2.5: Intercultural Communication Activity and Review
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Test Your Intercultural Communication Competence
Take the intercultural communication competence quiz found at https://www.londonschool.com/lsic/resources/intercultural-quiz/. Continue taking the quiz until you score 20 out of 20, then take a picture or screenshot of your results. Submit your results to the instructor along with answers to these questions.
1. How many times did you take the test before earning a perfect score?
2. What answer or answers surprised you or do you find particularly interesting?
3. Based on this quiz alone, if you were given the assignment to research another country and its culture, which country would you choose and why?
Chapter Vocabulary and Review Questions
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co-culture
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culture
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culture shock
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discrimination
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egocentric
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ethnocentrism
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intercultural communication
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provisional communicator (Provisionalism)
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prejudice
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stereotyping
- racial discrimination
- Using the following categories as guides, identify co-cultures that form an important part of your worldview. For example, for age, are you Generation X? For a hobby, are you a runner or a gamer? It’s possible you don’t identify with all these categories.
- Age group or generation ___________
- Race ___________
- Language or dialect _____________
- Religion ______________
- Hobby _______________
- Other: ____________________
- Have you ever experienced culture shock after moving to a new country, city, community, or school? Explain what you experienced.
- List 5 barriers to effective intercultural communication.
- True or False. Culture does not change; it stays the same.
- Have you ever felt that you were stereotyped because of your membership in a specific culture or co-culture? Explain.
- What are some forms of discrimination other than racial discrimination? Have you ever experienced or witnessed what you thought was discrimination? Explain.
- Have you ever perceived that you were discriminated against because of your culture or co-culture? Have you ever witnessed what you thought was discrimination?
- As a way of helping us understand broad cultural differences, Hofstede created a model explaining the six dimensions of culture. In this question, you are to relate each dimension of culture to your own culture by choosing which characteristic in each pair best describes you and your values. (You may find it helpful to look back at the full description in the chapter.) For example, for 8.a., I recognize that I mostly identify with Low Power Distance. For 8. b., I recognize that I value Individualism. For a couple of these, it is possible to see yourself as being somewhere in between the two extremes.
- High Power Distance cultures are unlikely to challenge authority; they accept that others will be in charge, believe whoever is in power deserves it, and always show respect toward authority figures. Low Power Distance Cultures believe success may be from wealth or luck and, while they may respect those in power, believe in the right to challenge authority.
- Which of these, High Power Distance or Low Power Distance, better reflects you and your cultural beliefs? ______________
- Individualism (I make decisions with my immediate family and I'm in mind.) Vs. Collectivism (I consider the extended family, the community, and others; we all take care of one another).
- Which of these, Individualism or Collectivism, better reflects you or your cultural beliefs? __________________
- Long-Term Orientation (Plan and save for the future) Vs. Short Term Orientation (Take care of things as they arise. Take out credit and worry about debt later).
- Which of these two reflects your beliefs or cultural values? __________________
- High Uncertainty Avoidance (Resist change; laws and cultural practices remain rigid, sometimes for hundreds of years) vs. Low Certainty Avoidance (innovation and change are admired; laws and cultural practices may change over time)
- Which of these best reflects your cultural beliefs or values? _____________
- Masculinity (Competition, getting ahead, winning) vs. Femininity (Nurturing, seeing that everyone is treated equally)
- Which of these describes your cultural beliefs or values? __________________
- Indulgence (Not too many “rules,” tolerance for difference) vs. Restraint (rigid rules of behavior, dress).
- Which of these best describes your cultural beliefs or values? ___________________
- High Power Distance cultures are unlikely to challenge authority; they accept that others will be in charge, believe whoever is in power deserves it, and always show respect toward authority figures. Low Power Distance Cultures believe success may be from wealth or luck and, while they may respect those in power, believe in the right to challenge authority.
Later, Edward Hall added more important cultural dimensions. Again, choose the characteristic in each pair that more closely describes you and your cultural values.
- High Context (People are direct in their verbal communication and say what they mean, stating "yes" or "no" directly) vs. Low Context - (These cultures rely on nonverbal cues to indirectly communicate. Nonverbal is extremely important; Yes, may mean no, maybe, or yes. Being too direct is rude.)
- Which of these two better reflects your cultural beliefs or values? ___________________
- Monochronic (“time is money”: don't waste time; schedules are important; being on time is important) Vs. Polychronic (Relaxed attitudes about time, schedules, and punctuality.)
- Which of these describes your cultural beliefs or values? _____________________
The London School of International Communication. "Test Your Intercultural Competence." https://www.londonschool.com/lsic/re...cultural-quiz/. 2021.