Section 1386 - Part 3: Chapter 7: Class Activities for Intercultural Communication by Ms. Hannah Sarpong

Strategy 1: Managing Conflicting Beliefs: Use Supportive Language

hsarpong — 2024-03-29 08:46:19 UTC

Scenario A: People have their own beliefs that are, in part, manifested from their cultures. There may be moments in time when someone's cultural beliefs and values are in conflict with those of another's culture. Write a conversation - a role-play scenario between Mustafa (Malaysia) and Martin(Russia) that shows their conversation about a situation involving conflicting of beliefs and practices. Mustafa and Martin share a dorm room at university in London. Mustafa wants to pray five times a day in his dorm room, but Martin, who is Orthodox Catholic, has recently told Mustafa he feels offended. How can they both develop strategies for effectively managing and resolving conflicts in a respectful and understanding manner, even though they are from different cultures with different religions?

Martin: Hey Mustafa, can I talk to you for a sec about something?

Mustafa: Hey Martin, sure. What's up?

Strategy 2: Opening Communication Channels: Have Effective Meetings and Workshops

hsarpong — 2024-03-29 08:46:19 UTC

Scenario B: Intercultural communication can be frustrating. One important strategy to follow during such interactions is to be patient as you seek mutual understanding. You have been asked by your manager at work to conduct a workshop aimed at opening communication channels between students of different cultural backgrounds at Prince Sultan University. Think of three exciting team-building games the students of different cultures can play to foster open and inclusive communication. You have Arabic, Chinese and American students at the university.

Strategy 3: Personal Cultural Self-Assessment: Create a Questionnaire

hsarpong — 2024-03-29 08:46:19 UTC

Scenario C: How do your own attitudes toward other cultures influence your communication with people from those cultures? One of the first steps toward improving your intercultural communication skills is an honest assess-ment of your own communication style, beliefs, and prejudices. Your manager at work has asked you to create a questionnaire of 10 questions, to help the company conduct a detailed personal self-assessment of each employee so that they can identify (1) their cultural identities and (2) potential biases. What are the 10 essential questions that should be asked. Each person would need to answer each question as:

1 = Does not describe me at all

2 = Does not describe me very well

3 = Describes me somewhat

4 = Describes me well

5 = Describes me very well

Example: Question 1: Are you a person that does not like to mix with people from other cultures?

1 = Does not describe me at all

2 = Does not describe me very well

3 = Describes me somewhat

4 = Describes me well

5 = Describes me very well

Strategy 4: Learn about Diversity Sensitivity through Training

hsarpong — 2024-03-29 08:46:19 UTC

Scenario D: One healthy communication perspective holds that you can learn something from all people. Diverse populations provide ample opportunity for learning. Take the time to learn about other cultures before a communication situation, but don’t forget that you will also learn about others simply by taking a risk and talking to someone who is different from you. Create a sensitivity training workshop that focuses on learning and embracing diversity of cultures. Think about your PowerPoint presentation slides. You will have seven slides, after Slide 1: Title Slide, and Slide 2: "Introduction to Diversity". So, what will the next 5 slides be about? Plan the list the next 5 slides and include some details. What images would you include?

Slide 3:

Slide 4:

Slide 5:

Slide 6:

Slide 7:

Strategy 5: Ethnocentrism: Learn About the Strengths and Weakness of your Culture

hsarpong — 2024-03-29 08:46:19 UTC

Scenario E: You may know your own culture the best, but that familiarity does not make your culture superior to all others. You will learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of your own culture by learning more about other cultures. Create a list of the strengths and weaknesses of your culture and create another list of the strengths and weaknesses of a different culture. Specifically think about how you would judge another culture on their food, clothing, and language compared to yours. Decide, using your list and the scale below, if you are are ethnocentric = "when we use norms from our culture to make generalizations about other peoples' cultures and customs."

Am I ethnocentric?

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree