Intercultural

Communication
Core Subject - Senior High School
English Supplementary Material – Junior High School
Definition and Nature

•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.
Definition and Nature

• 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.
• Sometimes, intercultural communication can flow smoothly and become very
interesting for a cross-cultural group. However, things may not go as planned
when communication is disrupted by cultural collisions.
Definition and Nature

• When you speak, your speech is continuously accompanied by gestures, facial

expressions, and other body movements that add to what you are saying in
different ways. For example, nodding means “yes” in the Indian subcontinent,
Iran, most of Europe, Latin America, and North America. However, in Greece,
Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Albania, nodding
indicates disagreement. Moreover, in the case of Japanese culture, silence as a
form of communication is more integrated in their customs than in Western
languages. It is therefore important for you to acknowledge and understand the
many communication patterns present in other cultures.
The Developmental Model of Intercultural
Sensitivity
Stage 1: Denial.
The individual does not recognize cultural differences.
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.
Stage 3: Minimization.
Although individuals see cultural differences, they bank more on the universality of ideas rather
than on cultural differences.
Stage 4: Acceptance.
The individual begins to appreciate important cultural differences in behaviors and eventually in
values.
Stage 5: Adaptation.
The individual is very open to world views when accepting new perspectives.
Stage 6: Integration.
Individuals start to go beyond their own cultures and see themselves and their actions based on
multifarious cultural viewpoints.
Characteristics of Competent Intercultural
Communicators (World Bank, 2010)
1. Flexibility and the ability to tolerate high levels of
uncertainty
2. Reflectiveness or mindfulness
3. Open-mindedness
4. Sensitivity
5. Adaptability
6. Ability to engage in divergent thinking (or thinking
creatively) and systems-level thinking (or thinking how each
one in a system or organization influences each other)
7. Politeness
Tips to Being a Competent Intercultural
Communicator
1.Avoid stereotypes, i.e., generalizations about a certain group.

2. Challenge gender norms; avoid using “he” and “man” to refer to a general
group of people. To remedy this, you may use plural pronouns or rewrite a
sentence to avoid using pronouns. The use of his/her is also acceptable.

3. Do not talk down on younger people and the elderly.

4. Be sensitive to the religious practices of others.

5. Be polite at all times; do not belittle people you perceive to be on a

lower social class than you.