Unit 1: Introduction to Intercultural Communication
WRLD 302 - Communicating Across Cultures
This is one in a series of tutorials on intercultural communication. Click on "mobile page" at the bottom right side of the page for alternative views. You may create a print version by clicking on the "print all" link at the top of the page. Note that additional learning resources are linked in the sidebars.
Anticipated completion time for this tutorial (excluding reading chapter): approximately 100 minutes. Note that you can stop and come back and your score on completed items will be retained.
The objectives below can be achieved through working with the assigned readings, watching the presentations, doing the tutorial exercises, and posting to the discussion forums. Achievement of the objectives will be measured through the score achieved on the exercises (questions can be answered more than once), on the Blackboard quiz for this unit, and on the quality of contributions to the course discussion forums.
By successfully completing this unit, students should be able to...
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This video excerpt introduces some of the key issues we will be dealing with in the this unit and in the course as a whole, involving the nature of culture and communication.
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First, watch the video (about 2 minutes long) below: |
After watching the video, think about the following:
Now, turn to the next page (navigation below or in menu bar at top) for some comments. Watch full YouTube video |
What's the idea behind the unit openers?
Each unit begins with media (video, audio, images) that introduces some of the key concepts covered in the unit. You should think of these as "advance organizers" that prepare you to deal with the material introduced in the unit. Working through the opener and thinking about the questions should help in gaining familiarity with the topics covered.
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1. How much could you understand? Probably not much, I would assume. It's mostly in Turkish, but also some in German. Going back and forth between languages is known as "code-switching", something typical of immigrant communities. 2. What culture(s) are represented? Turkish-German youth culture. There is a sizable population of Turkish immigrants living in Germany. The U.S. is becoming more diverse demographically, but it's by no means alone in that trend. How these young men would describe their cultural identity might be complex - maybe a mixture of youth culture (lots of similarities world-wide in dress, music style, on-line social networking), traditional Turkish culture (language, probably religion, family values) and some aspects of mainstream German culture (language, schooling, restaurant/business etiquette). 3. What group of people is represented in the video? Young Turkish-Germans, mostly (all?) men. That may be in part a reflection of hip-hop culture, but it could be related to a different conception of appropriate public roles for women in Islamic communities. This subset of the larger microculture of Turkish immigrants to Germany is characterized by its language use, dress and hair style, and affinity to world youth culture. 4. What forms of communication are used? Not just words and music. Lots of facial expressions and gestures. The non-verbal langauge works in conjunction with the text and music to convey the intended message and attitude. In fact, in this video more may be transmitted on the non-verbal side than through the words that are sung or spoken. 5. How are others outside this group likely to react to this music? Rap music is popular world-wide, but mostly among young people. Most likely, older people, whether German or Turkish, would not be wild about this kind of music video. Nor would older members of the Turkish-German microculture identify with other cultural aspects of these young Turkish-German men such as their non-verbal language, appearance, or relationship to the main-stream German culture (partial adoption through language, school, work, freetime activities). |
It's intended to illustrate the fact that the cultural identity of individuals and groups is often complex and multi-faceted. In this course we will be engaged in some broad-stroke characterization of cultures and how they differ, This can be helpful in gaining insight into the diverse ways human societies see the world and interact with people. However, we should keep in mind that these are generalizations and can be misleading in characterizing individual representatives of a given culture. Could the young men in the video (many of whom are likely German citizens) simply and accurately be described as "Germans" or even as "Turkish-Germans"? Their cultural identities are complex and may change in different contexts. At home in their families, for example, they would likely act and appear quite differently than when out with their friends. The same is true at school or at work. They may have quite different personas on-line as well.
NOTE: You should have read pp. 1-18 in the textbook before watching the presentation. The presentation is not a substitute for reading the chapter - the presentation highlights, amplifies, and extends some of the principal points in the chapter, but does not cover everything in the chapter. See the sidebar for additional resources for working with the material for this chapter.
View YouTube version | View/print lecture outline (PDF, useful for taking notes on presentation)
After reading pp. 1 -18 and listening to the presentation, do the following exercises. The exercises are graded (point values shown). As these are learning activities, you may re-do each and improve your score. After completing all exercises in the lesson, click on the "finish" button on the bottom of the last page to submit your scores.
Q1: Benefits of intercultural communication
Q2: Properties of Communication
Q3: Demographic Trends
Q4: Technology Trends
Q5: Inter-ethnic Issues
Q6: Communication Apprehension
NOTE: You should have read pp. 18-41 (end of chapter) before watching the presentation.
=> View YouTube version | View/print lecture outline (PDF, useful for taking notes on presentation)
After reading pp. 18-41 and listening to the presentation, do the following exercises.The exercises are graded (point values shown). As these are learning activities, you may re-do each and improve your score. After completing all exercises in the lesson, click on the "finish" button on the bottom of the last page to submit your scores.
Q7: Some human behaviors are determined by our cultural environment (etiquette, interactions with others, taboos. Others are universal human activities (need for shelter, need to communicate with others, fight or flight, etc.). Still others are determined by personal choice (taste in music, sleeping habits, what subjects you study, etc). For the behaviors listed in the sorting activity below, describe whether are cultural, universal or personal.
Q8: The Contexts of Intercultural Communication
Q9: Definition of culture
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Q10: Communicative competence Components
For preparing for the on-line quizzes on this material, the publisher Web site can be helpful. It includes Flashcards that cover the key terms listed below. There is also a Web quiz in multiple choice format that would be good practice for our on-line quiz. If you take the practice quiz from the publisher, you don't need to send the results to me (you can email them to yourself instead).
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