Level B2a Reading

Read the text and answer the following questions.

“Older Czechs don’t feel comfortable confronting their boss”

Klára Kutišová from the exchange organization AFS speaks in an interview about the
communication style of the Czechs.
Klára Kutišová is the director of AFS in the Czech Republic. The organization provides
intercultural exchanges and education for people across the globe. She tells us how Czechs
communicate and how the communist period still has an impact on contemporary Czech
society.
How would you describe the way Czechs communicate?
To people from Asia, for example, we seem very direct. That’s the same for Latin American
countries. My husband is from Latin America and he says that our way of speaking
sometimes sounds harsh. I would say Czechs are really just being transparent and
straightforward. This means there is not a lot of space for misunderstanding.
Are Czechs open people in general?
At the beginning of an interaction with people they don’t know, Czechs seem direct, but not
as direct as Germans. Once they feel secure and more comfortable in a situation, they open
up and provide space for people to get closer to them. Then, the more comfortable they are,
the more they use humour. At first, Czechs don’t have what we call a “strong elbow”. This
means they are not assertive, especially when it comes to confrontations. That’s related to
the communist past.
So, 30 years after the end of communism, it still has an impact?
Oh, yes. You would be so surprised! People of my generation and my parents’ generation
don’t feel comfortable confronting their boss, for example. This is something that needs to
be strengthened. In contrast, the young generation, people coming out of university, are
much stronger when it comes to expressing their opinions. You cannot change the mentality
of people in their 60s or 70s. There is also a critical-thinking issue. The majority of middle-
aged people tend to believe in or to trust what is said in the media. They don’t look at it

Source: https://www.business-spotlight.de/business-englisch-lesen/older-czechs-dont-feel-
comfortable-confronting-their-boss
critically and they don’t try to find another source of information. Again, the younger
generation is really better at this.

Questions to answer:
1. Do you agree with the information involved in the text? Why (not)?
2. How would you describe your communication style?

Source: https://www.business-spotlight.de/business-englisch-lesen/older-czechs-dont-feel-
comfortable-confronting-their-boss