Introduction
The challenges of intercultural communication are particularly relevant in the context of globalization and international convergence and integration. The world economy is becoming increasingly interdependent as national companies are more frequently entering foreign markets. This paper focuses on two articles addressing the peculiarities of cross-cultural interaction, including a discussion of possible causes of misunderstanding between representatives of different societies. It examines Agar’s (1994) specific approach to the notion of culture, the preconditions for intercultural breakdowns, and the appropriate solution to prevent them. It also analyzes Lee and Gilles’s (2012) cross-cultural study and considers its findings and the responses of students from American and Taiwanese cultures. These articles explore the issue from different angles and lead to useful insights.
Intercultural Breakdowns
There are traditional approaches to the examination and research of cultures, which view them as established closed systems with specific parameters. For instance, a multitude of authors considers cultures as being in a continuum between highly individualistic and highly collaborative and between the high and low significance of context. Agar (1994) argues that this approach, as well as assigning certain characteristics to cultures, such as friendly, hierarchical, or polite, does not correspond to life realities. The author notes that, as a rule, representatives of different cultures are placed in a particular situation of interaction, which can affect their communication even more than the cultural background. Moreover, their perceptions of the opposite side’s culture affect their interaction and communication much more than the real parameters of their cultural codes. According to Agar (1994), the primary challenge was “that everyone involved already had a model of the ‘different’ culture they were dealing with, and those models were at times the greatest problem” (p. 224). Thus, people’s ideas about the peculiarities of foreign cultures may become not a bridge between them, but the cause of intercultural breakdowns.
Solution
It should be noted that dividing cultures into different code systems and providing them with special characteristics does not facilitate contact between their representatives. In practice, this means that a person from one culture would have to adjust to another, contrary to his or her attitudes. However, this interpretation is a consequence of the conserved notion of culture as a term detached from practical experience. Agar (1994) states that culture is, in fact, created by communication actors in real engagement. Communicative discourse may include a variety of differences and contradictions concerning both specific lexical units and fundamental assumptions, which are not even always recognized. According to Agar (1994), “the representation where the intercultural practitioner shows the differences and why they occur, where he/or she makes the frames explicit, is culture” (p. 227). Thus, Agar names culture as a solution to the intercultural breakdowns. Culture, in this sense, is the creation of an intercultural practitioner, and it involves identifying differences and contradictions in order to mitigate possible misunderstandings.
Findings of the Cross-Cultural Project
Modern researchers often investigate intercultural communication in practice with real respondents. An article by Lee and Johnson (2012) describes the study of cross-cultural communication between American fifth-graders and Taiwanese ten-graders. In order for students to connect, a special blog was created. It is one of the most popular means of online communication, which contributed to the interest and enthusiasm of the respondents. During the first month, students got acquainted with each other, posted self-representations, and communicated in a free format. Students in both groups were then invited to read and discuss picture books related to multi-cultural issues.
During the second month, American and Taiwanese students discussed these books in a blog. The researchers analyzed the postings of these discussions, as well as interviews that were taken from students before and after the study. Based on these data, they were able to make several conclusions. Firstly, real interaction with students from a different culture allowed respondents both to understand it better and to acquire a more in-depth insight into assigned readings. Secondly, the study found that students were very confident in expressing their opinions because of the online communication tool and simple picture books. Finally, according to Lee and Johnson (2012), “this project encouraged the students to share their opinions with one another through the Internet, which contributed to the sophisticated thought processes displayed in the students’ writing” (p. 171). This means that students in both groups have demonstrated improved critical thinking skills.
American and Taiwanese Students’ Responses
Despite these results, common for both the American and Taiwanese groups, there were also some differences. For example, Taiwanese students asked Americans for their blood type because, within their cultural framework, this information characterizes an individual. Also, the discovery process was different for the two groups, as the language was native to the American students, and the book’s plot, based on Chinese realities, was familiar to Taiwanese ones. Besides, Lee and Johnson (2012) noticed that Taiwanese respondents were “appeared more self-assured when expressing their opinions” (p. 169). It was also noted that students respond with greater enthusiasm to topics relevant to their culture. For example, American students discussed the problem of relations between the black and white populations in a more active way.
Conclusion
It should be noted that the issue of intercultural communication concerns practitioners, including diplomats, marketers, and journalists, as well as theorists such as philosophers and linguists. At the same time, the articles mentioned above demonstrate that the study of cross-cultural interaction should not be based on abstract concepts, but on real experience. Moreover, they confirm that such communication in itself is an opportunity to overcome intercultural breakdowns.
References
Agar, M. (1994). The intercultural frame. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 18(2), 221-237.
Lee, H. C., & Gilles, C. (2012). Discussing culturally relevant books online: A cross-cultural blogging project. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 11(4), 161-177.