Developing intercultural Competence

Sd. Matei Sorin

Knowing one’s culture can really mean a better relationship with that person and
can create a powerful bond among different nations when you think about it at a
higher level.

Visiting other countries, watching documentaries about them, or even just reading
about them can help build acceptance of the diverseness of the world. Between all
of the religions, races, languages and etiquette, it is sometimes hard to be accepting
of things and people that are different, but if you learn more about the how and
why that each country became the way that they are, you can learn to accept rather
than judge what makes them different.

When it comes to extending intercultural competencies, there is no break point or

level where someone should stop learning traditional things and other aspects that
give that nation an etiquette in order to develop new competencies about foreign
people and building good relationships among different nations

Speaking about methods that are believed to be more efficient when trying to
improve intercultural competencies, the most efficient one is represented by
actually living among foreigners, in their native country, especially in places with
rich tradition and trying as much as possible to adopt their king of living, activities,
food etc. Other methods that people use to adopt when trying to grow their
intercultural communication skills and relational skills among foreigners can be
represented by working among them, trying to gain their trust through making
them believe that you are a valuable man when it comes to your job that deserver
their attention, so furthermore managing to learn about their culture, habits and
tradition.
In this day and age, global awareness is important for many reasons. Most jobs
require at one point or another interacting with another country or a person from
another country. Being able to communicate in a kind and respectful way will go
really far. Plus, being globally aware tends to make for well-rounded individuals
who are very open-minded. If you were to be put in a position where you had to
make a decision regarding someone from another culture, being globally aware
will help you make a good and well-informed decision.

When it comes to my own experience regarding developing my intercultural

communication skills and basically the process of learning new thing about other
cultures by using different methods I can proudly say that the Erasmus program,
even though it lasted only a few weeks, has been the most significant process that I
have ever witnessed regarding social interactions with different cultures and
different kind of people, because it helped me meet actual foreigners and it gave
me the opportunity to study their behavior and make connections and see
differences between their culture and my own culture.

The Erasmus program was efficient because it didn’t focus only on the academic
process of intercultural communication but on the interactions between students
from different countries, therefore, students that have different cultures.
Interactions that were meant to take place outside the academic process in order to
create a relaxing environment, appropriate for intercultural communications.

In conclusion building culturally competencies means learning how people think

about other cultures and their culture, how they communicate, and how they
operate. It means that the structure, leadership, and activities of a nation must
reflect many values, perspectives, styles, and priorities.