Transcript Culture is like an iceberg. Much of it is hidden from sight - E-Lyco

Intercultural Communication
• Lycée international Nelson Mandela, Nantes
• May 24, 2016
Intercultural Communication
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Communication & Language
Culture
You already have experience and skills
Objective: help improve your skills through
explanation and examples
Communication
• Sending & receiving information, feelings, etc.
Communication
Verbal communication (20%):
What people say
Non-verbal communication (80%):
How people behave
Problems in Communication &
Language
• Difference between what people say & what
people mean
• Same word can mean different things in
different cultures
• Examples: bread, bus, going out to eat or
drink, watching sport
Culture
• Country composed of individuals
• Multiple cultures inside country (region,
immigrants): majority/minority groups
• Culture of Origin/Adopted Culture
• Common characteristics & majority traits
• Relative to other cultures (comparative)
Different Cultures
Country/Region
Students
Business People
Doctors
Sports
Age
Personal Interests
Levels of Culture
Culture is like an iceberg. Much of it is
hidden from sight even to its
members
Levels of Culture
Visible
Everyday Life
Behavior & Attitudes
Invisible
Values & Beliefs
Everyday Life (Visible Culture)
Dress (utility and design: jeans)
Food (what, when& how people eat: eating by
necessity/for pleasure )
Standing in line (waiting for the bus/metro)
Cinema (action & personal)
Behavior & Attitudes (Visible
Culture)
Time (one step at a time/several things at the
same time)
Formality (much/little)
Values & Beliefs (Invisible Culture)
People’s beliefs (religion/ethics)
Example: Anglo-Saxon work ethic
People’s priorities
Example: family
Why Is Mastering Intercultural Communication
Important
Personal enrichment
Meeting, understanding & communicating with
people from other countries (home, school,
elsewhere)
Travel (exchange programs): understanding
differences in everyday life home & abroad
Why Is It Important When You Work
Global world
Selling to people from other countries
Negotiation: international relations
Working with people from other
countries/cultures
Levels of Adaptation
Perception : British are reserved, Italians speak
with their hands, Chinese find French
« romantic », US think Chinese out to take over
the world
Levels of Adaptation
1. Our Way Is Only Way (Ethnocentrism):
Food, Anglo-Saxons & other languages
No other way is good
No acceptance of comment/criticism
2. Maybe, there may be a reason for
comment/criticism
Levels of Adaptation
3. Our way may not be the not only way
There are differences but also similarities
between our two cultures
4. We have good & bad things/they have good
& bad things
5. Working together with Cultural Intelligence
Cultural Intelligence
Going beyond perceptions/stereotypes,
ethnocentrism to recognise, be open to, respect &
take into account (not necessarily accept)
behavioral differences between one culture and
another, then adapt to them. We think our way but
they think differently. There is not only one way of
doing things but several ways of doing things. One
culture is not better than another, only different.
Cultural Intelligence
Natural or Learnt (listen, look, be
informed,experience).
Examples of Differences in Behavior
• Centralisation/Decentralisation:
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Religion(Catholic/Protestant)
Education (teaching & learning to learn)
Formalism (vous/tu, names, greetings)
Centralised/federal systems of government
Examples of Differences in Behaviour
• Results/People:
• Live to work: performance, competition
(tests), material success (objects), money
(questions concerning salary)
• Work to live: job content vs. money,
compromise between job & private life
(Scandinavian countries, 35 hour week)
Examples of Differences in Behaviour
• Group/Individual:
• Chinese names, notion of family (diaspora,
company)
• Marriage: contract & family
• Work: individuals & companies, mobility, notion
of employment
• Liberté, égalité, fraternité (transfer of wealth,
social security)
Examples of Differences in Behaviour
• Time:
• Doing one thing/several things at a time
• Short/long-term
• Decision-making (trial & error/look at
everything – Descartes)
Examples of Differences in Behaviour
• Implicit/Explicit:
• What is said/not said
Examples of Differences in Behaviour
• Showing & not showing emotion
• Avoiding conflict
How Can You Adapt
• Know your culture & that of others
• Compare your behavior and the behavior of
others
• Checklists: information, communication &
behavior
Information
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People
Government & Institions
Historical Events
Geography (regions, cities, etc)
Education System
Time Difference/Holidays
Written & Verbal Communication
Written & verbal communication:
Who (who do you expect to solve your
question/problem)
When (appointments, informally)
Channels (face-to-face, email, telephone)
Verbal Communication
• Which words do you use and on what
occasions (careful with your use of English on
different occasions)
• Search for perfection & ability to
communicate( words not always phrases)
Non-Verbal Communication
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Eye Contact
Facial Expressions
Gestures /Touching
Space
Silence
Social Behavior
Social Invitations (who do you invite & when)
Meals (content, length, conversation)
Gift-giving (what do you offer, how do you
accept)
Discussions (what do you talk about)
Sources
Experience: formal & informal sources
Personal contacts, reading (media/literature of
country concerned ), cinema, travel, popular culture,
history
Go to national source(news media, internet) but
not necessarily in language of country concerned
Verification of information
Conclusion
Acquire Knowledge & Experience
Listen & Look
Adapt