Intercultural competence

As you heard in the previous Step, culture is a “fluid and creative social force”. So how is it possible to become interculturally competent?

A widely accepted definition of intercultural competence describes it as, “the appropriate and effective management of interaction between people who, to some degree or another, represent different or divergent affective, cognitive, and behavioral orientations to the world”¹. In other words, the ability to interact with people who are different from us.

Darla Deardorff’s Process Model of Intercultural Competence, one of the first research-based frameworks², shows that being interculturally competent is not a destination but an ongoing journey. It’s a journey that starts with the three elements necessary to be competent in anything: the right attitude, skills and knowledge. These lead to a change within ourselves (desired internal outcome) which then facilitates the end goal (desired external outcome) of being able to communicate and behave appropriately and effectively in an intercultural situation. The circular nature of the model shows that each interaction is a new cycle and that behaving in a culturally competent way must be a conscious choice in every interaction.

Adapted from: D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence. SAGE 2009.

Let’s have a look in detail at the individual competencies:

1. The right attitude is fundamental and it includes respect, openness, curiosity and discovery. This means that we should approach each interaction recognising and valuing difference, and acknowledging that different cultural practices and beliefs are valid and meaningful to those who hold them. We should be open to intercultural learning, approaching others with genuine interest, tolerance of ambiguity and without judgement.
2. Knowledge is also vital and it stems from self-awareness of your own cultural norms, values and biases and how these shape your perceptions and behaviours to create a culture-specific understanding of the other. For example, being aware of your history, values, communication styles and social norms. Sociolinguistic awareness, how communication is influenced by language and cultural context, is also important. For example, some cultures are more direct than others in their communication style, and expectations about making eye contact differ. Most important of all, according to the research², is a deep understanding and knowledge of other world views and the ability to see a situation through different lenses and from other perspectives.
3. Finally, the necessary skills include being able to actively listen and observe, when interacting with cultural others, which provides a good basis to interpret, analyse and evaluate a situation and relate to the person you’re interacting with.

Consciously developing your attitudes, knowledge and skills will make you more adaptable and able to adjust to new cultural environments as well as more flexible in selecting appropriate communication styles and behaviours. In turn, you’ll develop empathy which will help you approach interactions with an ethno-relative view, able to see a situation from a different cultural perspective.

The visible outcomes of all this internal work are effective and appropriate behaviours and communications in interaction with others. It’s fairly straightforward to assess for yourself whether an interaction has been effective (did you achieve what you wanted out of it?). However, appropriateness is more difficult to self-assess. You may have been very effective in achieving your aims, but you may not have acted appropriately when doing so. Darla Deardorff explains that appropriateness can only be assessed by the other person in the interaction.

If you like, you can listen to Darla Deardorff explain her model here.

In summary, becoming interculturally competent is a life-long journey based on the conscious development of a set of competencies that develop empathy and help us see the world from culturally different perspectives. Each interaction is a new opportunity to develop our knowledge, attitude and skills, which in turn enable interactions that are both effective and appropriate. While we can self-evaluate the effectiveness of interactions, appropriateness can only be judged by the person we interact with.

References

1. Spitzberg, B. H. & Chagnon, G. Conceptualizing intercultural competence. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence. p.7. SAGE 2009
2. D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence. SAGE 2009