The Report on Intercultural Communication：A Reader

刘玉巧+巨静

Now we are in an era of globalization， the connection between different people with various cultural backgrounds becomes closer and closer， so it is the high time that we should have an awareness to admit the diversity of cultures and respect the difference of cultures. In this book， we can have a general understanding of the intercultural communication. To be exactly， it shows some theories to help us to achieve effective communication. Also it points out some barriers preventing the effective communication and lastly gives us some suggestions on how to communicative smoothly and effectively when we are in different contexts as well as how to improve our intercultural communication competence. In this report， I will try to write down what I have learned in each chapter and then talk about my personal view.

1. The knowledge I learn from Intercultural Communication

From Chapter 1， we firstly know that communication is in a global village， so we must learn how to make an interpersonal encounter and also make an intercultural communication effectively. From Chapter 2， this chapter mainly shows us to understand Foreign Cultures. From Chapter 3， I learn American Nondominant Cultures， the articles in this chapter will examine some of the cultural experiences inherent in a few of the subcultures and subgroups in the United States. From Chapter 4， this chapter begins with a general look at the study of language and culture. Chapter 5 deals with nonverbal interaction. Successful participation in intercultural communication requires that we recognize and understand cultures influence not only on verbal interaction but on nonverbal interaction as well. Nonverbal symbols are body movements， postures， facial expressions， gestures， eye movements， physical appearance， and so on， these symbolic behaviors often vary from culture to culture. The last part mainly deals with that “doing”. In a sense， this entire volume has been concerned with the practice of intercultural communication. The main purpose is to improve our behavior during intercultural communication and make communication become as effective as possible.

2. My own view on intercultural communication

1） The importance of intercultural communication

Before I read this book， I have thought the culture conflicts exist between different countries with different culture background， but I realized that intercultural communication exists everywhere. People can not live without intercultural communication. Human communication is the ability to use language， the ability to exchange ideas with people around us in different cultures. Communication with others is inevitable to human beings. Now intercultural communication is becoming pervasive because of the development of transportation and technology. The intercultural communication is applied into many fields， such as economic， politic， education， technology， health care and so on.

And today， the benefits of the intercultural communication become more and more obvious. Firstly， communicating and establishing relationships with different cultural people can lead to a whole host of benefits， including healthier communities； increased international， national and local commerce； reduced conflict. Secondly， due to through open and honest intercultural communication， people can work together to achieve goals that benefit everyone. Thirdly， because of the intercultural exchange， we can learn about the other countries way of life， also we can understand their industry structure. Thus we can do commercial exchanges and academic communication with them.

2） The ways to improve intercultural communication skills

Firstly， educate ourselves about different cultures. Be open to learning about culture and have an interest in learning other cultures. Secondly， be attention to our tone and our body languages in speech. Understand that many cultures give specific meaning to tone and body language. What may be a simple reaction to us could be seen as disrespectful. Be aware of when and how we laugh during interactions.

In a word， in order to be a good and efficient communicator， it is essential for us to realize and learn these theories I talk above， show respect to the culture differences and accept the cultural diversity.