An Investigation of Intercultural Miscommunication Experiences

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Published: Oct 1, 2013

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Sibel Özdemir Çağatay
Middle East Technical University
Ayfer Küllü Sülü
Inonu University

Abstract

Communication, which has always been one of the basic elements of life, is becoming more and more intercultural in today’s world. People are not only transferring goods and technology among nations; they are also transferring their thoughts, ideas, and cultures. As this flow of communication among nations becomes common, intercultural communication problems, which can be called intercultural miscommunication, is becoming common as well. This paper investigates possible reasons for miscommunication among people from different cultures. Twenty-two participants from different nationalities took part in the study, and shared their intercultural miscommunication experiences. The researchers analyzed these miscommunication experiences by classifying them according to the categories suggested in the literature and the categories the researchers themselves suggested. The participants’ feelings and thought about their miscommunication experiences were also investigated. This study showed that there are many causes and factors that can lead to intercultural miscommunication. Thus, effort, desire and patience is needed a lot to get better mutual understanding and learn more about cultural differences so that we can increase cross-cultural awareness.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2013)
Section
Articles

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Author Biographies

Sibel Özdemir Çağatay, Middle East Technical University

Sibel Özdemir-Çağatay works as a lecturer at the School of Foreign
Languages, Middle East Technical University in Turkey. She graduated from
the ELT Department at Boğaziçi University in 2007. She also earned an M.A.
degree in ELT at Bilkent University in 2012. She is currently a PhD
student at the Department of English Language Education, Hacettepe
University. Her professional interests lie in alternative assessment,
TELL, Intercultural competence, CEFR. Contact info: osibel@metu.edu.tr

Ayfer Küllü Sülü, Inonu University

Ayfer Küllü-Sülü works as an instructor at the School of Foreign
Languages, İnönü University in Turkey. She graduated from ELT Department
at Yıldız Technical University in 2008. She is currently a student at MA
TEFL program, Bilkent University. Her professional interests include
Intercultural Competence, CEFR, Corpus Linguistics. Contact info:
ayfer.sulu@inonu.edu.tr

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