Intercultural Competence Essay

Moreover, people do not have a need to be in constant contact with each other. Further, it signals that in low information cultures, such as Germany, it takes time to build up friendships. This can also be applied to the complex structure and length of German sentences. In order to understand those sentences a listener has to listen thoroughly to receive the full meaning of a sentence.
Furthermore, as the third term in Hall’s model the time usage is stated. The monochrome time orientation, to which the German culture is counted, is the one dimensional use of time. A direct connection exists between low-context cultures and monochrome time ori-ented societies. This idea of time can be described as the view that time is limited and can only …show more content…
Following, three different com-ponents will be distinguished and their relevance for intercultural competences evaluated. The first is the cognitive part of intercultural competence. It implies relevant knowledge for intercultural encounters, such as culture or country specific knowledge. However, to have theoretical knowledge about the concept of culture is equally important. This means awareness about the functioning of cultures and the existence of cultural differences and their possible effects during intercultural interactions. Furthermore, the cognitive dimension includes self-reflexivity about one’s attitudes, behavior and communication pattern.
The affective sub-competence was identified as a second part of intercultural compe-tence. It especially includes the attitude and behavior towards members of another culture. This can be indicated by an interest in other cultures and open-mindedness towards such. Moreover, empathy and the ability to recognize subtle communicative signals count towards the affective sub-competence. Lastly, the tolerance for ambiguity is a part of the affective competence, meaning the coping with contradiction between one’s own and an-other’s person value and norm