Defining Intercultural Competence
From a sociological point of view, culture can be understood as the “vital world of a group of individuals characterized by shared patterns of interpretation in the context of shared knowledge” (Woltin and Jonas, 2009, p. 469). Geert Hofstede describes culture as something that connects a group of people on the one hand and, on the other hand, distinguishes them from other people. He calls it “the collective programming of the mind” (Hofstede et al., 2010, p. 6). Based on this understanding, intercultural communication occurs “when the participants of a communication situation belong to different cultures and when the partners are aware of the fact that the other person is “different”, when one is perceived as a “foreigner” (Maletzke, 1996, p. 37). So-called intercultural competence is needed to overcome these differences and to handle intercultural situations.
In the context of Higher Education, intercultural competence can be defined as the “ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes” (Deardorff, 2006). Deardorff´s model of IC development describes the development as a process: based on particular attitudes (e.g. tolerance and openness), the acquisition of knowledge about foreign cultures, and the development of cultural self-awareness as well as of certain skills (e.g. to listen carefully, to analyze situations) can initiate a reflection process. Basic (cultural) assumptions may be questioned in this reflection process, which can then lead to a shift of one´s frame of reference and a change of perspective. This internal reflection process may result in effective and appropriate behavior in an intercultural situation, taking into account the objectives of the communication (effective) and the expectations of behavior of the communication partner (appropriate).
Due to the process orientation of this model, it is well-suited to visualize differences in IC development and to improve the design of group works and activities, lectures, seminars and study programs that aim at the IC development of students. Yet, the model does not explicitly take the impact of intercultural contacts on IC development into account. Although the external outcome (“effective and appropriate behavior”) does imply some kind of interaction, the model lacks the importance of intercultural interactions. Still, it serves as a theoretical base in this chapter.