Cultural Issues during Intercultural Communication

Abstract

Communicative competence in a second or foreign language is closely related to learners' development of intercultural understanding. The current research intends to offer a novel interpretation of ”intercultural understanding” as the dynamics generated during the interactions between two (or more) cultures. However, the interactional force can create both cultural infusion and cultural clash. In the course of rapid globalization, the consequences of cultural differences have gone beyond national borderlines and have far expanded to the domains of cultural identity, race, economy, military, and health. A sound understanding, tolerance, and acceptance of the vast variety of cultures can certainly make positive impact on international collaborations among peoples. In the present study, researchers contextualize three renowned socio-cultural models-respectively created by a Dutch psychologist G. Hofstede (national cultural differences), a Dutch sociologist F. Trompenaars (cultural dimensions) and an American scolar E.T. Hall (high/low context culture); to illustrate the possible problems resulted from cultural exchange.