Speaking and the Development

of Intercultural Communication Skills

JOHN I. LIONTAS AND MATTHEW SIEGEL

­Framing the Issue

In examining the relationship between speaking and the development of intercul-

tural communication skills, it is important to first define intercultural communica-
tion. Embedded within this term is the concept of culture. Inoue (2007) defines
culture as a system of beliefs, values, and assumptions that guides behavior, is
shared by groups of people, and is transmitted from generation to generation,
often without explicit instruction. Following Inoue’s definition, we can conceptu-
alize culture in different dimensions, which include such aspects as individualism
versus collectivism, the concept of time, egalitarian versus a hierarchical orienta-
tion, and, of particular interest to the topic discussed here, communication styles.
Communication itself can be either verbal or non-verbal. The former includes rate,
intonation, inflection, volume, level of formality or word choice, degree of direct-
ness and pragmatic usage, whereas the latter includes eye contact, gestures, facial
expressions, and personal space. Intercultural communication, whether verbal or
non-verbal, is concerned with how individuals use communication effectively and
appropriately to achieve their goals in an environment in which multiple cultures
are represented (Holmes, 2006). In the realm of education, intercultural communi-
cation presents a critical challenge due to misunderstandings that can occur in
conversation and result from differences in interactional norms and communica-
tive styles (Dooley, 2009).
Deardorff (2004) maintains that intercultural competence is the “ability to com-
municate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations based on one’s
own intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes” (p. 194). It follows that the
concept of intercultural communication is closely related to intercultural compe-
tence. As globalization makes the world more interconnected and integrated, the
educational implications of intercultural competence have also increased in
importance. Indeed, students need to develop intercultural competence to func-
tion efficiently in a globalized environment (Eisenchlas & Trevaskes, 2007).

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, First Edition.

Edited by John I. Liontas (Project Editor: Margo DelliCarpini).
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0252

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 2 Speaking and the Development of Intercultural Communication Skills

Components of intercultural competence include cultural self-awareness, skills for

listening and observing others, the ability to adapt to varying learning contexts
and learning styles, flexibility, tolerance for engaging ambiguity, and cross-cultural
empathy (Deardorff, 2006).
Baker (2011) presents a framework consisting of three levels of cultural aware-
ness: basic cultural awareness, advanced cultural awareness, and intercultural
awareness. Basic cultural awareness consists of the understanding of culture as a set
of shared behaviors, beliefs, and values; the role of culture and context in the inter-
pretation of meaning; and the ability to articulate and compare our own culturally
induced behaviors, beliefs, and values with others. The awareness of cultural
norms, their provisional nature (open to revision), and the existence of multiple
voices and perspectives give rise to advanced cultural awareness; the ability to move
beyond cultural generalizations by negotiating and mediating between different
socioculturally grounded communication modes falls within the purview of
­intercultural awareness. A key requirement to achieving intercultural competence
and to becoming an effective intercultural communicator, then, is awareness.
Moreover, intercultural communication skills can be distilled from the compo-
nents of intercultural competence. These skills include knowledge of cultural
­differences, cultural awareness (others’ and one’s own), positive and empathetic
attitude, tolerance of ambiguity, and caution in encoding and decoding informa-
tion (thinking before speaking or reacting). Cultural knowledge, in and of itself,
does not constitute intercultural competence (Bennett & Salonen, 2007). In com-
munication, one must be aware of cultural differences in real time; therefore, con-
sidering these differences in norms of interactions prior to speaking/reacting is
essential. Said another way, it is not sufficient to simply be aware of cultural differ-
ences; one must be willing to accept these differences and adapt to them.
Although intercultural communication can take place through the medium of
any language shared in the interaction, the emphasis here will be on intercultural
communication, in English, in which at least one of the interlocutors is using
English as a second language (L2). Viewed from this perspective, using English as
a lingua franca has seen an increase in intercultural interaction (Baker, 2011; Xiao
& Petraki, 2007), and much of the research on intercultural communication has
been in English L2 contexts. Because L2 intercultural communication skills focus
on second language acquisition and use in social contexts, they are closely related
to the field of L2 pragmatics (LoCastro, 2011). The development of these skills, as
they relate to oral communication, is addressed in the next section.

­Making the Case
The importance of developing intercultural communication skills becomes
clearer when one observes the increasing globalization efforts in multiple are-
nas of human interaction, whether in business or education. The rise of the
multinational corporation necessitates the training of key employees who are
able to communicate effectively across language and culture. Trends in

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 Speaking and the Development of Intercultural Communication Skills 3

migration present a challenge to primary and secondary educational institu-

tions to provide appropriate pedagogy to increasingly multilingual and multi-
cultural classrooms. Within higher education, emphasizing the need to develop
intercultural communication skills through inter-group interaction is seen as a
move toward internationalizing the curriculum (see, for example, Eisenchlas &
Trevaskes, 2007).
There is a message that permeates much of the research in the area of intercul-
tural communication skill development: the mere existence of culturally diverse
classrooms is insufficient to accomplish the task. Although there is a common
belief that university students acquire intercultural competence by interacting
with one another in multicultural classrooms, an experimental study in Australia
showed that this is not necessarily the case (Eisenchlas & Trevaskes, 2007),
whereas students in multinational teams report improvement in intercultural
communication after a workshop intervention. This improvement was realized
even though tensions actually rose within the control group, the group in which
negative stereotypes were reinforced (Briguglio, 2006). Intercultural interactions
among younger students in an American K-12 setting also show a similar pattern.
In other words, existence of a multicultural community within the classroom
does not, in and of itself, imply equity in communication. Dooley (2009) shows
that the communicative burden is not shared equally, although the listener typi-
cally bears the heaviest responsibility for monitoring the conversation. However,
when English learners (ELs) are involved, the burden shifts to the speaker, thereby
highlighting the need for some type of intervention to repair the communicative
dynamic.
There are often impediments to effective intercultural communication, and these
are frequently based on values, beliefs, expectations, and informal understandings
(i.e., the aspects of one’s own culture that are being transferred, possibly unwittingly,
to the L2 context). Speakers of an L2 need to realize that L2 communication is a
­cultural process; consequently, both speakers and listeners should be aware of their
own and others’ culturally based communicative behaviors (Baker, 2011). Bringing
these communicative norms into conscious awareness can help forestall miscom-
munication and misunderstanding. In a study of intercultural communication issues
and differences between Japan and the United States, Inoue (2007) identifies several
barriers to effective interaction, including assumptions about similarities between
languages, language knowledge that is unsupported by ­ cultural knowledge,
­non-verbal interpretations, preconceptions about the other cultures, and increased
anxiety.
Nevertheless, the development of intercultural communication skills can be
facilitated through meaningful pedagogical intervention. Intercultural language
learning and teaching should follow the model proposed by Liddicoat (2011),
which looks at the relationship between language and culture. Intercultural peda-
gogy consists of a cycle of noticing, comparing, reflecting, and interacting on
intercultural exchange. The teaching and learning of intercultural communication
skills will undoubtedly include a reference to culture itself. As Bennett and
Salonen (2007) have noted, “culture is often addressed in the content of the

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 4 Speaking and the Development of Intercultural Communication Skills

curriculum, [but] it is less frequently incorporated into the process of teaching and
learning” (p. 46).
Thus, the pedagogy of intercultural communication will have both oral and
written components, as students encounter different English varieties, differ-
ent discursive styles, and different accents, especially when one considers the
multiple forms of English that are considered standard in different parts of the
English-speaking world. As students attempt to deal with different English
varieties, they will need to learn tolerance and acceptance of different accents,
develop accommodation strategies to deal with different ways of speaking,
and increase their own level of fluency in spoken and written English
(Briguglio, 2006).
Speaking and listening play significant roles in the development of intercul-
tural communication skills. The use of the oral interview is one way in which the
connection has been explored. In Rings’s (2006) study of this process in a German-
language class at an American university, students used interviewing to help
them understand how people from the target culture understand or misunder-
stand culture. The author draws on the work of Saville-Troike (1989) to describe
a theory of successful communication across language and culture, the elements
of which include appropriate linguistic knowledge, interaction skills, cultural
knowledge, and the awareness of differences in culture-specific norms of
­interaction, interpretation, values, and attitudes. Unfortunately, speaking and
listening skill development are sometimes overlooked in the university context.
In an effort to provide academic support for language learners, in their study of
Chinese students in an Australian university Briguglio and Smith (2012) showed
that prime emphasis is given to the development of writing and study skills that
are perceived to help students with tests and examinations, even though s­ tudents
report that they needed greater assistance with the development of oral/aural
skills.
The assessment of intercultural communicative competence presents an impor-
tant challenge and there are a number of tools being used to meet that challenge.
Bennett and Salonen (2007) suggest several assessment tools that measure adapt-
ability, personality factors, and psychometrics. Self-assessment is considered an
aspect of learner autonomy in the European-funded project CEFcult (see http://
www.cefcult.eu) the main outcome of which is the production of an online envi-
ronment for collaborative assessment of oral skills and intercultural competence
in a number of European languages. This project utilized an assessment tool
measuring six elements related to intercultural communicative competence: (a)
respect for otherness, (b) tolerance of ambiguity, (c) knowledge discovery, (d)
empathy, (e) behavioral flexibility, and (f) communicative awareness (Beaven &
Neuhoff, 2012).
In her discussion of second language pragmatics, which is closely interwoven
with intercultural communication, LoCastro (2011) identifies eight areas in research
which explore the production and comprehension of pragmatic meanings across
languages and cultures. These areas consist of phonological and prosodic features,
cognitive linguistics, theoretical frameworks, politeness, corpus linguistics,

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 Speaking and the Development of Intercultural Communication Skills 5

looking beyond speech acts, non-English target languages, and L2 pragmatic

transfer. No doubt, these areas can shed some light on the research directions of
future study of speaking and intercultural communication.

­Pedagogical Implications

The current research in the area of intercultural communication has wide peda-
gogical implications in the language classroom, particularly in connection with the
development of L2 speaking skills. Those implications, based on the literature to
date, can transfer to the classroom in several powerful and practical ways.
Collectively, they represent meaningful considerations language practitioners can
utilize in the classroom and beyond, the most important of which are pre-
sented next.
●● Provide opportunities for face-to-face intercultural communication in the classroom.
The research on intercultural communication has relevance to ELT practice. The
application of intercultural awareness to classroom teaching can include
the  exploration of local cultures and language-learning materials, traditional
media and arts through English, and the use of cultural informants (often
­non-local English teachers) with whom students can engage in face-to-face
intercultural communication (Baker, 2011). Within a multicultural classroom
environment, the students themselves can be the cultural informants with
whom other students can engage as an educational activity.
●● Engage students in a guided discussion that allows them to explore cultural and lin-
guistic issues in intercultural communication. Guided discussions have been done
successfully in an experimental study in which a group of university students
experienced a workshop intervention to assist them with working and com-
municating effectively in multicultural teams; the workshop facilitator leads
students carefully and sensitively to explore cultural and linguistic issues in
intercultural communication (Briguglio, 2006). Even without a formal work-
shop, it is still possible to incorporate discussions about these types of issues in
the classroom routine; the resulting increased awareness can yield positive
benefits.
●● Offer classroom opportunities to hone listening and speaking skills. Honing listening
and speaking skills is an area that is habitually ignored, as students are not
often afforded the opportunity to engage in conversation with speakers of
alternative varieties of language in a structured way. Briguglio’s (2006) study
concludes that students require more training in intercultural communication,
specifically with honing listening and speaking skills. Offering additional
exposure (input) to language variety can increase understanding, awareness,
and intelligibility.
●● Assess students’ current level of intercultural competence. It is difficult to incor-
porate a program of intercultural communicative development without
having a baseline from which one can determine how to move forward and

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 6 Speaking and the Development of Intercultural Communication Skills

an understanding of what remains to be done. Deardorff (2006) maintains

that it is important to assess students’ intercultural competence, and the
best way is through a mix of qualitative and quantitative measures. Despite
the complexity inherent in this type of assessment, the results are worth the
effort.
●● Utilize international (and local) students as a classroom teaching resource. Eisenchlas
and Trevaskes (2007) observe that, despite the presence of large numbers of
international students in a university setting, there is often little or superficial
contact and interaction between them and the local student population. A way
of addressing this problem is through using the experiences of local and inter-
national students as a classroom teaching resource. In addition to increasing
interaction between these two student populations, the pedagogy of intercul-
tural communication becomes more student-centered.
●● Employ interviews to inform students more fully about aspects of linguistic and
cultural differences that may be unknown to them. Utilizing speaking and
listening skills, interviews provide a practical way of integrating the
­
­development of intercultural communication skills with oral proficiency
development. In Rings’s (2006) study of the use of oral interviews in a for-
eign language classroom, the following four benefits are recounted: (a)
teachers (as well as students) can use interviews to inform themselves more
fully about aspects of language and culture unknown to them; (b) students
can be instructed how to conduct interviews in both their L1 and their L2;
(c) recorded or transcribed interviews can be used as teaching materials;
and (d) the belief that grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation are the sole
components of language meaning at lower levels of language instruction is
challenged.
●● Facilitate engagement of L2 language learners by creating a safe space in which they
may be more likely to take risks with language and participation. In order to gain
linguistic proficiency, the language learner must feel comfortable about par-
ticipating and taking risks with the L2. Pertinent pedagogical questions pro-
posed by Dooley (2009) include finding out how language learners and more
proficient speakers can increase their participation, how students across lin-
guistic and cultural differences can build resources, and how students can
further promote their collective engagement. Solutions include (a) establish-
ing that conversation is actively and cooperatively enacted, thereby enabling
ELLs to point out misunderstandings so they are not reliant on more profi-
cient speakers to check, diagnose, and fix communication problems; and (b)
promoting a safe space in which language learners can practice and develop
their oral language skills. Face-saving techniques, formulas for negotiating
meaning, and strategies to give ELLs more control over conversation topics
are keys to facilitating engagement of learners and enhancing intercultural
communication.
●● Recognize that much of spoken language is conventional and formulaic. Incorporating
L2 pragmatic instruction, including L2 idiomatic and colloquial speech, in the
classroom is critically important to the development of intercultural

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 Speaking and the Development of Intercultural Communication Skills 7

communication skills. In addition to giving students useful and practical listen-

ing and speaking practice, such targeted instruction also provides a window
into the culture of the target language. Despite the multitude of vocabulary and
grammatical structures available in a language, a sizable proportion of spoken
­conversational language is conventional and formulaic (Dooley, 2009; Liontas,
2015). From the perspective of L2 pedagogy, there are at least three important
implications for language learners that are worth noting here. First, asking for
edification or further explanation is an essential function; fortunately, there are
conventional ways of requesting clarification with which students can be
equipped. Second, by learning formulaic language, learners can increase their
pragmatic understanding and facility in the L2, thereby enhancing further their
own oral communication skills. Third, building upon these conventional and
formulaic structures can increase the learner’s confidence as well as their
fluency.
●● Exploit online resources to provide opportunities for intercultural communication out-
side the classroom. There is an increasing proportion of non-traditional language
learners who are acquiring L2 skills without formal instruction. At the same
time, there is also an increase in distance and online education to meet the
needs of additional learners. As a result, there is an important role for technol-
ogy to play in providing resources for language learning and intercultural com-
munication. The Internet, in all its dynamic manifestations to date, affords
learners the opportunity to access recorded videos and interact with geographi-
cally disparate L2 speakers, thereby increasing the potential to improve oral
intercultural communication skills.

The aforementioned pedagogical implications illustrate the central role played

by English learners themselves in the development of intercultural communica-
tive competence. Classroom activities reflect a student-centered (rather than
teacher-fronted) classroom environment, as well as the recognition that the
learners represent a valuable classroom resource. Examples of these activities
include engagement of students in guided discussions that address issues of
c­ulture, the use of inter-student interviewing as a means of uncovering cultural
and linguistic differences, and the use of activities that focus on the appreciation
of the multicultural nature of the classroom as a storehouse of information con-
tributing to intercultural awareness. In addition, the development of intercul-
tural communication skills is inextricably bound to the development of other
linguistic and sociolinguistic skills, such as speaking, listening comprehension,
and the development of pragmatic knowledge. These skills are not acquired in
isolation, but rather have a mutually reinforcing impact on students’ intercul-
tural communicative abilities. Finally, development of intercultural competence
(as in second language acquisition generally) is predicated on the willingness of
L2 learners to take risks with learning in the classroom, which is commensurate
with lowering the affective filter. As ELs feel more comfortable and confident in
the classroom, their participation increases, as does the development of the inter-
cultural communication skills.

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 8 Speaking and the Development of Intercultural Communication Skills

SEE ALSO: Role of Input in Teaching Speaking and Pronunciation; Teaching

Idiomatic Language in Context

References

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Beaven, A., & Neuhoff, A. (2012). Assessing oral proficiency for intercultural professional
communication: The CEFcult project. European Association for Computer-Assisted
Language Learning (EUROCALL).
Bennett, J. M., & Salonen, R. (2007). Intercultural communication and the new American
campus. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 39(2), 46–50.
Briguglio, C. (2006). Empowering students by developing their intercultural communication
competence: A two-way process. Proceedings from 2006 ISANA Conference: Educate, advocate,
empower, December 5–8, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Retrieved from http://d1711667.i165.quadrahosting.com.au/files/thurs_c2_briguglio.pdf
Briguglio, C., & Smith, R. (2012). Perceptions of Chinese students in an Australian university:
Are we meeting their needs? Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 32(1), 17–33.
Deardorff, D. K. (2004). The identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student
outcome of international education at institutions of higher education in the United States
(Unpublished dissertation). North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
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student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3),
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Dooley, K. (2009). Intercultural conversation: Building understanding together. Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(6), 497–506.
Eisenchlas, S., & Trevaskes, S. (2007). Developing intercultural communication skills
through intergroup interaction. Intercultural Education, 18(5), 413–25.
Holmes, P. (2006). Problematising intercultural communication competence in the
pluricultural classroom: Chinese students in a New Zealand university. Language and
Intercultural Communication, 6(1), 18–34.
Inoue, Y. (2007). Cultural fluency as a guide to effective intercultural communication. Journal
of Intercultural Communication, 15. http://www.immi.se/intercultural/nr15/inoue.htm
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pp. 837–55). New York, NY: Routledge.
Liontas, J. I. (2015). Developing idiomatic competence in the ESOL classroom: A pragmatic
account. TESOL Journal, 6(4), 621–58.
LoCastro, V. (2011). Second language pragmatics. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in
second language teaching and learning (Vol. 2, pp. 319–44). New York, NY: Routledge.
Rings, L. (2006). The oral interview and cross-cultural understanding in the foreign language
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 Speaking and the Development of Intercultural Communication Skills 9

Suggested Readings

Dong, Q., Day, K. D., & Collaço, C. M. (2008). Overcoming ethnocentrism through
developing intercultural communication sensitivity and multiculturalism. Human
Communication, 11(1), 27–38.
Penbek, Ş., Yurdakul Şahin, D., & Cerit, A. G. (2012). Intercultural communication
competence: A study about the intercultural sensitivity of university students based on
their education and international experiences. International Journal of Logistics Systems and
Management, 11(2), 232–52.

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