Review

Lesson 1: Fundamentals of
Communication

Oral Communication
 LESSON 2:
INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION

Ms. Vianne Bonville T. Simbulan, LPT Oral Communication

Warm-Up Activity (15 minutes)
1. Work in groups of five.
2. Create a fictional country. Discuss for three minutes the general description of your country using
the following guide questions.
a. What is the name of the country? What are its citizens called?
b. Is it an island or is it land-locked?
c. What is its tourist attraction?
d. What is your country famous for?
e. What are its citizens known for?
3. Describe the way these citizens use language, as well as their general traits. Make sure to have a
description for the following:
a. Behavior (Are they reserved? Loud? Generally humorous? Do they smile a lot?)
b. Language use (Are they talkative? Soft-spoken? Do they rarely use polite words?
c. Nonverbal cues (Do they think shaking hands is distasteful?)
d. Values (What do they find offensive? What positive trait are they known for?)
4. Based on these general traits, create a list of 5 Dos and 5 Don'ts which your fictional citizens
adhere to when they attend a casual dinner party with friends. You have five minutes to come up
with the rules.
Objectives
1. define intercultural communication;

2. practice effective intercultural communication; and

3. communicate sensitively, taking into consideration a listener's

gender, religion, beliefs, and traditions;

Oral Communication
Topics
I. Definition and Nature of Intercultural Communication

II. The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity

III. Characteristics of Competent Intercultural Communicators

Oral Communication
 I. Definition and Nature of
Intercultural Communication

Oral Communication
Intercultural communication happens when
individuals interact, negotiate, and create
meanings while bringing in their varied cultural
backgrounds (Ting-Toomey, 1999).

Oral Communication
For some scholars, intercultural communication
pertains to communication among people from
different nationalities (Gudykunst, 2003).

Oral Communication
Still, others look at it as communication that is
influenced by different ethnicities, religions, and
sexual orientations.

Oral Communication
It takes place when people draw from their
cultural identity to understand values, prejudices,
language, attitudes, and relationships (Gudykunst &
Kim, 2003).

Oral Communication
Simply, it is a process of sending and receiving of
messages across languages and cultures.

Oral Communication
However, things may not go as planned when
communication is disrupted by cultural collisions
or cultural clashes.

Oral Communication
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.

Oral Communication
II. The Developmental
Model of Intercultural
Sensitivity (DMIS)

Oral Communication
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.

Oral Communication
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)

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."
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)

Stage 2: Defense
The individual starts to recognize cultural differences and is
intimidated by them, resulting in either a superior view on his/her 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."
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)

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!"
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)

Stage 4: Acceptance
The individual begins to appreciate important cultural differences in
behavior 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.”
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)

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.”
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)

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:

"l can look at things from the perspective of various cultures."

Once you understand these stages, you may apply it to:
1) recognize communication behaviors which differ from your own,

2) take into account what can influence these types of behaviors, and

3) try to analyze how linguistic and cultural communities differ in terms

of communication behavior and influencing factors (Allwood, 1985).

Oral Communication
III. Characteristics of Competent
Intercultural Communicators

Oral Communication
Characteristics of Competent Intercultural Communicators
World Bank (2010) identifies the following traits that define a competent
intercultural communicator.
• flexibility and the ability to tolerate high levels of uncertainty
• reflectiveness or mindfulness
• open-mindedness
• sensitivity
• adaptability
• 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)
• politeness
Tips to Avoid Bias in Communication

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.
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.
Post-Task
Direction: 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.
Performance Task 1 (100 points)

With the same group in our fictional country activity, present a

three-minute scenario showing the six stages of the DMIS
with the application of any of the characteristics of an
effective intercultural communicator. Everyone in the group
must participate. One member should provide a one-minute
explanation of the presentation.

Oral Communication
Performance Task 1 (100 points)

Rubric
Organization – 25 pts.
Relevance – 25 pts.
Application – 25 pts.
Teamwork – 25 pts.

Oral Communication