Introduction
Communication competence is defined as the ability of individuals in interaction to select a communicative strategy, achieve their socializing aims, and reply to particular environments (Chen, 1989, cited in Chen, 2014). Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is more complex because of the cultural factors involved (Chen, 2014). ICC is the ability to obtain a series of skills needed in intercultural competence (Byram, 1997, cited in Wilberschied, 2015). This ability is necessary to socialize between different cultural identities, especially in globalization. Therefore, this essay will analyze three necessary factors for the successful acquisition of ICC: appropriate anxiety, education for becoming an intercultural speaker and studying abroad. It will first interpret the relation between an appropriate level of anxiety and successful acquisition of ICC, then focus on how intercultural education, including non-verbal education and intercultural speaker education, helps to obtain ICC, and finally argue that studying abroad can also be a necessary factor by analyzing from aspects of intergroup approach-avoid tendency and self-efficacy.
The Role of Anxiety in Acquiring ICC
Firstly, the appropriate level of anxiety is one of the necessary internal factors for acquiring ICC. Anxiety is defined as the fear of an uncertain event that will happen (Bandura, 1997, cited in Kupka et al., 2009). On the one hand, anxiety is produced by communicating with strangers from other cultures and may cause evasion of cross-culture interaction (Kupka et al., 2009). Stephan and Gudykunst (1999, cited in Mak, Brown and Wadey,2014) also argued that a high level of anxiety can lead to negative criticism of other groups. On the other hand, individuals require an appropriate amount of anxiety to build communication with enough motivation (Gudykunst, 2005). Gudykunst, in turn, highlighted that individuals who have less anxiety tend to start believing too much of themselves, and they stop doubting their preconceived ideas about strangers. In a nutshell, the exact amount of anxiety can motivate individuals, and they try to understand immediately what other people do or usually say in a situation they are dealing with. So, cross-cultural communication will be handled with ease and efficiency. According to this, it is necessary to keep one’s anxiety at an appropriate level to get the ICC.
In addition, intercultural education can also lead to the successful acquisition of ICC. One part of this is non-verbal teaching. Non-verbal interaction is culturally different and can produce misunderstanding in intercultural communication (Argyle, 1983, cited in Byram, 2020). A similar effect can be caused by the gesture of someone who does not understand what is going on, also according to Molinksy et al. (2005), which can embarrass people. In the meantime, developing non-verbal behaviors is also key to adapting intercultural communication; failure to do so might lead to poor performance in foreign communication and undermine the drive to establish relations. However, students need to learn this critical level apart from the standard parts of language education, such as lexicon, grammar teaching, etc. Research conducted by Molinsky et al. (2005) first shows that explicit recognition of foreign gestures can be considered a high level of ICC. Then it also suggests the relationship between identifying non-verbal action and better cross-cultural collaboration and also, more effective relationships with foreign colleagues (Molinsky et al., 2005). Based on the potential risk caused by lacking non-verbal communication skills and the benefits of non-verbal communication, its education may successfully help learners obtain ICC.
Educational Pathways to ICC: Non-Verbal and Intercultural Speaker Education
The next point about non-communicative education is language lessons, which might lead to people becoming intercultural. We can identify a unique goal of this approach to language teaching compared to conventional methods in L2 Education. On the other hand, the former concentrates on setting the English language as close as possible to the native speaker’s level. However, most researchers believe that language is an essential cultural trait. Wilkinson (2020) used the example of passing a language test to obtain citizenship or permanent residence in many countries.
Similarly, Byram (2020) argued that possessing a foreign language could be considered an understanding of a specific group’s cultural customs and beliefs. Based on this relationship between language and identity, requiring L2 learners to achieve native speaker’s level may cause them to gain less ICC because in this progress, learners were separated from their culture and their cultural customs were not involved in the interaction (Kramer, 2014, cited in Wilkinson, 2020). This means the culture of the language they learn dominates the interaction rather than their own.
The inequality makes the communication not cross culture but under one cultural background. As a result, individuals cannot achieve ICC. In this case, education for becoming intercultural was argued to improve the issue of L2 learners’ lack of equality in intercultural communication. Intercultural speakers are defined as individuals who can master more than one language and relevant knowledge (Wilkinson, 2020), are aware of and deal with differences (Byram and Risager, 1999, cited in Wilkinson, 2020), and also perceive similarities and connections between different cultures (Holiday, 2016). The reason education can succeed in ICC is primarily attributed to language culture being included in the relevant courses. A was made by Apanasyuk, Soldatov and Kireeva in 2019 that the education for intercultural purposes should be included with the target country’s national and cultural details. The qualitative research by Wilkinson (2020), where a text about a specific German region is to be groped down and is to be adequately comprehended, is also cited to reinforce this argument. After completing such activities, the good students and learners’ attention and motivation and their appetite for lessons increased. Hence, they recognize the need to begin intercultural communication and bring the required skills. As a result, this kind of education approach can exclude any situation of single culture dominance and can relay equal communication between all cultures to create the much-needed opportunities to achieve ICC.
Studying Abroad as a Catalyst for ICC
Studying abroad can be a final factor in the acquisition of ICC. Telecollaboration can also provide an opportunity to be exposed to other cultures. However, studying abroad has already been proved more effective than the former by the research of Lee and Song (2019). Studying abroad experience is defined as learning in a foreign country for more than four months (Williams, 2005). Making direct contact with individuals from other cultures can be a possible reason. It is located in the approach-avoid approach that is directed to the willingness to contact some foreign groups (Yashima, 2002, in Apple and Aliponga, 2018). On this road, there is the possibility that it makes people unite and become more intelligent about their local culture (Lee & Song, 2019). While Lee and Song’s (2019) perspective is on how the host country understands, Sobkowiak’s (2019) emphasizes the view of other cultures and cognition is being considered. In the experiment, the Polish students hold the view of contrasting lifestyles in Poland and eight other cultural habits. Even though this experiment revealed a small number of international students making friends with local students, participants could still have the opportunity to speak with their classmates from different cultural backgrounds.
As a result, people who go to study abroad can extend their ‘approach-avoidance’ tendencies and, therefore, move from ‘approach’ closer to ‘approach.’ Besides, it is essential to note that study abroad can lead to individuals having better L2 efficacy. Self-efficacy was viewed as the level of commitment with individuals trusting that they would do all right and succeed at their tasks (Graham and Weiner, 1995, cited in Jackson, 2015). So, this factor of the ICC will be influential for those with much self-efficacy and will commence the discussion with the different cultures (Ehram, 1996 cited in Jackson, 2015). The research carried out by Jackson (2015) showed that self-efficacy levels rose among students after they returned. Such a developing tendency is backed by the official arguments of Neff and Apple (2013); the research has demonstrated that short-term and long-term stays abroad can boost L2 speaking confidence. While the disparity in the degree of amplification of these research projects may differ, they can support the consideration of studying abroad’s effect on self-efficacy development and success in the cultural adjustment process.
Conclusion
This essay has analyzed the appropriate level of anxiety; intercultural education and studying abroad are three necessary factors for the successful acquisition of ICC. Firstly, anxiety can help to obtain ICC by stimulating individuals’ motivation for intercultural communication. In addition, intercultural education was divided into non-verbal and intercultural speaker education. Both of them can effectively develop ICC. Finally, studying abroad can lead to the acquisition of ICC by creating exposure to individuals from other cultures and reinforcing self-efficacy. As globalization develops, intercultural communication becomes essential in education and workplaces. ICC needs to be more deeply researched and applied in those situations. The three factors analyzed in this essay may be worth integrating with the existing education system to enhance individuals’ ICC and help them perform better in globalization learning or the workplace.
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