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Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Chapter Exercises
Chapter 2: Barriers to Intercultural Communication
Exercise 1: Recognizing Intercultural Barriers
Purpose
To recognize barriers that can occur in intercultural communication situations
Instructions
Read each of the situations presented below and then determine what barrier or barriers were
present. The possible barriers are anxiety, assuming similarities instead of differences, and
ethnocentrism. What should the communicators have done to avoid these situations? What
should they each do now?
1. A kindergarten boy from India was teased and called “garbage head” by his classmates who
noticed the smell of coconut oil on his hair.
Barrier:
2. An increasing number of immigrants to an area served by a large urban school led its
principal to start a program in which older student volunteers would tutor younger children
from immigrant families in the families’ homes. The principal hoped that the program would
help the new students adjust more rapidly to school life and increase their parents’
confidence in the school. A 17-year-old student, John, was assigned to tutor a Chinese girl,
Mee Loon, in English. Her father became concerned that the tutor was male and dressed
strangely.
Barrier:
3. A United States college-aged woman cleaned her dorm room while her Thai roommate was
having breakfast in the dormitory dining hall. She did not know that in the Thai culture the
head is sacred and putting a piece of clothing associated with a lesser part of the body on a
place reserved for the head is one of the worst possible insults. The woman placed the Thai
woman’s skirt on the pillow portion of the bed. When the roommate returned, she became
upset, cried, and left the room.
Barrier:
4. A frail, old, almost totally blind woman appeared at every health clinic session in her village
and sat on the dirt floor enjoying the activity. She was dirty and disheveled and obviously
had very little, even by Malaysian kampong (local village) standards. A nurse tried to obtain
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
help for the woman. She was able to convince the Department of Welfare to give the old
woman a small pension, which would provide the woman enough money to live on.
However, the woman continued to wear the same dirty dress and still looked like she did
not have enough to eat. In squatting near her, the nurse noted a wad of bills in the woman’s
basket. “You have spent nothing. Why is that?” The woman laughed and explained, “I am
saving it all for my funeral.”
Barrier:
5. Two brothers and a sister, aged 7, 8, and 10, respectively, were expelled from their
elementary school for 9 months because they wore ceremonial daggers required by their
religion. The children’s parents explained that the dagger, called a kirpan, is one of five
sacred symbols that must be worn at all times by baptized Khalsa Sikhs.
Barrier:
Note: Situations adapted from A Manual of Teaching Techniques for Intercultural Education
(Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1971); Patricia G. Ramsey, Teaching and Learning in
a Diverse World: Multicultural Education for Young Children (New York: Teachers College Press,
1987, p. 57); and Mildred Sikkema and Agnes Niyekawa, Design for Cross-Cultural Learning
(Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc., 1987, p. 3).
Exercise 2: Learnings from Childhood
Purposes
1. To become aware of the stereotypes you may have been exposed to as a child
2. To consider how these may have affected your communication behavior
Instructions
Our most intensive language and cultural learning takes place in childhood. At that time, we are
taught how to relate to strangers. Think back on your own childhood to discover the things you
were taught about people of different ethnic groups, different religions, and so on. Write down
some stereotypes that you were taught, when and where you learned them, who taught them
to you, and how they may have affected your communication behavior with individuals in that
group.
Example:
Learning When and where Who taught it to me Effect on
I learned it my behavior
Poor people are lazy. When I was 6 or 7 My parents No sympathy for
people on welfare
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Then, answer the questions in the “Conclusions” section of the exercise.
Conclusions
1. Did you recall only negative stereotypes? What positive stereotypes can you recall?
2. Do you still have the same beliefs? If not, what caused them to change?
Exercise 3: Friendship with People of Different Cultures
Purposes
1. To identify barriers to intercultural friendships
2. To develop guidelines for intercultural friendships
Instructions
Think about your own circle of friends, who are of different cultural backgrounds in terms of
gender, religion, race, ethnicity, and nationality.
With a small group of classmates, discuss the following questions.
A. What conditions do you think encourage the development of friendships?
B. What barriers exist that discourage the development of friendships?
Make a list of guidelines for meeting and making friends with people of different
cultures.
Conclusions
Share your list with the class.
Exercise 4: Stereotypes in Books
Purpose
To become more alert to stereotypes in textbooks
Instructions
1. Visit a local public library.
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
2. Select a book that focuses on sociology, history, or psychology. You may want to find one for
young children and one printed many years ago.
3. Using the guidelines below, evaluate the text for stereotypes of women, men, aged persons,
ethnic groups, and so on.
Name of Book: ______
Year Published: ______
Brief Description of Book:
1. Check the illustrations if they exist. Look for stereotypes. Who is doing what?
2. Check the story line. How are successes and problems defined? What is the role of
women? What is the role of men?
3. Look at lifestyles. How are different groups shown?
4. Consider the relationships between people. Who has power? Who is subservient? Are
certain family relationships assumed with particular groups?
5. Note the heroes and heroines. Who helps whom? Are any conflicts avoided?
6. Consider the effects on the reader’s self-image. Does the reader come into contact with
any norms that might limit the reader’s aspirations and self-esteem?
7. Consider the author’s and illustrator’s qualifications.
8. Check out the author’s perspective. What cultural, social, and economic perspectives
does the book embody?
9. Watch for loaded words (words that try to bias the reader). Are there words with
derogatory overtones and connotations?
10. Look at the copyright date. More recent books may more accurately present other
points of view.
Note: Adapted from “Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children’s Books for Racism and Sexism,” in Council
on Interracial Books for Children Bulletin, 1974, 5(3), 1–6.
Exercise 5: Stereotypes in Movies
Purpose
To become more alert to stereotypes in movies
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Instructions
Select a recent Hollywood or Disney movie.
Evaluate it for stereotypes of women, men, aged persons, ethnic groups, and so on. Discuss
who is showcased as the hero and who as the villain and whether stereotypes are involved
in such a portrayal. What constitutes success and what is deemed as failure? What are the
imposed norms and the accepted lifestyles?
Then, answer the question in the “Conclusions” section of the exercise.
Conclusions
In general, do films contribute to increased intercultural understanding or added
intercultural barriers? Please support your opinion.
Exercise 6: Stereotypes on the Internet
Purpose
To become more alert to stereotypes on the Internet
Instructions
Choose a website or blog that you read regularly.
Using a critical eye, evaluate it for stereotypes of women, men, aged persons, ethnic groups.
Then, answer the question in the “Conclusions” section of the exercise.
Conclusions
Does the Internet contribute to increased intercultural understanding or does it add to
intercultural barriers? Please support your opinion.
Exercise 7: Stereotypes and Prejudice on Campus
Purposes
1. To recognize stereotyping and prejudice on campus
2. To analyze the effects of stereotyping and prejudice on campus
3. To consider ways of responding to stereotyping and prejudice
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Instructions
Recall an incident of spoken or nonverbal stereotyping or prejudice that happened on your
campus. It may be something that happened to you or something that you witnessed. Describe
the incident.
Then, answer the questions in the “Conclusions” section of the exercise.
Conclusions
1. What effects do you think the stereotype or prejudice had on the person or group that was
the intended receiver?
2. In your opinion, what effects did communicating the stereotype or prejudice have on the
source?
3. What effects do you think the stereotype or prejudice had on other people who overheard
the message?
4. What are some possible responses from the person or group that was the intended receiver
and/or those who overheard the message?
Exercise 8: Stereotypes about the United States
Purposes
1. To recognize stereotypes that others may hold about the United States
2. To recognize how these stereotypes affect intercultural communication
Instructions
From your own experience and by interviewing others, make a list of commonly accepted
stereotypes about the United States.
Example: People in the United States are rich.
Then, answer the question in the “Conclusions” section of the exercise.
Conclusions
How true are these stereotypes? Why do you think these stereotypes exist?
Exercise 9: Ethnocentrism: United States and China
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Purposes
1. To recognize popular ethnocentristic judgments made about the Chinese by the people and
government of the United States
2. To recognize ethnocentristic judgments made about the United States by the people and
government of China.
3. To recognize how those ethnocentristic judgments impede intercultural communication
Instructions
1. Whether or not you are a member of the group, identify commonly held ethnocentristic
judgments made about the Chinese and ethnocentristic judgments made about the United
States.
2. Give examples of media or other sources through which these judgments are spread. For
example, look at popular culture representations of each country, or examine a news source
from each country.
3. Explain how those ethnocentristic judgments impede intercultural communication.
Example:
Ethnocentristic Judgments
About Chinese
Source
Effect
Human rights are commonly
violated
U.S. media reports of
Tiananmen Square
Trade limits; China sees U.S.
concern as an excuse to
interfere in its affairs
Then, answer the questions in the “Conclusions” section of the exercise.
Conclusions
1. What have been the major ways these judgments have been spread?
2. How have the judgments impeded intercultural communication?
3. What can we do to help change these judgments?
Exercise 10: White Privilege and Media
Purposes
1. To understand the ways in which White privilege is normalized in U.S. culture
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Instructions
1. Choose an hour to focus on media of some kind (TV, radio, movies, etc.).
2. As you consume the media, make note of where you see instances of White privilege (in the
content itself, advertising, etc.)
3. Discuss your results as a class.
Conclusions
1. How can the media we consume play a role in our perceptions of race and privilege?
2. Do you think this is problematic? Why or why not?
