Cross-Cultural

Activities

MA. CLAIRE B. MESINA

 Nonverbal
Communication

Newspaper &
Culture

Essay
Assignments
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

“Messages
expressed by
non-linguistic
means.”
“Body language can be more powerful than spoken word.”
• Proxemics
• Haptics
• Chronemics
• Kinesics
• Artifacts
• Vocalics or Paralanguage
• Environment
Teachers should be careful to
emphasize the following in describing
effective cross-cultural communication:

1. An openness to new ideas

and behaviours;
2. The ability to be non-
judgmental
3. An interest in understanding
people of different culture;
4. An awareness that diversity of
cultures exists within all
countries
5. A willingness to listen, really
listen, to others.
 Some nonverbal
communication is not the
same in all countries, and
therefore they may not be
understood by members of
another culture. Think about
gestures in your cultural that
have a different meaning for
people in the United States.
Describe each gesture and
its meanings.
1. Students write a short essay that introduces the idea of
gestures as communication and then describe the gestures
they have discussed in their groups.
2. In some cultures, time is a precious gift that should be used
wisely and not wasted. In other cultures, people believe that
they should not be ruled by the clock; to them, fully enjoying
what one is doing is more important than keeping an
appointment or meeting a deadline. In an essay, discuss
some of the consequences of these two philosophies; use
specific examples.
NEWSPAPER & CULTURE

The front page

(types of stories,
headlines, level of
detail)
The advice
column
Classified
advertisements
The editorial page
 Journal entries analyzing differences
 Individual and collaborative writing of news
articles
 Advice columns
 Letters to the editor
 Classified advertisements
 Writing for the student
newspaper/newsletter
ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS

Discuss the status of

the professions of
doctor, waitress, and
teacher in your
country. Give
examples to support
your discussion.
Students gather information from
their home experience and
Interview or survey other students
from their own country to obtain
the necessary information.

 Peer review groups workshop the

rough draft.
 The final draft is read by the
students in the class.