Intercultural Awareness Course (short version)

To raise your awareness of

what culture is

what guides the behaviour of cultural groups

the complexity of your personal and social identities

Why take
this course? the beliefs you hold about your own and other cultures

what cultural sensitivity is.

To engage you in thinking

how all these may influence your communication with

others
 This is a short version of the
EURAXESS Intercultural Assistant
Course.
It takes you on a short journey to
What is the explore some aspects of culture
and intercultural communication

course like? at your own pace. If you wish to

go deeper into the subject, you
can take the longer version of the
course.

Question time
When you see this image, take a
pause and think on the questions
that follows it for a while and then
go on.
 A definition of culture
a.  the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social
group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life)
shared by people in a place or time (i.e. popular culture;  Southern culture)

b. the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterises an institution or
organisation 

c. the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or
characteristic of society.

Meriam-Webster Online Dictionary

 Remember
this?
The Substance of
Culture
 These are the objective elements
of a culture.

Above the You can see, hear, smell and

touch them: food, dress,
waterline behaviour, architecture, folk
music…

They are the easiest to explain

and the easiest to change.
 These are the We are often
subjective unaware of
elements of them and their
culture. role.

Below the We can judge

waterline about them on
the basis of what
Violating these
“deep-down”
we see: beliefs, conventions
thought patterns, arouses deep
notions of good emotions.
or bad...
 We judge
about a culture
only on the
basis of its tip…
 • What will make the greatest
impression on a visitor to
your own culture? Why?
http://www.ikea.bg/living-room/Sofas-and-armchairs/fabric-
sofas/Three-seat-sofas/ektorp-55703/59164914/

Question • Is this element the same in

time other places /
organizations?
Culture
and
context
Every aspect of global communication is influenced by cultural differences. For
example, industrialised nations rely heavily on electronic technology and
emphasise written messages over oral or face-to-face communication.

Examples: the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany…

However, Japan, which has access to the latest technologies, still relies
more on face-to-face communication than on the written mode. 

Goman: 2011
In some cultures, personal bonds and informal agreements
are far more binding than any formal contract.

In others, the meticulous wording of legal documents is

viewed as most important.

High-context cultures leave much of the message unspecified – to

be understood through what is not said – in body language, in
silences and pauses, and in relationships and empathy.
Low-context cultures expect messages to be explicit and
specific. They place emphasis on sending and receiving
accurate messages directly, and being precise with spoken
or written words.
Goman 2011
• Examples of high-
context cultures:
Mediterranean, Slav,
Central European, Latin
American, African, Arab,
Asian, American-Indian

• Examples of low-
context cultures:
Germanic, English-
speaking ones
Time
In some cultures
time is seen as a Monochronic
linear sequence. cultures: North
It’s important for American,
things to happen English, German,
according a Swedish, Dutch…
schedule. Is time money
In others, across the
Polychronic
schedules are not
cultures: South
globe?
that important.
Time is less American,
tangible and it is Southern
possible for many European,
events to happen Asian
at the same time.
 Space

“Contact” peoples (such

as Southern Europeans,
Asians and Arabs)
maintain closer
interpersonal spacing
than “noncontact”
peoples (such as the
Americans and
Northern Europeans).
 • What distance do you feel
comfortable with when greeting
people?
• If other people’s being late is likely to
Question time make you experience negative
emotions, how can you deal with it?
• Do you prefer to talk to people in
person or to send emails/text
messages?
 The Culture Map model is built on eight
Erin Meyer’s areas of cultural variations.
Culture Map This “map” is designed to help you
understand where your own and other
cultures are placed on these eight
scales.
1.

If you are in a low-

context culture, try to
Communicating: communicate directly For example, the
Low-Context and clearly. US are a low-
If you are in a high- context culture
Versus High- context culture, while Japan is at
Context remember to pay
the other extreme.
attention to what is said
“between the lines”.
2.
Different cultures give and decode feedback in
different ways. This does not depend on whether a
culture is a low-context or a high-context one.
When in France, expect to be given very direct
feedback.
If you are in the USA, locals would rather give you
feedback in which critique is carefully intermingled
with positive messages.

Evaluating: Direct Negative Feedback

Versus Indirect Negative Feedback
 These two types of building your
3. argumentation to persuade
someone are again culturally
bound.
The principles-first type means
providing the whole picture.
Persuading:
The application-first type means
Principles-First outlining what has to be done in
Versus detail and later providing the
Applications-First background.
In Western cultures, first explain
what has to be done in concrete
details.
In Asian cultures, start with the
background information.
4. Cultures vary according to Power Distance,
which also affects leadership, hierarchy and
power. 
Leading: It is based on the dynamics of how an
organisation distributes authority and what
Egalitarian the relationship between bosses and
Versus workers are.
Hierarchical If you are in an egalitarian culture (i.e.
North American, Scandinavian), you can
disagree with your superiors.
If you are in a hierarchical one (i.e. Latin
American), you have to act and
communicate through the established
appropriate channels.
5.
In most egalitarian cultures, expect
Deciding: consensual decision making.
Consensual In most hierarchical cultures,
expect top-downdecision making.
Versus
Top-Down However, this is not always the
case. For example, the Japanese
culture which is highly hierarchical,
values consensual decision making.
6.
In Germany and the Netherlands, expect “task-based trust”.
This means that your confidence in someone else’s abilities
to do a job or perform a task is created through having
worked together.
In China, Brazil or India, expect “relationship-based trust”.
This means that your confidence in someone else’s abilities
to do a job or perform a task comes from your affective
relationship with a person you have socialised with.

Trusting: Task-Based Versus Relationship-Based

 The way we disagree and react to
7. confrontation differs.
In some cultures, it is believed that
Disagreeing: confrontation may have a positive effect.
Confrontationa In others, there may be a complete
avoidance of disputes and open
l Versus Avoids disagreement.
Confrontation In France, people don’t find confrontation
problematic.
In Japan (like in most Asian cultures),
confrontation is seen as harmful to
harmony.
8.
This scale again has to do with the
monochromic-polychromic distinction above.
If you are in a linear-time culture (such as
Germany or the USA, expect people to stick to
schedules and observe plans and deadlines.
If you are in a flexible-time culture (such as
Italy, Brazil or India), expect people to
consider schedules changeable.
Meyer: 2014

Scheduling: Linear-Time
Versus Flexible-Time
 Question time

Imagine you don’t agree with

your superior.
Would you rather avoid
expressing this openly?
Think of a situation in which
you have witnessed such
confrontation. Was the result
constructive or damaging to
the work atmosphere? Why?
 Who are you?
This depends on
• The roles you play in life: a
daughter, a friend, a PhD
student, a researcher, a
member of EURAXESS staff
• Your religion
• Your birth place
• Your current home place
• Your ethnicity
• Your gender
• The things you like
• The things you don’t like...
 Question time
Finish these sentences:
• (People from my hosts
culture) are…
• (People from my own
culture) are…
 Identity is not only a question of how you
perceive yourself. Others identify you, and you
may not like the label they give you.
Identity and
intercultural
communication You perceive reality through generalisations.
However, this can lead to some negative
consequences when communication across
cultures.
 Stereotypes

They consist basically of shared beliefs or thoughts

about a particular human group usually in terms of
Identity and behavior, habits, etc.
intercultural
communication Their objective is to simplify reality: “they are like
that”.

They may be negative and positive – people often

have positive stereotypes about their own cultural
group.
 Prejudices

They are judgements you make about

another person or other people without
Identity and really knowing them.
intercultural You learn them as part of your socialisation and
communication they are very difficult to modify or do away
with. Therefore, it is important to be aware
that you have them.

They can also be negative or positive.

 Cultural
adaptation
Stage What you feel
Honeymoon Usually very positive feelings for the local people, the food, the
surroundings, etc.
Excitement, curiosity, willingness to immerse in the new culture
Culture shock Psychological and physical disorientation
Anxiety, frustration, even anger
Fear and insecurity, homesickness
You are overly sensitive to differences

Adjustment Gradually the negative emotions are overcome

Hopefulness and readiness to develop new patterns of life, more suited
to the new surroundings

Mastery A feeling of being comfortable in both your home and the new
culture

The stages of cultural adaptation

Question time
• What can you do not to feel
isolated or uncomfortable in a
new culture?

• What can you do to make others

feel at ease in your own culture?
The following sources have been used to prepare the Intercultural
Assistant website, self-test and self-access courses
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 Goman, Carol, K. How Culture Controls Communication. Forbes
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 Hall, Edward Twitchell. The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of
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