Asadal has been running one of the biggest domain and web hosting

Sites in Korea since March 1998. More than 3,000,000 people have
01 DEFINITION AND NATURE OF INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION

02 THE DMIS

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPETENT
03 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATORS

04 SHORT QUIZ (20 ITEMS)

Intercultural communication happens when
individuals interact, negotiate, and create meanings
while bringing in their varied cultural backgrounds
(Ting-Toomey, 1999).

For some scholars, intercultural communication

pertains to communication among people from
different nationalities (Gudykunst, 2003). Still, others
look at intercultural communication as communication
that is influenced by different ethnicities, religions,
and sexual orientations.
Both interpretations show that intercultural
communication takes place when people draw from
their cultural identity to understand values, prejudices,
language, attitudes, and relationships.
(Gudykunst & Kim, 2003). Moreover, this facet of
communication can also be seen as a bargained
understanding of human experiences across diverse
societies. Simply put, intercultural communication is
the sending and receiving of messages across
languages and cultures.
THE DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL OF INTERCULTURAL
SENSITIVITY (DMIS)

The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (

DMIS) offers a structure that explores
how people experience cultural differences. According
to Bennett and Bennett (2004), it has six
stages. These are the following:

Stage 1: Denial. The individual does not recognize

cultural differences. An individual in the denial stage
might be heard saying:
“All cities are the same; they all have tall buildings,
fast food chains, and coffee shops.”
Stage 2: Defense. The individual starts to recognize cultural
differences and is intimidated by them, resulting in either a
superior view on own culture or an unjustified high regard for
the new one.
An individual in the defense stage might be heard saying:
“This culture does not view life the way we do; our culture is
certainly better.”
“Their ways are better than my own; I wish I were one of them.
”

Stage 3: Minimization. Although individuals see cultural

differences, they bank more on the universality of ideas rather
than on cultural differences.
An individual in the minimization stage might be heard saying:
“Once we see through the cultural differences, we really are
just the same!”
Stage 4: Acceptance. The individual begins to
appreciate important cultural differences in
behaviors and eventually in values.
An individual in the acceptance stage might be
heard saying:
“These people and I have different values and
experiences, and I think we can learn from one
another.
Stage 5: Adaptation. The individual is very open to
world views when accepting new perspectives.
An individual in the adaptation stage might be heard
saying:
“To address our issue, I have to adjust my approach to
consider both my own and my counterpart’s
background.”
Stage 6: Integration. Individuals start to go beyond
their own cultures and see themselves and
their actions based on multifarious cultural viewpoints.
An individual in the integration stage might be heard
saying:
“I can look at things from the perspective of various
cultures.
Asadal has been running one of the biggest domain and web hosting
Sites in Korea since March 1998. More than 3,000,000 people have