1

Module: Introduction to LSP. Level: 3L. First Semester 2018-2019. Handout 3: Intercultural Communication

Globalization and the new communication technologies have created a type of professional or business agent that
is becoming gradually more active internationally and is acquiring a ‘globalized’ way of behaving in oral exchanges
with international partners. International and global business activities require not only specialized linguistic skills in
more than one language. Increasingly, businesses rely on skilled communicators with cultural intelligence, that is, a
cultural awareness and a detailed understanding of the differences between cultures.

Need for Intercultural Communication Success

Effective intercultural communication helps to eliminate communication obstacles like language barriers and
stereotypes from international business, thus, allows workers from different cultures to work together as a group. In
contrast. Not practising effective intercultural communication can lead to accidentally offending another individual. A
lack of cultural knowledge is most commonly the reasons for misunderstanding in business relations. The
consequences for such an accident can range from an embarrassing moment to the collapse of an entire business
deal and unsuccessful business projects in a foreign context. Whereas some ambiguities can be cleared up
instantaneously in oral language, the process of solving mismatches in written communication is complex and takes
longer.

Definition of Intercultural Competence

According to Fantini (2009:456), intercultural competence (ICC) may be defined as the complex abilities required
to perform effectively and appropriately when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different.
Likewise, from the language teaching approach, Byram (1997:7) defines ICC as “an individual’s ability to communicate
and interact across cultural boundaries.” Thus, terms such as intercultural competence, intercultural effectiveness,
cultural intelligence, international competence and intercultural adaptation seem to be fully exchangeable to refer to
the same idea (Fantini, 2009)

LSP Intercultural Instruction

One of the goals of teaching intercultural competence is to develop sensitivity to the impact of culturally-caused
behaviour on language use and communication. By cultural competence we understand the awareness of the
culturally-induced behaviour of others, and the ability to explain one's own cultural standpoint. Cultural instructions
should help students to develop an understanding of the fact that all people exhibit culturally-conditioned behaviour.
It should help students to increase their awareness of the cultural meanings of words and phrases in the target
language, to stimulate students' intellectual curiosity about other cultures, and to encourage empathy towards their
people. Forming such a foreign language consciousness is one of the main tasks of LSP teaching. Without paying
attention to the cultural context it won't be possible to overcome the language barrier and develop intercultural
competence necessary for real intercultural communication.
According to Prigozhina (2011) , an LSP course introducing intercultural dimensions may use a ‘recognize
approach’(when students get familiar with cultural diversity through short video presentations, questionnaires,
visuals), an ‘understand approach’ (process and compare the information on intercultural communication), and an
‘adjust approach’ (that involves our students in communication situations with cultural dilemma in which they find
solutions to cultural conflicts as part of the communicative practice in the classroom)’ to cultural studies.

Strategies for Signaling Intercultural Communicative Awareness

Noticing, identifying and recording differences or similarities
Comparing and contrasting own and other culture(s)
Discovering and increasing knowledge (cultural and linguistic)
Limiting the possibility of misinterpretation
Negotiating meaning and dealing with ambiguities on cultural and linguistic knowledge levels: e.g. signaling
problems of understanding, asking for clarification, checking comprehension, linguistic simplification, rephrasing,etc.
Trying to take on others’ points of view or perspectives
Examples for Cultural Differences
Non-verbal communication, when country-specific, can be a cultural as well as language barrier, and often it may
lead to misunderstanding, especially when people are not familiar with other cultures and contexts.
 2
Proxemics – the interpersonal space to regulate intimacy. For example Latin Americans have a more intimate
contact since the very first socialisation process (they kiss on both cheeks) while Northen Americans tend to shake
hands or even hug (Jackson, 2014: 118).
Kinesics – include body movements, gestures and facial expressions. The thumbs up sign in America and most of
Europe means that something is good, or that you approve. This sign is considered rude in many Asian and Islamic
countries. Raising your hand up means stop in America or England. In some Asian countries this gesture is used when
asking for permission to speak
the forefinger-to-thumb gesture can mean ‘okay’ in the US. In France, it means zero or worthless. In Japan, the
same gesture can mean ‘money,’ but it is a symbol many times more offensive than the raised middle finger in
Brazil!”. Body language also includes posture and affective displays: smiling is universal but it may mean different
emotions in some cultural contexts. For example in Japan and South Korea people smile or giggle when facing awkard
or overly personal situations (such as a mistake at work or the news that a close friend has died (Jandt, 2010: 106).
Chronemics – how people use, perceive and structure their time. It can be monochronic (doing one thing at a
time) as in Western countries and Japan in which the concept of “time is money” is a key factor; or polychronic
(multiple tasks at once) as in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Arabic countries. (Jackson, 2014: 123).

Paralanguage: The sounds and tones we use in conversation

silence in India it is used to “promote harmony, cooperation, and other collectivistic values.” (Jain & Matukumalli,
1993, as cited in Jandt, 2010: 112).

Haptics : meanings of touch behaviour

Clothing and physical appearance colour is culture-specific: red is good luck in China but bad luck in Korea; white
is purety for Westernised countries but means sorrow and funerals in China. On the other hand, black is the colour
used in Western countries when mourning. (Jandt, 2010: 114).
Direct sources
Byram, M. (1997), Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters
Fantini, A. E. (2009), Assessing Intercultural Competence: Issues and Tools. In Deardorff, D. K. (ed.), The SAGE
Handbook of Intercultural Competence. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage, 456- 476
Prigozhina (2011). Intercultural Dimensions in Teaching an LSP Course