“Reflective essay about Global Communication in Multicultural Setting”

In today’s generation, the interaction between people of different cultures has become increasingly
prevalent as travel and communication have been faster and easier through technology. Historically,
different civilizations were largely isolated from one another due to conflict, location, or ethnic purity
beliefs. People of many cultures and origins have come together because of trade and immigration, making
cross-cultural dialogue impossible to avoid. All these instances revolve around the topic, Global
communication in a Multicultural setting, which opened my mind regarding the barriers around the world
and widened my perspective in different cultures.
From this subject matter, I have gained clarity about intercultural communication in terms of
understanding different kinds of boundaries that might arise between conversations. It is not about the level
of proficiency that we must put at fault always, but it is the barriers of communication among all other
nations. Based on my observation, especially in the Philippines, people tend to bully and notice the flaws
of a person when he or she is not fluent in speaking in English when considering that the country of the
Philippines contains a wide range of dialects. It is unacceptable that we downgrade a person for the reason
of his or her mistakes just because English is not his or her first language. We must understand that although
the English language is used worldwide, it is not the mother tongue of other regions, and we must accept
that there are hindrances in communication and cultural differences which leads to my second point.
Another learning that I have gained from this topic is knowing the importance of understanding other
cultures before traveling and communicating with them. There are some forms of language, mainly
nonverbal communication, that might send them the wrong message and might offend them. This is
prominent in East Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and China wherein they have certain gestures that they
do not allow and foreigners like me should be aware of. Lastly, I have gained deepened knowledge about
the categories of communication such as the high and low context which is helpful in properly sending
messages to people of other cultures as their way of understanding is not the same which may lead to
miscommunication. Different countries have different views of a term, or a statement and I personally did
not know about this until this lesson. This allowed me to realize why other passages I have read were
translated into a different meaning by other people. It is because of the difference in perspective and
comprehension. Communication is indeed a complex means of interaction and having lack of knowledge
might lead to problems and difficulties.
In conclusion, having a proficient amount of knowledge and understanding about communication
in terms of cultural diversity will help to better converse with other people. While globalization, or
communication between nations beyond their borders, is not a new notion, with the advent of new
technologies, it is having a fascinating impact on how we interact and learn. We are broadening our notion
of fellowship and deepening our educational experiences as we become more linked. Communication is a
broad topic that one should know about because this is part of our daily lives and how we can interact with
other people without having miscommunication.