This paper presents a critical review of literature on major valuesdirecting communication across Western-Anglo cultures and Asian-Confuciancultures, and hence influential to communication between people of differentcultures even when the same language (., English) is in operation. | JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, Hue University, Vol. 70, No 1 (2012) pp. 171-180 CULTURAL DIMENSIONS IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION & IMPLICATIONS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Pham Thi Hong Nhung College of Foreign Languages, Hue University Abstract. This paper presents a critical review of literature on major values directing communication across Western-Anglo cultures and Asian-Confucian cultures, and hence influential to communication between people of different cultures even when the same language (., English) is in operation. Given that these values exist in all cultures and among all individuals at various levels of prevalence, an effort is made to present these values in a bipolar dichotomy. From the insightful understanding of the operation and influence of the difference in cultural values on intercultural communication, the paper suggests implications practical to the teaching and learning English as a foreign language. 1. Introduction Intercultural communication (ICC) is characterized as communication between people of different cultures (Gudykunst & Mody, 2002). ICC has presented a number of barriers and difficulties caused by differences in values across cultures (Adair, Okuma, & Brett, 2001; Chen, Tjosvold & Su, 2005). The diverse cultural values can make it hard to maintain communication between people of different cultures even when they use the same language. Misunderstandings and communication breakdowns can result from a lack of insights into of cultural values and of the various degrees these values prevail in specific cultures. Accordingly, English language teaching needs to raise language learners’ awareness of the consequences that the cultural differences, especially between Western-Anglo (., American, Australian, British) cultures and Asian-Confucian (., Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean) cultures can cause to ICC. Given that major values exist in all cultures, among various individuals and that they have various degrees of dominance, an effort
