This paper examines intercultural communication in the context of voluntary community work, asking whether such engagement contributes to or detracts from intercultural exchange. Drawing on established theories — including Kincaid's convergence theory, co-cultural communication theory, and Gudykunst and Kim's ethnographic framework — the paper analyzes how a volunteering experience in events coordination facilitated meaningful cross-cultural interaction between Australian and Chinese participants. The analysis finds that volunteer work promotes intercultural adaptation, cultural sensitivity, and integration by immersing participants in an authentic social environment. The paper concludes with reflections on how community engagement can build the intercultural competence needed in an increasingly globalized world.
Intercultural communication in its simplest form involves sharing information across cultures and social groups. It encompasses understanding the actions, language, beliefs, and values of individuals from different social groups or cultures. According to Steinfatt and Millette (2009, p. 41), adaptation in intercultural communication is important because it ensures a continuous interplay between two cultures, allowing them to share beliefs and values while appreciating their evident differences.
Kincaid (1988, p. 98) argues that for intercultural communication to be effective, there must be cultural convergence — meaning that two cultures must converge at a particular point in time and diverge at another. This convergence allows for intercultural adaptation, where one communication channel adapts to another, enabling both parties to achieve effective communication outcomes. The theory suggests that when an individual from a new culture chooses to retain only the identity of their origin, operational difficulties arise and communication becomes impossible. However, when personalities are predisposed toward one another through open-mindedness, emotional empathy, and cognitive conformity, intercultural communication can proceed with ease. There are therefore several catalysts of intercultural adaptation, including integrating two different cultures, recognizing the relationships within those cultures, and appreciating the thoughts, perceptions, beliefs, and values of each culture without necessarily imposing a change in perspective (Bohman, 1999, p. 17).
The co-cultural theory suggests that co-cultural communication occurs when members of an underrepresented group communicate with a dominant group. Co-cultural communication is often easier to achieve because the minority group typically chooses to relate with the dominant group, and vice versa. The strategic ways in which these co-cultural groups communicate reflect both groups' desire for a unique identity that complements their existing one (Fleming, 2002, p. 20).
Community engagement through voluntary work has been shown in various studies to increase awareness of intercultural aspects and thereby lead to better intercultural communication. One study found that community engagement — specifically voluntary work — facilitates learning of local practices, beliefs, and values, and allows the learner to contextualize their experience (Lauring, 2011, p. 236). However, the same study found that this outcome depends on the degree of the learner's investment in the community, their participation in community events, and the community's perception of them.
"Personal volunteering experience applied to intercultural theory"
Volunteering at this event is, in my view, a highly accessible pathway for intercultural learning. When volunteers have the opportunity to live and interact within a different environment — as the two Chinese students did — they encounter the cultures, beliefs, stereotypes, values, and backgrounds of the new culture firsthand. This intercultural communication exposes them to issues such as language, choices, feelings, and actions that are all important dimensions of intercultural learning (Hogan, 2013, p. 44).
Community engagement through volunteer work promotes intercultural integration by allowing individuals from different backgrounds, cultures, or social groups to build bridges between their cultures and address conflicts arising from their differences. This occurs when the volunteer has the chance to observe another cultural identity operating in its natural setting, which enables the individual to develop sensitivity to the new culture. This view aligns with that of Gudykunst and Kim (2005, p. 54), who state that when engaging with the community through volunteer work, the participant becomes an ethnographer — recording what they hear, see, experience, and think about the community. After the event, they reflect on their observations and identify interactions between the two cultural identities. Through this ethnographic journey, volunteers begin to develop intercultural competence and understand how they can gain membership in the new cultural group by adapting their own cultural practices to better resemble those of the target culture.
Cultural awareness shapes how individuals behave across different cultures. It is important for individuals to recognize the cross-cultural differences and similarities that exist in order to develop intercultural communication as globalization continues to grow. Intercultural communication is hindered primarily by a lack of understanding of the new culture, since misunderstanding leads to misdirected communication and impedes message transmission. The person delivering a message often does so through the lens of their own beliefs, values, and expectations, and the person receiving the message incorporates these elements into their interpretation.
In order to communicate effectively with persons from different cultures, I intend to develop sensitivity toward new cultures through community engagement — learning their behaviors, feelings, actions, beliefs, and values, and building relationships that allow me to understand cultural differences and thus anticipate variations in meaning when both sending and receiving messages.
Bohman, J. (1999). Practical reason and cultural constraint. In R. Shusterman (Ed.), Bourdieu: A critical reader. Oxford: Blackwell.
Fleming, S. (2002). Dance of opinions: Mastering written and spoken communication for intercultural business using English as a second language. New York: Sherwood Fleming.
Gudykunst, W., & Kim, Y. Y. (2005). Communicating with strangers: An approach to intercultural communication (4th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
Hogan, C. F. (2013). Facilitating cultural transitions and change: A practical approach. 4 Square Books.
Kincaid, D. L. (1988). The convergence theory of intercultural communication. In Y. Y. Kim & W. B. Gudykunst (Eds.), Theories in intercultural communication. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Lauring, J. (2011). Intercultural organizational communication: The social organizing of interaction in international encounters. Journal of Business and Communication, 48(3), 231–255.
Steinfatt, T. M., & Millette, D. M. (2009). Intercultural communication. In D. W. Stacks & M. B. Salwen (Eds.), An integrated approach to communication theory and research (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
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