ORAL COMMUNICATION

Name: ______________________________ LRN: ______________________

Strand: _____________________________ Birthday: __________________
Grade Level & Section: _________________ Teacher: Ms. Marjorie O. Eroles

LESSON 2: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

At the end of this lesson, students must be able to:
 define intercultural communication;
 demonstrate effective intercultural communication skills in a speech situations;
 develop appreciation for different cultural perspectives;
 practice effective intercultural communication;
 apply learning and thinking skills, life skills, and ICT literacy in understanding intercultural
communication;
 communicate sensitively, taking into consideration a listener’s gender, religion, beliefs, and traditions;
and
 reflect on your learning about intercultural communication.

Definition and Nature of Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication happens when individuals interact, negotiate, and create meanings while
bringing in their varied cultural backgrounds (Ting-Toomey, 1999).
For some scholars, intercultural communication pertains to communication among people from different
nationalities (Gudykunst, 2003). Still, others look at intercultural communication as communication that is
influenced by different ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations.
Both interpretations show that intercultural communication takes place when people draw from their
cultural identity to understand values, prejudices, language, attitudes, and relationships (Gudykunst & Kim,
2003). Moreover, this facet of communication can also be seen as a bargained understanding of human
experiences across diverse societies. Simply put, intercultural communication is the sending and receiving of
messages across languages and cultures.
Sometimes, intercultural communication can flow smoothly and become very interesting for a cross-
cultural group. However, things may not go as planned when communication is disrupted by cultural collisions.
When you speak, your speech is continuously accompanied by gestures, facial expressions and other
body movements that add to what you are saying in different ways. For example, nodding means “yes” in the
Indian subcontinent, Iran, most of Europe, Latin America, and North America. However, in Greece, Lebanon,
Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Albania, nodding indicates disagreement. Moreover, in the
case of Japanese culture, silence as a form of communication is more integrated in their customs than in
Western languages. It is therefore important for you to acknowledge and understand the many communication
patterns present in other cultures.

CHEATING is a CHOICE. CHEATING is a CRIME; therefore when you CHOOSE to CHEAT you choose commit a CRIME! (Eroles and Salvador, 2019)
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) offers a structure that explores how
people experience cultural differences. According to Bennett and Bennett (2004), it has six stages. These are the
following:
Stage 1: Denial. The individual does not recognize cultural differences.

An individual in the denial stage might be heard saying:

“All cities are the same; they all have tall buildings, fast food chains, and coffee shops.”

Stage 2: Defense. The individual starts to recognize cultural differences and is intimidated by them, resulting
in either a superior view on own culture or an unjustified high regard for the new one.

An individual in the defense stage might be heard saying:

“This culture does not view life the way we do; our culture is certainly better.”
“Their ways are better than my own; I wish I were one of them.”

Stage 3: Minimization. Although individuals see cultural differences, they bank more on the universality of
ideas rather than on cultural differences.
An individual in the minimization stage might be heard saying:
“Once we see through the cultural differences, we really are just the same!”

Stage 4: Acceptance. The individual begins to appreciate important cultural differences in behaviors and
eventually in values.

An individual in the minimization stage might be heard saying:

“Once we see through the cultural differences, we really are just the same!”

Stage 5: Adaptation. The individual is very open to world views when accepting new perspectives.

An individual in the adaptation stage might be heard saying:

“To address our issue, I have to adjust my approach to consider both my own and my counterpart’s
background.”

Stage 6: Integration. Individuals start to go beyond their own cultures and see themselves and their actions
based on multifarious cultural viewpoints.
An individual in the integration stage might be heard saying:
“I can look at things from the perspectives of various cultures.”

Once you understand these stages, you may apply it to 1) recognize communication behaviours which
differ from your own, 2) take into account what can influence these types of behaviours, and 3) try to analyse
how linguistic and cultural communities differ in terms of communication behaviour and influencing factors
(Allwood, 1985).

CHEATING is a CHOICE. CHEATING is a CRIME; therefore when you CHOOSE to CHEAT you choose commit a CRIME! (Eroles and Salvador, 2019)
Characteristics of Competent Intercultural Communicators
World Bank (2010) identifies the following traits that define a competent intercultural communicator.
1. flexibility and the ability to tolerate high levels of uncertainty
2. reflectiveness or mindfulness
3. open-mindedness
4. sensitivity
5. adaptability
6. ability to engage in divergent thinking (or thinking creatively) and systems-level thinking (or thinking
how each one in a system or organization influences each other)
7. politeness

Note that in addition to culture, other elements such as gender, age, social status, and religion must also be
taken into consideration when communicating with others. Refrain from showing a bias when talking to
someone by following the tips below.
1. Avoid stereotypes, i.e., generalizations about a certain group.
2. Challenge gender norms; avoid using “he” and “man” to refer a general group of people. To remedy
this, you may use plural pronouns or rewrite a sentence to avoid using pronouns. The use of his/her is
also acceptable.
3. Do not talk down on younger people and the elderly.
4. Be sensitive to the religious practices of others.
5. Be polite at all times; do not belittle people you perceive to be on a lower social class than you.

Activity
Read each statement. If it displays bias or sensitivity, write the group/element being misrepresented
(gender, social status, age, religion, culture). If not, write “OK”. Once done, compare and discuss your answers
with a partner.
______________ 1. “Each employee must wear his ID at all times.”
______________ 2. “You won’t understand if I explain; you’re much too young.”
______________ 3. “Japanese people are so rigid and stoic!”
______________ 4. “Don’t buy those shades; only low-class people wear those.”
______________ 5. “Lolo, this is an iPhone. ‘iPhone.’ It is a very complicated device, but I’ll explain it simply
to you. It is used to talk to people from other places.”
______________ 6. “All staff members have to submit their leave requests before the day ends.”
______________ 7. “My belief is the absolute truth. Other religion simply got it wrong.”
______________ 8. “Manang, let’s go, I’ll treat you. I bet you haven’t eaten sushi in your entire life.”
______________ 9. “Catholics and Protestants do have big differences, but we must respect each other’s
beliefs.”
______________ 10. “You’re the youngest person in the family, but I trust that you can handle the
situation well.”

CHEATING is a CHOICE. CHEATING is a CRIME; therefore when you CHOOSE to CHEAT you choose commit a CRIME! (Eroles and Salvador, 2019)
TRUE OR FALSE!
Write T before each number if the statement is true and F if the statement is false.
___ 1. Intercultural communication occurs when there is interaction and negotiation between or among
individuals from different cultural backgrounds.
___ 2. Intercultural communication refers only to communication that happens between or among
individuals from different nations.
___ 3. Communication that exists between or among individuals from different ethnic, religious, and
regional backgrounds and sexual orientations is not considered as intercultural.
___ 4. The DMIS by Bennett and Bennett (2004) can be used to understand those who do not recognize
other cultures and cannot communicate interculturally.
___ 5. The denial stage could be interpreted as distrust towards other cultures.
___ 6. The acceptance stage refers to recognition of cultural differences.
___ 7. In the adaptation stage, individuals begin to integrate with other cultures.
___ 8. Cultural sensitivity matters in intercultural communication.
___ 9. One character trait of a competent communicator is sensitivity to nonverbal cues in other cultures.
___ 10. A competent communicator is a person who is effective in intercultural communication.

Choose an international company which interests you. Visit their website. If a company has multiple websites,
visit at least two of them.
Using a minimum of 500 words, write an essay discussing at least two (2) strategies employed by the company
to ensure that the right messages on their products and services are sent effectively across cultures worldwide.
Use the following format: computerized, font 12, Times New Roman, 1.5 spacing.

CHEATING is a CHOICE. CHEATING is a CRIME; therefore when you CHOOSE to CHEAT you choose commit a CRIME! (Eroles and Salvador, 2019)