Language and Culture

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Tutorial 5 – Chapter 4 Communicating across Cultures In-class tutorial activity 1: Ongoing Semester Case Study – Businessville Hotel. The Beijing Businessville Hotel has recruited a large number of Chinese staff for all its departments. Staff come from all over China which means that they come from many different regional backgrounds and speak different languages. While most speak East Mandarin, others speak Jin, West Mandarin, Xinan, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese and Jianghuai. Other staff speak Thai, Filipino, Japanese, English and Arabic. Consider the following questions as a focus of class discussion. Prepare your ideas before class. 1. What training would you suggest to develop staff language skills? 2. How would you suggest dealing with guests who speak unknown languages? In-class tutorial activity 2: Complete the following exercise by placing a circle around the correct answer. 1. The CEO in Taiwan was offended when Mr. Romano called him “Lau-ban ya” instead of “Au-ban” because “Lau-ban ya” meant _____ instead of “No.1 Boss.” a. Wife of Boss b. Low level employee c. Not happy to see you d. I wish I had never come here 2. According to communication researchers Samovar, Porter, and Jain, _____. a. cultural factors pervade the communication process b. noise is always equally present in cross-cultural communication c. culture does not influence with whom we choose to speak d. communication behavior is not largely dependent on culture 3. _____ is the process in which people look for the explanation of another person’s behavior. a. Attribution b. Cultural noise c. Stereotyping d. Affirmation 4. Research by the World Values Study Group shows that _____ had the highest disposition to trust other people. a. Nordic countries b. Japan c. United States d. African

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