1. New approach to intercultural understanding.

Multicultural or intercultural communication cannot be learned without intercultural understanding, which is based on the knowledge of culture. The word “culture” has four different meanings:

(1) High culture, the achievements of a society in terms of the most esteemed forms of literature, art, music.

(2) Culture as behavior, the ways people agree to behave, act, and respond.

(3) Culture as ways of thinking: modes of perception, beliefs and values.

(4) Culture as language, the close link between language and culture.

The second meaning of culture, that is, culture as behavior, is related to clothing, food, architecture, transportation, appearance and so on, it is usually called “overt culture” or, in the “iceberg model of culture”, what is above the waterline and therefore easily observable.

Culture as behavior is subject to constant changes and is easily learned. The third meaning of culture, modes of perception, beliefs and values, is not easily observable and is often out of our own and others’ awareness, it is called “covert culture” and, in the “iceberg model of culture,” what is below the waterline. In our search of how to teach and learn intercultural understanding and communication, we shall be dealing with meanings three and four of culture.

2. Culture as Ways of Thinking, Beliefs and Values

Culture is, first of all, perceptions concerning our system of values, our ways of thinking, our beliefs, our psychological orientations. Intercultural understanding is therefore the ability to understand the perceptions concerning one’s own culture and the perceptions of the people who belong to another culture, and the capacity to negotiate between the two.

The Greek philosopher Socrates had chosen for himself the following maxim: “gnôthi seauton,” “Know Thyself.” The same is true for intercultural understanding. The first step for intercultural understanding is to have a clear idea about one’s own culture and about our personal perceptions of this culture. This is not an easy task, however. Perceptions about one’s culture are mostly unconscious. When asked to describe one’s culture, a person might have very vague answers or often provide certain social generalizations which are stereotypes about one’s culture. There are two important facts concerning perceptions of one’s culture:

First, nations are not culturally homogeneous, individuals in a nation might have different perceptions about their culture. These perceptions will vary according to social class, age, education, gender, experiences in life and many other factors.

Second, cultures are not static, they change constantly. These two facts are true for all cultures. Does this mean that it is practically impossible to find out the perceptions a person has about her or his own culture or the perceptions a person of a different culture holds about her or his own culture?

No, it is quite possible through questioning, debates, discussions, reflective writing about one single cultural aspect, thus allowing the person to reflect about her or his own perception about one cultural aspect, often linked to other aspects of the culture.

Thus, the door to one’s perception of one’s culture has been opened. The types of questions and discussions in this approach will vary according to the age and background of students. Let’s say that we are dealing with university students. If a student or a person of another culture is present, this is an ideal situation because that person can also answer the same question and then a lively discussion can take place. When it is not possible, however, answers for a question can be found in books dealing with a variety of cultures. Here are some examples of questions that students have to answer, and statements they have to qualify: 1/ strongly agree, 2/ agree, 3/ no opinion, 4/ disagree, or 5/ strongly disagree:

• Men in my country usually expect women to prepare and serve food. __________

• A married man should help around the house, doing cleaning, ironing and cooking. __________

• In my country, it is common for a man to give up his seat to a woman on public transport. __________

• In my country, it is not typical for women to speak their minds and contradict men. __________

• Should both husband and wife contribute to the household income? ___________

• Is it normal “going Dutch” (when each pays half of the costs) when a man and a woman go out? __________

• If a man and a woman are having dinner together, is it OK for the woman to pay the bill? __________

• Is it OK for a man to give a woman a pat on the backside to show he likes her? __________

• Is it proper for a man to hold a door open for a woman? __________

• Whenever a mixed group of people (male/female) come together the men always sit together. __________

• If you are a student at school and you received a mark that seemed not to reflect your knowledge, is it proper to talk to the teacher about it? __________. Is it proper in your country?

• If children do well at school, parents should reward them with a present or pocket money. __________

• Students treat what the teachers and textbooks teach as something final and unquestionable. __________. Do they in your country?

• Faithfulness is the most important factor for a successful marriage. __________

• In English, the terms stewardess (or steward for men) have been replaced with the gender-neutral term “flight attendant.” ____________. Can you give examples of such changes in your language?

These are only a few examples. Statements and questions could be prepared dealing with all aspects of life, but only one cultural aspect at a given time. After discussions, students can be asked to do some reflective writing, for instance, describe what YOU think of marriage. It is quite possible that students of the same culture have different perceptions about several cultural aspects. Pictures and videos showing daily life scenes of people (for instance, ways of greeting between two men, two women or between a man and a woman) from one’s country and other countries are also excellent indirect ways to start fascinating discussions about differences in cultures and students’ reactions about these differences. This approach is the first step to the understanding of one’s perception about one’s culture and absolutely essential for apprehending the perceptions of a person of another culture, that is, intercultural understanding and communication.