COMM311 Journal

Your Course Journal

This is a running journal you will add to throughout the course. It is not graded, you simply save your work and come back to it anytime.

Journal 1.1 — The Study of Intercultural Communication

Prompt:

1. You've now read about several reasons – or imperatives – for studying intercultural communication. Choose the reason/imperative that most closely reflects your own reason(s) for studying intercultural communication and write one or two paragraphs that explain your motivation for studying intercultural communication.

2. Consider an instance in which you didn't intend to communicate a message, but someone saw your behavior as communication. How did this person misinterpret your behavior? What were the consequences? What did you say and/or do to correct the misperception?

3. Recall an interaction that took a sudden turn for the worse. How did each person's communication contribute to the change? What are some of the variables that affect meaning? What did you say or do to deal with the situation?

4. What is competent intercultural communication? What is the difference between competent intercultural communication and effective intercultural communication? Can I be effective and not competent?

My response:

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Journal 1.2 — Defining Culture

Prompt:

1. Name and describe two specific rituals, beliefs, values or behaviors (worldviews) that you and other members of your culture participate in.

2. Why do we hold stereotypes? What is the difference between stereotypes and generalizations?

3. What is the role of values in intercultural communication? Is it possible to reach agreement even when core values differ? Why or why not?

4. What do we mean by the statement, "Trying to understand one's own culture is like trying to explain to a fish that it lives in water"? How does this statement inform our understanding of culture?

5. Do you remember a time when you were taught cultural traits, values, rituals, or behaviors? What were they – and who did you learn them from?

My response:

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Journal 1.3 — Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Prompt:

1. How is it possible for two people to communicate effectively if they don't speak the same language? Should everyone learn a second language? What types of nonverbal codes could you use?

2. What is the relationship between the language you speak and the way you perceive reality?

3. What is your communication style?

4. When you observe the nonverbal behavior of others, what do you notice first? How does your culture affect what you notice first?

5. It is common for cultures to have different ideas about appropriate eye contact. How do you react when you are communicating with someone who has other cultural rules for eye contact than you do?

My response:

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Journal 2.1 — Self and Identity

Prompt:

1. What are some of the ways in which people within your culture express their identities? Why are some ways more socially acceptable than others?

2. How do you feel when someone does not recognize the identity that is most important to you? Do you educate them or ignore them? Why?

3. How did you learn about several of your identities? Did someone teach you about them or did you learn on your own? What kinds of rules did you learn about these identities? Did you embrace, resist, or accept these identities? Why?

4. What is culture shock? Why does culture shock occur to people who make cultural transitions?

5. Do the stages outlined in the U-curve, W-curve, or other culture shock models reflect any travel or intercultural contact that you have experienced? If so, please explain.

My response:

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Journal 2.2 — Conflict in Relationships

Prompt:

1. Some of the most severe problems in intercultural relations arise as a consequence of interpersonal conflicts. Consider the following statements. What do they tell us about the potential for intercultural conflict? — "The one who raises her/his voice has already lost." (Japanese proverb)  "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." (American proverb)

2. Traditionally, within the US context, it has been argued that "covert, or hidden, conflict also is destructive in that it leaves issues unresolved and may result in psychological and/or physical estrangement" (Comstock & Buller, 1991, p. 48). Why might this philosophy lead to intercultural conflict?

3. Think of an unsolvable intercultural conflict that you have had. Why was it unsolvable? How did you communicate after realizing it was unsolvable? How did the dispute affect your relationship? Looking back on the situation, could you have done anything different to prevent the conflict from becoming unsolvable? If so, what?

4. What types of intercultural conflicts occur at your school? What groups or cultures have frequent conflicts?

5. What irritates you the most about how others handle conflict?

My response:

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Journal 3.1 — Intercultural Relationships

Prompt:

1. Many intercultural communication specialists mention open-mindedness as an attribute necessary for the development of successful intercultural relationships. What are some other attributes or ways of thinking that a person should have in order to develop relationships with culturally different people?

2. In thinking about your intercultural relationships or co-cultural relationships, what are the communication strategies that you use to reduce uncertainty when interacting?

3. Quite a high number of intercultural marriages end in divorce. What might be the reasons?

4. Think about the quote, "without others, there is no self". How do your friends define who you are? Your family? Would an intercultural friend or family member change how you determine the answer to these questions? Why or why not?

5. Same culture relationships rely on the use of smartphones, texting, and social media to maintain the relationships. Can you build and maintain intercultural relationships using the same strategies? What might be the same and what might be different?

My response:

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Journal 4.1 — Intercultural Communication Competence

Prompt:

1. Identify an intercultural encounter in which you did not communicate as competently as you would have liked. What concept(s) would have helped you in this situation and how?

2. Which of the following components of intercultural communication competence – motivation, mindfulness, cognitive flexibility, and tolerance for uncertainty – do you think you are most competent at, and which one needs the most work? Identify how you became so competent at the first one and some ways that you can improve the second one.

My response:

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Journal 4.2 — Understanding People From Different Cultures

Prompt:

1. Using the Country Comparison Tool, choose two or more countries and create a comparison chart.

2. Write 2 or 3 paragraphs of reflection as you compare the two cultures based on Hofstede's Dimensions of Culture model.

3. Take time to repeat this exercise by comparing your culture to other cultures and reflect on the differences.

4. What predictions can you make regarding how members from each of the countries might act in a meeting or gathering?

My response:

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Journal 4.3 — The Impact of Popular Culture and Social Media

Prompt:

1. How do we learn about places where we have never been? Give several examples where popular culture (like social media, magazines, videos, or influencers) has influenced your understanding of a culture or place that you have no direct experience with, and how that aspect of popular culture has impacted you.

2. We all have our "favorite" forms of popular culture (like Instagram or Snapchat over Facebook, or texting over phone calls). Explain why you have selected some forms of popular culture over others.

3. Some people actively resist ALL or selective parts of popular culture. Do you resist popular culture? What parts? Explain why.

4. What factors about being a tourist do you think would affect you the most as a tourist in another culture? Could you prepare for potentially challenging experiences? What could you do?

5. How has social media impacted your tourist experiences? Do you feel compelled to take certain pictures when you visit places so that you can "share" with your friends? Have you taken trips inspired by social media? Do you like to read social media reviews before or during your trip?

My response:

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Journal 5.1 — Intercultural Communication in Education

Prompt:

1. What is the purpose of education? Is education free in your country? Is education compulsory (required)? Do parents homeschool their children in your country? How many years is it considered "normal" for children to go to school?

2. What is the role of language in learning and teaching? Do you speak a different language in different settings, such as home, school, or work? Do parents expect and desire assimilation of children to the dominant culture as a result of education and the acquisition of a new language?

3. Is it appropriate for learners to ask questions or volunteer information in your country? If so, what behaviors signal these behaviors? If not, what negative attitudes does this behavior cause? What are the skills that separate good students from bad students? What constitutes a "positive" response by a teacher to a learner? By a learner to a teacher? Are there different responses for different groups? Boys? Girls? In different subjects?

4. What kinds of learning are favored (memorization, discussions, inductive, modeling, stories, lectures)? Is it better to learn collaboratively or individually? Should all students be expected to learn everything? Are teachers responsible for student learning or are students responsible for student learning? What about parents? How does how well students learn reflect on parents?

5. How important was learning to you? Did you ever cheat? What is your attitude towards cheating? How should parents react? How should teachers react? What are the dangers of cheating? How were students disciplined in your school?

My response:

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Journal 5.1 — Intercultural Communication in Healthcare

Prompt:

1. Why might people in the United States seek out alternative forms of health care such as acupuncture?

2. How might intercultural communication misunderstandings arise between patients, their families, and health care professionals? Provide an example.

3. What medical jargon have you encountered in your interactions with health care professionals? Did it affect your communication? If so, how?

4. What are some examples of power imbalances in the health care interaction?

5. If you were suffering from a disease, which ethical framework (strict paternalism, benevolent deception, contractual honesty, or unmitigated honesty) would you want your health care professional to use when communicating with you and your family? Why?

My response:

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Journal 5.2 — Business

Prompt:

1. At your job (now or in the past), how did you refer to your boss, and vice versa? Is the label for your boss something you were told to say or something you choose to say? How did this label indicate low or high power distance at your workplace?

2. International businesses are influenced by social and political events. Have you ever worked any place that was impacted by an international social or political event? What was it? How did it impact your workplace?

3. Can you think of any examples of workplace differences related to individualism or collectivism? How did these differences lead to intercultural communication conflicts on the job? Please explain.

4. How do you view work? Do you view work as a virtue or a necessary evil? What about those you work with? Do they have a different opinion than you do? Has this ever caused conflict? Please explain.

5. Do you have any experience in intercultural negotiation? How did you resolve the conflict or deal with a contract? Did you come to a formal or informal agreement? Please explain.

My response:

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Journal 5.3 — Problem Solving and Leadership Styles

Prompt:

1. What challenges might arise when team members from individualistic and collectivist cultures work together to solve a problem?

2. What strategies can help bridge differences in problem-solving styles to reach more effective and inclusive solutions?

3. Reflect on a leader you have worked with or observed. Which leadership style did they use (directive, participative, supportive, or achievement-oriented)? Was it effective in that setting?

4. Consider Hofstede's Power Distance dimension. How might expectations for authority and deference play out differently in a low power distance vs. high power distance business setting?

5. Have you ever been frustrated by a team's decision-making pace or style? Could cultural expectations have played a role?

6. What leadership habits do you want to strengthen as you prepare for global teamwork or future professional roles?

My response:

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Journal 5.4 — Diversity and Inclusion

Prompt:

1. How do you feel when you are not fully included in a group, but you want to be?

2. What is it like to feel like you belong to a group, but not feel safe being your unique self (assimilation)?

3. What is it like to feel that your uniqueness is needed to accomplish something but that, otherwise, you do not really feel as if you belong as a member of the group (differentiation)?

4. How can you, as a group member or a leader, help others feel truly included? What questions can you ask? How can you balance helping someone feel that they belong and that their uniqueness is valued as well?

My response:

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Course Notes

Use this space for notes on key concepts, examples, and questions you still have — a handy review before the final exam.

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