Intercultural Communication: A Current Perspective

Intercultural Communication is the verbal and nonverbal communication between individuals from various social foundations. Communication is an important part of daily life. There are many cultures around the world. As we research them, we can get more knowledge about different cultures. I learned many things during this course (intercultural communication). It helps us to gain information about what is really meant to belong to a different culture.

Culture shock is an experience a person may have when moves to a cultural environment that is different from their own culture.

I experienced culture shock when I moved to Canada. It's not very easy for many people to adopt different cultures after moving somewhere. During this course, I must do an interview with another person so that we both get knowledge about different cultures. I pick up many things while doing the interview with Holly Elizabeth Francoeur. Here, I would like to talk about that. I asked many questions and get knowledge about them.

Get quality help now

Bella Hamilton

Verified writer

Proficient in: Family

5 (234)

“ Very organized ,I enjoyed and Loved every bit of our professional interaction ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Ottawa, Ontario where there are many cultures and religions. Ottawa itself a multicultural. I also grew up in Switzerland for part of her childhood /teenage years. One thing I loved about Switzerland is you always meet new people with new views on life.
Family, what does it mean?

The family that doesn’t mean to have a blood-related. The family is there through thick and thin. The people that part of your life, guide you, inspire you and support you no matter what.

My family is quite large as my parents divorced when I was 2. My mom’s husband, my non-mom, my childhood friends. They are family and I will always be thankful for them.

Who holds the most status in your family?

There is nothing like that in my family, we follow the elders deserve respect. Also, with the age comes wisdom, they would be considered to have the most status. I don’t have many grandparents left but they would be, my grandma Irene and grandma Shirley.

Would you consider your parents to be successful?

I consider my parents to be her birthparents=father and mother and their spouses non-mom and stepdad. Both are incredibly successful. My mother is the Payroll director at Queen’s University and my father has his own Bode spa with his partner. They also plan on opening a school for aesthetics.

Did you ever live with your grandparents?

I lived with my grandparents. Since my parents were divorced when I was 2. After my mother moved to Switzerland my grandparents' place become more of a house than elsewhere. When I grew up, I had my own apartment for a few years, but, before moving to Kingston for school. I moved in with my grandma for a few months to help her renovate her house while I worked fully.

What were the main cultures and religions where you grew up?

There are many cultures and religions in Ottawa, Ontario. It’s a multicultural country where people come to work, study, and live from somewhere else. We can experience different religions with different beliefs. Switzerland also has many different cultures and religions that people share. Because a lot of people travel in Europe cultures are frequently changing.

How important is an education in your culture?

Education is a key to success. It’s very important in everyone’s life and in their family too. They believe in putting their all into something they set their mind to. Where education is important, they believe one should either be in school or working towards a career.

How important is a religion in your culture?

Everyone views their world a little differently. It’s important as we all respect each other beliefs also there is no pressure to someone to follow their beliefs and regulations. Always be happy in your own’s beliefs and follow that path something you believe in.

Did you often experience other cultures? If yes, how was that?

As I often experienced many cultures. My family is well-traveled I have been able to experience a different culture in many areas of the world and not only tourist areas. We can get more information when we traveled somewhere and learned about the food, stories, histories that come with them.

Did you ever participate in other cultures?

I do not. The thing I participate most in is cooking and family time. It is considered that respect, independence, and kindness is most important to follow. Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit are ways of life to follow. You must be patient with yourself and allow yourself to make mistakes and learn from them.

Describe the best holidays in Canada?

One of the best holidays in Canada is Christmas, it's not about the gifts. It's about spending time with their families together and shares their stories about what they are thankful for this year. They cook and laugh together. Everyone has more spirit and they decorated their houses. Most of people love Christmas because of the colors. On Christmas day they celebrate together and share their stories near the fire or walking in the snow.

What is the best thing about living in Canada?

One of the best things about living in Canada is the ability to experience all seasons and multiculturalism. Different kinds of varieties in season.

In summation of the interview, I met with her she is very adorable and sweet. One of the good things that I like in her she is very friendly. While doing the interview I came to know about Canada’s tradition, music, weather, culture, family, religion, education, holidays, and many more things. As a comparison with Indian culture is a mix of diversities in customs, rituals, traditions, a language that varies from region to region within the country. On the other hand, western culture is quite advanced and open. The norms, beliefs, values, traditions, customs are greatly inspired by European culture. Family is a joint family in India and here it is considered as a nuclear family. About the language we speak many languages in India and here English and French are widely spoken language. Regarding the traditional clothes, Indians wear according to region and religion and here everyone wears whatever he/she likes. One of the main similarities is women and men are considered equal and in communication styles everyone respects others. Marriages are a very important aspect of Indian culture its not to tie two people together it also about to tie the two families together. In western culture, people don’t need to take permission from the family to marry and they are independent to marry anyone. No one can stop doing that.

To conclude, I learned a lot through the course like the benefits of intercultural relationships, culture shock, communication, language and power, and many more things. Intercultural communication fosters teamwork in an organization. It helps staff to understand each other’s cultural differences, and to communicate effectively without misunderstanding. Intercultural communication also effective leadership in an organization. Most of the people experienced cultural shock especially when they moved to abroad countries. One of the main causes that involves culture shock is individuals in a foreign country. Most migrants experience culture shock regardless of their motivations for moving. Some people adjust to just some parts of the culture. Some people want to assimilate but are not allowed to because of their relationship with the host culture. Language power is a measure of one’s ability to communicate effectively in each language specifically one that is not native to the speaker. Language power consists of two key components: an ability to speak and be understood and an ability to listen and understand. I feel grateful while doing this assignment that helped me a lot and gets acknowledged about Canada.

References

brandongaille.com/8-pros-and-cons-of-communication-in-the workplace.
study.com/academy/lesson/intercultural communication.
https://lectmania.ru/1x8e06.html
https://www.communications-major.com/intercultural-communication/