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Intercultural Competences Develop by Themselves: True or False?

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Intercultural Readiness

Abstract

Spending time abroad is important in order to develop intercultural competences — but it won’t develop them all by itself. They’re not like a suntan that happens just from being in the sun! To be effective and at ease in dealing with other cultures, we need to build on our abilities to listen, respond to signals, make and maintain networks and manage the newness of places and people strange to us. And the key to intercultural competence is our cross-cultural friendships.

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Notes

  1. The need to define more clearly criteria for intercultural effectiveness is argued for by David C. Thomas and Stacey R. Fitzsimmons (2008) ‘Cross-Cultural Skills and Abilities’, in Peter B. Smith and Mark F Peterson (eds) The Handbook of Cross-Cultural Management Research (London: SAGE) pp. 201–15.

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© 2014 Ursula Brinkmann and Oscar van Weerdenburg

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Brinkmann, U., van Weerdenburg, O. (2014). Intercultural Competences Develop by Themselves: True or False?. In: Intercultural Readiness. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137346988_6

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