AATF National Commission on Cultural Competence
Understanding Culture
Indicators of Competence
Upon reaching each of the stages below, the learner
Stage 1
- is curious about similarities and differences between the home and the target culture.
- shows willingness to understand the differences encountered.
Stage 2
- is tolerant of differences between the home and target culture.
- is open and accepting of different peoples.
- recognizes the depth and complexity of cultural differences.
- shows an active interest in the search for understanding of the target culture.
Stage 3
- is aware of the problem of accepting the norms of another culture while maintaining one's own values and identity.
- shows fair-mindedness and tolerance in trying to solve an embarrassing situation or a cross-cultural conflict.
- can adjust behavior and conversation according to the situational context and to the expectations of participants.
Stage 4
- recognizes the importance of understanding manifestations of the target culture in terms of its own context.
- is aware of his/her own cultural perspective and of how this perspective influences one's perceptions of phenomena.
- can act and react in a culturally appropriate way while being aware of his/her
"otherness."
B. Ability to Observe and Analyze a Culture
Upon reaching each of the stages below, the learner
Stage 1
- can give examples of the relationship between language and culture.
- can identify a few characteristics of the target culture as cultural patterns.
- can identify a few common cultural differences between home and target cultures.
- can identify some commonly-held images of the target culture as stereotypes.
Stage 2
- can demonstrate understanding that cultural values, patterns, and institutions cannot be used to predict the behavior of all individuals.
- can give examples of an observer's own cultural biases interfering with understanding of the target culture.
- can give an example of how cultures change over time.
- can discuss ways in which cultural norms and values are transmitted.
- can give examples of one culture influencing another.
Stage 3
- can give examples of social behaviors that express the target culture's underlying value system.
- can describe and explain important elements of major institutions in the target culture.
- can interpret social phenomena within the context of the target culture.
- can describe several instances of major change within the target culture.
- can describe some major forces that influence culture and cultural change.
Stage 4
- recognizes that a culture is not uniform and can identify the principal subcultures of the target culture.
- can critique phenomena of the target culture with a minimum of bias.
- can interpret social phenomena at several levels of generalization.
- can describe the multifaceted character of sociocultural phenomena.
C. Communication in Cultural Context (Verbal and Non-Verbal)
Stage 1
- knows what verbal havior is appropriate in different greeting and leave-taking routines.
- knows that there are familiar and polite forms of address.
- recognizes some easily interpreted gestures.
- is aware of difference in demeanor in formal and informal social settings.
Stage 2
- uses appropriate titles of address and formula in survival-level situations.
- can use familiar and polite forms of address appropriately.
- demonstrates knowledge of some common formulas used in communications.
- is aware of the difference in conversational distance in the U.S.A. and in France.
Stage 3
- can express attitudes towards people taking into account social context.
- has some knowledge of regional variations in the target language.
- can interpret some common French gestures not used in American culture.
- can establish and maintain appropriate distance in conversations with French people.
Stage 4
- is able to function appropriately in a wide range of social and professional contexts.
- can understand and explain humor or irony in a cultural context.
- can use typically French gestures and sounds.
- understands some current physical gestures that accompany or evoke traditional
colloquialisms.
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Last update 15 June 1996.