When I tell people in India that I’m engaged in something called intercultural communication, I see puzzled faces - ‘What’s that! Do you do folklore or tribal history? Sing in different languages? What exactly do you do?’. I am indignant - how can educated people have no idea that an entire field of study called Intercultural Studies exists! Now confession time: rewind to 2010, I myself would ask these oh-so-ignorant questions! I had been in academia all my life, teaching French – totally absorbed in foreign language teaching methodologies with absolutely no clue that there exists this strange animal called Intercultural Studies.
By a twist of Fate, I moved into the corporate world where I first heard about things like intercultural awareness, intercultural competence, intercultural communication and so on. I was fascinated, and the learning curve was not a curve but a vertical take-off. Not long after I found myself heading a team called Culture and Language Initiatives at the largest IT company of India. At that point of time, it had around 400,000 employees operating out of all 5 continents. There were over 100 nationalities and languages. My task was to provide learning solutions so that these multilingual and multicultural teams could work productively together.
One of the biggest challenges I faced, was in recruitment. I struggled to find qualified candidates for my team. There were lots of bright language students, in India, with Masters and PhDs. But no one, with qualifications in Intercultural Studies, Intercultural Communication or other programs related to the field. The scene has not changed much since. Today, one of the things I do, is work in advisory capacity at the Board of Studies at Universities in India. The subject is still almost non-existent.
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I am intrigued; so are the other founders of BCFAI, a professional body that we have set up for those working in business communication. We know that intercultural training is happening in India. We conduct it. We all believe in the relevance, power and potential of intercultural education, especially in a multilingual and multicultural country like India, and wonder why common knowledge about the subject is missing at most institutes of higher education, corporate houses as well as amongst the general public. These thoughts led us to undertake a survey to answer one simple question – what is happening in India, in the form of intercultural education.
To define or not to define
Intercultural education, intercultural studies, intercultural understanding and so on - the terms are broad. A quick Google search throws up hundreds of definitions. A search through research material is no different - tons of definitions pop up.
So, the dilemma – which terms and what definitions would we want to choose for our Survey? We used two terms in the statement describing the purpose of the survey. Both could sound loose and vague - “The survey is a research initiative of the Business Communication Facilitators' Association of India (BCFAI) with the aim to understand better the context of education and training for intercultural understanding in India, including its need, relevance and goals. It is part of BCFAI's larger faculty development initiative and its vision to put India on the global map in the field of intercultural education.”
As for definitions - the final decision? We decided to let our target audience interpret the terms as they thought fit. Our objective was not to provide pre-set definitions, that originated in other parts of the world and check how India would fit into them. On the contrary.
Where are you
This brings us to our biggest source of anxiety during the phase when we were designing the survey instrument. The target audience. We knew what information we were seeking, but we didn’t know who would be able to give it to us. We knew that a handful of elite, higher education institutes and corporate houses were offering training in this field, but we didn’t know if anyone beyond this niche group was doing so. So, where were we to find those educators, if any? How were we to draw them out and make them respond to our survey? As a matter of fact, would anyone respond at all?
To increase our chances at responses, we cast our net wide. Any educator, that is, teacher and trainer, from the fields of social sciences, language learning, communication and liberal arts was eligible to respond. They could decide if they were engaging with this field called intercultural education, as they understood the term.
Surprise!
To our pleasant surprise, we received quite a few responses – the majority were educators from higher education institutes and corporate houses; some were from schools, governmental and non-governmental bodies. And to our greater surprise, we discovered that an overwhelming majority – 75% - teach intercultural understanding. The form, the orientation, the depth of the learning material may vary, but 75% of the respondents are bringing education on intercultural understanding into classrooms in India.
Actually, if we take a step back, should this really come as a surprise? Indians live multilingualism and multiculturality. Babies grow up being petted in and baby talked to in multiple languages. One has to search pretty hard to find people who continue to live in the same place where they were born. There is large scale internal migration happening in India. People move for professional, educational or family reasons (matrimony or children moving with parents). Hence, it comes as no surprise that India has an internal migrant population of 450 million that is growing at a rate of 4.5% annually. As a result, Indians usually live amongst people who have languages and cultural norms that are quite removed from the one they were born into.
I have to mention an interesting anecdote that a fellow delegate recounted during the SIETAR Europa conference this summer. Apparently, she managed to write a letter in the Hindi language to a colleague in India and was mighty pleased with herself for accomplishing this Herculean task. She eagerly awaited wholehearted appreciation from the reader. But the response was clipped - the colleague, from India, did not read and write Hindi well enough to exchange letters!
I totally get the response. I’m in the same boat. The street Hindi that I’ve picked up from fruit vendors in Delhi or autorickshaw drivers in Mumbai, (spoken with heavy doses of my mother tongue - Bengali - accent) gets me through most transactional situations. But ask me to read or write Hindi and I’m stumped!
With more than 19,500 mother tongues and dialects in India, no one knows them all. We are always looking for ways to navigate around linguistic and cultural differences in everyday life. It’s an instinct we need to develop very early in life.
What intercultural education means to the respondents
Cutting back to the survey, what do educators believe intercultural education is about? The responses give us a glimpse. There are varying perspectives.
Language learning and Culture: For some, intercultural education has much to do with language learning
“Language learning is not just about grammar and vocabulary. Language is a mutating entity, mutating according to place and context. Thus, use of languages in real life situation as well as in understanding arts and culture requires intercultural training.”
Intercultural Training and the professional world: A majority link education for intercultural understanding to the professional world.
“In a global environment, which transcends national geography, interactions between professionals and nationals of different cultures are a regular occurrence, as we are inherently part of a global cultural melting pot, at least in cyberspace. So, it is essential and vital to inculcate cross-cultural training to people from all walks of life.”
Multiculturality within India: While most turn the lens outwards, beyond Indian borders, some turn it inwards towards India’s own multicultural society.
“Workplaces these days are undeniably multicultural. In a country like India, it is even more evident with the cultural variations we witness across states.”
Culture and identity: Some believe intercultural education is primarily connected to identity and respect.
“Intercultural understanding fosters mutual respect for one another's identity.”
Intercultural training for world peace: Some consider intercultural education to belong less at a transactional level and more at an abstract level.
“I feel the times we live in require intercultural understanding. I see a lot of "othering" in public discourse and am disturbed by the lack of understanding and the rejection of cultural differences. This leads to violent communication and, unfortunately, the isolation of cultures we know little about. World peace is a worthy goal, and intercultural understanding is one way forward.”
Each of the above may resonate with some of the existing research – be it Rader’s or Milton Bennett’s or that of other interculturists. But just like there is no consensus on a single definition regarding intercultural studies in parts of the world where the field is more developed, in India too, educators don’t have a united view of things. Moreover, while we do talk of resonance between established research and the way Indian educators are viewing things, we are not talking of perfect matches. Educators in India look at these terms from a perspective that they find most relevant to their context.
Coming up...
Context! A word that opens a Pandora’s box. There are macro and micro forces that tug, tear, build and shape the context within which the educators function. These forces, intrinsic and unique to India, influence the way the target audience views something like education for intercultural understanding.
What are these forces? How has history moulded the culture of a country that we now call India? How are current realities influencing a highly dynamic and diverse society? How are these threads from the past and present intermingling? India can seem like a blurred kaleidoscope that makes no sense. But is there any method behind it? Next month, we will explore these questions - how rich strands intertwine, intersect or snap, how some things start to make sense while some leave us groping in the dark.
References:
3. (Open Access) Valuing Languages and Cultures: The First Step towards Developing Intercultural Understanding (2015) | Debra Rader | 6 Citations (typeset.io)
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