Culturally Competent or Only Bilingual ?

Occasionally we receive resumes in response to job postings that require cultural competency and the ability to speak English and Spanish.  When interviewing these candidates it becomes apparent that many do not understand the difference.  Cultural competence refers to one’s ability to interact and communicate effectively with others from differing cultures, not the number of languages they speak. 

Prior to immigrating to the USA I had not given much thought to what it meant to be a Latin American or what it meant to be culturally competent.  Once arriving in Metro DC I was introduced to the large and vibrant Latin American community that was composed of people from Mexico, El Salvador, Puerto Rico and many other counties.  I remember that when I was first asked if I wanted corn or flour tortillas with my meal, I had no idea what that was.  I quickly learned that speaking Spanish did not make me culturally competent with respect to other Latin Americans.  I needed to learn about each countries unique qualities and communication styles. I have since learned to love tortillas and pupusas and the many different words for baby bottle and stroller.  Moreover, I have made friends that are Quisqueyanos, Boricuas and ticos.

Becoming culturally competent is not something that happens. It requires effort.  It begins with a critical awareness of one's own cultural worldview and attitudes towards cultural differences.  Do I believe that arepas are better than pupusas.  Is the Spanish spoken in El Salvador better than that in Colombia?  And most importantly, do these opinions or preferences affect my interactions with others?  Next, one must acquire knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and develop cross-cultural skills.  Again, it is not sufficient to have knowledge of others culture or language. One must develop the ability and the desire to associate and interact with others of differing cultures. 

For those in the majority I challenge you to become more familiar with emerging majorities as documented in the recent census data.  Familiarize yourself with the language and culture of new Americans.   I challenge the Hispanic community to study your old and new cultural heritage. For the first generation American, I would ask you to study the history and language of the USA.  For those that are second or subsequent generations, I ask that you study the language and culture of your ancestors. It is this awareness that will enrich our society and corporations and make us more competitive in the world.   For all our communities we must remember that, being bilingual, possessing an ethnic surname, or belonging to a particular race, religion, etc in and of itself does not make one culturally competent.