Intercultural Communication

In her post, Norbella brings up the important idea that students need to be introduced to other cultures as part of education in the age of globalization. An understanding of intercultural communication is, perhaps, more important, when people from around the world share a common second language than when they don't.

Much communication is not language based, messages are tranmitted through non verbal clues which are defined by culture. For example, when two strangers are standing next to each other without speaking or even without looking at each other, there is communication between them, but if they are from two different cultures, what is transmitted and what is understood may be very different. The distance between them, and how or if they acknowledge the other person are sources of possible misunderstanding. One stranger may stand too close for the comfort of the other, or one may insult the other by not acknowledging the second person with a customary nod of the head.

It is impossible to know all the language based and non language based communication systems in the world, but it is possible to be aware that much communication is culture based. The awareness could avoid problems in intercultural communication and make students better communicators in our shrinking world.