(Slides) CHAPTER 1-Updated

Chapter 1
intercultural
competence
Instructor: Vu Cong Danh
vucongdanh@tdtu.edu.vn
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Chapter objectives
(1) To introduce the five imperatives for intercultural competence: the
demographic imperative, the technological imperative, the economic
imperative, the peace imperative, and the interpersonal imperative
(2) To emphasize the importance of competent intercultural
communication skills in the United States and the world
(3) To introduce the topic of communication
(4) To provide a definition and characteristics of communication
(5) To underscore the challenge of communicating in an intercultural
world
• The world is constantly changing. Even one generation ago,
intercultural encounters might have been seen as a rare
occurrence; however, today, intercultural encounters are now
more ubiquitous than ever.
→The need for intercultural communication is growing.
• This involves increased knowledge of different cultures.
• It also involves knowledge of how intercultural encounters
affect your daily lives.
• This includes interactions and their effects on: School,
entertainment, government, family, community, and personal
identity
What percentage of the United States of
America’s population falls under each area?
1. White
2. Black (African American)
3. American Indian & Alaska Native
4. Asian
5. Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander
Population Distribution by Race/Ethnicity | KFF
Timeframe: 2019
White 60.1%
Black 12.2%
Hispanic 18.5%
Asian 5.6%
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.7%
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific
Islander 0.2%
What does it mean to be competent?
Competence
Competence /ˈkɒmpɪtəns/ (in something) / competence (in
doing something) the ability to do something well
-> to gain a high level of competence in English
-> professional/technical competence
competent /ˈkɒmpɪtənt/ (adj) (to do sth) having enough skill

or knowledge to do something well or to the necessary
standard
-> Make sure the firm is competent to carry out the work.
-> He's very competent in his work.
Intercultural Competence
Imperative for Intercultural Competence
The world is continually
changing due to a wide
range of factors,
including global,
technological,
demographic, and
cultural factors.
Demographic imperative for IC
An overview of
the USA
Population Distribution by Race/Ethnicity | KFF
Timeframe: 2019
White 60.1%
Black 12.2%
Hispanic 18.5%
Asian 5.6%
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.7%
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific
Islander 0.2%
Roman Catholic
Eastern Orthodox
Major Oriental Orthodox
Christian Protestant
Groups • Lutheranism
• Anabaptism
• Anglicanism
• Baptists
• Quakers
The “browning” of America
TASK: Examine the data on Race-Ethnic profiles.
What is the most significant change?
→ The U.S. population is increasingly nonwhite and multiracial.
→ Nonwhite populations and ethnic diversity are particularly
prevalent and increasing in the South and West.
The “browning”
of America
• Much of the U.S. population shift can be
attributed to immigration. In 2021, about
45.3m pp (ab 13.6% of the U.S. population)
– were immigrants.
• Recent data clearly show that the U.S. is
now a multicultural society.
➢ About 18% of pp in the U.S. speak a
language other than English at
home.
➢ In New York public schools, > 160
different languages are spoken. In
the city of Los Angeles, > 100
different languages are spoken.
➢ “Classrooms of Babel”
Tower of Babel
Languages spoken (at home) other than English in the United States by
number of speakers in 2019
Why become an American citizen?
Benefits of Citizenship:
- Citizens can vote, serve on
juries, qualify for government
jobs
- Citizens can travel freely
- Citizens can sponsor more
relatives entering the U.S
DEMOGRAPHIC IMPERATIVE FOR IC
1. The U.S. is experiencing an extensive wave of cultural mixing.
• The European American population is fast becoming the minority.
• U.S. population shift is due largely to immigration and migration.
• The “browning of America” is affecting demographics of K-12
classrooms, universities, and business settings.
2. Throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle
East, there is an increasing pattern of cross-border movements that is
both changing the distribution of people around the globe and
intensifying the political and social tensions that accompany such
population shifts.
→ The U.S. is not alone in the worldwide transformation into
multicultural societies.
The technological imperative for IC
Name some technologies/services that you use to:
• Communicate with others (friends, family, colleagues, …)
• Get the news
• Search for information
1. Marshall McLuhan coined the term global village to describe
the consequences of the mass media’s ability to bring events
from the far reaches of the globe into people’s homes, thus
shrinking the world.
→It refers to a world in which communication technology unites
people in remote parts of the world.
2. Information technologies make intercultural links more
prevalent.
• Today the “global village” is an image that is used to describe
the worldwide web of interconnections that modern
technologies have created.
• Communications such as the Internet, communication
satellites, and cell phones make it possible to establish
instantaneous links to people thousands of miles away.
• Because of modern information technologies, many world
events are experienced almost instantaneously and are no
longer separated from us in time and space.
3. Rapid and efficient long-distance transportation systems link
people who live very far from each other.
• Modern transportation systems allow people to travel faster
and more often than ever before.
• Modern transportation has made commonplace the
movement of people from one country and culture to
another.
• Nearly 64 million U.S. residents travel abroad annually.
4. Technology allows and facilitates human
interactions across the globe and in real time.
• The World is Flat: a metaphor for viewing the
world as a level playing field in terms of commerce,
wherein all competitors have an equal opportunity
• According to Thomas Friedman, “the world is flat”
because the convergence of technologies is creating
an unprecedented degree of global competitiveness
based on equal opportunities and access to the
marketplace.
• This increases the amount of communication
among people from different cultures → the need
for greater intercultural competence
4. Technology allows and facilitates human interactions across
the globe and in real time.
• Internet-based social networking sites such as Facebook,
LinkedIn, and Google+, as well as such technological
innovations as Skype, Twitter, Chat, and Yahoo Messenger,
are used by an extraordinarily large number of people to
connect with others whom they may have never met—and
perhaps will never meet—in face-to-face interactions.
The global imperative for IC
1. Globalization—the integration of capital, technology, and
information across national borders—is creating a global
marketplace.
→ The global imperative highlights issues of globalization and
the challenges for increased cultural understating needed to
reach the global market.
Read the story – example of globalization
A journalist asks a Dell computer manager where his laptop is
made. The answer?
- Co-designed in Texas & Taiwan
- Microprocessor: made in Intel’s factories in the Philippines,
Costa Rica, Malaysia, China
- Memory: from factories in Korea, Germany, Taiwan, or Japan
- Keyboard, hard drive, batteries: made by Japanese, Taiwanese,
Irish, Israeli, or British firms with factories mainly in Asia
→ Laptop: assembled in Taiwan
1. Globalization—the integration of capital, technology, and
information across national borders—is creating a global marketplace.
2. The economic success of the U.S. depends on intercultural
communication competence.
3. The U.S. economy is characterized by interdependence with other
countries.
4. The workplace is increasingly diverse culturally.
→ The economic imperative: powerful, pervasive, & likely to increase

in the coming years
The peace imperative for IC
1. The need to understand and appreciate those who differ
from ourselves is vital.
Challenge: Individuals of different genders, ages, ethnicities,

races, languages, socioeconomic statuses, and cultural
backgrounds coexist on this planet???
The peace imperative for intercultural communication is
exemplified by the goals and experiences of the athletes
and fans of the Olympics.
Hollywood movies are trying to diversify races and
genders of the characters.
1. The need to understand and appreciate those who differ from
ourselves is vital.
2. Frequent incidents of hate crimes and other animosities
underscore the importance of the peace imperative. → Hate
groups
A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices

hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race,
ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual
orientation or any other designated sector of society.
Terror attacks in Spain
On the afternoon of 17 August
2017, 22-year-old Younes
Abouyaaqoub drove a van into
pedestrians on La Rambla in
Barcelona, Spain killing 13
people and injuring at least 130
others, one of whom died 10
days later on 27 August.
Abouyaaqoub fled the attack on
foot, then killed another person
in order to steal the victim's car
to make his escape.
La Rambla, the site of the van attack;
pictured in 2011
Hate groups?
• Ku Klux Klan – KKK
• Racist skinheads
• Neo-Nazis
Hate groups:
• Ku Klux Klan – KKK: advocated extremist reactionary positions – white
supremacy, white nationalism, anti-migration, anti-Catholicism
• Racist skinheads: the white supremacist movement against Jews, blacks,
LGBT
• Neo-Nazis: a hatred for Jews and a love for Adolf Hitler and Nazi
Germany
→The need to understand & appreciate those who differ from ourselves has
never been more important.
Hate crime in the U.S. - Statistics & Fatcs | Statista

Bias Motivation
Categories for
Victims of Single-
bias Incidents in
2022
Hate Crimes | United States
Department of Justice | Hate Crimes |
Facts and Statistics
The interpersonal imperative for IC
1. Given the effects of the global
village, the quality of your daily life
will increasingly depend upon your
ability to communicate competently
with people from other cultures.
2. Failing to creating a harmonious

intercultural society:
+ human suffering
+ hatred passed on from one
generation to another
+ disruptions in people’s lives
+ unnecessary conflicts
There are consequences to maintaining
competent interpersonal relationships in an
intercultural world.
• Doubt about others’ expectations will be
introduced and will reduce the certainty that
specific behaviors, routines, and rituals mean
the same things to everyone.
Bắt tay tổng thống Hàn Quốc, Bill

Gates gây tranh cãi - Báo Người lao
động (nld.com.vn)
There are consequences to maintaining competent interpersonal
relationships in an intercultural world.
• Cultural mixing implies that people will not always feel
completely comfortable as they attempt to communicate in
another language or as they try to talk with individuals who are
not proficient in theirs.
There are consequences to maintaining competent interpersonal
relationships in an intercultural world.
• Their sense of “rights” and “wrongs” will be threatened when
challenged by the actions of those with an alternative cultural
framework.
• Many people will need to live in two or more cultures concurrently,
shifting from one to another depending on the context.
• Tensions inherent in creating intercultural communities will arise.
The self-awareness imperative
• One of the most important reasons for studying intercultural
communication is the awareness it raises of our own cultural
identity and background.
• This is also one of the least obvious reasons.
• Peter Adler (1975), a noted social psychologist, observes that the
study of intercultural communication begins as a journey into
another culture and reality and ends as a journey into one’s
own culture.
We gain insights in intercultural experiences overseas.
When Judith was teaching high school in Algeria, a Muslim country

in North Africa, she realized something about her religious identity
as a Protestant. December 25 came and went, and she taught classes
with no mention of Christmas. Judith had never thought about how
special the celebration of Christmas was or how important the
holiday was to her. She then recognized on a personal level the
uniqueness of this particular cultural practice.
• However, it is important to recognize that intercultural
learning is not always easy or comfortable.
• Sometimes intercultural encounters makes us aware of our
own ethnocentrism—a tendency to think that our own
culture is superior to other cultures.
• This means that we assume, subconsciously, that the way we
do things is the only way.
• What you learn depends on your social and economic position
in society.
• Self-awareness is essential for intercultural communication.
Because:
Who we are and what others presume about us as we interact
with them
→ Constitute our standpoint →shape how we view the world &
interact with others.
Reflection
Which of the imperatives is the most powerful
motivator for you to improve your intercultural
competence?
Imperatives for IC
1. …………………………..includes the changing domestic and international migration –
raising questions of class and religious diversity. A. The Demographic
imperative
2. ………………………… involves working through issues of colonialism, economic
B. The global
disparities, and racial, ethnic, and religious differences. imperative
3. …………………………involves the challenge of communicating in an intercultural C. The technological
world that occurs in our families, homes, work settings, schools, and imperative
neighborhoods. D. The peace
imperative
4. ………………………….. Highlights issues of globalization and the challenges for
E. The Interpersonal
increased cultural understating needed to reach the global market. Imperative
5. …………………………… gives us increasing information and increased contact with
people who are similar or different from us. Increased use of communication
technology also raises questions about identity and access to these
technologies.
Considering the situations
What issues are described in each of the following
situations? What key concepts are implied?
1. You work for a large multinational technology company that is
rapidly expanding into new global markets. However, the
company has faced several public relations crises due to
cultural misunderstandings and lack of cultural sensitivity. As a
leader in the diversity & inclusion office, how would you make
the case to the CEO for more training and resources to
improve employees' intercultural competence?
Issues: Need for intercultural training and competence in multinational
companies; cultural misunderstandings hurting business operations
and PR; making the business case for more diversity & inclusion
resources.
Key concepts: Global/ Economic imperative; challenges
communicating across cultures; intercultural competence.
→ I would prepare a detailed proposal for the CEO showing the
research on how cultural misunderstandings have cost the company
significant money in lost productivity, lawsuits, and PR crises. I would
use hard numbers and financial modeling to estimate costs. My
proposal would overview best practices for intercultural training based
on our global expansion plans and workforce diversity data. I would
recommend implementing mandatory online and in-person workshops,
assigning intercultural mentors, creating a diversity office in each
region, and tying part of leaders' bonuses to diversity goals.

2. You are a university advisor meeting with an international
student who is struggling to adjust to the campus culture and
make friends. The student feels disconnected, lonely and upset
by some culturally insensitive comments from other students.
What specific advice or resources would you offer to help
improve this student's intercultural communication skills and
campus experience?
• Issues: International students struggling to adjust to new campus
culture; feelings of disconnection and loneliness; culturally
insensitive comments; need for improved intercultural
communication skills.
• Key concepts: Developing self-awareness and communication
skills.
→I would reassure the student that culture shock and adjustment
struggles are normal. I would connect them with the international
student group on campus for social support. I would role play some
polite but direct responses the student can use if insensitive
comments occur again. I would also report those incidents to the
diversity office and suggest the offenders get intercultural competence
education. To further help the student adapt, I would give them tips on
respectfully navigating campus situations based on cultural differences
they’ve noticed.
3. Your hometown has experienced rapid demographic changes
over the past decade with many new immigrant families moving
to the area. Some longtime residents feel uncomfortable with the
changes and there have been some cultural clashes. As a
respected community leader, what initiatives might you
spearhead to bring people together, promote intercultural
understanding, and emphasize the benefits diversity brings?
• Issues: Demographic changes leading to cultural clashes in local
communities; discomfort among longtime residents; need for
intercultural understanding and diversity appreciation.
• Key concepts: Demographic imperative; communicating across
cultural barriers.
→ I would organize a "cultural showcase" event for residents to
share food, music, and traditions from their countries of origin. This
would facilitate intercultural exchange and appreciation. I would
also propose that schools incorporate more diversity and inclusion
into their curriculums to normalize it for students from a young age.
For adults, I would partner with local companies to sponsor a
speaker series and community discussions on the economic and
social benefits diversity provides, dispelling stereotypes through
facts.
COMMUNICATION
Defining communication
Characteristics of communication
Interpersonal communication
DEFINING COMMUNICATION
Communication: a symbolic, interpretive, transactional,
contextual process in which people create shared
meanings.
Six Characteristics
of Communication
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNICATION
1) Communication is symbolic
• A symbol? → a word, action or object that stands for or

represents a unit of meaning
• Meaning? → a perception, thought or feeling that a person
experiences and might want to communicate to others.
• A message? → the “package” of symbols used to create shared
meanings
1) Communication is symbolic
• Culture is based on symbols. Flags, traffic lights, diplomas and
mathematical notation are all, in their various ways, symbols
• Symbolism is fundamental to human thought and interaction.
• Symbols: especially useful in showing what one cannot say
(ineffable concepts, abstract ideas, and particularly complex
emotional significations, …)
• Symbols vary in their degree of arbitrariness.
This gesture means
“OKAY” in the US
But in South
American countries
like Brazil, it's a
vulgar gesture.
2) Communication is interpretive
• Communication is always an interpretive process: Each person
in a communication transaction may not necessarily interpret
the messages in exactly the same way.
• Indeed, during intercultural communication, the likelihood is
high that people will interpret the meaning of messages
differently.
• There are different levels or degrees of understanding.
Encoding Decoding
(using symbols) (interpreting)
THOUGHTS MESSAGE MEANING
2) Communication is interpretive
• Each person in a communication transaction may NOT
necessarily interpret the messages in exactly the same way.
• 2 outcomes of communication process?
✓ Understanding
✓ Agreement (NOT a requirement)
Encoding Decoding
(using symbols) (interpreting)
THOUGHTS MESSAGE MEANING
3) Communication is transactional
All participants in the communication: working together to
create & sustain the meanings that develop.
3 views:
Actional view: emphasize the transmission of the message
Interactional view: emphasize interpretation
Transactional view: emphasize the construction/shared creation
of messages & meanings
• Actional view → emphasize the transmission of the message
(a) Actional view → emphasize the transmission of the message
(b) Interactional view → emphasize interpretation
(a) Actional view → emphasize the transmission of the message
(b) Interactional view → emphasize interpretation
(c) Transactional view → emphasize the construction/shared
creation of messages & meanings
4) Communication is contextual
All communication takes place within a setting/
situation (called a context)
• Physical context: actual location of the interactants;

• Social context: widely shared expectations about the
kinds of interactions;
• Interpersonal context: expectations ab the behaviors of
others as a result of differences in their relationships.
5) Communication is a process
• Dynamic process
→At different stages of the communication process, the
very same message may be interpreted very
differently.
6) Communication involved shared meanings:

In the communication process, participants:
• Create & share meanings;
• Attempt to “make sense” of common experiences
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal communication is a form of communication that
involves a small number of individuals who are interacting
exclusively with one another and who therefore have the
ability both to adapt their messages specifically for those others
and to obtain immediate interpretations from them.
1. A small number of people (INTER)

2. People interacting exclusively with one another
3. Adaptation to specific others
4. Immediate interpretations
1. A small number of people (INTER)
• Small groups (couples, friends, families, work groups, classroom
groups) # Large group (public rallies, television audiences,
conference audiences,…)
• Person-to-person interactions
• Social bond between the interactants
2. People interacting exclusively with one another

• Interpersonal communication typically involves clearly identified
participants who are able to select those with whom they interact
• Sensory channels are also used to convey information
3. Adaptation to specific others

• Participants can assess what is being understood and how the
messages are being interpreted
• The messages can be adapted to fit the specific people for whom
they are intended.
4. Immediate interpretations
• The interpretation of messages can occur essentially
simultaneously with their creation.
The Challenge of Communicating in an
Intercultural World
1. Like an iceberg, all cultures have a small
visible component and a larger (and
arguably more important) part that is
hidden from view.
• The visible component is observable and can be
perceived directly with our senses. It includes
everyday features such as the culture’s food,
music, tools, and other preferences.
• The hidden component of culture is comprised of
a culture’s deeply held beliefs, values, and norms
about the “correct” ways to behave and the “right”
ways to interpret what is happening in the world.
The Challenge of Communicating in an
Intercultural World
2. There are no simple prescriptions or pat answers that can
guarantee competent interpersonal communication among people
from different cultures.
• No one has discovered how to eliminate the destructive
consequences of prejudices from different cultures.
• The importance of maintaining one’s cultural identity often
creates emotions that promote fear and distrust while
encouraging cultural autonomy, independence, and possibly
destruction.
Concluding Remark
As the world is transformed
into a place
where cultural boundaries
are no longer impenetrable barriers,
differences among people
become reasons
to celebrate and share
rather than to fear and harm.

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competent /ˈkɒmpɪtənt/ (adj) (to do sth) having enough skill

→ The economic imperative: powerful, pervasive, & likely to increase

Challenge: Individuals of different genders, ages, ethnicities,

A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices

Hate crime in the U.S. - Statistics & Fatcs | Statista

2. Failing to creating a harmonious

Bắt tay tổng thống Hàn Quốc, Bill

When Judith was teaching high school in Algeria, a Muslim country

What issues are described in each of the following

• A symbol? → a word, action or object that stands for or

• Physical context: actual location of the interactants;

6) Communication involved shared meanings:

1. A small number of people (INTER)

2. People interacting exclusively with one another

3. Adaptation to specific others

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