L5 Intercultural Competence

Activity 1.5

I. What is "Intercultural Competence" (I.C.)?

The United States Army Research Institute has defined it as “a set of cognitive, behavioural, and affective/motivational components that enable individuals to adapt effectively in intercultural environments”. D.K. Deardoff  defines intercultural  competence as  “the ability  to  develop targeted knowledge,  skills  and attitudes that  lead to  visible behaviour and communication that are both effective and appropriate in intercultural interactions.” Therefore, Intercultural Competence is the ability for successful communication with people of other cultures. This ability can be existing already at a young age,or be developed and improved thanks to willpower and competence. The bases for a successful intercultural communication are emotional competence, together with intercultural sensitivity.

In other words, it is the ability to communicate appropriately and effectively with people of other cultures. On the other hand, the constituent elements of intercultural competence are:

II. Is I.C. important for communication?

Intercultural competence is not only important for communication, but it is crucial because of the global world in which we live.This is due to the fact that the world is nowadays interconnected. Therefore, cultural competency is vitally important to effectiveness in a variety of areas including healthcare, education, public services, law enforcement, libraries, customer service, and other business functions. In fact, being sensitive to cultural influences on others may even improve your relationships at home, and in the community. 

Due to our cultural beliefs we often make assumptions which can lead to misunderstandings and breakdown in communication.

Avoiding misunderstandings is particularly important in international negotiations, and this has brought about a fair amount of research.

III. How does I.C. relate to identity?

Speaking the same language does not imply sharing the same cultural habits, values and beliefs. In other words, we live in a cosmopolitan world in which people from different nationalities live in the same country; therefore we can find people from different cultures in the same places, even though they speak the same language.