MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND INNOVATIONS

OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

NUKUS STATE PEDAGOGICAL INSTITUTE NAMED AFTER AJINIYAZ

DEPARTMENT OF MAGISTRACY

FACULTY OF FOREIN LANGUAGES (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND

LITERATURE)

COURSE PAPER

on the theme: “THE PROBLEMS OF STEREOTYPES IN INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION”

Fulfilled: the 1st year undergraduate B.Baydulleava

Scientific adviser: Candidate of Philology, docent Dj.Kurbanbaev

Head of Department: doc A.Tajieva

The Course Paper is admitted to the defence.

Protocol № _____ «____» __________ 2023.

NUKUS-2023
1
 CONTENT

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….3

CHAPTER

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION

1.1. The history of intercultural communication…………………………………...5

1.2. Developing intercultural communication……………………………………...8

CHAPTER II

THE BARRIERS OF STEREOTYPING IN INTERCULTURAL

COMMINICATION

2.1. Stereotyping in intercultural communication………………...……................14

2.2. Barriers in intercultural communication……. . . . . . ... …………….. . . . . . ..17

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

2
 Introduction

Profound impacts on various aspects of human life. The overarching influence of

globalization and modern technology on contemporary society presents both
opportunities and challenges. The global community has become increasingly
interconnected, leading to greater cultural exchange and economic integration
across borders. However, these developments have also fostered concerns related
to job displacement, income inequality, and the uneven distribution of
technological advancements. As such, a critical examination of the effects of
globalization and new technologies is warranted in order to better understand their
complexity and significance for society. The profound impacts - both advantageous
and detrimental - on individuals across the world are highly dramatic. More
individuals today than in any previous era have both direct and indirect access to a
myriad of resources, thanks to the proliferation of technological advancements and
global interconnectedness. Facilitating communication and interaction among
individuals. Direct intercultural contact transpires by means of a study abroad
program. The phenomenon of migration and international travel involves the
movement of individuals across national borders, while indirect contact is a means
of communication that is facilitated through various channels. The proliferation of
technological advancements such as the internet, email, text messaging, and Skype
have revolutionized the ways in which individuals interact and communicate with
one another. To further elaborate on the topic, additional information and discourse
is required. Currently, the present time marks a significant moment in human
history. Every individual must cultivate their aptitudes to guarantee favorable
engagements in social contexts. Interacting with individuals from diverse cultural
backgrounds, including those belonging to ethnic minority communities,
constitutes a crucial aspect of cross-cultural communication. The promotion of
collaborative endeavors among groups sharing both domestic and international
boundaries constitute a crucial undertaking, wherein universities must assume a
significant role.

3
4
CHAPTER I BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION

1.1. The history of intercultural communication.

The original paradigm for intercultural communication took form in

conceptualizations by Hall and others at the Foreign Service Institute in the
early1950s. What were the major intellectual influences on this conceptualization?
Hall’s early life experiences as he grew up in the culturally diverse state of New
Mexico, and commanded an African American regiment in World War II, were
important influences. Hall says that from his work with the Hopi and Navajo he
learned “firsthand about the details and complexities of one of the world’s most
significant problems: Intercultural relations” (Hall, 1992, p.76).

Hall’s personal experiences brought the problems of intercultural communication

to his attention, but scholarly influences brought Hall to the investigation of
intercultural communication. Hall’s graduate training in anthropology at Columbia
University and his work as an applied anthropologist in the Foreign Service
Institute brought him in contact with scholars who influenced his conceptualization
of intercultural communication. Hall identified four major influences on his work:
(1) cultural anthropology, (2) linguistics, (3) ethology, the study of animal
behavior, and (4) Freudian psychoanalytic theory (Hall, 1992; Sorrells, 1998).

1. Cultural Anthropology: Cultural anthropology served as both a positive and

negative influence on Hall’s formation of the paradigm for intercultural
communication. At Columbia University Hall was particularly influenced by
Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict (Hart, 1996b). In The Hidden Dimension, Hall
acknowledged that the connection that he made between culture and
communication in his noted book The Silent Language had its beginnings with
Boas who “laid the foundation of the view...that communication constitutes the
core of culture...” (Hall, 1966, p.1). The strong emphasis on cultural relativism
by Boas and Benedict is evident in Hall’s work.

5
2. Linguistics: At the FSI, Hall’s most influential colleague was George L.
Trager, a linguist with post-doctoral training at Yale University with Edward
Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf from 1936 to 1941 (Carroll, 1940/1956;
Hockett, 1993). Trager was perhaps closer to Whorf than any other scholar of
his day; they shared scholarly interests in Native American languages of the
American Southwest, Hopi for Whorf and Tanoan for Trager (Hockett, 1993).
Thus Hall was exposed to the concept of linguistic relativity, the process
through which language influences human thought and meaning (Whorf,
1940/1956).
3. Ethology: Hall developed an interest in biology during his teenage years (Hall,
1992). This interest, particularly in animal behavior, is evidenced in his books
The Hidden Dimension (concerning animal crowding and the handling of
space) and Beyond Culture (regarding action chains). The “map of culture” in
The Silent Language is rooted in biology. Hall’s classification of time (and
culture) as formal, informal, and technical was based on Paul MacLean’s
reptilian, limbic, and neo-cortex (triune) brain theory (Sorrells, 1998).
4. Freudian psychoanalytic theory: The unconscious level of communication was
a strong influence on Hall and his colleagues at the Foreign Service Institute,
especially their conception of nonverbal communication. We previously
mentioned (1) Hall’s participation in the post-doctoral seminar on culture and
personality, based on cultural anthropology and psychoanalytic theory, at
Columbia University in 1946 (Hall, 1992).

Initially, Hall and the other anthropologists on the FSI staff taught their trainees
about the concept of culture, and about the macro-level details of specific cultures
such as their kinship structure and social institutions. The diplomats and
development technicians studying at FSI were underwhelmed by this rather
conventional anthropological approach.

The Foreign Service Institute trainees were highly receptive to the new paradigm
of intercultural communication that Hall and Trager created. The basic course that

6
Hall taught was a four-week orientation workshop for mid-career diplomats and
technical assistance workers, some of whom were accompanied by their spouse.
About half of the course content was language instruction and the other half was
intercultural communication. Hall trained 2,000 people at the FSI over a five-year
period, mainly in batches of 30 to 35. The methods of training were highly
participatory and experiential. Hall de-emphasized listening to lectures and reading
books as a means of understanding intercultural communication. Hall gained
useful classroom examples of intercultural communication from his trainees, many
of whom already had extensive international experience. Further insights and
teaching examples were obtained by Hall’s travels to visit his former trainees in
their overseas assignments.

Nonetheless, Edward Hall founded intercultural communication, and The Silent

Language was the founding document of the field. Hall laid the intellectual
foundation upon which many others have built. These later scholars were not
linguists, presumably because linguistics focuses on verbal communication, not
nonverbal communication (Rogers and Steinfatt, 1999). Why did the study of
communication between people of different cultures come to be a sub-field of
communication study, and not anthropology? Two possible explanations are: (1)
Hall did not actively promote the institutionalization of intercultural
communication within anthropology, and (2) Hall lacked a following of Ph.D.
protégés in anthropology.

Over the past four decades the field of intercultural communication has grown
mainly within university departments of communication. Dozens of textbooks on
intercultural communication have appeared. Throughout the growth of intercultural
communication study, Hall’s work has remained influential. Hall and his
publications are still highly cited, both within the field of intercultural
communication and outside of the field. Hall ranks as the second most-cited
intercultural communication author and three of his books are among the most
cited books in intercultural communication.

7
1.2. Developing intercultural communication.

Intercultural communication, or communication between people from different

cultures, is as old as history itself. It has occurred for millennia, in the form of
wars, commercial activities or social exchanges. Today, as the world has become a
global community, the intercultural interactions have become a natural process and
a necessity. Communication with people of different cultures is a common activity
in the classroom, in the workplace, in healthcare or politics. Intercultural
communication is a fascinating area of study within organizational communication.
The term intercultural communication also refers to the wide range of
communication issues that arise within an organization, between individuals of
different religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. Each of these
individuals brings a unique set of experiences and values to the workplace,
characteristic to the culture in which they grew up and are now operating.
Globalization, increasing migration, the development of the transportation systems,
the advance of information technologies, international employment, study
exchange programs, interdependent economies, foreign travel, political alliances
and global peace threats are bringing together people of different cultures and
religions with an unprecedented regularity and urgency [1]. Intercultural
communication is an essential requirement in the critical efforts to ensure world
peace, stability, necessary to improve relationships between countries, ensure
resource sustainability and promote values like tolerance and diversity.

All communication takes place in a culture, therefore the differences between

cultures is the primary obstacle in intercultural communication. Different cultures
are characterized by different languages, values, behaviors and attitudes towards
aspects such as time (the importance of punctuality), context, customs, distance,
non-verbal signs, etc. The ability to speak is universal, but

language is culturally determined. Culture and language are thought to be strongly

connected. In the research field there are strong debates on whether culture shapes
language or language shapes culture. Linguistic Relativity Theory or the Sapir
8
Whorf hypothesis asserts that the structure of a language affects its speakers’ world
view or cognition. Our reality is determined by the language that we use; people
speaking different languages will automatically have different worldviews. English
is the third largest language by number of native speakers, after Mandarin and
Spanish. Approximately 330 to 360 million people around the world speak English
as their first language and there are more than 50 English speaking countries.
While it is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language
most often taught as a foreign language. It is used as a communication language
due to the convenience and ease it provides and its widespread nature. The
intercultural communication competence (ICC) refers to the active possession by
individuals of qualities which contribute to effective intercultural communication,
and can be defined in terms of three primary attributes: knowledge, skills and
attitudes.

Global business professionals require excellent skills in intercultural

communication because they must exchange information with people from all over
the world. In order to be truly effective, they also need to take into consideration
the cultural context and conventions, such as timing of an intercultural dialogue,
the distance that different cultures require, the differences in nonverbal
communication codes. Successful companies impose acceptance of diversity as a
legal and moral obligation, vital for improving work climate, morale, creativity and
productivity. By recognizing that different groups of people solve asserted tasks in
different ways, employees learn to value their differences and appreciate the
different approaches, solutions and points of intercultural competence recognizes
three perspectives:

- Intercultural sensitivity -acknowledging and respecting the cultural diversity;

- Intercultural awareness understanding culture variation and being aware of one’s

own cultural identity;

9
- Intercultural message skills, knowledge of appropriate self-disclosure, flexibility,
interaction management, social skills.

ICC includes adapting previously acquired communication competences and

including the specific requirements of intercultural competence such as:

- to possess good interpersonal and interaction skills;

- to be able to communicate in a second language;

- to be able to use communications technologies,

- searching for, processing and analyzing data from various sources;

- to be able to adapt easily to new situations and environments;

- to show awareness of gender issues and equal opportunities;

- to be able to work in a multinational team;

- to be able to work in an intercultural environment;

- to manifest tolerance, cultural sensitivity and cultural awareness

- to show appreciation and respect for people of different cultures;

- to possess knowledge about different cultures and customs;

There are various theoretical approaches that attempt to identify the skills needed
to achieve effective intercultural communication. The communication approach
identifies four skill areas:

- personality strength- individuals must have a strong sense of self, must know
themselves well, and through their self-awareness to initiate a positive
communication with the other;

- communication skills- message skills

(individuals must have verbal and nonverbal communication competence, to be

able to understand the language and give the appropriate feedback) and social

10
skills (empathy and identity maintenance, being able to relate to people with
different cultural background).

- psychological adjustment – individuals must be able to adapt to new cultural

contexts and overcome the culture shock, the feelings of stress and alienation
caused by the unfamiliarity of a new environment.

- cultural awareness – understanding of the cultural values, behaviors and norms of

the host culture, as different from one’s own, understanding how people from
different cultures think and behave.

The business approach, referring to the skills needed in international business,

mention: self-maintenance skills (skills needed to maintain identity), interpersonal
skills (needed to maintain communication with the host-nationals), and cognitive
skills (the correct perception of the host environment). The military approach
identifies eight skills needed for success in intercultural communication:

1. Self-awareness –ability to use information about oneself in multicultural

situations, to use that information in order to cope with difficult situations;

2. Self-respect- self-confidence, respect for oneself and respectful behavior;

3. Interaction- effectively communicating with people coming from another

culture;

4. Empathy- understanding the other people’s feelings and worldview;

5. Adaptability- adjusting to unfamiliar environment or to norms different than

your own;

6. Certainty- attitude of confidence in confronting with contradictory situations;

7. Initiative and acceptance- tolerance or willingness to accept things that differ
from what you are familiar with [5].

The acquisition of fluency in a secondary language constitutes a conspicuous and

pivotal facet of the language acquisition process. Possessing linguistic skills is an

11
essential component of intercultural competencies; however, it is insufficient on its
own. According to current scholarly literature, individuals enrolled in academic
institutions or pursuing educational endeavors are commonly referred to as
"students". Additional competencies are also required. language for business and
academic purposes worldwide, other languages such as Mandarin Chinese,
Spanish, and Arabic are also becoming increasingly important in the global
context. In addition to the global lingua franca, a variety of other languages are
also utilized in intercultural interactions. In contemporary times, and indeed
students around the globe, are faced with the growing issue of. It is imperative to
cultivate aptitude in second language proficiency and intercultural competencies.
Institutions of higher education that acknowledge this pressing imperative are
obliged to contemplate the ways in which they may provide assistance. The
students under their tutelage cultivate a multiplicity of skills. language learning is
no longer the dominant method. Instead, communicative language teaching has
become more popular. The prevalent method of language learning in contemporary
times has deviated from the once predominant grammar-translation approach and
has witnessed the emergence of the communicative language teaching technique as
a more favored method. The field of language pedagogy has long since undergone
a shift towards instructional approaches, thereby replacing traditional language
teaching methods. The nature of such entities is distinguished by three significant
aspects, namely communicative, interactive, and participatory. Participatory
methods are increasingly recognized as important tools in the field of research and
development. These approaches involve active involvement from all stakeholders,
including local communities, in the identification of research questions, data
collection and analysis, and the planning and implementation of interventions. By
engaging stakeholders in the research process, participatory methods help to ensure
that research is relevant, meaningful, and actionable. Moreover, because these
methods are grounded in local knowledge and perspectives, they are often more
effective than traditional top-down approaches in achieving sustainable and
equitable outcomes. In sum, participatory methods offer a valuable approach to
12
research and development that can promote both scientific rigor and social justice.
The central emphasis of their teaching approach is centered on enhancing the
learner's competency in communication. When communicating with individuals
who speak languages other than one's own, regardless of their language
background or nativity. The primary means of achieving this objective is by
instructing students on how to proficiently execute various operations. Various
forms of communication, including but not limited to greetings, inquiries, requests,
and apologies, are utilized in academic writing. Study, the primary objective is to
investigate and examine the key factors that contribute to the effectiveness of a
marketing campaign.

Effective communication in the target language requires the implementation of

interactive strategies. study, we investigate the impacts of various factors on the
outcome of the experiment. The data was collected through a thorough and
systematic process, and analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Our findings suggest that there are significant relationships between the variables
we examined, highlighting the importance of considering multiple factors in
experimental design and analysis. We also discuss the limitations of our study and
identify potential avenues for future research in this field. Furthermore, the
acquisition of secondary cultural competencies is also ensured.

13
THE BARRIERS OF STEREOTYPING IN INTERCULTURAL
COMMINICATION

2.1. Stereotyping in intercultural communication.

A stereotype is a fixed, over-generalized belief about a particular group of people

or a co-culture. No matter how accurate or inaccurate a stereotype is, it is mostly
based on some reality, some truth, albeit just a kernel of truth or half-truth,
something that actually happened. The moment we realize that we come into
contact with others, we will start seeking similarities to connect. Universally, it is a
very natural inclination that we seek to be near people with whom we share
common outlooks, habits, or languages. The more points we can connect, the more
comfortable we feel and the quicker we can establish a new relationship.

The cognitive nature of stereotype. Universally, stereotyping is a natural process.

We absolutely need it to survive. But how is a stereotype formed? We are often put
in a situation where we fail to see any similarities or lack any experience. At the
same time, we still need to make sense of the situation and react in a limited
amount of time. Stereotype is the result of this mismatch. Our mind forms a
stereotype by connecting bits of loose information in order to reach a significant
whole – something that gives us a meaning so we can make a decision and react
quickly. Stereotypes are the giving of certain attributes, labels, or stigmas to
groups or classes. Stereotypes initially appear because of the prototype. Prototype
is knowledge about people or group and its relation with certain attribute.
Stereotypes that justify ethnicity need to be investigated whether the stereotypes
are true, so they need to think about how to interact well with their character or
stereotype is wrong, so that everyone who comes from outside his ethnicity does
not have to worry, fret and limit himself if Want to connect with them. Prejudice is
defined as a negative attitude toward something.

Factors associated with the emergence of prejudice that is personality, level of

intelligence and environmental factors. The higher the level of one's intelligence,

14
the more critical and therefore more difficult to prejudge. While the lower the level
of one's intelligence, it has an easier tendency to prejudice. Environmental factors
that are not well established are likely to prejudice. Environmental conditions that
are not well established here are environmental conditions where there is
competition to achieve certain material accumulation (economic competition),
competition for achieving certain social status (social competition), an
environment or territory where norms and the rule of law.

Taijfel (1981) proposed that stereotypes should be subdivided into individual and
social stereotypes, and said an individual stereotype could become a general belief
through the process of screening, confirmation， transformation and diffusion
within a social group (Lyons and Kashima, 2003). For the controversial individual
stereotypes, without going through a process of sharing at a general level for a
certain period, they are hardly maintained. In this case, sharing stereotypes
reapplies the deepening of stereotypes in the individuals’ cognizance. After being
shared as a general belief, stereotype are usually regarded as undoubted by the
social group, and are confused with knowledge involuntarily. Furthermore, as a
general belief, social stereotypes share a similar transmission mode with social
values and traditions, which could be inherited from the older generation (Peng,
2010). In other words, sharing and educating general beliefs are key to the
formation of stereotypes. In research into the development and consequences of
stereotype consciousness in middle childhood, Mckown and Weinstein (2003)
illustrated children are deemed to lack the capacity to filtrate and digest
information. In this case, stereotypes are given to children via underlying meanings
of what is taught by teachers and parents and through shared beliefs in their
communities. Research shows children begin to be aware of different ethnicities
and gender and start to sort themselves and their peers at the ages of 3 and 4. At
about the same time, a stereotype that Whites are more intelligent than Blacks is
already prevalent (Mcknown and Weinstein, 2003). This stereotype was formed
not only based on observation but also involves a process of information input.

15
Therefore, since the information is shared by all group members within the same
ethnicity, broadly held stereotypes are deeply anchored in people’s minds when
they are young. Moreover, the stereotypes formed at this age involuntarily become
a constituent part of cognizance, hardly removed and processed as children mature,
and are, then passed on to the next generation.

As mentioned above, stereotypes occur in the process of individual’s categorizing

interlocutors. To be more precise, stereotypes raise a judgment according to what
an individual “knows about the category to which he or she feels the other
belongs” (Matusitz, 2012, p. 90). In this case, stereotypes form only on the basis of
an oversimplified standardized image. It easily results in a misunderstanding of
other groups or their members. For example, Hepburn and Locksley (1983) found
that the Japanese were perceived as being collective-oriented and were treated as if
they were the same as Chinese people by other participants in the research, on
account of their physical features. As a matter of fact, differences of national
character exist between Japanese and Chinese. Japanese people, especially the
young, show more interest in individual contributions and flexible relationships
(Matsumoto, 2002, cited in Peng, 2010). Therefore, stereotypes result in a
misunderstanding. It may lead to a failure of communication. Misunderstanding is
caused by stereotypes, due to distorted views of others. Furthermore, individuals
could be looked at differently when there are various stereotypes to choose from.
According to Spencer-Rodgers (2001), stereotypes are based on categorizing in a
single dimension, like race or nationality. Therefore, a different application of
stereotypes could cause controversy. Kunda and Sinclair (1999) give an example
of how an Asian American woman was stereotyped as highly skilled at maths, on
account of being Asian by some, but as weak in maths because of her gender by
others. They indicate that individuals might apply partial stereotypes on the basis
of motivation. In any case, stereotyping is not reliable for obtaining accurate
understanding.

16
Stereotypes sometimes help protect self-esteem or reinforce the concept of being
part of a superior group, so an individual may be motivated to apply negative
stereotypes in their perceptions and judgments to restore their own feeling of self-
worth (Fein, et al., 1999). In this case, stereotyping is liable to trigger intergroup
discrimination (Sachdev and Bourhis, 1987, cited in Matusitz, 2012). According to
surveys in the workplace, American managers perceive their Asian colleagues to
lack assertiveness and leadership, while Israelis thought Indian businessman were
untrustworthy and did not provide accurate information (Iles, 1995; Zaidaman,
2000, cited in Peng 2010). Analogously, foreign students were marked usually as
outsiders and considered to have “a passive and withdrawn interpersonal style”
(Paige, 1990; Pedersen, 1991, cited in Spencer-Rodgers and McGovern, 2002,
p.613). In this case, stereotyping motivates prejudice. Moreover, it may bring an
emotional counterattack by since an individual may spontaneously activate
stereotypes when they receive negative feedback (Fein, et al., 1999). For example,
Hughes and Baldwin (2002) found that black students were considered to be
argumentative because they spoke loudly, so they incriminated white students as
ignorant when the white students spoke on trivial topics (Peng, 2010). Hence,
negative stereotypes can endanger relationships among different groups and cause
a failure of communication. From another perspective, stereotypes may be
“empirical” (Hepburn and Locksley, 1983), based on historical events. For
example, American students attributed more negative characteristics to Germans
and Japanese after World War 2 than before (Peng, 2010). These negative
characteristics cannot be deemed to be universal and don’t provide reliable
resources for either understanding reality or delivering effective communication.
Even worse, ethnic conflicts may arise and deepen in the light of stereotyping

17
18