Page 101 - Handbooks of Applied Linguistics Communication Competence Language and Communication Problems Practical Solutions

Emotion and intercultural adjustment 79

us to engage in more constructive methods of interacting, and keep us from truly
appreciating those differences and integrating with people who are different.
One of the goals, therefore, of intercultural adaptation is to adopt an adap-
tation pattern that minimizes these stresses and negative adjustment outcomes,
and maximizes positive ones. Negative adjustment outcomes often serve as im-
portant motivators for continued or refined adaptations to the new environment,
a concept that is rooted in the notion that emotions are motivational (Tomkins
1962, 1963) and that affect fuels the development of cognitive schemas (Piaget
1952). The development of strategies that deal with potential conflict and mis-
understanding is imperative in order to produce successful and effective long-
term intercultural communication and relationships.

1.2. Factors that predict adjustment
Studies have identified a wide range of variables such as knowledge, language
proficiency, attitudes, previous experiences, levels of ethnocentrism, social sup-
port, cultural similarity, adventure, and self-construals as factors that influence
intercultural adjustment (reviewed in Matsumoto et al. 2001; see also Brabant,
Wilson and Gallois in this volume) Among these, three factors have consistently
emerged as leading contributors: knowledge of host and home culture, ethno-
centrism, and language proficiency. In fact it is precisely because of these fac-
tors that many intercultural training interventions involve language skill and
knowledge training. The underlying assumption of such training is that if people
can speak the language of the host culture, and if they know some basic facts
about it, they can adjust to life better. Likewise, if people can recognize ethno-
centric attitudes, they will have successful adjustments.
Fostering positive intercultural adjustment requires the development of ef-
fective intercultural communication competence (ICC). ICC has been studied
extensively (Gudykunst and Kim 1984; Littlejohn and Jabusch 1982; Powers
and Lowery 1984), and refers to the skills, talents, and strategies in which we
engage in order to exchange thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs among
people of different cultural backgrounds (cf. Prechtl and Davidson-Lund in this
volume). ICC is reliant on a process that ensures successful and effective com-
munication across cultures.
How can we develop such a process? (cf. Rost-Roth in this volume; Newton
in this volume.) One strategy would be to become thoroughly versant in a cul-
ture, recording the cultural similarities and differences found in it and building
your own ‘cultural dictionary’. This is a formidable task, as there is so much
about culture to learn and so little time, energy, and storage space available.
This approach, however, is not without merit, and certainly many people de-
velop such almanacs in their minds about cultures with which they become inti-
mately familiar through personal experiences. Related processes such as knowl-