PC Lesson 10 Coping With The Challenges of Intercultural Communication

Lesson 9
COPING WITH THE CHALLENGES OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. recognize the challenges of intercultural communication,
2. determine the sources of misunderstanding,
3. identify the approaches to studying intercultural communication,
4. appreciate learning about other cultures and identities; and
5. appreciate the value of co-existing with individuals of different cultural backgrounds.
List down some cultural differences that you know regarding non-verbal
communication. Why do you think it is important to know the meaning of these non-
verbal codes?
INPUT
CHALLENGES OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
It has become a widespread notion that speakers' use of different languages results in
intercultural miscommunication and misunderstanding. As Scollon and Scollon (1995) state:
When we are communicating with people who are very different from us, it is very difficult to
know how to draw inferences about what they mean, and so it is impossible to depend on
shared knowledge and background for confidence in our interpretations (p. 22).
Indeed, the lack of shared knowledge and beliefs and cultural diversity make it more
complicated to arrive at the correct inference or interpretation of meanings. But it can also be argued
that English is now a global lingua franca. In fact, with the ASEAN integration, English has been declared
the official or working language of ASEAN. So, with just one language to be spoken or used by many
countries including the 10 member countries of the ASEAN, what else can go wrong?
It is thus important to emphasize that the ownership of English cannot be attributed to just one
country or to those who use it as native or home language. The varieties of English spoken by different
speech communities have evolved for a reason. They use it for communal purposes. These varieties
have been heavily influenced by the local culture and its speakers. Recent studies have shown that the
problem of misunderstanding is not overt and can be traced to speech perturbations, poorly managed
turn-taking, and non-aligned, "parallel talk" (House, 1999, p. 80). Meierkord (2000, p. 11 as cited by
Kaur, 2016) emphasizes that communication in English as a lingua franca (ELF) is "a form of intercultural
communication characterized by cooperation rather than misunderstanding" (p. 135). This she noted in
her study of participants coming from 17 different first language backgrounds which yielded the result
that the participants displayed communicative behavior not generally associated with their
linguacultural backgrounds making the talk cooperative and supportive in nature with few
misunderstandings.
Note that misunderstanding in intercultural communication may not always be caused by verbal
utterances. Misunderstandings may also occur due to wrong interpretation of the non-verbal code. For
instance, the handshake which is commonly done by people introduced to each other by a third party
should be done and interpreted correctly as the type of handshake varies from culture to culture. Study
the table below and find out how handshakes differ from country to country.
THE HANDSHAKE
Country or Region Type of Handshake

United States Firm handshake
France Soft handshake
Germany Firm handshake, for men, traditionally accompanied by a slight
bow
Japan Handshake with arm firmly extended, accompanied by a bow
Middle East Handshake and free hand placed on the forearm of the other
person
Source: Varner, I., & Beamer, L. (2011). Intercultural communication in the global workplace (5th ed.).
USA:McGraw-Hill, p. 230.
GREETINGS
Like handshakes, greeting rituals also vary from culture to culture. Japanese women bow differently
from Japanese men. Could you describe how the bow is done by the Japanese and the German as
illustrated in the drawings below?
Japanese bow
German bow
The German bow which is termed as diener means a bow to and in recognition of an authority. Thus,
when a person bows, he/she is actually sending the message "at your service."
SOURCES OF MISUNDERSTANDING
Kaur (2016) cites the following misunderstanding: as the sources of misunderstanding:
1. Ambiguity - lack of explicitness on the part of the speaker in the form of problematic reference and
ambiguous semantics in which an utterance is open to different interpretations.
2. Performance-related misunderstanding - slips of the tongue and mishearing which may be due to
utterances spoken quickly and unclearly.
3. Language-related misunderstanding - ungrammaticality of sentences.
4. Gaps in world knowledge - gaps in content rather than language.
5. Local context - turns and the turns within sequences produced by the participants themselves, and
the orientation of the participants as well as the repair moves that follow the displayed
understanding (p. 147).
APPROACHES TO STUDYING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Why is there a need to understand intercultural communication? It is easy to say that people
belong to diverse cultures, hence the need to understand others. But it is easier said than done. Some
people take it for granted to read about and study first a country's culture before they go and travel to
the place.
There is a need to be aware or conscious of other cultures especially those that you will visit so
you can avoid offending people. Due to misinterpretations, miscommunication occurs. Likewise, it is
suggested that you become aware of cultural identities and backgrounds as it will broaden your horizon.
All cultures are equal and though sometimes difficult to understand, you need to understand no culture
is superior or inferior to another. It is only through awareness that you get to compare other cultures
with your own and appreciate cultural diversities and learn to live with them. People have different
languages, lifestyles, and ways of thinking, speaking, and behaving. This is the essence of cultural
diversity.
To better understand of communication, three approaches as explained by Martin and

Nakayama (2010) can be studied:
Three Approaches to Intercultural Communication
Social Science or Interpretative Critical

Functionalist
Discipline on which Psychology Anthropology, Various
approach is founded sociolinguistics
Research goal Describe and predict Describe behavior Change behavior
behavior
Assumption of reality External and Subjective Subjective and material
describable
Assumptions of human Predictable Creative and voluntary Changeable
behavior
Method of study Survey, observation Participant Textual analysis of
observation, field study media
Relationship of culture Communication Culture created and Culture as a ai site of

and communication influenced by culture maintained through power struggle
communication
Contribution of the Identifies cultural Emphasizes that Recognizes the
approach variations; recognizes communication and economic and political
cultural differences in culture and cultural forces in culture and
many aspects of differences should be communication;
communication but studied in context asserts that all
often does not intercultural
consider context interactions are
characterized by power
How would you compare the approaches in the table above in terms of human nature, human
behavior, and nature of knowledge emphasized? Do you think each approach has own strengths and
weaknesses? What do you think are its advantages? What are the disadvantages or limitations of each?
? COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Check your understanding of the input by answering the following questions:
1. Cite certain situations when you encountered miscommunication while talking with people of
different nationalities.
2. As a conscientious student, what have you done so far to avoid miscommunication and
misunderstanding when communicating with people of different cultures?
3. Looking at the three different approaches to intercultural communication, which one would you
prefer and why?

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Lesson 9

COPING WITH THE CHALLENGES OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. recognize the challenges of intercultural communication,

2. determine the sources of misunderstanding,

3. identify the approaches to studying intercultural communication,

4. appreciate learning about other cultures and identities; and

5. appreciate the value of co-existing with individuals of different cultural backgrounds.

CHALLENGES OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Country or Region Type of Handshake

Kaur (2016) cites the following misunderstanding: as the sources of misunderstanding:

APPROACHES TO STUDYING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

To better understand of communication, three approaches as explained by Martin and

Three Approaches to Intercultural Communication

Social Science or Interpretative Critical

Relationship of culture Communication Culture created and Culture as a ai site of

Check your understanding of the input by answering the following questions:

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