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5. Develop Flexibility

Develop some emotional flexibility. This begins with self-acceptance. To be able to adapt to new situations is to trust that you are OK, and that, therefore, the need for adaptation has nothing to do with personal inadequacy. Accept yourself, if you can. Remind yourself that you are OK just the way you are. That self-acceptance will give you permission to develop emotional flexibility.

Developing your flexibility implies opening yourself to the rich opportunities of a different culture. Try new foods. Try new sounds. Try new clothing and social activities. The more you experience these things, the more flexible and tolerant you become. As a result, your cross-cultural experiences should be more satisfying.

Communication across cultural and national boundaries can be frustrating, but it can also be exciting. As the world gets smaller, as you come increasingly into closer contact with other cultures, and as you travel more for work or play, the responsibility for having satisfying and successful cross-cultural experiences is mostly up to you. Like most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it. [6, pp. 423-433]

III. Comprehension check

Expand the following statements using the information from the text.

  1. Learning about another culture implies…

  2. To be tolerant of differences means…

  3. Being a careful observer implies…

  4. Developing flexibility presupposes…

  5. Being responsible means...

IV. Speaking

  1. What are the general goals of intercultural communication? Why are they especially difficult to achieve?

  2. What intercultural skills should you pursue while travelling or doing business in a foreign country? (Japan, America, Italy)

  3. Imagine that your multinational company has manufactur­ing operations in eight widely dispersed countries. The eight plants all have local managers who speak at least some English; however, the workers speak mainly their native language. What language should your company headquarters use to communicate with these plants? Should you use a written or an oral approach?

  4. What are some of the issues to consider when deciding where to travel or whether to accept a job overseas?

V. Writing

  1. Working in a small group, develop a list of all of the words that you can think of for one of the following artifacts of American culture: money/ cars/ family. Then discuss what it must be like to enter into our culture from a very different one.

  2. Think and formulate the tips (DO’s and DON’Ts) one should stick to while dealing with a foreigner or staying in a strange country.

  • Acting out

1. Role-play the conversation.

One of you is an Indian girl (boy) telling her/his love-story and asking: «Is it love?»

The other is a Belarusian student, describing our wedding traditions and trying to give the girl some friendly recommendations from the point of view of our mentality.

2. Role-play the conversation in a travel-bureau.

The Client is an Englishman who is going to spend his holidays in Belarus.

The Travel Agent is giving him detailed instructions concerning Belarusian way of living, culture, traditions, eating habits. He is dwelling on some useful tips, which can help a tourist in Belarus.

The Client is making notes and asking a lot of questions. At the end of the conversation he should make the list of recommendations (what one should and should not do in Belarus.)

3. Your friend has fallen in love with a Japanese and is going to marry him. You feel really worried about your close friend’s future. Act out the conversation. You should warn the girl of great cultural differences between Belarus and Japan.

4. Imagine that you have been assigned to host a group of Japanese students who are visiting your campus for the next two weeks. They have all studied English since they were ten years old and speak the language well. What things should you tell them that will help them fit into the culture on your campus and in your town? Make a list of behavioral rules they should know about.

5. Locate someone, preferably a businessperson, who has spent some time in another country, and interview him or her about the experience. What preparation did the person have before going to the country? In what ways was the preparation adequate? Inadequate? In hindsight, how might he or she have prepared differently? Ask for anec­dotes about particular communication problems or mis­takes.