Saturday, November 17, 2012

Intercultural Communication



Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?

Yes. I have a challenging time speaking with people from more expressive and assertive cultures. I was raised to be less aggressive when speaking. I also shy from confrontation. Therefore, when I speak with someone whose normal communication style is upfront and assertive, I feel uncomfortable.

I also have trouble communicating with people who are English Language Learners (ELL) and first language is something other than English. Since Spanish is my first language, I still find speaking English in particular my accent, to make me feel self-conscious. When I have a conversation with someone with a heavy accent, I feel less effective at listening and communicating.


If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

I tend to be a non-aggressive communicator and when I encounter assertiveness I feel threatened and intimidated. Many times I stop listening. I hear them, but my inner monologue I am criticizing the style of communication "Oh wow, this person really is too forward and is making me uncomfortable."  Obviously this is my internalized upbringing how we should listen and respect others talking. Raising one's voice is a sign of arguing. Even though I do raise my voice and I can give my opinion, I tend to be reserve with strangers and new acquaintances.
When I am communicating with people who are English Language learners I feel inadequate. I try to listen carefully and speak slowly. I also find that I am not able to read their non-verbal cues as much because I am paying attention to the words. I have had awkward conversation with adult students in my classes or workshops, I try to explain a concept in English using a technical term and I see their expressions of lack of understanding. I feel less capable of supporting their education.

Some strategies to improve my intercultural communication:
1.       Develop motivation- If I build on my desire to understand others, I can be motivated to listening and be more other-oriented.
2.       Develop appropriate knowledge- learn different communication codes to decrease the barriers of communicating effectively with people from a different culture. This might mean becoming a better listener, observer and researching others attitudes.
3.       Develop Skills- Learning to relate to others and practicing communication will help me improve my skills to communicate, not only with people from different cultures, but with everyone I interact with.
(Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011)



References
Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

3 comments:

  1. Angela,
    You mention a very important point when you say that focusing on the words of a person who is a non-English speaker takes away from our focus on other non-verbal cues. Although English is not my first language, I do not have an accent when I speak, yet because of my dress code as a Muslim, people anticipate that my English will be hard to understand so they focus on my appearance and forget to listen. You also refer to some interesting strategies. I especially can relate to the second strategy where you develop appropriate knowledge. Being observant is just as important as essential to communication as being a good listener

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  2. Rola, I agree with you when you say that you stop listening when people seems to be very assertive. I tone their voices out when I encounter people who seems to be very assertive.

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