For some, learning a foreign language is about passing a test or getting a good job. When that’s the case, learning the most vocabulary and mastering structures of grammar are key objectives on the path to fluency. However, if a language learner’s goal is to interact with the world, simply understanding words and phrases is not enough. Intercultural communication requires more than a mastery of language, but also of practices and cultures.

To be sure, understanding language is an incredible feat by itself. The very complexity of verbal communication is what separates humans from other species and allows for understanding knowledge in various and novel ways that have facilitated technological advancements and creative achievements. Language lends power to those who master it, which is why language is a major component of formal education from elementary school forward. Language proficiency provides opportunities and benefits in the form of greater job opportunities and access to knowledge around the world.

That said, because language is an interpersonal endeavor, simply thinking of language proficiency as a mental exercise overlooks the importance of understanding literacies and cultures that employ language. Realizing what people use language for is far more important than reaching for a perfect form of language. Think about ordering in a restaurant and talking to a server in a foreign language. The vocabulary needed to ask questions about the food and to choose what to order is important, but understanding communicative practices is to grasp that ordering food in a family restaurant might differ between ordering at a fast food restaurant. The food items are different, but so are the questions (“How would you like your steak cooked? What kind of sauce would you like?”). The complexity of even simple tasks such as ordering food means that mechanical, rote learning of vocabulary and grammar is not enough to participating in communicative activities.

Then consider that all of those communicative practices differ across countries and cultures. If you order food at a restaurant in Japan, how different might it be from ordering at a restaurant in another country? The language will be different, but so will the cultural expectations. Do you pay first or after you are finished eating? Are you allowed to take food home or are you expected to eat everything that you order? Should you leave after you finish your meal or is it okay to stay for a while and talk with your friends or family? The consequences of not understanding these cultural assumptions can be significant. Consider that Westerners might need to be told that, in Japanese culture, chopsticks shouldn’t be stuck in a bowl of rice, and that people going to a restaurant in the United States are expected to add money on top of their bill as a tip to the server. Different cultures have different rules, and many rules are left unwritten and unsaid simply because people within those cultures understand them as common sense, while people outside those cultures have different ways of thinking that make those rules hard to grasp.

By now, it’s clear that the mastery of language is only the first step in a long path toward intercultural understanding. Much of that mastery can be achieved through textbooks and classroom learning, thankfully. After that, however, higher understanding of practices and cultures begins with actual experience and critical observation. To take another example, it’s much like driving a car. Going to driving school and driving on a test track can help to refine one’s driving skills, but nothing compares to actual experience on the road with other drivers. Whether it’s studying abroad in another country, volunteering with international organizations, or even just watching movies and television programs in other languages, being exposed to the use of language in different practices and cultures facilitates that greater understanding necessary for interaction with the world.

This also means that there are no quick solutions to fluency in another language. Classroom learning, studying abroad, and actual experience all contribute to the mastery of intercultural communication, but mastery nonetheless takes time and effort. That said, engaging with the world and their practices is far more interesting than any simple test of vocabulary and grammar. Those who are in contact with multiple languages and cultures are able to see the complexities world in clearer definition than they would have if they remained monolingual or monocultural. While the struggles involved are many, the benefits of interacting with all the different cultures of the world are just as various and appealing. If that interests you, I hope you will take up the challenge.