What difficulties in communication do cross-cultural workers face? How can these best be addressed in various settings?
by Donald Moon
Members of intercultural teams bring with them their cultural preferences or biases about many things, including leadership styles and how decisions are made. Misunderstandings and conflict were nearly inevitable when team members operate, often unknowingly, from their cultural preferences. Their different ideas about what they consider the correct way to make decisions is a key indicator of their cultural type.
Read Moreby Editor
In his novel, African Heartbeat and a Vulnerable Fool, Jim Harries gives the Western reader an opportunity to vicariously experience an immersion in African culture with all its confusing reality. It is based on true stories and events, and takes place in the fictional African country of Holima.This book would be a good resource for prospective cross-cultural workers to help them be aware of what they are “going to meet up with” (p. 165).
Read Moreby Sunny Hong
This book was written to help members of a multicultural team recognize and understand why cultural differences exist among members of their team and to apply biblical truth to cultural differences. Silzer starts this book by stating that we are all created in the image of God. The image of God in us is distorted, however, by following cultural practices rather than biblical truth.
Read Moreby Jim Harries
Dominant Western engagement in Africa wrongly presupposes African people to be dualistic. This misleads Westerners to believe Africans should be able to accept and build on secular approaches to solving their society’s problems. The result is confusion and unhealthy dependency on the West. To benefit tomorrow’s Africa, a genuine holistic witness to Jesus, and the positive development possible as people within societies follow Jesus, must use local categories and languages.
Read Moreby May Nor Clara Cheng
As it is said in a Chinese proverb, “Presenting a block of brick, hope for a block of jade in return.” I would like to invite the author, Dr. Harries, and the readers of this article to respond to my understanding of this article and to my inquiries.
Read Moreby Allen Yeh
Basically, we are trying to come up with what is the modern-day equivalent to Koine Greek back in the first century—a simple language that is easy enough for widespread use that also can convey non-Western thought.
Read Moreby Sam Yim
The concept of human development is different for East and West. For example, I heard of a Hong Kong pastor who worked with American missionaries to do church planting in Hong Kong. They started from zero and gave him five years to be independent. It meant this Chinese worker would not receive any financial assistance from the Western mission group after five years. When the time was up, the Chinese worker requested that the new church needed to have more time to be independent, but the negotiation failed as plans were fixed. The Chinese church viewed the Western group as selfish and that they were being forsaken too early. Therefore, any partnership needs both parties to dialogue and both parties need to be willing to adjust.
Read Moreby May Nor Clara Cheng
In this entry, WCIU Faculty member May Nor Clara Cheng reflects on her own experience as a Cross-Cultural Worker and the ways God directed her heart in her ministries.
Read Moreby Jim Harries
As a champion for the Luo people, I am aware of sensitive information that outside speakers are not able to know about. To Interpret or Not to Interpret African Customs to Westerners? Sometimes I agonise over what to say or not say. Sometimes I am with other Westerners in African contexts. Should I tell other Westerners when they do things wrong? Are there even wrong ways of doing things? Why should I care whether they say or do silly things? Who am I to speak to them?
Read Moreby Beth Snodderly
Eighty percent of the world, and nearly 100% of the majority world, are from primary oral learning cultures. This means the people— whether non-literate, functionally non-literate, or even semi-literate—prefer to learn in ways other than through reading printed matter. Even listening to Western literate analytical forms (such as lectures, lists, etc) is foreign to their way of thinking. The importance of this is that most of our students work in societies where the people are oral learners. We want to help our students become familiar with techniques they can use in teaching their people. If all they do in their studies with WCIU is read and write, they won’t have learned how to communicate their learning well to the people with whom they work.
This short reflection gives an example of video as an oral strategy.
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