Listening as an Intercultural Competency
Listening is an important skill to have when interacting with anyone, regardless of their gender, race, socio-economic status or age. My listening skills have been put to the test when I have found myself talking to someone from a different cultural and linguistic background. Listening is an important component of intercultural competence. In fact, Green, Fairchild, Knudsen and Lease-Gubrud, 2018 say that listening is more than half of communication behavours! How we listen can affect our relationships with others which is why it is so important to really listen to the other person and oursevles.
(Green, Fairchild, Knudsen & Lease-Gubrud, 2018)
It is not only listening to what the person is saying, but it is really listening to what they are saying and the meaning and feelings behind the words. This means opening your mind and putting aside your assumptions and biases, so you can open yourself up to another person’s perspectives. On my travels, I have encountered many situations where a potentially dangerous situation has turned into a wonderful opportunity to learn about another person and about myself. A time I remember was when I found myself in the middle of some student protests in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Had I not taken the time to listen and open my mind, I may have had a very different experience and certainty may not have made a new friend.
Port Elizabeth is a city of about a million people in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. After a 28 hour flight and a stop in Frankfurt, I made it to Port Elizabeth, or PE as the locals call it. I stayed in a place called Summerstrand which was 10 minutes from the beach and about 10 minutes from Nelson Mandela University where I would work for the next 4 months.
What surprised me when I arrived in South Africa was the diverse mix of people and the friendliness of people. During my time in PE, I had the opportunity to interact with people who were considered “colored”, white Afrikaans, Black Afrikaans and white English speaking South Africans and Xhosa. As well, I befriended a couple of girls from Zimbabwe. It truly is a diverse country.
Despite the dangerous reputation that South Africa has and the high level of violence, I did not encounter any problems when I was there or potentially dangerous situations. I would say because I had taken the time to listen to other people and reflect on the situation, I turned what may have been a dangerous or not as rewarding situation as an enriching one.
I had been in PE for a couple of weeks when I arrived to see students gathered around and some holding signs. I asked a student what was going on and he told me the students were protesting because they did not have money to register and there was not enough accommodation for students.
The students had barricaded the roads with twigs and benches and staff and teachers were not able to get into the university. I learned that these protests were not uncommon and had happened before. I listened to the situation from both points of view. I was told by some community members that it was an embarrassment and students were just causing problems. As I listened to the student who told me why they were protesting, I realized the importance of listening to both sides of the story and giving people the chance to voice their concerns, their opinions and their victories.
By taking the time to talk to someone and listen to them, we put aside our assumptions and truly look at the situation from their perspective.
Student Protests