This document provides an overview of intercultural communication and culture. It begins by defining intercultural communication and explaining why it is studied. Key reasons include increasing self-awareness, demographic changes, globalization, and creative problem solving. Intercultural communication is important in education due to increasing diversity in schools. Culture is then defined and its key characteristics and components are outlined, including communication, cognitive, behavioral, and material. Cultural relativism is introduced as the view that cultures should be understood based on their own contexts rather than being judged by others.

1. CHAPTER III
Social Dimensions of Education

2. Objectives
1. Understand the meaning of Intercultural
Communication.
2. Understand the meaning of communication and
language.
3. Show the relationship between language and
culture.
4. Enumerate the characteristics of culture.
5. Identify the communication, behavioral,
cognitive, and material components of culture.
6. Understand and explain cultural relativism.

3. The world today is characterized by an
ever growing number of contacts
resulting in communication between
people with different linguistic and
cultural backgrounds.

4. This communication takes place because of
contacts in the areas of business, military
cooperation, science, education, mass media,
entertainment, tourism and also because of
immigration brought about by labor shortage or
political conflict.

5. What is Intercultural Communication?
Intercultural communication
• refers to the effective communication between people, workers and
people of different cultural backgrounds.
• refers to communication between people whose cultural perceptions and
symbol systems re distinct enough to alter the communication event.
• an academic field of study which seeks to understand how people from
different countries and culture behave and communicate and perceive the
world around them.
• the personal interaction between members of different groups which
differ from each other in respect of the knowledge shared by their members
and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic forms of symbolic
behavior (Karlfried Knapp)

6. Elements of Intercultural Communication
1. Perception: beliefs, values, attitudes, world
views, social organizations.
2. Verbal processes: the ways in which cultures
employ symbols to portray things and experiences.
3. Nonverbal processes: shared thoughts and
feelings of bodily behavior, time and space.
4. Contextual elements: business, education and
health care, tourism and personal relationships.

7. Why do we study Intercultural Communication?
There are several reasons why we study intercultural
communications, such as:
1. Increases self – awareness
One of the more important reasons for studying Intercultural
communication is that it increases our awareness of our own
culture – our cultural identity and cultural background. It
helps us to avoid ethnocentrism – a tendency to think that our
culture is the superior to other cultures.
2. Demographic changes
The constant demographic shifts that countries and
communities experience result to more immigrants, refugees
and undocumented individuals.

8. 3. Workplace and Economic Globalization
To compete effectively in a global market we must
understand how business and cultural practices are
conducted in other countries.
4. Creative Problem Solving
According research, we learn from people who are
different than us from those who are similar to us (Stenberg
as cited in Ting- Toommey & Chung, 2005).
5. Global and Intrapersonal Peace Respect is fundamental to
peace with ourselves, global and interpersonal. If we are at
peace with ourselves, we will hold more compassion and
caring for others around us (Ting-Toommey & chung,
2005).

9. Importance of Intercultural Communication in
Education
Education relies on effective interaction between teachers and
learners. Intercultural communication has become important
because the schools are becoming more diverse culturally.
Roux(2002) argued that successful educators are effective
communicators and thus culturally competent in cross-cultural
encounters. Teachers should therefore be sensitive to the
potentially problematic outcomes of intercultural communication
in the culturally diverse class. Communication can be a useful
source of intercultural knowledge and mutual enrichment
between culturally diverse students if managed proactively by the
teacher. Otherwise, communication could be a source of
frustration, misapprehensions, intercultural conflict and
ultimately school failure.

10. Importance of Intercultural Communication in
Education
Linds (1997), in his paper, states that successful
communication is a prerequisite of effective transfer of
knowledge in schools. A rich repertoire of verbal and
nonverbal behaviors appropriate to the intercultural situation
as well as effective capabilities to react sensitively to fellow
communicators from other cultures is a necessity in
education.

11. COMMUNICATION
AND LANGUAGE

12. Communication
- is an act or instance of
transmitting

13. Twotypes ofCommunication
1. Verbal – refers to the use of
language.
2. Non-verbal – refers to the use of
gestures, facial expressions, and
other body movements.

14. Language
- is a system of verbal and in many
cases, written with rules about how
those symbols can be strung together
to convey more complex meanings.

15. Four Developments that
Illustrate the Impact of
Information Technologies
on Communication

16. 1. E-mails – is an electronic message sent from one device to
another. With e-mail, we can send and receive messages
with attachments such as photos and documents. We can
also send music, video clips and software programs.
2. Web log or Journal – It is an
online journal or log that is frequently updated and
intended for general public consumption. Blogs
generally represent the personality of the author or
the Web site and its purpose and the topics are as
wide ranging as the individuals who update them.

17. 3. Computer or generated slide software
such as PowerPoint
4. Telecommunicating - is an
arrangement in which employees use
computers to perform their regular
work responsibilities at home or
somewhere.

18. Paralanguage
-is the language of gestures, expressions and
postures.
Body Language or Kinesics
-the most obvious form of paralanguage
A man’s language
-is a reflection of the kind of person he is, the
family where he comes from, the level of
education he has attained.

19. The Study of Language is divided
into FourAreas:
Phonology, Semantics,
Grammar, and Pragmatics

20. 1.Phonology
- the system of sounds that a particular language uses,
includes not only the language’s basic unit of sounds, or
phonemes, but rules about how we put phonemes together to
form words and rules about the proper intonation patterns for
phrases and sentences.
2. Semantics
- is the study
Comprehension
of word meanings and combinations.
of written as well as spoken language
requires not only knowledge of specific words and their
definitions but an understanding of how we use words and
how we combine them in phrases, clauses, and sentences.

21. 3. Grammar
- describes the structure of a language which consists of two
major parts: morphology and syntax. Morphology is the study of
the language’s smallest units of meaning called morphemes –
prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
4. Pragmatics
- consists of rules for the use of appropriate language in
particular contexts. Thus pragmatics is concerned not only with
speaking and writing but with social interaction, and it directly
addresses the issue of effective communication.

22. Relationship between
Language and Culture

23. Perhaps the most significant of the
inventions made possible by culture is
language. The learning of culture
takes place through language. From
our enormous capacity to learn and
use language is derived our collective
memory, as well as writing, art, and
all other media that shape human
consciousness and store and transmit
knowledge.

24. According to Panopio et al, 1992:
Language is an integral part of culture
and human culture cannot exist without it.
All human societies have languages. In
some simple societies where people cannot
read or write, they have a spoken
language. Through the use of language,
wide vistas of reality have been opened.

25. way a society’s language may
its corresponding culture is in
One
reflect
lexical content, or vocabulary. When
experiences, events, or objects are singled
out and given words it may be the result of
cultural characteristics.
• If culture can affect the structure and
content of its language, then it follows that
linguistic diversity derives in part from
cultural diversity.

26. According to Edward Sapir:
The linguistic relativity hypothesis
asserts
thought
that language determines
and therefore culture. In
reality language and culture influence
each other.

27. Every
culture, no matter
society has a
how
simple the culture may be,
and every human
cultured in the
being is
sense of
participating in some culture
or other.

28. As our nation continues to change,
we all will interact with others from
quite different backgrounds from our
own, especially in the classroom. The
manner in which we respond to others
who seem different can have a serious
impact on success in school, work, and
harmonious relationship with others.

29. What is
CULTURE?

30. Culture is defined as the set of learned
behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, values, and
ideals that are characteristics of a
particular society or population. (Ember,
1999)
Culture, as defined by Calhoun, et al.,
(1994) is the learned
knowledge, artifacts,
norms,
language,
values,
and
symbols that are constantly communicated
among people who share a common ritual
and technology.

31. Allan Johnson (1996) said that culture is
the sum total of symbols, ideas, forms of
expressions, and material products associated
with a collective way of life reflected in such
things as beliefs, values, music, literature, art,
dance, science, religious ritual and
technology.
E.B. Taylor, defines culture as that
complex whole which includes knowledge,
belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society. (Panopio, 1992)

32. Leslie A. White refers to culture as an
organization of phenomena that is
dependent upon symbols, phenomena which
include acts(patterns of behavior);
objects(tools and things made by tools);
ideas(beliefs, knowledge); and
sentiments(attitudes, values).
Hofstede(1997) states that culture
consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of
and for behavior acquired and transmitted
by symbols, constituting the distinctive
achievement of human groups, including
their embodiments in artifacts

33. CHARACTERISTICS
OF
CULTURE

34. 1. Culture is learned.
The first essential characteristic of culture is
that it is learned .
2. Culture is shared by a group of people.
For a thought or action to be considered
cultural, it must be commonly shared by some
population or group of individuals.
3. Culture is cumulative.
Knowledge is stored and passed on from one
generation to the next, and new knowledge is
being added to what is existing.

35. 4. Culture change.
All cultural knowledge does not perpetually
accumulated. At the same time that new
cultural traits are added, some old ones are lost
because they are no longer useful.
5. Culture is dynamic.
This is a characteristic of culture that stems
from its cumulative quality. No culture is ever
in a permanent state. It is constantly changing
because new ideas and new techniques are
added and old ways are constantly modified
and discarded.

36. 6. Culture is ideational.
Culture is an ideal pattern of behavior
which the members are expected to follow.
Man assigns meanings to his environment
and experiences by symbolizing them.
7. Culture is diverse.
The sum total of human culture consists
of a great many separate cultures, each of
them is different. Culture as a whole, is a
system of with many mutually
interdependent parts.

37. 8. Culture gives us a range of
permissible behavior.
Every culture allows a range of
ways in which men can be men and
women can be women. Culture also
tells us how differentt activities should
be conducted, such as how one should
act as a husband, wife, parent, child,
etc.

38. COMPONENTS
OF
CULTURE

39. Components:
1. Communication
2. Cognitive
3. Material
4. Behavioral

40. COMMUNICATION
LANGUAGE
SYMBOLS
BEHAVIORAL
NORMS
MORES
LAWS
FOLKWAYS
RITUALS
COGNITIVE
IDEAS
KNOWLEDGE
BELIEFS
VALUES
ACCOUNTS
MATERIAL
TOOLS, MEDICINES
BOOKS
TRANSPORTATION
TECHNOLOGIES

41. A. COMMUNICATION COMPONENT
1. LANGUAGE. Perhaps more than anything else,
language defines what it means to be human. It
forms the core of all culture. When people share
a language, they share a condensed, very flexible
set of symbols and meanings.
2. SYMBOLS. Along with language and non-verbal
signals, symbols form the backbone of symbolic
interaction. They condense very complex ideas
and values into simple material forms so that the
very presence of the symbol evokes the signified
ideas and values.

42. B. COGNITIVE COMPONENT
1. IDEAS. Are mental representations(concept,
categories, metaphors) organize stimulus,
they are the basic units of which knowledge is
constructed and a world emerges.
2. KNOWLEDGE. Is the storehouse where we
accumulate representations, informations, facts,
assumptions, etc. Once stored, knowledge can
support learning and can be passed down from
one generation to the next.
3. BELIEFS. Accept a proposition,
statement, description of the fact, etc., as
true.

43. 2. VALUES. Are defined as culturally
defined standards of desirability
goodness and beauty, which serve as
broad guidelines for social living.
3. ACCOUNTS. People who share a
common language for talking about
their inner selves.

44. C. BEHAVIORAL COMPONENT(how we act)
1. NORMS. Are rules and expectations by which
a society guides the behavior of its members.
Norms can change over time, as illustrated by
norms regarding sexual behavior. Norms may
vary in terms of their degree of importance.
TYPES OF NORMS:
• MORES. They are customary behavior
patterns or folkways which have taken on
a moralistic value. This includes respect
for authority, marriage and sex behavior
patterns, religious rituals, and other codes
of human behavior.

45. • LAWS. Laws constitute the most formal and
important norms. Laws are the mores deemed
so vital to dominant interests that they become
translated into legal formalizations that even
nonmembers of society are required to obey.
• FOLKWAYS. These are behavior patterns of
society which are organized and repetitive. The
keyfeature of all folkways is that there is no
strong feeling of right or wrong attached to
them. They are simply the way the people
usually do things.

46. • RITUALS. These are highly scripted
ceremonies or strips of interaction that
follow a specific sequence of actions.
The ff. are examples:
- ceremonies: graduation, baptism, funerals,
weddings, birthdays
- holidays: thanksgiving, Christmas
- Everyday public rituals: greeting, kissing,
answering the telephones, birthday and
cards

47. D. MATERIALCOMPONENT
Human make objects, sometimes for
practical reasons and sometimes for
artistic ones. Material components of
culture refer to physical objects of
culture such as machines, equipment,
tools, books, clothing, etc.

48. THE ORGANIZATION
OF
CULTURE

49. A CULTURAL TRAIT, either of a material or
non-material culture, represents a single
element or a combination of elements related
to a specific situation.
Example of cultural traits are kissing the hands
of the elders after Sunday mass and at
Angelus. Clusters of culture traits are known
as culture complexes which, in turn, group
together to form a culture pattern.

50. Culture is transmitted through:
1. Enculturation. It is the process of learning
culture of one’s own group.
2. Acculturation. It is the process of learning
some new traits from another culture.
3. Assimilation. It is the term used for a process
in which an individual entirely loses any
awareness of his/her previous group identity
and takes on the culture and attitudes of
another group.

51. IMPORTANCE AND
FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

52. Culture is what distinguishes
human
animal
beings from the
forms making
lower
them
unique. It is a powerful force in
the lives of all people and shapes
and guides people’s perceptions
of reality.

53. 1. Culture helps the individual fulfill his
potential as a human being.
2. Through the development of culture, man
can overcome his physical disadvantages
and allows him to provide himself with fire,
clothing, food and shelter.
3. Culture provides rules of proper conduct
for living in a society.
4. Culture also provides the individual his
concepts of family, nation, and class.

54. CULTURAL RELATIVISM
According to Rosado(2003), is an
approach to the question of the nature
and role of values in culture.
Cultural relativism in anthropology
is a key methodological concept which
is universally accepted within the
discipline.

56. According to Glazer(1996), is an
anthropological approach which
possess that all cultures are of equal
value and need to be studied in a
neutral point of view. The basis of
cultural relativism is a scientific view
of culture, which also rejects value
judgments on cultures.

57. Here is an example of cultural relativism:
Practices considered immoral or taboo to a
certain group of people but are accepted by
other groups with a different cultural
orientation.
“The central point in cultural relativism is
that in a particular setting certain traits are
right because they work in that setting while
other traits are wrong because they clash
painfully with parts of the culture.”
- Hunt et., 1998

58. THE END
By: Blanch