1. Intercultural communication and training
Lecture 6
Intercultural communication and training

2. Intercultural communication and training
Content:
Intercultural communication
Verbal
Non-verbal
Theories of IC
Intercultural negotiation
Sojourners (Expatriates)
Intercultural training

3. Intercultural communication

4. Intercultural communication
Basic question: Which elements of communication are the sources of communication problems during intercultural encounters?
Similar undelying psychological processes (social, cognitive, linguistic) across cultures:
→ People from different cultures can communicate with each other.
Manifestations of these processes differ across cultures.
→ Failures of communication occur.
Some are obvious.
Some go unnoticed

5. Verbal communication

6. Language 2 aspects of language: Prosodic (acoustic aspect)
Emphasis (pitch, loudness)
Intonation
Pragmatic (the use of words)
Both aspect are sources of communication problems between cultures.

7. Prosodic aspects
Gumperz (1982): Indian and Pakistani women working in cafeteria in Britain.
Seen as unpleasant and uncooperative.
Some words they said could be interpreted negatively.
Example: Question „Gravy?“ when serving food in buffet.
With rising intonation: Question „Do you want gravy?“
With falling intonation: Statement of fact (redundant/rude)

8. Pragmatic aspects Indirect vs. direct style of communication
Direct: YES = YES, NO = NO
Indirect: YES = YES/MAYBE/NO, MAYBE = NO
Example: Manager gets a poorly written report
Direct: You have made a number of errors and incorrect assumptions in this report. Go back, check your data and proofread your work.
Indirect: It seems there are some mistakes in this report and readers may question some of your assumptions. Could you check it over another time before finalizing it?

9. Theories of Intercultural communication
Direct and indirect communication
Relationship attunement
Attention to relationship issues and emotions of others
Based on peoples comprehension of subtle and indirect cues in communication
Speakers POV
Intention to transmit more than sentence meaning
Listeners POV
Sensitivity to discrepancies between sentence and speaker meaning
Speaker meaning = what speaker wants to accomplish with a remark

10. Pragmatic aspects

11. Non-verbal communication

12. Non-verbal communication
Facial expressions (see L5)
Posture
Gestures
Proxemics
Kinesics
Haptics

13. Gestures
Ekman (2004): Emotional and conversational non-verbal signals.
5 categories of gestures:
Regulators
Manipulators
Illustrators
Emblems
Emotional expressions (in L5)

14. Gestures Emblems: Body language
Set of precise meanings for all members of culture
Socially learned → culturally specific (different meaning in 2 cultures)
Some are multicultural („Come to me“)
Have words equivalent, accompany words
Mostly hand movements, shrugging, head movements…

15. Gestures - Emblems

16. Emblems - examples
Military hand signals: Counting

17. Emblems - examples Military hand signals: tactical signals
Our interpretation?

18. Emblems - examples Counting: Number one: Canada vs. Europe
Other examples:

19. Gestures Illustrators: Tied to the speach Augment words
Help to recieve the message
Increase with involvement
Examples:
Pointing
Spatial movements (sp. relationships)
„That much higher“
Kinetographs (body action)
Walking like a zombie.
Pictographs (drawing a picture)
„Love U“
Rhytmic movements (pace of action)

20. Gestures Manipulators (adaptors)
One part of the body (or face) manipulates other part of the body.
No instrumental goal
Reflect nervousness, habitual activity
Some evolved from taboo activities (scratching nose instead of picking)
Examples: stroking, pressing, scratching, biting, licking, sucking…
Exercise: Do not use manipulators for 5 minutes!!!!

21. Gestures Regulators: Video:
Regulate back-and-forth nature of speaking and listening.
Listener responses:
Nodding, agreement smiles, raising brows (surprise), call for information (brows lowered)….
Floor holders:
Made by speaker to prevent interruptions
Turn takers:
Made by listener to gain the floor
Moving the lips for speaking word
Video:

22. Personal space and body position

23. Personal space and body position
Arabs, Southern Europeans, Latin americans – stand close together.
USA, Northern Europe – need for greater physical distance.
Haptics – similar rules apply

24. Adaptation to a foreign culture

25. Acculturation Berrys acculturation model:
4 acculturation strategies depending on how individuals deal with 2 fundamental issues.
Strategies can change depending on situational factors.
Examples:
Gypsies? (Marginalization – lost their culture + dont participate)
Ukrainians? (Separation – keep their culture + dont participate)
Vietnamese? (Integration/Assimilation?)

26. Expatriates (Sojourners)
= reside in a different country or culture for a limited amount of time (duration of contract/course of study)
Have institutional support (university/company)
Dont have to change their identity and behaviors → need to acquire sociocultural skills

27. Expatriates

28. Expatriates Adjustment process:

29. Stages of adjustment process
Honeymoon (4-6 weeks)
Excitation abour being in new country
Fascination with sights and sounds
Rise in status and standards of living (business expats in Asia)
Culture shock (6-8 months)
Realisation of the cultural barriers
Ineffectivity in social interaction
Emotional distress
Traumatization of families
Frustration, anger, confusion, distrust

30. Stages of adjustment process
Gradual adjustment (1-2 years)
Trial and error
Contacts with locals, other expats
→ Adaptation to local culture
→ Apprecciation of local cuisine, language, business practices…
Basic competence (2-4 years)
Functional proficiency
Mastery (5-7 years)
Deep knowledge of the culture

31. Readjustment Similar process happens after coming back:
Thrill of being back (family, friends, known places, etc.) → disappointment (lost positive aspects of life abroad) → readjustment

32. Cultural adaptation models
More models, same principle

33. Expatriates: Intercultural personality
What personal characteristics influence (accelerate) adaptation process?
What types of people are suitable for becoming expats?
How to predict individual performance in other culture?
→ identification of „overseas type“

34. Expatriates: Intercultural personality
Personality traits:
Extraversion
Emotional stability
Ability to cooperate
Self-discipline
Cultural-fit hypothesis:
„Fit“ between personal characteristics and norms of the host culture helps adaptation
Example: US expats in Singapore are more extraverted → feel frustrated and rejected

35. Expatriates: Intercultural personality
Cultural intelligence:
Capability to adapt effectively to new cultural contexts.
WORK: CQS (Cultural intelligence scale)

36. CQS – reflection
1. Do your scores follow the same general pattern? Are they generally low, generally moderate, or generally high?
2. Do you have any low scores?
3. Do you have any high scores?

37. Intercultural training
Some IT programs take weeks/months
Types of training programs:
Language courses
T-groups
Simulation games
Bicultural contacts
Intercultural workshops
Culture assimilators

38. T-Groups = sensitivity training groups 8-15 participants
No strict agenda
Participants share their emotional reactions (under guidance of facilitator)
Try to understand their emotions, emotions they trigger in other people
Anger, fear, envy…

39. Simulation games Imaginery cultures
Groups familiarize with the culture
Interaction between cultures
Debriefing
Examples: BAFA- BAFA, NaZa

40. Culture assimilators
Short epizodes decribing interactions between people of 2 cultures → something goes wrong → 4/5 possible reasons for communication failure (1 right/rest are distractors) → feedback with culturally relevant information

41. Culture assimilators: Example I
One day a Thai administrator of middle academic rank kept two of his assistants waiting about an hour from an appointment. The assistants, although very angry, did not show it while they waited. When the administrator walked in at last, he acted as if he were not late. He made no apology or explanation. After he was settled in his office, he called his assistants in and they all began working on the business for which the administrator had set the meeting.

42. If you happened to observe the incident exactly as it is reported in this passage, which one of the following would you say describes the chief significance of the behavior of the people involved?
The Thai assistants were extremely skillful at concealing their true feelings
The Thai administrator obviously was unaware of the fact that he was an hour late for the appointment
In Thailand, subordinates are required to be polite to their superiors, no matter what happens, nor what their rank may be.
Clearly, since no one commented on it, the behavior indicated nothing of any unusual significance to any of the Thais

43. You selected 1: The Thai assistants were extremely skillful at concealing their true feelings
This is not entirely correct.
It is quite characteristic of Thais to try to appear reserved under any circumstances. If the assistants were extremely skillful at concealing their true feelings, would you know that you were not seeing their true feelings? Also, does the reference to the chief significance of the behavior of “the people involved” limit it to the assistants?
Please return to questions and try again.

44. You selected 2: The Thai administrator obviously was unaware of the fact that he was an hour late for the appointment
A very poor choice. While the administrator acted as if he were unaware of his tardiness after observing the hour’s wait, don’t you suspect that perhaps he was acting? Please return to questions and try again.

45. You selected 3: In Thailand, subordinates are required to be polite to their superiors, no matter what happens, nor what their rank may be.
Very good.
You are utilizing the information in the episodes to its fullest extent. Continue. This is the correct response.

46. You selected 4: Clearly, since no one commented on it, the behavior indicated nothing of any unusual significance to any of the Thais
This is completely wrong.
While the behavior reported in the passage does not seem so significant for the Thais in this relationship as it might be to Americans, why was nothing said about the tardiness? And why were the assistants “very angry” although they “did not show it?” Isn’t there a more significant level of meaning for this behavior?
Please return to questions and try again.

47. Further reading and sources
Obligatory:
Berry: 15-Communication and training ( )