Abstract:

The meaning of globalisation, though not being definitely defined, is indeed influencing intercultural communication with its vague connotation. It is everything, meanwhile, embodied in nothing. It has an academic direction of social science, but it is difficult to draw its disciplinary boundaries. A basic representation of globalization is the global interaction between politics, economy, culture, and education. The world is making unprecedented global communication, penetration, and fusion. With the development of information technology, almost everyone on the earth can share the same event synchronously. It is an obvious fact that globalisation is a complex process and results in various types of globalisation in various disciplines. Globalisation is plural. However, many mistake globalisation as the assimilation of cultures, especially in classrooms of foreign cultures and languages.

This paper examines globalisation from the perspective of cultural education. The major discussion is its influence on multicultural education. It is argued that to ensure the positive consequence of cross-cultural communication among a group of international learners, diverse cultural values should be respected, keeping the cultural harmony in diversity. The authors employ the research method of comparison analysis in order to specifically deduce a framework of culture for the argument of this dissertation. “Harmony in diversity” is a cultural-philosophical norm of Confucianism. This dissertation reviews eastern and western definition on culture and management of multicultural communication. Besides Confucian “harmony in diversity”, Schein’s and Hofstede’s definitions of culture are compared and assessed.

Followed up, in-depth interviews are operated among learners from diverse cultural background. The collected data presents the elements forming an individual’s culture. As the conclusion of the reviews on cultural principles, the authors present an onion-model of the cultural “ego” in a multicultural classroom environment.

Presently, the cultural value orientation of “harmony without difference” emphasises the “harmony” which is based on recognising the “difference”. In other word, “diversity”. Meanwhile, the procedure of intercultural communication maintains differences and develops the diversity of human cultures. Just as biodiversity is valuable to human beings, the “symbiosis” of cultural diversity is also of great values. Culture diversity is not only a mutually beneficial relationship between living organisms but also an interdependent and a harmonious coexistence between nations, between cultures, and between man and the nature.

While advocating the sustainability of ecological and environmental development, the harmonious coexistence and mutual respects between cultures hold the counterpart significance. It is suggested to the administrators of a multicultural group that the basic of successful cross-cultural communication is reciprocity and equality. “Peeling” the layers of cultural ego onion facilitates the construction of mutual respect, leading to effective and efficient cultural exchanges and cooperative development.

Keywords:

Harmony in diversity, culture, values, cross-cultural communication, multicultural classroom.