Inter-Cultural Interaction

Culture is like color, each cultural group or person has their own cultural background. It varies and it is hard to determine what is right and wrong. For example, gunshot in Western culture is acceptable, but it is regarded as violence in others, like Asian. While the sacrificial death of one’s wife to follow her husband is customary in Indian custom, but it is immoral to the Westerner. Therefore, this paper will summarize my research findings on the importance and problems in the intercultural interaction that exists in our world and in our time and states the ways to improve them. And the focus of the essays will be applied to the context at our Purdue University.

These five articles complement one another to form a good understanding about culture and the interaction among different cultures. The first article on the importance of building intercultural sensitivity to effectively communicate in an increasingly globalize world. This is possible with the development of internet. The fifth article provides the basic components to understand how culture is formed and the fourth article explains how intercultural communication is lacked in US schools. Then the first article provides the concept of intercultural communication and how it can be developed through intercultural awareness, sensitivity and later reach a competence level. The fourth article also provides practical steps to explore one’s culture. Lastly the third article gives us the information on international community at Purdue University, and gives us a picture of the potential to develop intercultural sensitivity in college.

 

Chen, G.M. (Jan 1997). A Review of the Concept of Intercultural Sensitivity. Paper
    presented at the biennial convention of Pacific & Asian Communication on Jan
    1997, Honolulu, Hawaii.

In this paper, Chen states the trends that lead our world to a global society in which intercultural communication competence is a required ability for citizens in the 21st century to survive and live meaningfully and productively. The trends are the development in communication and transport, the globalization of world economy, the widespread population migrations that leads to multicultural workforce and society.

To communicate effectively with people from different culture, an individual needs to build up an intercultural competence that can be built from the ability of intercultural awareness, sensitivity and then competence. In short, respect for other culture is the foundation of effective intercultural communication. Chen cites Gullahorn study that shows the problems encountered by people in intercultural interaction are cognitive re-orientation (i.e. cognitive), changes in feelings (i.e. affective) and overt behaviors (i.e. behavioral). Therefore with an emphasis on intercultural sensitivity intercultural training programs aim to increase intercultural awareness and develop intercultural competency.

In the essay, Chen describes the components of Intercultural Sensitivity: self-esteem, self-monitoring, open-mindedness, empathy, interaction involvement and non-judgment.

This essay is relevant to the topic as it provides a good understanding of the importance of intercultural communication, and teaches us the concept of building the intercultural communication competence.

Sheridan, E.F. and George F. Simons. (2000) "the web culture" Going Global Online:
    Monitoring Your Cultural Presence in Cyberspace. [online]. Available:
    <http://www.webofculture.com/home/analysis.html> (June 20, 2000)

An organization can hire the best technologist to create a specialized website to serve its audience. The site can be functionally superb, easily navigable, colorful, fun and full of surprises. However, it can be laden with insider humor, innuendos and assumptions not shared by its target population. Symbols and images are easily misunderstood, and in some cases, culturally insulting. Thus the intended message does not communicate to the audiences and the message sender might not get the desired response from the receiver. Therefore, to create a good website, the design team require people who have software skills and cultural competency.

This article provides information on how cultural issues play an important role in the success of communication in cyberspace. As we are living in the era in which the internet is an important part of our life, it is a good reason for us to develop ourselves to be culturally competence to live in this internet era.

 

Purdue University, Office of International Students and Scholars. (Fall 1999)      
     International Students and Scholars Statistical Reports. [Report] West Lafayette,      
     IN : Office of ISS

This report provides information of the variety and percentage of international students at Purdue University for last year student enrollment. It shows that the international student enrollment has increased by 15 % to a total of 4,133 students from 127 countries and it comprises 11% of the total number of enrolled students. Purdue University ranks the fifth among all US colleges and universities in regards to total international student enrollment, first among all US public institutions, and 1st in the Big Ten. India ranks first (710) in total enrollment, next followed by China (628), South Korea (418), Indonesia (276), Taiwan (243), Malaysia (165), Turkey (140), Pakistan (113), Japan (87) and Singapore (87). Approximately 70% of total international student population is from Asia. School of Engineering, Science, and Management continue to be the most popular school among international students.

This report provides the factual information for the basis of the paper.

 

The Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (January 20,1998) Cross-Cultural
     Communication. [online] Available: <http://www.maec.org/cross/2.html>
     (June 24, 2000)

The website provides the information on intercultural communication in schools, and how cross-cultural communication is neglected in schools. It also provides some guidelines to build bridges among people from different culture. For example some common problems encountered in intercultural communication, like feelings of apprehension, loneliness or lack of confidence in experiencing other culture. It explains that to understand one culture, someone could not just read a book about the culture. Knowledge of another is best acquired by experiencing it. The article also provides a few basic principles and discovery techniques. For examples, there is a list of questions to ask people from different cultures: on family roles, what roles are available to whom? On interpersonal relationships, how do people greet each other? How are insults expressed? On food, what is eaten, in what order and how often? What are the rules for table manners, including offering foods, handling foods, and discarding foods? Thus culture does not consist of only traditional clothes, dances and songs, but on how people live their lives.

Harry, T. (1974). Interpersonal Attitudes and Behavior in Race Relations. In Watson,
     Peter (Ed.) Psychology and race. (pp. 241-255) Chicago: Aldine Pub. Co.

This chapter explains the components that exist in the people that build a culture. It gives a technical explanation on how an attitude forms an expectation that leads to a certain behavior that later develops as a habit. From a habit, a norm of what is desirable and not desirable is formed in one culture.

Even though this is an old book publish in 1974, I think the basic concept of how a culture is formed still applies today. The information in the book is useful to help me understand the structure of a culture and the psychology of how culture is formed. Circumstances of the person in the culture build a certain thinking pattern that influences the attitude and then action. Understanding this would help us better to communicate with others from different cultures. From here we would be able to understand how the misunderstanding in intercultural communication may arise and we can try to avoid them.