Intercultural Interactions: A Practical Guide

by Kenneth H. Cushner and Richard W. Brislin

Book Overview

The first edition of Intercultural Interactions pioneered the 18-theme "culture-general" framework that has become the basis of work and research with a diverse array of populations, from interpreters for the deaf to helping professionals in multicultural settings and businesspeople around the world. Even more comprehensive in its scope and now with a practical new user′s guide, the second edition expands coverage to draw the reader in--with...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803959915
• ISBN13: 9780803959910
• Release Date: October 1995
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

excellent resource for teachers and cross-cultural trainers

Cushner and Brislin's Intercultural Interactions is perhaps the most useful cross-cultural studies book that I have ever read. Designed to be helpful regardless of the cultural background of those in the critical incidents, or the reader's particular culture, it is both highly useful as a reference book and as a teaching resource. The first chapter is an excellent introduction for people who are about to enter another culture extensively. The second, which is full of information for teachers and cross-cultural trainers, is also an enjoyable read. The main focus of the book, however, is in the next eight chapters, which present over one hundred examples of critical incidents under themes such as host customs, family, tourist experiences, the workplace and education. The cultural backgrounds of the people involved in these incidents are very diverse, and include Americans (and their many cultures), Europeans, Asians, Latin Americans, Arabs, and also the physically disabled and the deaf. All the stories are believable, having been well researched, and well written. What is more impressive, however, is the trouble the authors have taken to validate them, asking no fewer than sixty professionals from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds to offer an interpretation. This kind of scientific approach is excellent, I think, and I also welcomed there being no right answer; only preferred ones, since the experts could never agree unanimously.The final three chapters deal with issues of culture in greater depth, and also point to additional resources for teachers and cross-cultural trainers, which is all very useful.If I were to have to find fault with this book - which I do not want to do, then it would be that I found interpreting some of the stories rather easy once I read the options, since they had just one juicy morsel of information about a culture that gave the whole game away. This is a very minor point, of course, and teachers and cross-cultural trainers who plan to use such stories in class will surely be able to manage.I have not used Intercultural Interactions with my students yet, but I do plan to do so, and I am sure that they will enjoy learning from it, as much as I am sure that I will be using it for many years to come.

An excellent practical guide

An excellent practical guide for both students and teachers ofintercultural communication skills. The book provides a short, butprecise consolidation of the process of intercultural interaction, andfrom there on focusses on identifying one of the most prolific tools,the case study, employed to train intercultural communicationawareness and skills.The 'culture assimilator' technique requires the trainee to read shortcase studies, or critical incidents, that present culture clashesbetween individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Trainees aretypically asked to select from a range of alternative explanations forthe incident. Through the process of discussing in groups, attemptingto draw a conclusion or discover underlying concepts, trainees learnhow and why people make judgements concerning the cause of behaviour.The first third of the book provides a broad definition ofintercultural interaction and the issues involved at the point ofcultural misunderstanding (misattribution process). How the cultureassimilator facilitates the development of a more sophisticated,layered understanding of cultural behaviour rounds out theintroduction.The middle section of the books contains a substantialbulk of critical incidents and their accompanying explanatory essays,which cover 18 major themes that reflect the places and situationswhere people are most likely to encounter difficulties (workplace, inthe family, education and schooling, settling in and adjusting,socialising events, returning home, etc.).The last third of the book looks at the application of the criticalincidents for an understanding of the emotional consequences ofculture clash, and provides further background for 'knowledge areas'required to respond effectively to many every day behaviours.For especially teachers and trainers this book is a rich source ofmaterial to supplement courses or seminars, and a rare step-by-stepanalysis of the development and use of a typical method of trainingintercultural sensitivity. The authors guide the teacher and trainerthrough the stages of administering the 'culture assimilator' usingsample incidents, and provide clear guidelines on how to construct ortailor critical incidents key to their learners' understanding ofcultural concepts.The book, both as informational background and practical skillstraining tool, can be used for diverse groups such as internationalbusinessmen, teachers and teacher education students, psychologyprofessors, cross-cultural trainers, and even health careprofessionals. The critical incident method can be adapted alongculture-specific or culture-general lines, into role-plays, tointroduce a topic as a key point in understanding more complexconcepts.