COMMUNICATION AND GLOBALIZATION

Communication and globalization in the 21st century introduce us to a new dimension of perspectives.

Globalization

 It is the structural phenomenon of increasing interdependence among various parts of

the world (Cornali & Tirocchi, 2012). It takes us to an understanding of transformation,
advancement and interdependence in the world that are highly evident in the economic,
cultural and social changes in our society. The advancement of technology and numerous
technology revolutions have been globalizing the world into a closely interconnected
society.
 The process of globalization is an unavoidable feature of modernity and development. It
promotes the development and prevalence of digital technologies that make
communication faster and information more easily accessible.
 As a result, Chen (2005) claims that the flux and complexity of change will continue to
increase in the years ahead and challenge the fundamental assumptions and beliefs on
which modern people have learned to live.

Heidegger’s Prophecy

Heidegger prophesized in 1950 that “new communication and information technologies would
spawn novel possibilities for dramatically extending the scope of virtual reality.

Definitions of Globalization (Scheuerman, 2014)

1. Globalization is associated with deterritorialization

2. Globalization in linked to the growth of social interconnectedness across existing
geographical and political boundaries.
3. Globalization must also include a reference to the speed or velocity of social activity
4. Globalization should be conceived as a relatively long-term process
5. Globalization should be understood as a multi-pronged process

Major Trends in Globalization (Chen, 2005)

1. Technology development has made globalization inevitable and irreversible

(Eichengreen, 1999)
 The internet is the most significant contribution to the global interconnectivity
2. Economic transformation has led to a new landscape of economic world
 In the emergence of globalization, exchange of goods across geographical
locations become easier. New developments in technology brought in new jobs.
 Movement of domestic firms to global firms

The Impact of Globalization

Globalization requires the development of a person’s language ability.

 1. Virtual interactions – technology allowed us to communicate virtually from people at
distant locations. In order to use these mediums effectively, we must select the most
appropriate tool to use in certain situations.
2. Cultural awareness in speech – even when two people are speaking the same language,
cultural differences can affect vocabulary, colloquial expressions, voice tone, and taboo
topics.
3. Cultural awareness in body language – being aware that not all physical expressions of
one’s own culture are universally-accepted
4. Time differences – the advent of global collaboration introduces another new dynamic to
communication skills- the need to communicate and share information with people
across several time zones

The Role of Media in the Globalization Process

1. It enables communication to take place in real time over great distances

2. It advances the 21st century into what we speak as the globalization of communication
3. The emergence of the electronic media and the digital media has brought about a radical
change on how we see education

Language and Globalization

 Language continues to evolve. It keeps on developing as people are becoming more

literate in the global world

21ST CENTURY LANGUAGE has become the language that exists in the global world.
Here are some of the terminologies in the globalizing society:

 Chat room - internet feature that allows people to communicate in real time
 Computer literacy - internet literacy; ability to use computers
 Cyberspace - world wide web
 Digital citizenship - the creation of conscious critical forms of integration in the
globalizing society; a person utilizing technology (digital citizen)
 Digital competence - confidence and critical use of information technology
 Digital immigrants - adults who adapt to their environment as they retain their
language; born before the widespread of technology
 Digital natives - young people who are native speakers of the digital language of
computers; born on the era of technology
 Digital skills - ability to evaluate a variety of technological solutions; more than just
knowing how to use a specific technology well
 Emoji - the creation of a new alphabet; pictograph
 Emoticon - words without letters conveying emotional responses
 Ethnoscape - landscape of persons who form the shifting world where we live
 Hyperpersonal communication - computer mediated communication that is more
socially desirable than face-to-face communication
 Ideoscape - the movement of ideologies
 Mediascape - pertains to the electronic and print media in global cultural flows
  Mediamorphosis - transformation of communication media
 Omg - oh my god!
 Selfie - an ego-manical madness; gives focus on an individual
 Streaming multimedia - live audio and video available on a website
 Technoscape - movement of technology
 Telematic network - convergence of telecommunications and information processing
 Virtual community - community that exists in the world of electronic communication
rather than in the physical world
 Virtual reality - the use of computer to simulate an experience in a way that is obscure
from reality

Communication Competence

It is the ability to function in a truly communicative setting.

Swain and Canale (1983) termed it as:

Communicative Competence as the synthesis of an underlying system of knowledge and skill
needed for communication. It includes the conscious and unconscious knowledge of an
individual about language and about other aspects of language use.

Cooley and Roach (1984) defined it as:

Knowledge of effective and appropriate communication patterns and the ability to use and
adapt that knowledge in various contexts.

Chen as supported by Weinstein (1969) defined it as:

An internal ability that is naturally enhanced and luminated through the promotion of empathy
in the process of socialization.

Components of Communicative Competence

1. Grammatical Competence - the domain of grammatical and lexical capacity.

 Grammar refers to the set of rules that explains how words are used in a language
 Lexical refers to the meanings of words
2. Sociolinguistic Competence - it pertains to an understanding of the social context in which
communication takes place
3. Discourse Competence - it is the ability to interpret individual message elements in terms of
their interconnectedness and of how meaning is represented in relationship to the entire
discourse.
4. Strategic Competence - it relates to the coping strategies that communicators employ to
initiate, terminate, maintain, repair and redirect communication.

Expected Skills for College Graduates (21st Century Learners)

1. State ideas clearly.

2. Communicate ethically.
3. Recognize when it is appropriate to communicate.
4. Identify their communication goals.
5. Select the most appropriate and effective medium for communicating.
6. Demonstrate credibility.
7. Identify and manage misunderstandings.
8. Manage conflict.
9. Be open-minded about another’s point of view.
10. Listen attentively.

Global Communication Competence

Is the ability of individuals that relates effectively to self and others in daily life.

Enlightened Global Citizenship

According to Chen and Starosta (1997, 2003), to qualify for enlightened global citizenship, one
must be equipped with the ability to acknowledge, respect, tolerate and integrate cultural
differences.

 People who are globally competent do not only acknowledge the importance of knowledge
and skills to face the changing environment but also regard a new set of thinking and
behavior that greatly considers cultural differences.

Four Dimensions of Global Communication Competence (Chen, 2005)

1. Global Mindset
 Mindset is a psychological process that represents patterns of an individual or group
thinking. It is a fixed mental attitude that leads people to see things and events from specific
lens through perception and reasoning.
 Global Mindset refers to openness to other cultures that facilitates intercultural
interactions.

 Cultural Relativism - refers to the idea that the values, knowledge, and behavior of people
must be understood within their own cultural context
 Ethnocentrism - evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the
standards and customs of one's own culture
 Xenocentrism - is the preference for the products, styles, or ideas of someone else's culture
rather than of one's own. Also called “Colonial Mentality”
 Cultural Assimilation - is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to
resemble a dominant group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group
2. Unfolding the Self
 Unfolding the Self is mainly concerned with the ability to look for shared communication
symbols and project the self into another person’s mind by thinking the same thoughts,
feelings and emotions as the other person.

3. Mapping the Culture

 Understanding ourselves as a cultural being is a prerequisite to knowing other cultures.
 Mapping the Culture refers to understanding the differences between one’s own culture
and the other cultures that might result in adapting different culture in order to become
more diverse and appropriate in the global setting.

4. Aligning the Interaction

 Being able to interact with people from different cultures by using the appropriate and
effective approaches without violating the other people’s cultures, beliefs and norms.