lose something) (this phenomenon tends to happen highly competitive atmospheres where consensus has broken down). [citation needed]
- If invited to dinner, in some Asian countries and Central America it is well-mannered to leave right after the dinner: the ones who don’t leave may indicate they have not eaten enough. In the Indian sub-continent, Europe, South America, and North American countries this is considered rude, indicating that the guest only wanted to eat but wouldn’t enjoy the company with the hosts. [citation needed]
- In Mediterranean European countries, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa, it is normal, or at least widely tolerated, to arrive half an hour late for a dinner invitation, whereas in Germany and in the United States this would be considered very rude. [citation needed]
- In Africa, Arab cultures, and certain countries in South America [citation needed] (not in Brazil), saying to a female friend one has not seen for a while that she has put on weight means she is physically healthier than before and had a nice holiday, whereas this would be considered an insult in India, Europe, North America and Australia.
- In Africa, avoiding eye contact or looking at the ground when talking to one's parents, an elder, or someone of higher social status is a sign of respect. In contrast, these same actions are signals of deception or shame (on the part of the doer) in North America and most of Europe. [citation needed]
- In Persian culture, if a person offers an item (i.e a drink), it is customary to not instantly accept it. A sort of role play forms with the person offering being refused several times out of politeness before their offering is accepted. This tradition is known as 'tarof' which in Persian literally means 'offer'. A similar exchange happens in many East Asian countries. [citation needed]
- In African, South American and Mediterranean cultures, talking and laughing loudly in the streets and public places is widely accepted, whereas in some Asian cultures it is considered rude and may be seen as a mark of self-centeredness or attention-seeking. [citation needed]
Requirements
Basic needs are
It is a balance, situatively adapted, between three parts:
- knowledge (about other cultures, people, nations, behaviors…),
- empathy (understanding feelings and needs of other people), and
- self-confidence (knowing what I want, my strengths and weaknesses, emotional stability).
Cultural differences
Cultural characteristics can be differentiated between several dimensions and aspects (the ability to perceive them and to cope with them is one of the bases of intercultural competence), such as:
- Collectivist and individualist cultures;
- Masculine and feminine cultures;
- Uncertainty avoidance;
- Power distance;
- Chronemics: Monochrone (time-fixed, "one after the other") and polychrone (many things at the same time, "multi-tasking");
- Structural characteristics: e. g. basic personality, value orientation, experience of time and space, selective perception, nonverbal communication, patterns of behavior.
Assessment
For assessment of intercultural competence as an existing ability and / or the potential to develop it (with conditions and timeframe), the following characteristics are tested and observed: ambiguity tolerance, openness to contacts, flexibility in behavior, emotional stability, motivation to perform, empathy, metacommunicative competence, polycentrism.
Criticisms
It is important that intercultural competence training and skills not break down into application of stereotypes of a group of individuals. Although the goal is to promote understanding between groups of individuals that, as a whole, think somewhat differently, it may fail to recognize the specific differences between individuals of any given group. These differences can often be larger than the differences between groups, especially with heterogeneous populations and value systems (such as found in the USA.)
External links
- The Swedish Empathy Center Organizes knowledge about empathy across disciplines
- Intercultural Competence Assessment Assessment tool developed under the support of Leonardo da Vinci II program
- Key Competencies A complex project about the most important key competencies within the enlarged Europe - performed in the framework of a Leonardo da Vinci Pilot project
- Who needs Intercultural Competence? a video-cast by Neil Payne
See also
Organizations
- Centre for Intercultural Training and Research, http://www.intercultural.org.uk
- Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research, http://www.sietar.org
- Young Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research, http://www.youngsietar.org (for students and young professionals)
- Thai-Maori Musical Exchange Project
- Farnham CastleA UK Not for profit organisation providing intercultural training
- Artemisszió Foundation, http://www.artemisszio.hu/index_en.htm
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