Module 2 Effective Intercultural

Communication

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. assess themselves as intercultural communicators using the framework discussed;
2. identify real-life examples of barriers to intercultural communication using a Philippine
Pop music video as prompt;
3. name as many terms and expressions in different cultures locally and internationally as
possible through sharing their own cultural practices and gathered information from
research;
4. spread awareness about cultural diversity in Mindanao through a virtual exhibit; and
5. create a pledge statement on how they can be culturally sensitive communicators.

Activity Watch the video of Mikey Bustos, a Filipino-Canadian content creator, on Pinoy
English. Link to the video is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqlFT8zT8V8

Guide Questions (to be provided before watching the video)

• What Pinoy English expressions from the video are familiar to you?
• In what instances have you used them? Recall such situations.
• Why do people across the world have different ways and forms of using English, such
as how Filipinos use the language?
• How does culture shape/affect our language use and communication?

Answer:__________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Abstraction

✓ A healthy reflection of who we are as a people can be a good start in our contribution to
global harmony.

✓ Eckert (2006) stresses that it is difficult to value culture without understanding a group’s
unique characteristics associated with history and context.

✓ Intercultural Communication means the process of interaction among different cultural

groups.
• interracial, interethnic, international, intracultural

✓ Since every individual or group is unique, cultural differences are salient.

✓ Baran (2013) defines culture as “the world made meaningful; it is socially constructed
and maintained through communication. It limits as well as liberates us; it differentiates
as well as unites us. It defines our realities and thereby shapes the ways we think, feel,
and act” (p. 14).
 Sub-lesson 1: Framework in
Developing Intercultural
Communication Skills

Mio, Barker-Hacket & Tumambing (2006) introduces the following three

steps:
1. Be aware of your own cultural attitudes
2. Understand other worldviews
3. Develop culturally appropriate interpersonal skills

Step 1: Being aware of one’s cultural attitudes

Before you can understand others, you must first understand yourself. By being
conscious and aware of your own culturally shaped beliefs, values, perceptions,
and biases will help you process your interaction with other people, whether they
are so much like you or different from you.

Step 2: Understanding other worldviews

Worldview refers to how we perceive and react to the world we all live in.

People of the same culture share similar worldviews as result of personal, family
or racial background, values, experiences, priorities, goals, societal norms, and
other factors that shape their thoughts and actions.

The opposite is also true among people from different cultures.

Eckert (2006) gives four orientations that result to opposing worldviews. These are
orientation to Groups (Individualism versus Collectivism), orientation to Time (Clock-
oriented versus Event-Oriented), orientation to Power and Authority (Hierarchical
versus Egalitarian), and orientation to Gender (Masculine and Feminine).

Orientation to Groups

Individualism is a social orientation which Collectivism, on the other hand, values a

places more importance in an individual’s group more than an individual.
own needs, rights, or choices over a
collectives or groups. Individualists value
independence and self-reliance.

Orientation to Time

Clock-oriented cultures value observance In contrast, event-oriented cultures see

to time and schedule, punctuality and time as abstract and flexible, not fixed or
organization. Schools and corporate offices, rigid.
for example, are clock-oriented because
work or activities of people here are closely
bounded by time.
Eckert (2006) gives four orientations that result to opposing worldviews. These are
orientation to Groups (Individualism versus Collectivism), orientation to Time (Clock-
oriented versus Event-Oriented), orientation to Power and Authority (Hierarchical
versus Egalitarian), and orientation to Gender (Masculine and Feminine).

Orientation to Power and Authority

Hierarchical cultures draw attention to Egalitarian cultures pride on equality and

status, social classes, titles and degrees. opportunities for all. People here strive to
There is a gap between men and women empower, for instance, women and minority
roles, professional and blue collar jobs, rich groups.
and poor.

Orientation to Gender

Masculine cultures see ambition, decision-
making, wage-earning as values associated
to males (Floyd, 2012, cited in Chiongson,
Dalagan, Panda (2016) as the leaders of
homes and the society.
Feminine cultures prefer enabling and
nurturing relationships. Eckert (2006) also
refers to feminine culture as egalitarian.
Step 3: Developing Appropriate Interpersonal Skills

There are many ways to develop culturally appropriate interpersonal skills. Mio,
Barker-Hacket &Tumambing (2006) suggest:

✓ education (joining lectures and retreats, reading books, watching films on

multicultural issues)

✓ experience (joining cultural organizations, traveling)

✓ language (asking questions when reaching out to different cultures, speaking for a
minority group) to increase multicultural competence
Sub-lesson 2: Barriers to
Intercultural
Communication
Barriers to Intercultural Communication

Below are some significant barriers to intercultural communication. Each is

constructed around a judgment made before any communication has taken place eroding the
communication that follows.

• Ethnocentrism – is the belief that one’s own culture ways are superior to other cultures.
It prevents you from seeing the perspectives of other people practicing cultural beliefs
different from yours. Ethnocentrism causes us to judge others by our own values.

• Stereotyping – is the practice of categorizing and generalizing about a certain race or

ethnic group based on a distorted view of that group. A stereotype is an oversimplified
perception of a behavioral pattern or characteristic applied to entire groups.

• Prejudice – is a negative attitude toward a cultural group based on little or no experience

of that group. If stereotypes are labels we attach to a group, prejudice is the negative
feeling we can feel towards that group.

• Discrimination – is the explicit action we take to exclude or avoid others. It takes

stereotypes and prejudice a step further to either personal action such as excluding
someone from a conversation; or collective action such as excluding others from jobs or
economic opportunities.

(Source: Hybels, S. & Weaver, R. II. (2015). Communicating effectively. USA: McGraw Hill
Education, Inc.
Sub-lesson 3: Terms
and Expressions in
Different Cultures
Emblems: The “come here” gesture commonly used in U.S. means “goodbye” in China, Italy,
and Columbia. Gestures such as A-OK, thumbs up, and crossed fingers have sexual or obscene
meanings in many parts of the world.

Affect Displays: In China, women express emotional satisfaction by holding their fingertips
over their closed mouths. Similarly, a man in Uruguay will hold his fists together and turn them
in opposite directions, as if wringing out a wet cloth, to express anger.

Personal Distance: People from Arab countries generally converse with each other at closer
distances than do people in U.S. One study found that because of differences in their preferred
conversational distance, Arab college students regarded those from the U.S. as aloof, whereas
the U.S. students regarded Arab students as overbearing.

Eye contact: In many Western cultures, direct eye contact signifies that someone is sincere,
trustworthy, and authoritative, whereas the lack of eye contact elicits negative evaluations from
others. In comparison, some Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern cultures emphasize the
lack of eye contact as a sign of deference or respect for authority.

Facial displays of emotion: Many Asian cultures suppress facial expression as much as
possible.
Greeting behavior: People in Western countries greet each other with a handshake; people
in Mediterranean countries usually kiss each other on both cheeks; people in Asian countries
greet each other by bowing, with the longest and lowest reserved for the most respected.

Time orientations: People in U.S., Canada, Finland, Great Britain, and Germany are
monochromic—they see time as a tangible commodity, expect events to begin “on time” and
dislike having time wasted. In other cultures, such as France, Brazil, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia,
people are polychromic—they see time as flexible and diffused and don’t necessarily expect
punctuality.

Touch: People in France, Mexico, and Greece are high-contact cultures, while people in Japan,
Sweden, and Finland are low-contact cultures. Americans are regarded as medium-contact
culture.

Vocalics: Filler words such as “umm” and “err” are common among English speakers, while
Chinese speakers often say “zhege zhege zhege”(this, this, this) as filler words.

(Source: Flloyd, K. (2010). Communication m@tters. McGraw Hill.)

 Application

Sub-lesson 1: Framework in Developing Intercultural Communication Skills

• How culturally sensitive are you? TEST

How strongly do you agree with each of the following statements? On the line before each
statement, record your level of agreement on a 1-5 scale. Higher numbers mean you agree
more, and lower number mean you agree less.

_____ I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures.

_____ I am pretty sure of myself when interacting with people from different cultures.
_____ I rarely find it very hard to talk in front of people from different cultures.
_____ I like to be with people from different cultures.
_____ I respect the values of people from different cultures.
_____ I tend to wait before forming an impression of people from different cultures.
_____ I am open-minded to people from different cultures.
_____ I am very observant when interacting with people from different cultures.
_____ I respect the ways people from different cultures behave.
_____ I try to obtain as much information as I can when interacting with people from
different cultures.

❖ When you’re done, add all your scores together. Your result should be between 10 and 50.
This is your total intercultural sensitivity score. If your score is above 35, you find it
relatively easy to interact with people from other cultures. If your score is between 25 and
35, you are sometimes comfortable in intercultural conversations, but they make you
uncomfortable from time to time. If your score is below 25, you probably haven’t had a
great deal of experience around people from other cultures, so you tend to find
intercultural conversations challenging.

• Using the Intercultural Communication Framework Worksheet

Step 1: Being Aware of My Cultural Attitudes

What type of marriage do you prefer? Why?

Step 2: Understanding World Views

Choose a particular marriage type which is different from your culture.

a. What are your feelings or inhibitions on this type of marriage?

a. It is assumed that you have done a research on this type of marriage. What key information
(history, rituals, practices) have you found out? Do your findings explain why this group of
people practice such type of marriage?
Step 3: Developing Appropriate Interpersonal Skills (this can be role-played)

Suppose you are to talk to a person who practices such type of marriage you have chosen in
Step 2. How are you going to get the conversation/interview going? Come up with an interview
script with guide questions. Pay attention to the language you use and your manner of asking.

Sub-lesson 2: Barriers to Intercultural Communication

• Colonialism and Discrimination

Watch this Philippine Pop Music Video of Alamat’s Kasmala. Watch carefully how it tackles history
of colonialism in the Philippines and discrimination. Link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Y_mTfBh3o

*For teachers, try watching this reaction video to gain insights about the history depicted in the
Kasmala music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH-LOvjneAU&t=332s

Guide questions for discussion:

1. What particular scenes in the music video have shown the discrimination against Filipinos?

2. How is ethnocentrism depicted in the music video?

3. Even when colonialism is over, do you think we Filipinos are still treated the same way we
were treated before? Cite instances if yes.

4. Have you ever experienced being discriminated? For what have you been discriminated? What
have you done to address it?

5. Have you also discriminated others? In what way/s?

6. How can we avoid these barriers to intercultural communication?

Sub-lesson 3: Terms and Expressions in Different Cultures

• Mindanao Cultural Exhibit

The class is divided into 8 groups. Each group will choose a tribe or ethnic group in Mindanao
that they wish to feature in their virtual exhibit. Their exhibit should be virtually presented in 3-5
minutes, featuring the following salient practices:
a. Greeting
b. Faith beliefs
c. Courtship
d. Language use and communication

Rubric for grading:

 Assessment
Test Yourself: I. Select the correct and best answer from the choices provided.

1. Which among the following is NOT TRUE about intercultural communication?

A. Intercultural communication involves convergence and engagement of cultures possessed by the
communicators.
B. A conversation between a Cebuano and Ilokano is an example of intercultural communication.
C. Intercultural communication happens inside a classroom even though the students come from
the same place of origin.
D. Intercultural communication always occurs when two people who speak different languages
communicate to each other through a common language.

2. Which type of discrimination is applicable to the Asian hate crimes in the US?
A. Cultural Discrimination
B. Gender Discrimination
C. Skin Color Discrimination
D. Racial Discrimination

3. When Danilo was elected the dean of the college, he told the students to call him "Dean Danilo".
What cultural orientation does Danilo exhibit?
A. Masculinity
B. Power
C. Hierarchical
D. Egalitarian

4. Which of the following applies to the practice of royals marrying other royals?
A. Stereotype C. Ethnocentrism
B. Prejudice D. Discrimination

5. Although the wedding starts 3PM, Shiela arrived at the venue 1 hour before the ceremony as it
was indicated on the invitation that guests are advised to be at the venue early. What cultural
orientation does Shiela exhibit?
A. Event-oriented
B. Filipino Time
C. Clock-oriented
D. Early bird

6. Filipinos are known not just for their dedication to work but also for their commitment to their
families and friends. What cultural orientation do Filipinos exhibit?
A. Ethnocentrism C. Masculinity
B. Collectivism D. Individualism

7. Which country practices kissing on both cheeks as a form of greeting?

A. Japan C. France
B. USA D. Singapore

8. An African-American male went into a convenience store recently taken over by new Korean
immigrants. He gave a $20 bill for his purchase to Mrs. Cho, the cashier, and waited for his change.
He got upset when his change was put down on the counter in front of him. Why did Mrs. Cho do
that?
A. She does not want to have any physical contact with any black person.
B. She was raised in a low-contact culture.
C. The African-American was rude in giving his payment to Mrs. Cho.
D. The African-American was too close to Mrs. Cho by distance.
9. Which among the following is NOT a stereotype attributed to Bisaya people?
A. Promdi C. Terrorist
B. House helper D. Strong-accented

10. Which of the following is an example of Pinoy English?

A. C.R./ Comfort Room C. Can lah
B. Come again? D. Bravo!

II. Create a pledge statement on how you can commit to be a culturally sensitive communicator. It
should be in 2-3 sentences only. It may be written in English, Tagalog, Bisaya, or mix. (5 pts)

PLEDGE STATEMENT

Criteria:
1. It is written from a first person point of view.
2. It is specific and concrete.
3. It is doable.
4. It is written in academic language.
5. It is in 2-3 sentences only.