Comunicação intercultural: reflexões e dizeres de uma experiência discente em pós-graduação stricto sensu em educação

This article aims to describe a student’s experience in a cross-cultural communication and education course under the perspective of the complexity paradigm and to reflect upon it. According to that paradigm, interculturality presents itself as an important and profound dimension of human existence in society. Discussions and studies on intercultural communication in education have been highlighted in recent research although incipient and not enough to resolve cultural conflicts that occur daily at school, especially among teachers and students. Conflicts emerge from attempts to recognize sociocultural singularities and their lenses. Therefore, we need a model to access and interpret the different attitudes and meanings that communication necessitates. Reflection on the available literature and the experiential views of students have shown that the LESCANT model of analysis of cultural differences can facilitate a better approach and understanding of the meaning of cultural singularities that usually appear in seven categories: language, environment, social organization, context, authority, non-verbal aspects and time. We considered that the LESCANT model can help reduce communication noise, develop respect and tolerance for cultural differences in a way to foster communication and assist in overcoming cross-cultural challenges at the school environment and in pedagogical practice.