Cross-cultural communication is extremely important and inevitable in today’s age of globalization. One will likely have to interact with members of another culture at some point, whether this is in a business, school, or travel setting. I studied this topic in depth in one of my Leadership Studies courses (Leadership in International Contexts) by looking at Hofstede’s analysis of the different cultural dimensions (in addition to the other dimensions laid out in the readings here). The cultural dimensions of learning a language are usually not based on the actual words of the language but on all of the other types of communication that go along with it. Thus, it’s important to be cognizant of all forms of cross-cultural communication we’re presenting, and to be understanding, patient, and open when experiencing a new culture. These were lessons that I was told during my study abroad orientation and ones that we emphasized as international orientation advisors for exchange students back at Richmond.
Living and studying in Italy made me very aware of some of these differences. Italian culture is much more polychronic and external than American culture. On any given morning, when I would leave my apartment for the bus stop at the same time every day, sometimes the bus would come within 5 minutes and sometimes it would take 40 minutes. Time is not to be rushed. People linger over meals and enjoy each other’s company. Relaxation and enjoying life are emphasized. Additionally, a lot of things are viewed as beyond one’s control. I often really enjoyed this approach to life. It was much less stressful and invited me to live in the present moment fully. However, it could also be extremely frustrating, such as when I got up early and walked 40 minutes to my teaching internship only to find the school closed for an obscure holiday/strike/students just decided not to show up that no one had thought to notify me of ahead of time. I had to take an internship seminar along with actually completing an internship, and these cultural differences were ones we discussed frequently. On the opposite side of the coin from Italy in terms of these dimensions, I traveled to Austria and Germany. These countries are more monochromic than the US, and much more so than Italy. This was thrown into sharp relief in a funny way when I was traveling with my family by train to southern Austria from Florence. We had four trains canceled in the same day within Italy due to delays and a variety of other circumstances, but as soon as we crossed the Austrian border everything was a model of efficiency! Other cultural dimensions play a part too. I had a German friend at Richmond who I wasn’t sure was that friendly at first—she was very aloof and after we became closer she was extremely direct. Fortunately another American friend who had spent significant time in Germany informed me that those trait manifestations were just cultural differences. I think that cultural differences are one of the most important things to keep in mind when learning a new language, but also the most interesting.
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