MODULE 3 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION

Communication examines the basic elements of interpersonal communication and culture as the two relate to
one another. Emphasis is given to the influence of culture on the interpretation of the communication act and
to the communication skills that enhances cross-cultural communication. Communication requires the ability
to understand language, but just think about how much of your communication with even you friends is
nonverbal: our body language, our attitude, the rituals from hand-shaking to the stink eye. Some researchers
estimate that up to 93% of all human communication is nonverbal, although according to recent studies, it is
actually closer to 60%.
It provides several commonly accepted academic and applied definitions to clarify this concept and process.
The term ―intercultural communication‖, represent broad ideas that are difficult to express in just one way.
Thus, we present several working definitions as starting points for exploring this topic.
Intercultural communication refers to the communication between people from two different cultures. (Chen
& Starosta, 1998:28). It is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual process, in which people create
shared meanings. (Lustig & Koester, 2007:46). It also refers to the effects on communication behavior, when
different cultures interact together. Hence, one way of viewing intercultural communication is as
communication that unfolds in symbolic intercultural spaces. (Arasaratnam, 2013:48).
Intercultural communication is the verbal and nonverbal interaction between people from different cultural
backgrounds. Basically, ―inter-‖ is a prefix that means ―between‖ and ―cultural‖ means from a culture, so
intercultural communication is the communication between cultures. Sometimes this is used to describe a single
person trying to interact in a foreign environment but more often, it is a two-way street, where people from
both cultures are trying to improve their communication. It is important to understand intercultural
communication because it allows us for positive and productive interaction. Intercultural communication refers
to the effective communication between people/ workers/ clients of different cultural background. It also
includes managing thought patterns and nonverbal communication.
Still, that means that more than half of communication is never spoken. So, intercultural communication is
going to take a lot more than just learning a language. It describes the wide range of communication processes
and problems that naturally appears within an organization or social context made up of individuals from
different religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. It this sense it seeks to understand how people
from different countries and cultures act, communicate and perceived the world around them.
Intercultural communication plays a role in social sciences such as anthropology, cultural studies, linguistics,
psychology and communication studies. It also referred to as the base of international businesses. Several
cross-cultural services providers assist with the development of intercultural communication skills, in a way the
―interaction with speakers of other languages of equal terms and respecting their identities‖.
Identity and culture are also studies within the discipline of communication to analyze how globalization
influences ways of thinking, beliefs, values, and identity, within and between cultural environments. Language
is an important example of a cultural component that is linked to intercultural understanding.
Module Objectives:

• Define and identify elements of interpersonal communication, culture, cultural systems

and global communication;
• Explain how cultural and global issues affect communication;
• Present ideas on the impact of communication on society and the world;
• Compare and contrast cultures‘ values, beliefs, perceptions, and communication styles;
 • Recognize negative perception: racism, prejudice, negative
stereotyping, ethnocentrism;
• Recognize and identify co-cultures;
• Analyze intercultural interactions and evaluate situations using intercultural
communication skills;
• Understand cultural and global flow of information.

TOPIC 1 COMMUNICATION AND GLOBALIZATION

Image 1. Source: https://bit.ly/2MOGuGo

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
During the learning engagements, the learners are able to:

1. define and identify elements of interpersonal communication, culture, cultural systems and global
communication;
2. explain how cultural and global issues affect communication; and
3. present ideas on the impact of communication on society and the world.

As technology advances, the world is getting smaller. Today we are able to communicate with people across
the globe at the touch of a button. While globalization, or communication between nations beyond their
borders, is an old concept, with the onset of new technology globalization is affecting the ways we communicate
and learn in fascinating ways. We are expanding our understanding of fellowship and as we become more
connected, we are deepening our educational experiences. The rise in the use of the internet in particular has
been incredibly instrumental in improving the ways in which we connect with one another.
Because of technologies like the internet, we have the opportunity to view diverse perspectives that overlooks
outside of our scope before. We are able to fully connect with someone who is thousands of miles away in real
time and the effects are profound.
The Effects of Globalization on Global Communication

 Increased Business Opportunities

Many companies today hire employees that are located in other countries. Using communication vehicles such
as video calling make it simple to converse with colleagues across the globe, almost making it feel as if they
are in the same room. Technology also makes it easier to connect with suppliers and customers all over the
world, and to streamline relationship through improved ordering, shipment tracking and so on. With this kind
of communication technology, many businesses are able to take advantage of opportunities in different
countries or cities, improving the economic outlook on a global level.

 Fewer Cultural Barriers

Many people perceive culture to be the root of communication challenges. When people from two different
cultures try to exchange information, the way they speak, their body language or their mannerisms can be
interpreted differently by the other person. The way people approach problems and how they participate in
communities is all influenced by culture.
Globalization has made it possible, for example, for someone in Japan to understand how someone in the U.S.
goes about their day. With television and movies, cultural barriers are becoming less prevalent. Being able to
communicate effectively and frequently with colleagues or friends across the planet helps people understand
each other‘s cultures a little better.
Creation of a Global Village
You‘ve likely heard of the phrase "global village," coined by theorist Marshall McLuhan. Affected both by
globalization and global communication, the global village is created when distance and isolation no longer
matter because people are connected by technology. Wide-spread telephone and internet access have been
life-changing for many people across the world, especially those in developing countries. Many are now
enrolling in universities across the world without having to leave their desk chair. Virtual assistant jobs are
becoming commonplace, where employees from developing countries work with companies in North America
or Europe, providing administrative support and other business services that can easily be conducted over the
phone or via the internet

EYE CONTACT:

-North Americans view direct eye contact a s a sign of honesty

-Asians view direct eye contact as a form of disrespect

Why do we need to study this?
The transmission of the message from sender to recipient can be affected by a lot of factors. These include
cultural situation, the medium used to communicate, and even our location. However, because of globalization,
communication goes well and easy. These topics made the students aware of the following:

 Globalization and global communication have made it easier to see people on the other side of the world
as a neighbor, instead of a stranger from a faraway land. There is so much knowledge about other
countries and cultures available online that it‘s no longer a complete mystery.

 Some effects of globalization to global communication are having or increased business opportunities,
fewer cultural barriers as well as creating a global village or making the world or the community
connected with the use of technology.

Key Terms:

 Globalization-the process of interaction and integration among people, companies and governments
worldwide.

 Global village-refer to the world emphasize that all the different parts of the world form one community
linked together by electronic communications, especially the internet.

 Cultural barriers- when people of different cultures are unable to understand each other’s‘ customs,
resulting in inconveniences and difficulties.

TOPIC 2 LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION IN MULTICULTURAL

SETTING
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
During the learning engagements, the learners are able to:

1. demonstrate an awareness of the reality of cultural diversity through identification of known dialects
and languages; and
2. explain how cultural diversity affects effective communications.

Multiculturalism refers to the presence of people with several cultures in a specific setting. It is the coexistence
of diverse cultures, where culture includes racial, religious, or cultural groups and is manifested in customary
behaviors, cultural assumptions and values, patterns of thinking, and communicative styles.
 Image 2. Source: https://bit.ly/369vcUE
The world today is characterized by ever growing compacts resulting in communication between people with
different linguistic and cultural background.
One of the most common forms of global communication is an email. A person in one country
types a message and clicks the send button. The message is then encoded into packets which
are sent across the internet to the recipient. In another country, the receiver logs in and decodes
the message by opening the
email, and retrieves the
message.
Global communication becomes more complicated when there are multiple recipients from different cultures
with different languages all receiving the same message, as well as when there are more layers added to the
channel. For example, if a world leader makes a speech broadcast across the globe, people from one region
may rejoice at the news, while others may find it offensive. In this case, the channel itself can involve many
different layers, as translators, news, editors and commentators each interpret the message differently before
passing it on to the intended audiences.

LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

It is the way on how we communicate to other. By using our own languages and an English language, we
can make a conversation locally or globally. The main purpose of this is to have an idea on how can we apply
what we learned from them for ourselves and for our community. It can also be the way for our country to
have sufficient knowledge to make it more outstanding.

Local communication means data transferred directly from the gateway to bluz DK, without going through
the Particle cloud. Local communication can be used for a lot of tasks that don't require the cloud.
Multicultural education refers to any form of education or teaching that incorporates the histories, texts,
values, beliefs, and perspectives of people from different cultural backgrounds
The study of global communication is an interdisciplinary field focusing on global communication, or the
ways that people connect, share, relate and mobilize across geographic, political, economic, social and cultural
divides.

COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES

Communicating across cultures is challenging. Each culture has set rules that its members take for granted.
Few of us are aware of our own cultural biases because cultural imprinting is begun at a very early age. And
while some of culture‘s knowledge, rules, beliefs, values, phobias, and anxieties are taught explicitly, most of
the information is absorbed subconsciously.
The challenge for multinational communication has never been greater. Worldwide business organizations have
discovered that intercultural communication is a subject importance not just because of increased globalization,
but also because their domestic workforce is growing more and more diverse. Intercultural communication

- is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects
communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and problems that naturally appear
within an organization or social context made up of individuals from different religious, social, ethnic, and
educational backgrounds. In this sense it seeks to understand how people from different countries and cultures
act, communicate and perceive the world around them.
Table 2. Cultures and Co-Cultures

CULTURES CO- CULTURES

-A culture is the system of knowledge, beliefs, - Within a culture as a whole are co-cultures, these
values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that are are composed of members of the same general
acquired shared, and used by its members during daily culture who differ in some ethnic or sociological
living. way from the parent culture.

BARRIERS TO LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

IN MULTICULTURAL SETTINGS
Some of the barriers to effective communication are language, medium of communication, personality and
culture. Culture became barrier to an effective communication when a person has different language bearing,
and they have different interpretation to such words.

What is the difference between multicultural and cross-cultural or Intercultural?

While they all might be under the same roof, they describe entirely different rooms. The differences in the
meanings have to do with the perspectives we take when interacting with people from other cultures.
Multicultural refers to a society that contains several cultural or ethnic groups. People live alongside one
another, but each cultural group does not necessarily have engaging interactions with each other. For example,
in a multicultural neighborhood people may frequent ethnic grocery stores and restaurants without really
interacting with their neighbors from other countries.
Cross-cultural (Intercultural) refers to the comparison of different cultures. In cross-cultural communication,
differences are understood and acknowledged, and can bring about individual change, but not collective
transformations. In cross-cultural societies, one culture is often considered ―the norm‖ and all other cultures
are compared or contrasted.

SYNTHESIS
 Global communication becomes more complicated when there are multiple recipients from different
cultures with different languages all receiving the same message, as well as when there are more layers
added to the channel.
 Local communication means data transferred directly from the gateway to bluz DK, without going
through the Particle cloud. Local communication can be used for a lot of tasks that don't require the
cloud.
 Local and global communication in multicultural settings help me realize that miscommunication is
essential to enhance our ability to communicate and effectively accept and embrace across country
cultures. And it made me realize also the importance of cross-culture in globalization business
opportunities, job opportunities, sharing of views and ideas, talent improvisation and understanding of
diverse market.
 To enhance our ability to communicate and effectively accept and embrace across country cultures;
 To make realize the importance of cross-culture in globalization business opportunities, job opportunities,
sharing of views and ideas, talent improvisation and understanding of communication.