Intercultural Communication

What this page covers

The resources here look at how people from different cultures understand each other, and where that goes wrong. Topics include acculturation, culture shock, intercultural competence, intercultural conflict, relationships, language, identity and nonverbal behavior. Most of the material suits university study, and a small part is simpler.

Where to start

Begin with the flashcards if the vocabulary is new. The deck Chapter 2 vocab lists terms such as ethnocentrism, collectivistic culture, high-context culture and in-groups. The Intercultural Studies Exam deck opens with the basics: what culture is, beliefs, values, norms and the iceberg metaphor.

Then move to the quizzes in this order:

1. CH9 - Intercultural Relationships, which touches on uncertainty reduction theory.
2. CH10 - Intercultural Conflict, which includes the idea of face and how individualists react during conflict.
3. CH12 - Acculturation, Culture Shock, Intercultural Competence, which separates voluntary from involuntary acculturation.

Using quizzes and maps together

Take a quiz first and note the questions you miss. Then open a mind map on the same theme. There are maps on culture shock, intercultural adaptation, barriers to cultural communication, ethnocentric stages and building intercultural competence. Others cover language and nonverbal communication across cultures, and the effect of new media in a global setting.

The quiz Intercultural Communication Final Aoki is a good check on nonverbal codes, semiotics and cultural identities. The quiz called Intercultural Communication asks about proxemics and cross-cultural training. Return to a map after each attempt and see what now makes sense.

For teachers

Lecture slides, case study info packs and notes made from mind maps are listed alongside the quizzes. You can browse them and pick what fits your own course. All of it was made by community members.

Where it sits

This unit belongs to the strand Interpersonal, Group and Intercultural Communication, within Communication and journalism. Choose one theme, work through a deck and a quiz, and see which map you want to open next.