What is intercultural communication? How does perspective shape a person’s definition of the key tenets of the term and the field? These are the core questions explored by this accessible global introduction to intercultural communication. Each chapter explores the topic from a different geographic, religious, theoretical, and/or methodological perspective, with an emphasis on non-Western approaches, including Buddhist, South American, Muslim, and Chinese perspectives. Featuring the voices of a range of international contributors, this new textbook presents the full breadth of diverse approaches to intercultural communication and showcases the economic, political, and cultural/societal needs for and benefits of communicative competence.

Today‘s world is more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. Within the context of globalisation and the associated increased contact between diverse groups of people, the psychology of culture is more relevant than ever. Asia-Pacific Perspectives on Intercultural Psychology brings together leading researchers from 11 countries to show

The intercultural occurs in the space between two or more distinct cultures that encounter each other, an area where meanings are translated and difference is negotiated. In this volume, scholars from diverse disciplines reflect on the phenomenon of interculturality and on the theoretical and methodological frameworks of interpreting it

Many language teachers recognise the importance of integrating intercultural learning into language learning, but how this can be best achieved is not always apparent. This is particularly the case in foreign language learning contexts where teachers are working with a prescribed textbook and opportunities to use the language outside the classroom are limited. This book argues that teachers can work creatively with conventional resources and utilise classroom experiences in order to help learners interpret aspects of communication in insightful ways and develop awareness of the influence of cultural assumptions and values on language use. The book provides extensive analysis of a range of classroom interactions to demonstrate how teachers and learners can work together to construct opportunities for intercultural learning through reflection on pragmatics.

The intercultural occurs in the space between two or more distinct cultures that encounter each other, an area where meanings are translated and difference is negotiated. In this volume, scholars from diverse disciplines reflect on the phenomenon of interculturality and on the theoretical and methodological frameworks of interpreting it

With the development of instantaneous global communication, it is vital to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries. This addition to the acclaimed Encountering Mission series is designed to offer contemporary intercultural communication insights to mission students and practitioners. Authored by leading missionary scholars with significant intercultural experience, the book explores the cultural values that show up in intercultural communication and examines how we can communicate effectively in a new cultural setting. Features such as case studies, tables, figures, and sidebars are included, making the book useful for classrooms.

Illustrated by an empirical study of English as a Foreign Language reading in Argentina, this book argues for a different approach to the theoretical rationales and methodological designs typically used to investigate cultural understanding in reading, in particular foreign language reading. It presents an alternative approach which is more authentic in its methods, more educational in its purposes, and more supportive of international understanding as an aim of language teaching in general and English language teaching in particular.

A fully revised edition of the seminal classic This classic study was originally written by Edward Stewart in 1972 and has become a seminal work in the field of intercultural relations. In this edition, Stewart and Milton J. Bennett have greatly expanded the analysis of American cultural patterns by introducing new cross-cultural comparisons and drawing on recent reseach on value systems, perception psychology, cultural anthropology, and intercultural communication. Beginning with a discussion of the issues relative to contact between people of different cultures, the authors examine the nature of cultural assumptions and values as a framework for cross-cultural analysis. They then analyze the human perceptual process, consider the influence of language on culture, and discuss nonverbal behavior. Central to the book is an analysis of American culture constructed along four dimentions: form of activity, form of social relations, perceptions of the world, and perception of the self. American cultural traits are isolated out, analyzed, and compared with parallel characteristics of other cultures. Finally, the cultural dimentions of communication and their implications for cross-cultural interaction are examined.

In Perspectives on Intercultural Psychotherapy, Okeke Azu-Okeke explores cultural identity by drawing on his own experience as the first and only Black trainee in an Institute for Group Analysis in London and the impact this has had on his work as a lecturer and supervisor, as well as research from his group analysis sessions over many years to contribute a deeper awareness of the serious aspects of colonialism. Drawing from the perspective of an Igbo man of the older generation who grew up in two conflicting cultures, the traditional Igbo culture of Nigeria and that of the British colonialists, Okeke provides a thorough study of how cultural identity can influence research and practice in whatever form it takes: the academic, the theoretical, the economic and the psychological. The book discusses how ignoring deeply held social and spiritual values can alienate many trainees and potential clients from participating in the professions of psychotherapy and counselling. It also reflects on the author’s research into traditional Igbo methods of healing and compares these with Western models, especially of group analysis, and discusses how mutual learning can be achieved. This book will be of great interest to counsellors and psychotherapists; arts therapists; sociologists and anthropologists; policy makers engaged in health and social care policies; practitioners of alternative medicine; social workers and mental health workers at all levels.

Intercultural Perspectives on Family Counseling expands cultural awareness in the practice of family counseling by offering cultural-specific perspectives for addressing common issues that emerge in dyadic, marital, and family relationships around the globe. The topics illuminated in the book serve to sharpen cultural mindfulness and expand the reader’s knowledge and understanding of intercultural family counseling issues. Each chapter examines a couple or family-related clinical issue, offering clinical intervention strategies within the context of a specific cultural population. By representing various national and cultural identities, this book showcases a transcultural understanding of family. Students and practicing marriage and family counselors and therapists will benefit greatly from this clinical resource that exposes them to the similarities and differences in addressing client issues across cultures.