GCWORLD

• Intercultural communicative competence (ICC)


  The ability to interact with people from another country and culture in a foreign language
• Skills and qualities required for ICC

  • Empathy
  • Respect
  • Tolerance
  • Sensitivity
  • Flexibility
• Identity


  The way in which we see ourselves and the way in which others perceive us
• Individual level of identity

  A fixed system of beliefs about ourselves, based on recollection of knowledge learned through previous experiences in a particular cultural environment
• Schema


  The organised structure of information that guides our behavior and style of communication
• Me


  Our reactions in accordance with social expectations and adopted rules of behavior
• I


  The desire to declare one's ego, which may contradict the established "Me"
• Myself


  The important construct of our self-concept, representing individual, interpersonal and group self
• The complex nature of people's identities in intercultural communication can cause serious confusion and misunderstanding due to cultural differences in the perception of self
• Cultural groups we identify with

  • Country of origin
  • Ethnic group
  • Race
  • Gender and sex
  • Religion and beliefs
  • Educational qualification and professional field
  • Family and social role
  • Physical and behavioral characteristics
  • Age
  • Languages spoken
• Culture

  A complex system of shared values and beliefs giving people a sense of belonging or identity
• Elements of culture

  • Communication - language and meaning
  • History and geography
  • Institutions
  • Arts, social customs and traditions
  • Ideas, beliefs, religion
  • Ceremonies and festivals
  • Food and cuisine
  • Architecture
  • Perception of time and space
  • Nonverbal communication and body language
  • Business etiquette
  • Leadership styles
  • Personal goals and incentives
• Visible layer of culture

  Behaviors, rituals, dress, food
• Invisible layer of culture

  Values, beliefs, attitudes, feelings
• Culture as "software of the mind"

  The invisible aspects that drive the visible behaviors
• Culture is not defined by religion, but by economic development and education levels
• Cultural relativism


  Seeing culture and human behavior as conditioned and acquired solely through unconscious learning, with all cultures being equally developed according to their own priorities and values
• Culture as a collective phenomenon

  Including language and symbolic codes, and consisting of learned behaviors transmitted from generation to generation within a particular cultural group
• Culture as "the unwritten rules of the social game"


  The collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group from others
• Culture as "the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts"

  That members of a society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning
• Iceberg Model of Culture


  Illustrates the visible (objective) and invisible (subjective) aspects of culture which affect human life in both conscious and subconscious ways
• Measurable elements of culture

  • Values
  • Norms
  • Beliefs
  • Attitudes and judgments
  • Self-perceptions
  • Cognitive ability
  • Behaviors
  • Stereotypes
• Characteristics of culture

  • Shared
  • Stable
  • Symbolic
  • A system of patterns
• Culture is studied about groups of people, not individuals
• Not all group members necessarily hold the same cultural traits
• Some cultural traits can be durable and stable throughout centuries, while others can change faster
• Cultural traits assume various forms and express meaning through symbols
• Cultural elements as symbols have specific meanings in relation to other symbols within the context
• Cultural traits and patterns are transmitted across generations through continuous learning (enculturation) in order to adapt to the environment
• Fourth great quest during adolescence


  Quest for intimacy (closeness, warmth and sharing in relationships)
• As adolescents start to become mature, interest in sexual behaviors and partnerships increases
• Adolescent's emerging sexuality


  • Interacts with identity formation, increased independence from parents and increasingly intimate interactions with peers
  • Contributes to Erikson's crisis of intimacy versus isolation
• Erikson's concept of intimacy

  • Demands the appropriate use of sexuality as part of the eventual resolution of this phase of development
  • The conflict between intimacy and isolation cannot be resolved without a sense of identity
• Psychosexual identity


  • Involves recognition and acceptance of one's own SOGIE (Sexual orientation, gender identity and expression)
  • A developmental process involving learning about anatomical structures and physiological functions, and identification with a parental figure of the same sex
  • Results in a sense of confidence and self-worth in being a man or woman
• Developing a psychosexual identity is a lengthy process which involves many procedures such as learning to manage and regulate sexual feelings and behavior, and developing new forms of intimacy