Cultural Understanding Like learning a language, developing cultural understanding occurs step by step over time. Here are five stages of cultural understanding. Stage one: No understanding — no awareness of the new culture: know nobody and few (1) about the culture Stage two: Superficial understanding — awareness of (2) aspects of the foreign culture — holding (3) stereoty p es Stage three: Growing understanding and possible (4) — awareness of more subtle, less visible traits in foreign culture — still thinking that (5) is much better Stage four: Greater (6) understanding — ability to see things intellectually from the point of view of (7) — still having little (8) empathy Stage five: True empathy, and cultural (9) — living in the foreign culture: the amount of time depends on (10)