A Study on the Cultivation of Intercultural Communication Competences of Foreignrelated Police in Public Security Colleges and Universities

China People’s Police University,Hebei,China Email:1002655753@qq.com

[Abstract]With the progress of globalization,China’s exchanges with other countries in the world grew more frequent,thus a variety of foreign-related cases increased.Under this circumstance,in addition to public security knowledge and skills,the Chinese police must also have a good command of foreign language and intercultural communication skills,in order to better cooperate with foreign police or investigate foreign criminal suspects.This paper will explore the importance,problems and methods of developing intercultural communication skills of foreign-related police in public security colleges and universities.

[Keywords]public security colleges and universities; foreign-related police; intercultural communication competences

Introduction

With the rapid development of economic globalization and regional integration,the degree of interdependence between countries is deepening.At the same time,non-traditional security threats such as transnational crimes and terrorism are becoming more and more prominent,seriously endangering the security and stability of the international community.International police cooperation involves a process of communication and consultation between national police agencies of different cultural backgrounds,and all aspects of cooperation are bound to be profoundly influenced by culture,and the smoothness of cooperation is also closely related to culture.At the same time,with the increase of foreign-related cases,there is also a need to investigate foreign criminal suspects.Therefore,in order to better communicate and cooperate with foreign counterparts,or get more effective access to the information of foreign criminal suspects,China urgently needs a large number of foreign-related police officers with intercultural communication skills.This paper will explore how public security colleges and universities can cultivate the intercultural communication skills of foreign-related police.

Intercultural Communication

When it comes to the concept of intercultural communication,the first step is to clarify what culture is.The famous scholar Hu Wenzhong summed up the various definitions of culture in the academic circles as follows:Culture is created by people through long-term efforts,and it is the heritage of society;Culture includes beliefs,values,customs,knowledge,etc.,as well as food and utensils;culture is a guide to people’s actions,providing answers to solutions;culture is not something we were born with,but learned after birth;and values are the core of culture(Hu,2004,p.40).

According to the above definitions,culture is a complex social phenomenon.We can understand and analyze culture from different angles,such as the culture as“regional culture,industry culture,national culture”and so on.Each culture has its own unique style and connotation,which produces cultural differences.Cultural differences affect the communication between people,countries,and regions(Hu,2004,p.11).

The so-called intercultural communication,in fact,is the communication between people with different cultural backgrounds.The cultural differences may have a very large impact on the exchange between different cultures.In order to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts,one should try to understand the cultural differences between the two sides of communication.The increasing frequency of international cooperation makes the exchange of information speed up dramatically,thus the intercultural communication ability becomes more and more important.

Foreign-related police are one special type of intercultural communication actors,for their communication with people from different cultures is not only for communication,but also bears the dual tasks of service and law enforcement,so their intercultural communication ability is particularly important.How to avoid the law enforcement difficulties and communication failures caused by cultural differences,and to perform one’s duties smoothly and serve citizens of different cultures are the main problems that our country’s foreign-related police should focus on solving.

There are two main categories of intercultural communication for foreign-related police officers:one is to work as a collaborator and carry out normal work communication with international police officers,and the other is to be a law enforcer,with a target language that can be decent and authoritative in the expression of law enforcement laws and regulations.To respect for cultural differences,taboos and religious practices in China and the West affects the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement.In today’s increasingly globalized world,international police cooperation,such as cross-border joint operations against drugs and fox hunting operations against fugitives abroad,requires high intercultural communication skills of police officers(Wang,2015,p.144).Therefore,in the process of Police English teaching,public security colleges and universities should pay attention to the training of students’intercultural communication skills,so that they can handle foreign-related cases or exchange and cooperate with foreign counterparts smoothly after they go to work.

The Significance of Cultivating Intercultural Communication Competences of Foreign-related Police

From the point of view of foreign-related police work,on the one hand,economic globalization,market globalization,information globalization,science and technology globalization,crime globalization make China’s social security show many new features.At the same time,the infiltration of western political,cultural,ideological and religious forces,the integration and conflict of cultural thinking and the intensification of contradictions make the task of public security management more challenging.These factors have led to an increasing number of foreign-related cases and a more complex situation.

As an important organ to maintain social security and stability,the work of foreign-related police is facing great pressure and challenges.The long-term practice has proved that the foreign-related police must keep pace with the changing situations.They must pay attention to the study of the cultural differences,especially between Chinese and Western cultures,and explore the impact of intercultural communication on foreign-related police work.Therefore,it is imperative to cultivate the intercultural awareness and intercultural communication ability of foreign-related police officers.Only by improving cultural sensitivity and cultural adaptability can foreign-related police officers handle cultural differences flexibly,properly handle foreign-related cases and incidents,and achieve smooth intercultural communication between people and countries.

The Problems in Cultivating the Intercultural Communication Competences of Foreign-related Police in Public Security Colleges and Universities

No intercultural communication courses

Many public security colleges only offer college English,police English and translation courses,and do not offer intercultural communication courses,such as the author’s school,where the foreign-related police major simply does not have intercultural communication courses,which is very harmful to the training of foreign-related police’s intercultural communication skills.Because college English,police English and other courses usually focus on listening,speaking,reading,writing,translating and other skills,while rarely involving intercultural communication contents.

Lack of initiative in learning

In the absence of intercultural communication courses in schools,students lack the initiative and continuity of learning intercultural communication knowledge.On the one hand,students do not understand the diversity and differences of cultures,and their impacts on foreign-related police work,so they do not realize the need to learn relevant knowledge; on the other hand,cultures are also constantly changing,social customs,living habits,values,laws and regulations are not static,therefore,the police officers need to continuously pay attention to and understand the cultures of various countries,especially those that have close cooperation with China’s police.

Inappropriate teaching contents and monotonous teaching method

In teaching foreign-related police students,teachers often use the common intercultural communication textbooks,which lacks convergence and integration with foreign-related police work,thus having limited guiding significance for future work.In addition,teachers use reading,translating and other methods for teaching,which can not stimulate students'interest in learning.Therefore the teaching results are not satisfactory.

Theory unconnected with practice

Although foreign-related police have mastered a certain theoretical knowledge,with no corresponding practical activities,they cannot connect theory with practice.On the one hand,some abstract aspects of intercultural theories are difficult to understand,which should be further perceived through practice; on the other hand,some theories should also be tested and corrected in practice.

Approaches to Building Intercultural Communication Competences of Foreignrelated Police

To attach importance to the cultivation of intercultural awareness

Intercultural awareness refers to the sensitivity to the similarities and differences between foreign cultures and national cultures,as well as the awareness of adjusting their own language according to the culture of the target language when using a foreign language.We must avoid mistaking our own cultural norms for those accepted by others,avoid stereotypes of a culture preconceived,avoid ethnocentrism,which means“understand and measure everything in other cultures according to the concepts and standards of their own culture”.Meanwhile,we must not put local culture above any foreign cultures,despise or exclude other cultures,and must not blindly worship the cultures of other countries(Jiang,2005,p.172).Foreign-related police should constantly remind themselves that people in different countries and regions have different cultural backgrounds,different customs and ways of thinking,and should learn to understand,respect and accept the cultures of other countries,and improve their intercultural sensitivity and adaptability.

To attach importance to the teaching of intercultural knowledge

(1)To offer intercultural communication courses

The foreign-related police majors in public security colleges and universities should offer special intercultural communication courses to impart students with the basic theoretical knowledge of intercultural communication and lay a good foundation for future practice.

(2)To summarize cultural differences

Teachers should summarize the cultural differences that often appear in foreign-related police work by reading literature materials and going to public security organs for research,and then organize them into teaching materials,and gradually write intercultural communication textbooks suitable for foreign-related police.

(3)To adopt the situational teaching method

In teaching,the teachers can set up situations with intercultural communication elements,so that the students can carry out simulation exercises and better understand the impact of cultural differences on police work.

(4)To hold lectures or trainings on intercultural communication

The public security colleges and universities can hold special intercultural lectures or trainings for foreign-related police students.And they can also use the Internet or the campus network to provide relevant knowledge.Or they can set up relevant search engines,web pages or develop foreign-related police training software,so that foreign-related police can understand and become familiar with the mainstream cultural differences between China and foreign countries.

(5)To learn about foreign cultures from literature,film and television productions

Foreign-related police students are encouraged to use their spare time to read a wide range of foreign literary works,newspapers,current affairs reviews,watch foreign-language films,listen to foreign songs,expand their cultural horizons,so that they realize that cultural differences are not only an obstacle to communication,but can become an interesting phenomenon in intercultural exchanges,making it a bridge for cultural integration.

(6)To establish an electronic database of intercultural communication

Public security colleges and universities can establish an electronic database of intercultural communication,including foreign-related laws and regulations,foreign etiquette,common international institutions and organizations,the natural geography of countries which have police cooperation with China,and their customs,religious beliefs,values,and so on.This electronic database is open,and police English teachers can constantly enrich their contents.The database can be used by students for daily learning or for teachers to prepare for courses.

To attach importance to the intercultural communication practices

Public security colleges and universities should provide foreign-related police students with some practice opportunities as far as possible,such as international conference security,foreign police training management or translation,internship in the public security foreign-related police departments,so that they can have the opportunity to contact foreigners,and they can observe,experience cultural differences and accumulate experience in practice.

Conclusion

With the development of globalization,the international situation is becoming more complex,and international police cooperation is becoming more frequent,which puts forward higher requirements for foreign-related police officers,who not only need to master professional public security skills,but also need to have intercultural skills.On the one hand,they must have a good command of foreign language to ensure the smoothness of communication.On the other hand,they should also have the ability to understand different cultures and rules,have an international perspective and be familiar with international rules.The role of foreign-related police officers in the intercultural field is special,because of the existence of cultural differences,who not only need to provide basic public security law enforcement and services,but also need to have the ability to carry out the tasks of cultural exchange.This invisibly increases the responsibility of foreign-related police and posts a great challenge to the comprehensive training of intercultural competences of foreign-related police.

This paper puts forward some suggestions from three levels:the intercultural awareness,knowledge and practice,in order to promote the cultivation of intercultural communication competences of foreign-related police in public security colleges and universities,thus to meet the development of public security in China,and to provide intellectual support and personnel guarantee for the implementation of the“Belt and Road”initiative and global security governance.

Acknowledgements

This paper is funded by the Chinese People’s Police University Youth Project“A Research of the Intercultural Communication in International Police Training”(ZQN2018058)and Lang Fang Science and Technology Bureau Project"A Study on the China-Interpol Policing Cooperation Mode（2020029065）".