Comprehension Check

Ex 4. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following words:

виклики (проблеми), міжкультурне спілкування (спілкування між представниками різних культур), справлятися з культурними розбіжностями, пристосовуватися, громадянин світу, глобальне суспільство, неупереджений, судити (про), успішно, чутливий, з точки зору іншої людини, уникати, образливий, мати тісний зв’язок, щира зацікавленість, сприяти виникненню непорозуміння, тлумачити цінності, (не)видимі відмінності.

Ex 5. Read and analyse the following critical incidents which happened during some training courses abroad. What cultural factors might play a role in these training situations? Use the vocabulary of the Comments to give your arguments. Compare your answers to the Keys after the discussion.

Comments

irritating adj – дратівливий;

ignore v – ігнорувати;

consistently adv – постійно;

coincide with phr – співпадати з чимось;

lose face phr – бути приниженим, втратити гідність;

imply v – позначати щось;

guidelines n – правила.

one thing at a time phr – одне за іншим;

make smth clear phr – надати пояснення щодо, пояснити дещо;

deal with urgent matter phr – займатися невідкладними справами;

give feedback directly phr – звертатися напряму; висловлювати свою реакцію напряму.

1. In a training session in Dubai, some of the participants in an international group left the room for about 15 minutes outside the normal break times. This happened several times during the day, and the trainer found it irritating.

2. In a training session with the participants from various countries, a participant from South Korea remained silent during the course but went up to the trainer during breaks with questions. The trainer wondered why he didn’t ask questions in the group.

3. At the beginning of a training session, the trainer made it clear that one of the rules was that the participants should not use their mobile phones during the course. She had even allowed long breaks so that, if necessary, they could deal with urgent matters then. One participant consistently ignored the rule and answered calls during the course. The trainer wondered what to do.

4. On a German train-the-trainer course, the trainer was taught that the feedback should be given to the participants directly. This means that you first say what you saw ("I noticed that you were looking at emails on your BlackBerry during the course"), then what effect this had on you ("This made me feel that you were not interested"), and then, what you would like the person to do ("I would ask you to check your emails during the break").

He noticed that in international groups, participants from some cultures reacted negatively to this method.

Keys to ex.5

1. It turned out that the Arab colleagues were leaving the room to pray. Muslims are required to pray five times a day, and the office building in Dubai has a special prayer room for this purpose. In future the trainer would be advised to accept the situation and to plan the coffee breaks to coincide with the prayer time.

2. The participants from South Korea feared that the trainer would lose face if he asked his question in the group situation. Doing so could have implied that that the trainer had not explained something well enough. The South Korean preferred to show the trainer respect by asking the questions during the break.

3. A number of cultural factors play a role here. First, people in different cultures have different attitude to rules. For some, rules are to be followed under all circumstances, while for others, they are just guidelines to be observed or not, depending on the situation. The second point is connected with attitudes to doing several things at the same time: whether this is accepted (polychronic cultures), or whether doing one thing at a time is preferred (monochronic cultures). In polychronic cultures, answering the phone call during the training could be quite acceptable. The trainer needs to talk to the participant and come to an agreement with him.

4. This has to do with differences in communication style. While in some cultures direct communication is valued, others prefer to be indirect. In Britain people often "wrap" negative feedback in humour. Americans may use the "burger technique": placing a negative remark between two positive ones. In some cultures, such as some Asian countries, you may not even speak to the person concerned directly. Instead you may communicate through a third party.

Ex 6. Do you agree that the mentioned above critical incidents should have been treated more flexibly and mindfully?

Ex7 Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. Which nationalities in Europe usually use a lot of gestures when they speak?

2. Which nationalities in Europe usually use very few gestures when they speak?

3. What is "personal space"?

4. Why does a North European move away from the person he is talking to?

5. What nationalities move closer to the person they are talking to? Why?

6. What nationalities stand a "wrist zone"?