Introduction

Globalization is affecting every part of our life from what we eat to what we learn and do for a living to the people we interact with. Encountering people of different cultural backgrounds has become an everyday experience for many reasons including the development of an integrated global economy, sophisticated communication and technologies, migration, traveling, and education. In its simplest form, intercultural communication means the sharing or exchange of messages between people of different cultural and/or social backgrounds. This exchange can occur through verbal or nonverbal forms of communication. The present volume arose from the need for a book on intercultural communication with Arabs. The book provides readers with information that gives light to a new perspective of understanding Arabs from the Arabs themselves or from foreigners who have lived in Arab countries. The volume is divided into three main sections that include studies in educational, professional and societal contexts.