Intercultural competence, its interpretation, assessment and application

1. Intercultural competence, its interpretation, assessment and application Lan Anh NGUYEN LUU lananh@ppk.elte.hu Center for InterculturalPsychology and Education Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest ELTE

2. What is intercultural competence • Gardner social psychologist (1962, quoted by Rathje, 2007) „…to what degree is it actually possible, for an expert from one culture to communicate with, to get through to, persons of another culture?” • Gardner’s answer: unusual capacity with personality traits such as integrity, stability, extroversion, socialisation in universal values, special intuitive and telepathic abilities.

3. What is intercultural competence according to top intercultural scholars Delphi method by Deardorff (2006) with among others • Janet Bennett, Intercultural Communication Institute, Oregon • Michael Byram, University of Durham, England • Mitchell Hammer,American University • Jolene Koester, California State University, Northridge • R. Michael Paige, University of Minnesota • Paul Pedersen, Syracuse University • Harry Triandis, University of Illinois • Richard Wiseman, California State University, Fullerton……

5. Specific components of intercultural competence

6. Different models on intercultural competence • Different focuses • individual level (intercultural competence as something in the person) • interaction • A broader context of sociocultural adaptation

7. Different models on intercultural competence: individual focus • Cultural Intelligence (Early, Ang, 2003): ..”a person’s capacity to adapt effectively to a new cultural context” with 3 components - cognitive (knowledge-based) - motivational (self-efficacy) - behavioral (repertoire of appropriate responses)

8. Different models on intercultural competence: individual focus Matsumoto: Intercultural Adjustment Potential Scale (ICAPS) • emotion regulation, • openness, • flexibility, • creativity/critical thinking/autonomy (Via analysis on intercultural encounters, which due to „differences in language, nonverbal behaviors, values, norms, attitudes, rules, systems, and all the other manifestations of culture” are full of conflict, frustration, and struggle.

9. Different models on intercultural competence Is it within the individual? • Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) (van Oudenhoven, van der Zee) • cultural empathy („Is attentive to facial expressions” ) • openmindedness („Finds other religions interesting”) • social initiative („Takes initiatives”) • emotional stability („Is not easily hurt”) • Flexibility („Easily from one activity to another”)

10. Different models on intercultural competence: individual focus Further scales, e.g. • Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) Kelley & Meyers, 1995), • Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (Bhawuk & Brislin, 1993)

11. Different models on intercultural competence Individual and developmental focus Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity - Bennett Conceptualization of intercultural sensitivity (ability to discriminate, construe, and experience relevant cultural differences) and competence (the ability to think and act in interculturally appropriate ways)

12. Different models on intercultural competence: interaction focus

13. Different models on intercultural competence: interaction, negotiation focusTing-Toomey model • conflict face-negotiation theory: people in all cultures try to maintain and negotiate face in all communication situations. • Individualism-collectivism of culture: preferences for self-oriented or other-oriented face work • Small-large power distance: preferences for horizontal or vertical face work. • Facework competence: 4 criteria of facework competence: appropriateness, effectiveness, adaptability, and interaction satisfaction

14. Different models on intercultural competence: interaction, negotiation focusAnxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory (Gudykunst) • Encounting another person: anxiety (affective) and uncertainty (cognitive) experience. • The competence lies in managing these two variables. The means: mindfulness (Langer)

15. Different models on intercultural competence: interaction, negotiation focusintercultural approach of Cohen-Emerique Intercultural communication is based on a paradox: the other is at the same time different and similar to the self Based on identity negotiation (Ting-Toomey, Gudykunst): • to maintain and to respect one’s own and the culturally different other’s identity • To strenghten positive identity both in self and other. • Steps to be taken: 1) decentration: to realize our own reference, frame (I am interpreting the situation through what values and norms), 2) stepping into the reference, frame of the other and looking out from there: how he/she can interprete the situation, 3) negotiation, mediation.

16. Different models on intercultural competence: interaction, negotiation focusDialogical self (Hermans, 2002) • Self’s and other’s understanding in interaction: inevitable misunderstanding due to difficulty in integrating different sources of information • first-person information (which I have about myself), • third-person information (which my interaction partner has about me). • Solution: (competence?) ongoing dialogue, continuing exchange of information with a minimum of relative dominance between the communicating parties. Dialogical relations in which the other person, „object” is not only known „…as objectified realities or internalized objects, but can be known only as they are allowed to speak from their own perspectives”

17. Different models on intercultural competence: Intercultural communication and competence in a broader context Culture learning approach (Masgoret, Ward) Socio-cultural adaptation Effective intercultural interaction Foreign language proficiency and communication competence

18. How to measure? • Popular measures: see above • According to top intercultural scholars (Deardoff, 2006): quantitative methods do not seem the best. Top methods are:

19. Issues raised by intercultural scholars concerning assessment of intercultural competence (Deardoff)

20. For an integrative model: see Vera Várhegyi’s paper

21. Thank you for attention! • Köszönöm!