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Stage five: true empathy and cultural respect. This level is the highest one of cultural awareness. To attain this level, the learner must actually live in the foreign culture for some time. As the how long the learner must live in such so that they can reach Stage five, the amount of time is variable, greatly depending on the individual. At the fifth stage, unlike the previous stages, the learner does not just see things intellectually from the viewpoint of the culture some or most of the time. Instead, he or she actually feels part of the culture, respects the culture fully, and empathizes emotionally with those who have lived all their lives in that culture. By doing so,the person, in a real sense, achieves a true cultural understanding. |
