Introduction
Creating a safe and welcoming environment for all participants is one of the core requirements for positive and productive communication. However, in some settings, achieving the goal of peaceful opinion and knowledge sharing becomes especially challenging due to the collision of perspectives, beliefs, and other cultural characteristics of individuals involved. Therefore, understanding the core of the conflict and introducing a strategy targeted specifically at assisting in managing the observed issue is necessary. Though the U-Curve Model might seem a simplistic framework for handling the instances of culture clashes, it represents a useful conflict management tool in the target setting due to the opportunity for participants to readjust promptly and continue collaborating. This paper will provide a brief description of the intercultural situation, followed by the discussion of the selected communication strategy, and the means of implementing it in the target setting. Finally, the paper will be concluded by a summary of the key points.
Intercultural Communication Situation: Description
The situation under analysis can be described as manageable due to the comparatively strong intent to collaborate with participants, who are bound by a common goal of learning. Specifically, the target setting represents an online environment where students must collaborate, participate in discussions, and take an active part in group projects in order to advance their skills. Since the teacher supervises the target setting remotely, the extent of control that the teacher can exert over the learners and their interactions is curbed significantly (Viol & Klasen, 2021). On the one hand, the specified change suggests that learners are provided with an opportunity to become more independent in their academic development. Specifically, they are provided with an opportunity to make choices and their own judgments while relying on the framework provided by the educator, which enables them to gain agency in learning and become confident in their academic exploration.
However, the described situation also implies that students are not guided by an educator fully and, therefore, are forced to manage specific issues, including interpersonal ones, independently. Given the extent of cultural diversity that the digital environment provides, predicting every possible path in which the interactions between students may evolve, is practically impossible, which means that conflicts will occur and consume the time needed for students to build the required literacy skills (Harris et al., 2021). Specifically, in the scenario in question, ethnic and racial minority students, particularly, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, as well as those of Middle Eastern descent, have reported to be subjected to racism, specifically, online harassment and bullying. The specified behavior has been taking place during the tasks requiring one-on-one interactions, specifically, dialogues and small projects. The observed issue occurred in multiple forms, including mocking the minority students’ traditions, manner of speech, ideas, and their overall worldview. The described behavior is entirely inadmissible in the academic context, which is why bullies must be provided with an important lesson in tolerance and acceptance of other cultures.
Intercultural Communication Strategy Discussion
In order to address the problem described above, the U-Curve Model has been selected. The model in question, which represents a framework for cultural adjustment, suggests that people undergoing the process of adjusting to a different culture typically pass through four essential stages. These include “Honeymoon,” “Hostility,” “Humor,” and “At Home” phases (Martin & Nakayama, 2018). The stages above imply that, when encountering a different culture, one is likely to start with feeling the excitement of exploration (“Honeymoon”) (Martin & Nakayama, 2018). In the scenario described above, the enthusiasm with which the participants were about to share their ideas can be described as the “Honeymoon” phase.
However, as soon as differences and discrepancies in personal beliefs and perceptions are discovered, the period of “Hostility,” namely, the development of animosity, disdain, and alienation, is launched. In the target setting, members of the Pacific Islanders and Middle Eastern communities faced bullying from their American peers due to the differences in perceptions and attitudes toward specific issues, as well as the lack of familiarity with the essential elements of American mainstream culture and media. Currently, the relationships between the learners have been looped at the “Hostility” stage, causing the participants to be divided into bullies and victims (Fakir, 2018). Since the conversation between them is looped into a perpetual restatement of the same discriminatory ideas, the situation exacerbates as the lack of mutual understanding and the unwillingness to compromise increase.
For the relationships between the target audiences to improve, allowing them to transfer to the third stage of the U-Curve Model, specifically, the “Humor” phase, a conflict management technique for promoting the values associated with tolerance and acceptance will be required. In the specified context, the concept of humor might seem as derisive and invalidating to the experiences of the bullied students; however, it is vital in changing the dynamics of relationships within the group (Sun et al., 2020). Specifically, in the described case, humor should be used as a tool for uniting the participants instead of alienating those belonging to minority groups. In other words, the elements of humor and lightheartedness must be injected into the conversation so that learners from the culturally dominant group do not approach misunderstandings as the source for ridiculing their peers and bullying them. Instead, the students will be taught to view misconceptions and differences in opinions, preferences, and tastes as the source of opportunities for learning about other cultures and developing strong connections with members of said cultures.
It is believed that the humor phase will allow creating a basis for changes in the learners’ concept of cross-cultural interactions, in general. Namely, they are expected to develop an understanding of other cultures as unique and legitimate, their difference from the U.S. one being the source of inspiration and a premise for active knowledge and experience sharing. Thus, students will learn to produce new and fascinating ideas at the intersection of their cultures. Furthermore, the incorporation of the third phase of the U-Model will support the learners experiencing bullying by helping them overcome their victim status and build strength and resilience.
Finally, the At Home stage is expected to be achieved once the participants reconcile, and the bullies make the necessary amends. The At Home stage will help the learners that have experienced harassment and discomfort to recover from the negative experiences and build relationships anew, overcoming the prejudice. By offering the minority students a strategy for managing conflicts effectively and retaining their confidence, one will be able to support them in confronting bullying and discrimination, while also gaining critical insight about the target culture.
Conclusion
Though the U-Curve Model as a framework for managing intercultural communication and minimizing the threat and impact of cross-cultural conflicts might seem simplistic, it provides a fast and effective way of channeling the communication process toward reconciliation and collaboration. Moreover, it serves to establish a pattern according to which participants will model their future interactions with members of other cultures. Therefore, the framework should be viewed as a potent solution for the specified conflict, as well as a crucial learning opportunity for the students.
References
Fakir, M. S. I. (2018). Intercultural adaptation strategies to culture shock of international students in China: A case study. International Journal of Business and Management, 13(2), 28-33.
Harris, R., Noël Alton, D., Ferro, D., Herrmann, S., & Peckenpaugh, K. (2021). Combatting culture shock. Weber State University Press.
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2018). Intercultural communication in contexts (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Sun, K., Yossuck, P., Panyadee, C., & Ek-lem, B. (2020). The process of Chinese students’ cross-cultural adaptation and their main difficulties encountered while studying in the Upper Northern Thai Universities. Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Studies, 343-372.
Viol, C. U., & Klasen, S. (2021). U-Curve, squiggly lines or nothing at all? Culture shock and the Erasmus experience. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 33(3), 1-28.