Pur posi ve

Communication

GEC 005
 Coping with the Challenges of
Intercultural Communication
State one cultural differences that you
know regarding non-verbal communication.
Why do you think it is important to know
the meaning of these nonverbal codes?
Coping with the Challenges of
Intercultural Communication

The lack of shared knowledge

and beliefs and cultural diversity
make it more complicated to
arrive at the correct inference of
interpretation of meanings.

In fact, with the ASEAN

integration, English has been
declared the official or working
language of ASEAN.
Coping with the Challenges of Intercultural Communication

So, with just one

language to be
spoken or used by
many countries
including the 10
member countries of
the ASEAN, what
else can go wrong?
Coping with the Challenges of Intercultural
Communication

Recent studies have shown

that the problem of
misunderstanding is not overt
and can be traced to speech
perturbations, poorly managed
turn-taking, and not aligned,
“parallel talk” (House,1999).
Coping with the Challenges of Intercultural Communication

Meierkord (2000, as
cited by Kaur, 2016)
emphasizes that
communication in
English is a lingua
franca (ELF) is “a form
of intercultural
communication
characterized by
cooperation rather than
misunderstanding.”
Coping with the
Challenges of Intercultural
Communication
Note that
misunderstanding in
intercultural
communication may not
always be caused by
verbal utterances but may
also occur due to wrong
interpretation of the
nonverbal code.
 Coping with the Challenges
of Intercultural Communication

Handshake is
commonly done by
people introduced to
each other by a third
party, should be done
and interpreted
correctly as the type of
handshake varies from
culture to culture.
Coping with the
Challenges of
Intercultural
Communication
Like handshakes, greeting also
vary from culture to culture.
How difference is the bow of
Japanese men to women.
Coping with the Challenges of
Intercultural Communication

The German bow which

is also known as diener
that means a bow to and
in recognition of an
authority. If a person
bows, he/she is sending
the message “at your
service”.
Coping with the Challenges of
Intercultural Communication

Sources of Misunderstanding
Kaur (2016) cites the following as the
sources of understanding:
➢Ambuigity
➢Performance-related
misunderstanding
➢Language-related misunderstanding
➢Gaps in world knowledge
➢Local context
Approaches to
Studying Intercultural
Communication

There is a need to be aware or

conscious of other cultures,
especially in avoiding
offensiveness as much as
possible.
One should be aware of
cultural identities and
backgrounds as it will broaden
its horizon.
Approaches to
Studying Intercultural
Communication
It is only through awareness
that you get to compare
other cultures with your own
and appreciate cultural
diversities and learn to live
with them. People have
different languages,
lifestyles and ways of
thinking, speaking and
behaving. This the essence
of Cultural Diversity
Coping with the
Challenges of
Intercultural
Communication
The Three approaches
explained by Martin
and Nakayama (2010)
can be studied
 Synthesis
❖ It is always challenging to deal with people from different cultures.
The challenge lies in the way of understanding not only the verbal
code but also the nonverbal code.
❖ Misunderstandings between people of different cultures can be
caused by the following: ambiguity, performance-related
misunderstanding, language-related misunderstanding, gaps in
world knowledge, and local context.
❖ Intercultural communication can be studied through the functionalist
approach, interpretative approach, and critical approach.
Pur posi ve
Communication

GEC
GEC 005
005