Intercultural Competence 2022

Intercultural Competence
NAME
COURSE
DATE
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Intercultural Competence
Part 1: Intercultural Competence.
Survey and reflection summarizing your ideas.
Table 1
Intercultural
competence
Characteristic
Questions
Questions Scores
from the survey
3-4 indicates basic
level
5-7 indicates
intermediate level
8-9 indicates full
level
Communicative
Awareness
Questions 3, 12
and 18
2+3+3=8 Full
Knowledge
discovery
Questions 2, 8, 14 3+2+3=8 Full
Respect for
otherness
Questions 4,9, 16 3+3+3=9 Full
Empathy Questions 10-12 3+3+3=9 Full
Tolerance of
ambiguity
Questions 5,11, 15 2+3+3=8 Full
Behavioral
flexibility
Questions
1,7, 17
2+2+3=7
Intermediate
2

Intercultural Competence
In order to answer the questions correctly, it is important to start by defining intercultural
competence and its characteristics. It is described as the ability to interact in an effectively in a
way that is acceptable to other people, especially while working in a group consisting of
members with diverse cultural orientations .Cultural in this case is used to represent all kind of
features, which include but not limited to beliefs and morals that an individual grows up with,
their nationality, their local customs, the region in which they come from, and particular
approaches and practices that dictates how they work. Intercultural competence researchers have
investigated this theory in various disciplines for example in management, education,
communication etc. (Wang, chen, liu, barkley, & wu 2020). For any person to be culturally
competent, they must show tolerance of ambiguity; to demonstrate ability to receive lack of
clarity and handle it in a constructive manner. You should also have the ability to adjust ones
behavior to be able to fit in various situations and circumstances what is known as behavioral
flexibility. Thirdly, you should also have the capability to recognize various language
convections and manipulations, foreign languages and their special effects and the ability to
discuss rules suitable for intercultural communication. This competence is defined as
communicative awareness ( Guo 2019). The other characteristic is knowledge discovery which is
basically the ability to gain new knowledge on cultural and cultural practices and be in a position
to use it in a communiqué considering constrains of time. Having respect for others also is
another characteristic of intercultural competence. In this case an individual should have the
capability to hold in high regard other peoples values, practices and customs. The last
characteristic that is considered in this regard is empathy, which is the ability to spontaneously
comprehend what other people reason and how they feel in real situations and circumstances
(Genova 2019).
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