Effective-Intercultural-Communication.pptx

Intercultural communication is refers to belief, religion and norms communication is very important today

1. Effective Intercultural Communication

2. At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

3. Framework in Developing Intercultural communication Skills A healthy reflection of who we are as a people can be a good start in our contribution to global harmony. Eckert (2006) stresses that it is difficult to value culture without understanding a group’s unique characteristics associated with history and context. Intercultural Communication means the process of interaction among different cultural groups. (interracial, interethnic, international, intracultural) Since every individual or group is unique, cultural differences are salient. Baran (2013) defines culture as “the world made meaningful; it is socially constructed and maintained through communication. It limits as well as liberates us; it differentiates as well as unites us. It defines our realities and thereby shapes the ways we think, feel, and act” (p. 14).

4. Three steps in developing intercultural skills (Mio, Barker-Hacket & Tumambing (2006): 1. Be aware of your own cultural attitudes. 2. Understand other worldviews. 3. Develop culturally appropriate interpersonal skills.

5. STEP 1: Be aware of your own cultural attitudes B efore you can understand others, you must first understand yourself. By being conscious and aware of your own culturally shaped beliefs, values, perceptions, and biases will help you process your interaction with other people, whether they are so much like you or different from you.

6. Step 2: Understanding other worldviews People of the same culture share similar worldviews as result of personal, family or racial background, values, experiences, priorities, goals, societal norms, and other factors that shape their thoughts and actions. Eckert (2006) gives four orientations that result to opposing worldviews. These are  orientation to Groups (Individualism versus Collectivism), orientation to Time (Clock-oriented versus Event-Oriented), orientation to Power and Authority (Hierarchical versus Egalitarian), and orientation to Gender (Masculine and Feminine).

7. Step 3: Develop culturally appropriate interpersonal skills Mio, Barker-Hacket & Tumambing (2006) suggest: education (joining lectures and retreats, reading books, watching films on multicultural issues); experience (joining cultural organizations, traveling); language (asking questions when reaching out to different cultures, speaking for a minority group) to increase multicultural competence

8. Barriers to intercultural communication Ethnocentrism – is the belief that one’s own culture ways are superior to other cultures. It prevents you from seeing the perspectives of other people practicing cultural beliefs different from yours. Ethnocentrism causes us to judge others by our own values. • Stereotyping – is the practice of categorizing and generalizing about a certain race or ethnic group based on a distorted view of that group. A stereotype is an oversimplified perception of a behavioral pattern or characteristic applied to entire groups. • Prejudice – is a negative attitude toward a cultural group based on little or no experience of that group. If stereotypes are labels we attach to a group, prejudice is the negative feeling we can feel towards that group. • Discrimination – is the explicit action we take to exclude or avoid others. It takes stereotypes and prejudice a step further to either personal action such as excluding someone from a conversation; or collective action such as excluding others from jobs or economic opportunities.

9. Terms and Expressions in Different Cultures

10. Terms and Expressions in Different Cultures (Floyd, 2010) Emblems : The “come here” gesture commonly used in U.S. means “goodbye” in China, Italy, and Columbia. Gestures such as A-OK, thumbs up, and crossed fingers have sexual or obscene meanings in many parts of the world. Affect Displays: In China, women express emotional satisfaction by holding their fingertips over their closed mouths. Similarly, a man in Uruguay will hold his fists together and turn them in opposite directions, as if wringing out a wet cloth, to express anger. Personal Distance: People from Arab countries generally converse with each other at closer distances than do people in U.S. One study found that because of differences in their preferred conversational distance, Arab college students regarded those from the U.S. as aloof, whereas the U.S. students regarded Arab students as overbearing. Eye contact: In many Western cultures, direct eye contact signifies that someone is sincere, trustworthy, and authoritative, whereas the lack of eye contact elicits negative evaluations from others. In comparison, some Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern cultures emphasize the lack of eye contact as a sign of deference or respect for authority.

11. Terms and Expressions in Different Cultures (Floyd, 2010) Facial displays of emotion: Many Asian cultures suppress facial expression as much as possible. Greeting behavior: People in Western countries greet each other with a handshake; people in Mediterranean countries usually kiss each other on both cheeks; people in Asian countries greet each other by bowing, with the longest and lowest reserved for the most respected. Time orientations: People in U.S., Canada, Finland, Great Britain, and Germany are monochromic—they see time as a tangible commodity, expect events to begin “on time” and dislike having time wasted. In other cultures, such as France, Brazil, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, people are polychromic—they see time as flexible and diffused and don’t necessarily expect punctuality. Touch: People in France, Mexico, and Greece are high-contact cultures, while people in Japan, Sweden, and Finland are low-contact cultures. Americans are regarded as medium-contact culture. Vocalics: Filler words such as “umm” and “err” are common among English speakers, while Chinese speakers often say “ zhege zhege zhege ”(this, this, this) as filler words.

12. Thank you! JC JUN CRISOSTOMO-GALLERA, LPT, MEdLT