7.1 Emotional Problems--Uncertainty数字时代的商务英语写作.pdf

Intercultural CommunicationBarriers Intercultural CommunicationBarriers Hi, there. Welcome back to our course. As we know, intercultural communication might offer us a new perspective and bring us personal gain. To improve the quality of intercultural encounters, we have to be aware of what impedes them. In this chapter, we’ll talk about major interculturalcommunicationbarriers. They are emotional problems, attitudinal problems, and translation problems. 7.1EmotionalProblems--Uncertainty In this lesson, we will first talk about one of emotional problems. Intercultural communication is not a simple process since it does not always go smoothly.Have you experienced any intercultural interaction? How was it going? What did you feel? Let’s have a look at a college studentWangXin’sproblem. The other day, Wang Xin, a sophomore in Beijing, received a text message fromhisfriend,HeLin,whois studyinginAmerica.HeLin told Wang Xin that his roommate would travel to Beijing this summer and askedwhether Wang Xin would like topick up hisAmerican friend Jerry at the airport.Wang Xin agreed to help and prepared a lot of topics. But when he met Jerry,he couldn’t think of anything to talk about except for simple greetings. On the way to the hotel, Wang Xin and Jerry barely talked.Theatmospherewasvery embarrassing.Doyouknowwhy? In thiscase,bothWangXin andJerry felt anxiousanduncertain.How do we understand these two feelings?Anxiety refers to the feeling of not knowingwhat one is expected to do, and focusing on that feeling andnot being totally present in the communication transaction.It may also affect one’s ability to communicatehisideasto others.Uncertainty refersto our cognitive inability to explain our own or others’feelings andbehaviorsin interactionsbecause of an ambiguous situation that evokes anxiety.(严明. 大学英语跨文化交际教程[M]. 北京 ：清华大学出版社, 2009 108.) After taking Jerry to the hotel,Wang Xin told his friend He Lin about the emb