Last but not least, this thesis will also include the use of the study on obstacles to cross-cultural communication, and what is especially important is that in English lessons. As an English learner and in the future maybe an English teacher, I hope that, through the study on the obstacles to cross-cultural communication, I can help my students overcome the difficulties in communicating with foreigners.

2. Cross-cultural Communication

2.1 Communication

2.1.1. Definition of Communication

It’s difficult to find a exact definition of human communication. Being concerned with the intercultural aspects of communication, we tend to agree in the definition "Any act by which one person gives to or receives from person information about that person's needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or effective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes."

2.1.2. Components of Communication 

Interpersonal communication includes at least the following elements:

The first is a sender. A sender is someone who wants to "send" a message verbally or non-verbally to someone else. He or she could send a message with or without knowing his or her actions were communication.源[自-751*`论/文'网·www.751com.cn 

The second is a receiver. The receiver is the person or persons who come into contact with the message. Receivers may be those for whom the sender intended or they may be others who, for whatever reasons, come into contact with the message.

The third component, a message, is the production of encoding. The message is a series of verbal or nonverbal symbols that represent the meanings and ideas of the sender. It also includes symbolic messages that the sender is totally unaware of having sent.

Noise is the forth component. Anything that interferes or causes the deletion, distortion or generalization of the exact replication of information is transmitted from the mind of the transmitter to the mind of the receiver.

Feedback is also one of the components of communication. It is both the sender and receiver constantly elicit verbal and nonverbal feedback to the other person.

Another component of communication is replication. The duplication of understanding in one person is in the mind of another person. Replication is an approximate goal and philosophically not perfectly possible, though desired.

The last component is understanding. It is an approximation of what the message means to the sender by the receiver.

2.1.3. Characteristics of Communication

Communication is a dynamic course. It means that communication is an ongoing activity. It is like a motion picture, not a single snapshot. A single word or action does not stay frozen when we communicate; it t is immediately replaced with yet another word or action. Once a word or an action is employed, it cannot be called in. What is said cannot be unsaid. And what is done cannot be undone.

Communication is symbolic. Humans are symbol-making creatures. We are able to generate, receive, store, and manipulate symbols. We employ symbols to share our internal states. Our words and actions are other sets of symbols through which we convey our messages, ideas and feelings to other people.

Communication has a consequence. This characteristic implies that when we receive a message, something happens to us. It also means that all of our messages, in one degree or another does something to someone else. We cannot send messages without influencing others. This is not a philosophical or metaphysical theory but a biological fact. It is impossible not to respond to the sounds and actions of others.