IMAGINATION IS YOUR

LIMIT
CRITERIA FOR THE FICTIONAL COUNTRY:

CREATIVITY : 50%
ORGANIZATION : 20%
PREPAREDNESS : 20%
APPEAL AND IMPACT : 10%

TOTAL : 100%
 INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
DEFINITION:
Intercultural communication
happens when individuals
interact, negotiate, and create
meanings while bringing in their
varied cultural backgrounds (Ting-
Toomey, 1999).
DEFINITION:
Intercultural communication takes
place when people draw from their
cultural identity to understand
values, prejudices, language,
attitudes, and relationships
(Gudykunst & Kim, 2003).
 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.
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.
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.
STAGE 2: DEFENSE
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 acceptance stage might be
heard saying: “These people and I have
different values and experiences, and I think
we can learn from one another.”
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 perspective of various cultures.”
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPETENT
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATORS
1. flexibility and the ability to tolerate high
levels of uncertainty
2. reflectiveness or mindfulness
3. open-mindedness
4. Sensitivity
5. adaptability
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPETENT
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATORS
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
WHAT TO AVOID:
1. Avoid stereotypes, i.e., generalizations
about a certain group.
2. Challenge gender norms; avoid using “he”
and “man” to refer to 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.
WHAT TO AVOID:
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.
TEST I:
Read each statement. If it displays
bias or insensitivity, write the
group/element being misrepresented
(gender, social status, age, religion,
culture). If not, write “OK.”
1. “Each employee must wear his
ID at all times.”
2. 2. “You won’t understand if I
explain; you’re too young.”
3. 3. “Japanese people are so rigid
and stoic!”
4. 4. “Don’t buy those shades; only
low-class people wear those.”
5. “Lolo, this is an iPhone. ‘i-
Phone.’ It is a very complicated
device, but I’ll explain it to you
simply. 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
religions 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.”
TEST II:
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.
ANSWER KEY:
TEST I:
1. GENDER 6. SOCIAL STATUS
2. AGE 7. RELIGION
3. CULTURE 8. SOCIAL STATUS
4. SOCIAL STATUS 9. OK
5. AGE/CULTURE 10. OK
ANSWER KEY:
TEST II:
1. TRUE
2. FALSE – DIFFERENT SOCIETIES
3. FALSE – NOT
4. FALSE – TO HELP
5. TRUE
ANSWER KEY:
TEST II:
6. TRUE
7. FALSE – INTEGRATION
8. TRUE
9. TRUE
10. TRUE
CHANNEL OF IDEAS:
•A student will be called or will
volunteer.
•The student will share his/her insight
about Intercultural Communication.
•The following speakers will base their
statements on the previous speakers.
CHANNEL OF IDEAS:
What is intercultural communication?
Why do we need to exercise appreciation
and tolerance with regards to different
cultures?
In your daily lives, how will you show
sensitivity to different culture, age, status,
gender etc.?
BUSINESSMEN ON ACT
Brainstorm for a logo for your business
that will show an integration of the
cultures of the countries you are from
You can draw or make a computer
generated logo.
Also, students will provide explanation
of the logo as their defense.
ADVANCE READING:
SPEECH CONTEXT
AND SPEECH
STYLE