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PART II

CHAPTER RESOURCES

CHAPTER 01

Intercultural Communication:

A Requirement for the Interdependent

Global Society

OVERVIEW

Chapter One introduces students to the importance of intercultural communication in today’s

multicultural world. Intercultural communication is put into context first then foundational terms

are introduced and defined. In addition, the important implications in the study of intercultural

communication are discussed. Finally, a preview of chapters is provided.

OUTLINE

I. Intercultural communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society

II. The interdependent global society

III. The requirement for intercultural cooperation

A. Social challenges

B. Ecological concerns

C. Humanitarian and legal cooperation

D. Political issues

E. Security concerns

IV. Technology

V. Developing intercultural awareness

A. Individual uniqueness

B. Generalizing

C. Objectivity

D. Compromise in intercultural communication

E. Communication is not the universal solution

VI. Preview of the book

A. Chapter 02: The connection between human communication and culture

B. Chapter 03: Social organizations and structures

C. Chapter 04: Social organizations and cultural history

D. Chapter 05: Deep structures of culture

E. Chapter 06: Values and cultural patterns

F. Chapter 07: Cultural identity

G. Chapter 08: The role of language in intercultural communication

H. Chapter 09: Cultural diversity and nonverbal communication

I. Chapter 10: Cultural variations in contexts

J. Chapter 11: The Challenges of Intercultural Communication: Managing Differences

XII. Summary

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1-1: Improving Intercultural Communication

This activity focuses on the communicative behavior of students and, specifically, those aspects

of their behavior that they would like to change. Before the day of the exercise, ask students to

think of one aspect of their communicative behavior with people from other cultures that they

see as problematic or in need of improvement. Students should be encouraged to talk to their

friends or family members. After students have chosen an aspect of their communication they

feel could be strengthened, they should answer the following questions:

1. What is the communicative behavior that you would like to change?

2. What are some examples of when you have communicated in this way?

3. How have other people responded to this behavior?

4. What strategies might help you change this behavior?

On the day of the exercise, ask students to break into small groups of four. Each group member

should share what they have written, ask the group for feedback about the strategy they

developed, and solicit other possible strategies. Ideally, each student should walk away from his

or her group with a list of strategies for change.

When the class regroups, instructors can facilitate a large class discussion with student

volunteers. The instructor can act as a probing questioner, asking volunteers the following

questions: What can you do to improve your communication with others? What will you do?

How will you know if you have been successful? What affect will this improvement have on

your relationships with other people?

Additional discussion questions following the exercise:

• How might the specific communication problems students identified affect their

ability to be competent intercultural communicators?

• How might individuals from other cultures perceive their behavior?

• How might the students’ strategies for addressing their problematic behaviors

enhance their effectiveness as intercultural communicators?

A follow-up assignment could be given that asks students to document their attempts at actively

applying one or more of the strategies they developed.

Activity 1-2: Developing intercultural relationships

This activity focuses on how we develop intercultural relationships and the qualities necessary

for the development of those relationships. It asks students to consider their own network of

friends and the extent to which they have developed relationships with people who are culturally

dissimilar. Ask students to respond individually to the following set of three questions. Then

have students divide into small groups of four to six people and respond to the next set of five

questions. As students answer each of the questions, they should consider their own intercultural

relationships. Have each group report some of their findings to the class.

Questions to answer individually:

1. How many relationships with culturally different people do you have (different

ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, degrees of able-bodied-ness, sex, etc.)?

2. What types of relationships are these (e.g., friends, romantic partners, relatives,

acquaintances)? What are some reasons for the network of friends you have

developed?

3. Describe an intercultural relationship that you have and that you find very

satisfying. What makes it so satisfying?

Questions to answer in small groups:

1. List five positive and unique aspects of intercultural relationships.

2. List five reasons why people may be hesitant to develop relationships (platonic or

romantic) with people from other cultures.

3. Which one or two of the above reasons pertain most directly to you? Explain your

answer(s).

4. Many intercultural communication specialists mention open-mindedness as an

attribute necessary for the development of successful intercultural relationships.

What are some other attributes or ways of thinking that a person should have in

order to develop relationships with cultural different people?

5. Which of the above attributes or ways of thinking do you feel you need to develop

further? Why did you choose these attributes or ways of thinking to work on?

Activity 1-3: Interpersonal communication style

This activity is designed to give students insight into their particular communication style

through the use of a self-reflective questionnaire. While this questionnaire is not specific to

intercultural interactions, helping students identify aspects of their interpersonal communication

style may be a first step in thinking about how they interact with people from diverse cultures.

Before coming to class the day of the exercise, ask each student to respond to the questions listed

on the handout that follows the explanation of this activity. Giving the handout to students in

advance will allow them to spend more time reflecting on their communication behaviors.

On the day of the exercise, students can look over their individual questionnaires and engage in a

ten-minute free write that answers the following questions: What are some of my communication

strengths? What are some of my communication weaknesses? Which weaknesses should I be

most invested in changing in the near future? What strategies can I use to improve my

communication in this area? These free writes can be collected by instructors or kept by students

as an addendum to their questionnaire.

Questions include:

1. When I am talking to another person or group of people…

2. Do I give them full or partial attention?

3. Do I seem at ease or tense?

4. Do I often change the subject without taking the other person into consideration or

do I let others change the subject when they want to?

5. Do I depreciate or magnify the statements of others?

6. Do I smile or frown often?

7. Do I interrupt often or let people talk as long as they want?

8. Do I show empathy or am I uncomfortable when someone comes to me with a

problem?

9. Do my words tend to lower or raise the other person’s self-esteem?

10. Do I over- or under-use the pronoun “I”?

11. Do I offer supportive remarks, such as “I see” and “Is that so,” or do I listen silently

while others are talking?

12. Do I employ a posture that communicates interest or detachment?

SUPPLEMENTAL FILMS AND VIDEOS

Communicating Across Cultures (1989, 30 minutes)

This instructional video depicts several misunderstandings that result from different styles of

communication and the discomfort that people often feel when dealing with issues of race and

gender. The video also suggests ways to communicate more effectively with people from

dissimilar cultures and co-cultures.

Voices (1991, 35 minutes)

This instructional video uses interviews with African American, Native American, Asian

American, Latino, and Caucasian men and women to explore the development of self-image and

the role that prejudice plays. The video also considers how other cultures have been stereotyped

and how culture affects professional, academic, and interpersonal relationships.

A World of Diversity vol. 1-2 (1996, 45 minutes, 22 minutes per volume)

This instructional video explores how culture affects the way people interpret actions and

behaviors. Volume 1 presents three critical incidents in which people from diverse cultures have

difficulty communicating with one another. Volume 2 discusses basic intercultural

communication skills.

Ability Issues in the U.S. (1992, 60 minutes)

This instructional video discusses the culture of the disabled, issues of accessibility, and

problems of social interaction. The video also suggests what society must do in order to provide

people with disabilities with the same opportunities available to other citizens.

Valuing Diversity: Multicultural Communication (1994, 19 minutes)

This instructional video dramatizes situations in which communication is impaired by cultural

differences. The video demonstrates how to communicate with others without resorting to

“child–speak” and illustrates how cultural differences in body language affect communication.

I’m Normal, You’re Weird: Understanding Other Cultures (1997, 23 minutes)

In this instructional video a group of aliens prepare to take human form by rehearsing their new

roles and learning the complexities of diverse human cultures.

Positive Images: Portraits of Women with Disabilities (1989, 58 minutes)

This film provides positive and realistic images from the lives of women with disabilities.

Despite the fact that 20% of Americans have disabilities, the social, economic, and political

issues confronting people with disabilities are striking and worthy of discussion.

Unfinished Diary (1986, 55 minutes)

This docudrama explores language and gender, exile and immigration. In the film, a Chilean

émigré shows her struggle to make a film about the isolation of Chilean exiles. While her

English-speaking, filmmaker husband criticizes her subjectivity, she must also contend with her

French-only-speaking son.

Who’s Going To Pay for These Donuts, Anyway? (1992, 58 minutes)

This film uses a collage of interviews, photographs, archival footage, and narration to document

a Japanese American woman’s search for her father after 40 years of separation. Over the course

of her search, the film explores cultural identity, family, racism, mental illness, and the

internment camp experience.

Wilderness (1991, 50 minutes)

This film documents archaeological and historical evidence that Native Americans lived in a

highly developed societies–and that vastly more tribe members died as a result of European

settlement than had previously been suspected. It also documents that Puritan prejudices helped

generate the pernicious image of the “savage Indian” ending with the 1890 massacre at Wounded

Knee.

TEST ITEMS: CHAPTER 01

Multiple-Choice

1. Which of the following is an example of global interconnectedness presented in the text?

(A) the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Tsunami; (B) The European Union’s Sovereign Debt

crisis; (C) the debate on U.S. Immigration policy; (D) A and B; (E) A, B, and C

2. By 2050, world population growth is expected surpass____: (A) 5 billion; (B) 6 billion;

3. What percentage of the U.S. population is made up of minorities? (A) 12%; (B) 15%;

4. To what does the “cultural generation” gap refer? (A) decreasing U.S. population under

45 years of age; (B) increasing U.S. population under 45; (C) increasing U.S. population

45 and older; (D) A and B; (E) A and C

5. _____ involves interaction between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol

systems differ enough to alter communication events. (A) intercultural communication;

(B) internationalization; (C) globalization; (D) cultural divides; (E) Egoism

6. What is the preferred term for the group that “generally exercises the greatest influence

on beliefs, values, perceptions, communication patterns, and customs of a culture?”

(A) mainstream culture; (B) dominant culture; (C) umbrella culture; (D) meta culture;

(E) mega culture

7. The philosophical perspective of relativism can be succinctly summarized as: (A) no

single morality; (B) no moral framework that is more correct than any other; (C) true

moral codes apply to everyone; (D) A and B; (E) A, B, and C

8. The idea that “one must suspend judgment of other people’s practices in order to

understand them in their own cultural terms” is referred to as: (A) cultural relativism;

(B) altercentrism; (C) objectivism; (D) cultural perceptualism; (E) foundationalism

9. A variation on “the golden rule” can be found in which of the following religions?

(A) Buddhism: (B) Hinduism; (C) Islam; (D) A and B; (E) A, B, and C

10. Cultural generalizations should be considered: (A) absolute representations;

(B) approximations; (C) indiscriminately; (D) on an individual basis; (E) C and D

11. If a generalization must be made, it should: (A) be supported by a single reputable

source; (B) focus on the primary values and behaviors of a particular culture; (C) be

based on historical accounts; (D) based on immediate perceptions; (E) be plausible

12. The state of being just, unbiased, and not influenced by emotions or personal prejudices

is also known as: (A) objectivity; (B) relativity; (C) selflessness; (D) adjudicating;

(E) mindfulness

13. To be objective, one must: (A) have an open mind; (B) avoid being too judgmental;

True/False

1. Globalization, domestic diversity, and immigration make acquiring intercultural

communication skills imperative.

2. Higher education has resisted globalization.

3. By 2023, minorities are expected to constitute the majority of all U.S. children under the

age of 18.

4. Technology has enabled ordinary individuals cheaply and quickly to organize themselves

around a common interest, ideology, or social cause.

5. Technology has brought greater polarization throughout the world, though this is less true

within the U.S. society.

6. The definition of intercultural communication involves interaction between government

representatives of different nations.

7. The authors prefer the term “dominant culture” over other terms such as mainstream or

umbrella culture because it clearly indicates that the group being referred to generally

exercises the greatest influence on the beliefs and values of a culture.

8. While a person who is disabled would not be considered a member of a co-culture,

someone with an identifiable ethnic background would.

13. Cultural relativism is the idea that timeless moral truths are rooted in human nature.

14. Generalizations are based on limited data.

15. Objectivity refers to the state of being “just, unbiased, and not influenced by emotions or

personal prejudices.”

Short Answer/Essay

1. Discuss why it is important to acquire intercultural communication skills. Be sure to

include the concepts of globalization, domestic diversity, and immigration.

2. How have advances in technology affected impacted intercultural communication?

3. Compare and contrast the concepts of “dominant culture” and “co–culture.” Provide

examples.

4. What is the definition of society introduced by the authors? Be sure to include both the

general and specific perspectives.

5. What is culture shock? How does it affect people?

6. Describe the stages of culture shock and provide examples for each?

7. What are some of the recommendations offered in the text to function effectively in a

second culture? List and describe two.

8. What is meant by the term, ethics? How do the authors define it?

9. List and define the basic functions of culture. Provide an example for each.

10. Differentiate between the concepts of moral absolutism and moral relativism.

12. Compare and contrast the concepts of individual uniqueness and generalizations.

13. What are the four precautions a person should take when making generalizations about

intercultural communication?.

14. What is objectivity? What role does objectivity play in intercultural communication?