Communication and Cultural Competence

Communication is not only language, either spoken or written. Many would also include so-called non-verbal communication, movement of limbs and body, and perhaps also spacial behaviour. However, I consider many further topics to be of central importance to communication, and it is to these the following pages wish to draw attention.

For the time being I will organise these topics into 7 categories, namely
1) Concepts
2) The physical body
3) The question "Who am I?"
4) Shifting contexts
5) Facing norms
6) Topics and narratives
7) Writing

Don’t overlook this:

Communication and competence, particularly in a foreign language, may differ considerably according to the time of the day, to degrees of fatigue, and quite particularly according to the emotions signalled, and signalled back, by those spoken to or those standing by. It is normal that communication is smoother and competence higher when feed-back is positive, rather than puzzled or negative. This factor runs across all efforts to enhance knowledge and skills.