---
layout: default
title: Understanding Intercultural Competency
parent: Week 10
grandparent: Unit 4
nav_order: 2
---

# Understanding Intercultural Competency

In today's globalized world, the ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries has become essential for professional success—particularly for those working in translation, localization, and interpretation. As language professionals, your effectiveness depends not only on linguistic skill but also on deep intercultural understanding. Intercultural competency enables you to navigate the complex cultural contexts that shape communication, helping you make informed decisions about how messages should be adapted, what cultural nuances matter, and how to maintain both accuracy and cultural appropriateness in your work. For translators and interpreters, developing intercultural competency is not optional—it's fundamental to ethical and effective practice.

## Theory and Research

### Deardorff's Intercultural Competence Model

One of the most influential frameworks for understanding intercultural competence is Darla Deardorff's Process Model of Intercultural Competence (2006). This model conceptualizes intercultural competence as a continuous learning cycle involving several interconnected components.

| Component | Description |
| --------- | ----------- | 
| **Attitudes (Foundation)** | The model begins with essential attitudes including respect (valuing other cultures and cultural diversity), openness (withholding judgment and being receptive to intercultural learning), and curiosity/discovery (tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty). These attitudes form the foundation upon which other competencies are built. | 
| **Knowledge and Comprehension** | Building on these attitudes, individuals develop cultural self-awareness (understanding how one's own culture influences identity and worldview), deep cultural knowledge (including understanding other worldviews), and sociolinguistic awareness. The model emphasizes that understanding the world from others' perspectives is crucial. | 
| **Skills** | The model identifies key skills for acquiring and processing intercultural knowledge: observing, listening, evaluating, analyzing, interpreting, and relating. These skills enable individuals to engage meaningfully with cultural differences. | 
| **Internal Outcomes** | These components ideally lead to internal outcomes including an informed frame of reference, adaptability to different communication styles and behaviors, flexibility in selecting appropriate responses, and an ethnorelative view that recognizes all cultures in context. | 
| **External Outcomes** | The visible result is behavior and communication that is both effective (achieving goals) and appropriate (respecting cultural norms) in intercultural situations. | 

Deardorff's model emphasizes that intercultural competence is not a fixed endpoint but an ongoing developmental process that requires continuous reflection and growth.

### High-Context and Low-Context Cultures

Understanding how cultures differ in communication styles is essential for intercultural competence. Anthropologist Edward Hall introduced the concepts of high-context and low-context communication in his seminal work *The Silent Language* (1959), which remain highly relevant today.

| High-Context Cultures | Low-Context Cultures |
| --------------------- | -------------------- |
| **High-Context Cultures** rely heavily on implicit communication, shared understanding, and nonverbal cues. In these cultures (common in East Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and many Indigenous communities), meaning is conveyed through context, relationship history, social hierarchies, and indirect language. What is *not* said can be as important as what *is* said. Communication tends to be indirect, and maintaining harmony and saving face are paramount. | **Low-Context Cultures** emphasize explicit, direct, and verbal communication. In these cultures (common in North America, Northern Europe, and Australia), meaning is primarily conveyed through words themselves. Communication values clarity, directness, and precision. Written agreements and explicit statements are preferred over implicit understandings. |

For translators and interpreters, understanding these differences is critical. A literal translation from a high-context culture to a low-context culture may lose essential meaning that was conveyed implicitly, while direct translation from low-context to high-context settings might seem inappropriately blunt or aggressive.

### Current Research: A Systematic Review (2000-2024)

Recent systematic research by [Hussain, Nshom, and Lin (2025)](https://doi.org/10.1080/15358593.2025.2555009) provides comprehensive insights into how intercultural communication competence has evolved over the past two decades. Their review of 50 studies from 2000-2024 identified several key findings relevant to translation and localization professionals.

**Theoretical Frameworks:** The research identified dominant frameworks including Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory (which emphasizes managing emotional responses in cross-cultural interactions), Identity Negotiation Theory (focusing on how individuals balance cultural identity with adaptive behaviors), and Systems Theory of Intercultural Adaptation (examining how environmental, personal, and communicative factors influence adaptation).

**Practical Strategies for Development:** Three major approaches emerged from the research:

1. **Experiential and Immersive Learning:** Study-abroad programs, international collaborations, and direct engagement with diverse cultural groups significantly enhance intercultural competence. For language professionals, this might include working with international clients, participating in multicultural translation projects, or engaging in cross-cultural professional development.

2. **Structured Professional Training:** Formal intercultural training workshops, case studies, and simulation-based learning prove effective in business, healthcare, and diplomatic sectors. Role-playing exercises and scenario-based simulations help professionals prepare for intercultural communication challenges.

3. **Technology-Driven Development:** Digital storytelling, virtual reality simulations, telecollaboration tools, and online platforms provide new opportunities for intercultural engagement, particularly valuable in our increasingly remote professional environment.

**Barriers to Intercultural Competence:** The research identified five major obstacles: language barriers (the most severe at 85% severity), ethnocentrism and stereotypes (75%), lack of intercultural exposure (80%), institutional constraints (70%), and psychological factors including anxiety and fear of mistakes (65%). For translation and localization professionals, awareness of these barriers—both in themselves and in their clients—is essential.

**Sector-Specific Applications:** The review emphasized that intercultural competence operates differently across professional contexts. In business settings, ICC facilitates cross-cultural negotiations and team collaboration. In healthcare, it improves patient-provider communication across cultural barriers. For language professionals, this research underscores the need for specialized intercultural training that addresses the unique challenges of mediating between languages and cultures.

**Emerging Trends:** The research highlights the growing role of AI-driven simulations, digital tools, and hybrid assessment models in developing intercultural competence. As the translation and localization field increasingly incorporates AI tools, understanding how technology both supports and complicates intercultural communication becomes crucial.

The systematic review concludes that intercultural competence requires culturally adaptive frameworks and longitudinal development rather than one-time training. For professionals in translation, localization, and interpretation, this means committing to lifelong learning and continuous reflection on cross-cultural practice.

## Concepts and Terminology

To communicate on the subject of intercultural competency requires understanding the wide range of concepts and terminology that make up this subject field. For this activity, you'll contribute to a shared class glossary on intercultural competency.

To get started, identify a glossary of terminology related to the topic. Once you've found a quality glossary, pick an important term or two from it to add to our class glossary. Add the term, its definition, a citation with a link to resource consulted, and brief comments on why you decided it was important to include the term in our class glossary.

For example: 

| Term | Definition | Citation | Why the Term was Selected | 
| ---- | ---------- | -------- | ------------------------- |
| Intercultural | "What occurs when members of two or more different cultural groups (of whatever size, at whatever level) interact or influence one another in some fashion, whether in person or through various mediated forms." | [UNESCO, Intercultural Competences, 2013](https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000219768&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_9767a679-bbc0-4f31-a0b4-1ab630073ee0%3F_%3D219768eng.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000219768/PDF/219768eng.pdf#%5B%7B"num"%3A82%2C"gen"%3A0%7D%2C%7B"name"%3A"XYZ"%7D%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C0%5D) | We defined culture already on the "Introduction to Teamwork" page. The next logical step in understanding intercultural competency is to define "intercultural". |
| Competence | "Having sufficient skill, ability, knowledge, or training to permit appropriate behavior, whether words or actions, in a particular context." | [UNESCO, Intercultural Competences, 2013](https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000219768&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_9767a679-bbc0-4f31-a0b4-1ab630073ee0%3F_%3D219768eng.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000219768/PDF/219768eng.pdf#%5B%7B"num"%3A82%2C"gen"%3A0%7D%2C%7B"name"%3A"XYZ"%7D%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C0%5D) | To understand intercultural competency, we need to know what a competency is. |
| Intercultural competence | "Having adequate relevant knowledge about particular cultures, as well as general knowledge about the sorts of issues arising when members of different cultures interact, holding receptive attitudes that encourage establishing and maintaining contact with diverse others, as well as having the skills required to draw upon both knowledge and attitudes when interacting with others from different cultures." | [UNESCO, Intercultural Competences, 2013](https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000219768&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_9767a679-bbc0-4f31-a0b4-1ab630073ee0%3F_%3D219768eng.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000219768/PDF/219768eng.pdf#%5B%7B"num"%3A82%2C"gen"%3A0%7D%2C%7B"name"%3A"XYZ"%7D%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C0%5D) | Intuitively, intercultural competency is the ability to work with people from different cultures. This definition makes what that ability entails tangible. |

## Advancing Your Intercultural Competency

The e-book [Advancing Intercultural Competence for Global Learners](https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/interculturalcompetence) addresses key areas in which we can develop our intercultural competency skills: listening, observing, critical thinking, evaluating, building relationships, developing empathy and so on.

Pick one of these areas, review the contents associated with that skill, and then reflect upon what you can do to improve your intercultural competence in that area. Some prompts have been provided to help direct your thinking about that area.

| Skill | Reflect on... |
| ----- | ------------- |
| [Listening](https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/interculturalcompetence/chapter/listening) | - How do your active listening behaviors change when you're tired, stressed, or distracted? What strategies could you use to maintain quality listening even in challenging situations?<br>- Consider a recent conversation where cultural differences in listening styles (eye contact, interruptions, silence) may have affected communication. How could you adapt your listening approach in similar future situations?<br>- When listening to someone share an experience very different from your own, how do you manage your internal reactions while remaining present and open? |
| [Observing](https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/interculturalcompetence/chapter/observing) | - Think about a time when you made an assumption about someone's behavior based on limited observation. What information were you missing, and how did that affect your understanding?<br>- How might your own cultural background influence what you notice or overlook when observing intercultural interactions?<br>- What strategies can you develop to observe without judgment, particularly when you witness behaviors that seem unusual or uncomfortable to you? |
| [Critical Thinking](https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/interculturalcompetence/chapter/%e2%80%afcritical-thinking) | - When you encounter information about another culture, how do you evaluate its reliability and avoid generalizations or stereotypes?<br>- How can you question your own assumptions about "normal" or "correct" behavior without losing your sense of values or identity?<br>- In what ways might critical thinking help you bridge the gap between understanding cultural differences and making practical decisions in translation/interpretation work? |
| [Evaluating](https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/interculturalcompetence/chapter/evaluating) | - How do you distinguish between your personal preferences and actual cultural differences when evaluating intercultural interactions?<br>- What criteria do you use to assess whether communication across cultures has been successful? How might those criteria need to adjust for different cultural contexts?<br>- When evaluating your own intercultural competence development, what specific evidence would indicate growth or areas needing improvement? |
| [Building Relationships](https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/interculturalcompetence/chapter/building-relationships%e2%80%af) | - What intentional steps can you take to move beyond superficial interactions and develop deeper relationships with people from different cultural backgrounds?<br>- How might relationship-building practices differ across cultures (pace, directness, appropriate topics, role of humor)? How can you remain authentic while adapting to these differences?<br>- In your professional context (translation/interpretation), how can you build trust and rapport with clients from diverse backgrounds while maintaining professional boundaries? |
| [Developing Empathy](https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/interculturalcompetence/chapter/developing-empathy%e2%80%af) | - Reflect on the difference between empathy and sympathy in intercultural contexts. When might trying to "relate" to someone's experience actually create distance rather than connection?<br>- How can you develop empathy for cultural experiences or perspectives that are completely outside your own frame of reference?<br>- In your work as a language professional, how might cultural empathy enhance your ability to capture not just the words, but the emotional and cultural context of a message? |

## 📥 Download this Content
Find this file [on our repo](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alainamb/uic_tr35-business-english-II/main/unit4/week10/intercultural-competency.md) and download it.

### 🤖 GAI Study Prompts
Copy the downloaded content and try it with these prompts:
- "Help me create a personal development plan for improving my intercultural skills based on Deardorff's model."
- "I sometimes struggle with [specific intercultural challenge]. Suggest three concrete pratices I could try to improve in this area."
- "Create a role-play scenario that would help me practice intercultural competence in a professional translation/interpretation context."
- "Help me analyze the intercultural considerations of [specific cultural reference]."
- "For this [scenario], please contrast how it would be addressed in high-context and low-context communication styles."
- "Please review my reflection on [specific intercultural skill]. Provide constructive feedback and suggest deeper questions for further developing this competency."

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**Next Activity**: [Team Charter Assignment](team-charter-assignment.md)