The Space in Between
“Between even the
closest human beings
infinite distances exist yet
a wonderful living side by
side can grow, if they
succeed in loving the
distance between them
which makes it possible
for each to see the other
whole against the sky.”
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)

The Space in Between
Intercultural Communication (ICC) Skills
Kathryn Brillinger
Dr. Yuri Kagolovsky
Conestoga College
Kitchener, Ontario
kbrillinger@conestogac.on.ca
ykagolovsky@conestogac.on.ca
OCASI, 2009

A Practical Model
for ICC Development
Yuri Kagolovsky,
internationally-trained
MD, MSc (Health
informatics) and 2-time
immigrant
Kathryn Brillinger, MEd
(TESL), 20 plus years
experience in settlement
language teaching and 10
plus years in teacher
training

Goal of this Workshop
• to increase awareness of
Intercultural Communication Competence
(ICC) and its impact on interactions

Individual Cultural Competency
ability to interact effectively with
individuals from differing cultures
knowledge of one’s own cultural practices
and paradigms and those of others
intercultural skills to effectively participate
in diverse communities
ability to analyze interconnections
between local and global systems
ability to help solve intercultural conflict

Stages of Cultural Competence
• Unconscious incompetence (e.g. foisting a
handshake on a devout Muslim of the opposite
sex)
• Conscious incompetence (e.g. insisting a
newcomer follow your rules because he decided
to come here)
• Conscious competence (e.g. self-conscious
attempt to modify behavior)
• Unconscious competence (mindful and
reflective adaptations of situation to
accommodate diversity)

Organizational Cultural Competency
set of congruent behaviors, practices,
attitudes and policies
changes made for a particular case/group
benefit everyone - based on principles of
Universal Design (UD)
an accountability/grievance process
established
expertise and training available
internationalization of materials underway

Areas of Diversity
In addition to the categories of ethnicity, race,
religion, and nationality, we can apply this training to
• Gender
• Age (Veteran, Baby Boomer, x, y and …)
• Education (1st generation, generation 1.5)
• Profession
• Socio-economic/employment status
• Sexual orientation
• Wellness/illness
• Abilities/disabilities, mobility etc.

Inter-Cultural
Communication Success
• Everyone can experience
• Everyone can contribute
• Everyone can learn
Immigrant-serving agencies need to demonstrate
best practices.
We will need ICC training
in order to do so.
Today is a great first step!

Approaches
to Gaining Cultural Competence
• The culture-specific approach gives information about
individual cultures - usually a business/marketing model.
• The culture-general approach starts with an
understanding and awareness of cultural issues before
culture-specific information is given. This is an
educational approach which reduces the chance of
stereotyping and encourages a principled approach.
• This workshop is a blend of both approaches. Further
study would involve looking deeply at various groups
(e.g. Confucian Heritage Cultures, East Indian, Middle-
Eastern, etc.) and applying the principles.

Striving for a Balance:
Continuums NOT Stereotypes

O’ Canada!
Riddle: What
stays in one
corner yet can
travel all over the
world?
O Canada, Drew Brook-Cormack, 1000-pc jigsaw puzzle

Prejudice and Discrimination
• Prejudice
– A negative personal attitude towards a member or
members of a racial or cultural group
• Discrimination
– Observable adverse behavior towards such group
members
• Prejudice + Discrimination +
Organizational/Dominant Group Power =
Deliberate denial of recognition, power, and privilege

Intercultural Communication
Training Needs
• personnel with intercultural skills
• intercultural experts
• research and knowledge in cultural
practices
• workplace and material internationalization
(Huisman & van der Wende, 2005)

Nadia-Alysha-Zahra-Tameera

Problem:
The “Surface” or “Saris and
Samosas” Approach
• Assumption that English-speaking
Canadians have no ‘culture’ (and no
accent!)
• Visible/surface cultural differences are
doable: try out clothes, foods, dances,
arts, sports etc.

Problem:
The “Surface” or “Saris and
Samosas” Approach
Norms and values
tend to be prescribed
rather than described.
We get upset about
the wrong time
orientation, distance,
handshake, greeting,
socializing style,
relationship value,
parenting style, etc.

Problem:
The “Surface” or “Saris and
Samosas” Approach
• Deep/core beliefs are left unexamined.
We don’t ask: “What is a
husband/wife/child? Who taught me to
think this? What is the race/power
situation? Who holds the cultural
imperative? Am I privileged because I
am white/female/straight/tall etc?”

CULTURE
“The water
that bears the
ship is the
same that
engulfs it.”
(Chinese Proverb)

Defining “Culture”
• There are many different definitions of
“culture”
• We needed a definition that could be
operationalized within the principles we
identified for successful intercultural
communication
• The definition we came up with:
Culture = Shared Meaning

Culture = Shared Meaning
– This “shared meaning” informs values,
beliefs, standards, language, thinking
patterns, behavioral norms, communications
styles, etc.
– Culture guides the decisions and actions of
individuals and groups over time.
– Cultures are always changing but the change
is not always obvious except in hindsight.

“Shared” Meaning
• Cognitive (concepts, ideas)
• Affective (emotions)
• Behavioral (procedures, rules, rituals)

Cultural Boundary Lines
• Cultural boundaries
and the groups we
belong to are fluid
• We can belong to
multiple groups

Why do intercultural communication
(ICC) skills matter?
Stories, stories, stories and
… a sad story of a woman who taught
ESL and the memory she left with a
learner.

Context: Factors Influencing
Shared Meaning
• History • Folklore
• Personality • Literature
• Politics • Entertainment
• Gender roles • Communication
• Power Technology
• Geography • Fads
• Employment status
• Economy These factors
create the context
• Religion
in which meaning is
• Social stratification shared. They also
• Philosophy impact on and are
• Morals and ethics impacted by ICC.

Historical and Geographical
Perspective
• ICC is not just about Canada’s work in
integrating newcomers.
• These factors and their interaction with
ICC have impacted and are impacting on
people's lives in both beautiful and tragic
ways.

Task
• On your own, look at the pictures on the
slide. Choose 2 people who, within the
context of their lives, have impacted
(either positively or negatively) on the
intercultural context. Consider what factors
were involved in their impact.
• Compare your choices with a partner. (4-5
minutes)
• Share an example with the whole group.

Continuum of Perspectives
Global Personal

Seven Principles of
Successful ICC

Principle #1
We are cultural beings in our
verbal, non-verbal, and pre-
verbal behaviors, in which the
pre- and non-verbal are often
underestimated in their impact
on ICC.

The non-verbal
trumps
the verbal

Haptics
(the study of touching behaviour)
Seven types of touch:
*positive affect (support,
appreciation, inclusion)
*playfulness
*control (compliance,
attention wanted,
response needed)
*ritual (greeting/leave-
taking)
*hybrid (mix some of
above as in a hug good-
bye)
*task-related
*accidental
Jones and Yarbrough (1985)

Oculesics
(the study of eye contact)
• attentive focus/challenging stare
• shifty-eyed/respectful looking away
• flirtatious up-look/“adultery of the eyes”
• lustful glance/complimentary notice
• attempt to control fear/bad presentation skills
• attempt to access vocabulary/lack of attentiveness or ability

Gesture
• The triangle
• The wrist
• The hand to heart
• The 3 per utterance

Principle #2
We are unaware of how our
cultures inform our perceptions,
cognitions, emotions and actions.
e.g. Kathryn going to a workshop in Mexico City.

From Monochronic to Polychronic
(Chronemics)
Monochronic Concepts
• one thing at a time is best - concentrate on the
task at hand
• time commitments/deadlines/schedules are
serious
• adhere religiously to plans

Polychronic Concepts
• Do many things at once
• Distractions are
acceptable/interruptions
are acceptable
• Commit to people and
relationships not time
• Change plans often and
easily

Principle #3
Culture provides unstated sets
of rules by which we operate,
and we unconsciously reward
and punish others for following
or not following these rules

The Persian concept of “ta’arof”
involves language, discourse, culture etc.
• Central concept = warm welcoming, praising, politeness and
good manners
• Origins in the Arabic term for “mutual recognition”
• Essential ability for negotiating relationships
• Involves offers, compliments, exchange of pleasantries, food,
gifts, and invitations
• Expression of selflessness and humility - necessary for
keeping face - “shaxsiiyaet” and showing sincerity and respect
- “ehteram”
• Can be interpreted as empty formality or ritual courtesy by NA
but runs much deeper - has no equivalent in NA culture
• Iranians can be dismayed by a lack of ‘ta’arof’ in our
classroom cultures
(Cultural info from Eslami, 2005)

Guan Xi (Collectivism)
• A study of students from Taiwan found that the majority of
students mentioned a concern with having to learn to be
independent (Swagler & Ellis, 2003).
• The subjects explained the problem as an absence of guan
xi “an extensive interdependent relationship among all one’s
family and social connections in which favors are exchanged
necessarily.” (p. 424)
• Being independent is contrary to the Chinese ideal of guan xi
or collectivism and was described as a “serious ordeal.” (p.
425)
• Being able to be independent was found to be a crucial
factor in being able to adjust to North American education
(p.425).
• We need to help students feel supported as they learn to live
without extensive guan xi.

Renqing (humanized obligation)
• Chan (2005) describes renqing as social
favors that are exchanged in the form of
goods, money, information, status, service and
affection according to implicit rules
• involves courteous rituals, exchange of
resources, reciprocity, maintaining and using
useful ties and nepotism
• “Teachers with high scores on renqing were
evaluated by their students as significantly
better than those less concerned about
renqing.” (Chan, 2005)

Face
• Dominant concept in interpreting and regulating social
behavior
• Must be maintained and enhanced
• Each person in a social group is responsible for saving
his/her own face and the face of others
• The teacher, having a higher social standing, is expected to
adhere to a higher standard of ethics and to maintain self-
control
• The teacher should not “argue” with the students
• The teacher should protect the face of the students, the
other teachers, and the institution
“I lost a lot of face by being unable to answer the question.
How could he do that to me? I really have no face now.”
(Chan, 2005)

Principle #4
We are unaware of our own
level of inter-cultural sensitivity
and skills
Let’s look at Bennett’s Model.

Changes must occur in three areas.

Principle #5
Building inter-cultural
communication skills is an
ongoing, recursive process
requiring cognitive, affective
and procedural changes

Proxemics
(the study of distance in interaction)
• Public (teacher to
class) Traditional
• Social (classmates Forms of
chatting) Greeting
• Personal (student
asking teacher after
class)
• Intimate (friends in
class whispering)

Task
• Look at the handout on intercultural
paralinguistics. Share a story with a
partner about any aspect. (4-5 minutes)

Principle #6
Inter-cultural communication is
the responsibility of each person
involved.
e.g. The ‘soft skills’ debate for newcomers.

Principle 7
Inter-cultural communication
necessitates a re-distribution of
power.
e.g. Some examples from Canadian history

Task : Your Stories
• Take 2 minutes and write down a few of
your own stories from your life and work.
• Share one with a neighbor.
• Let’s all share a story from each side of
the room.

Break-Time
• 10 minutes

Intercultural communication is
occurring and …
Something has disturbed me
Something has disturbed someone
Something has disturbed the environment

My Intercultural Life

What Can Be Done
To Improve ICC?

A Balanced Approach
Creating A Space In Between

Creating a Space in Between
Non-negotiable Negotiable
Task Three: Part A

Cultural Perspective
Examining other
cultures provides
mirrors in which we can
see ourselves – what
the anthropologist
Margaret Mead (1934)
called
“the looking-glass self”

Development of
ICC Competencies
• Cognitive
– e.g., knowledge of how different cultures tend to
operate
• Affective
– e.g., awareness of how easily we can punish
individuals and subvert our own goals when our
cultural expectations are being violated
• Psycho-motor
– e.g., the ability to diagnose intercultural issues, to
develop and implement strategies to improve
ICC, and to assess the success of such
strategies

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Individualism to collectivism
• Egalitarianism to power distance
• Tolerance to avoidance of uncertainty
• Competitiveness to harmony
There are many cultural
factors but breakdowns in
communication are not
always caused by cultural
differences!

Seven issues to consider when intercultural
communication goes wrong:
• Is it language?
• Is it discourse?
• Is it culture?
• Is it the situation or context?
• Is it a systemic barrier?
– E.g., racism, discrimination, nationalism
• Is it someone’s personality?
• Is it me?

Is it language?
“You must not” versus “You don’t
have to…”
“impotent” versus “important”

Is it discourse?
How loud? How long?
How passionate?

Is it culture?
• All the examples we’ve shared.

Is it the situation or context?
e.g. time available for a
counseling session, # of
students in class, lack of
funding, economy etc.

Is it a systemic barrier?
– E.g., racism, discrimination, nationalism

Is it someone’s personality?
Is it someone’s head space at this
time?

Is it me?
• My mom always said . . .

Developing ICC Repair Strategies
• Asking someone why they do something
culturally can cause a defensive reaction
– e.g., asking a Muslim why he does not shake hands
with women or asking a Mennonite why they marry so
early
• “Why” questions can be seen as promoting
potentially unfavorable comparisons and
“otherness”
• Therefore, we recommend an invitational
approach that can create a dialogue and allow
for shared meaning

Repair Strategies:
Seven Questions
• What does <this> mean to you personally?
• What does <this> mean to you as a member of
your group?
• What does <this> mean to your group?
• What does <this> mean to the community where
you live?
• What does <this> mean to the society of the
nation/country?
• Do you know the history of this phenomenon?
• If <this> does not happen, what would it mean to
you (your group, your community, society)?

Task: Using the Seven Questions
• Take 5 minutes and ask a partner the
questions about an intercultural idea or an
non-negotiable that you don’t share
‘space’ on.
• Let’s all share experiences – one from
each side of the room.

Summary
• We have looked at examples of
intercultural communication and some
strategies and principles that can be
learned.
• We need to increase our ICC skills.
• We need to determine and exemplify best
practices in ICC in our programs.

Inter-Cultural
Communication Success
• Everyone can experience
• Everyone can contribute
• Everyone can learn
We need to demonstrate best practices.
We will need ICC training
in order to do so.
Today is a great first step!

Moving Forward
• What are some things you will stop doing,
re-consider doing, and start doing (3 of
each) to help yourself and newcomers in
our intercultural journey?
• Compare your list with a partners.

The Space in Between
“Between even the
closest human beings
infinite distances exist yet
a wonderful living side by
side can grow, if they
succeed in loving the
distance between them
which makes it possible
for each to see the other
whole against the sky.”
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)