Intercultural Competence is something that has to be learned through practise.  It includes understanding ourselves as well as others.

I once heard an English as Another Language (EAL) teacher say she felt that the more she learned about different cultures the less she felt she knew and the more apologetic she felt about her interactions.  I don’t agree.  I think the more opportunity we have to interact with people,  (we’re all different, aren’t we?)  the more we learn about each other’s cultures, the more colourful, dynamic and interesting our lives become.  I hope you enjoy this little presentation I developed using work done by the great people at  Norquest College Centre for Intercultural Education.