KOM510S Intercultural Communication

School of Business Administration in Karvina
Winter 2006
Extent and Intensity
1/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Guaranteed by
Department of Tourism and Leisure Activities – School of Business Administration in Karvina
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives (in Czech)
The goal of the subject is the preparation of students for the European citizenship and the interaction accompanying it within multinational and multicultural contacts both from the point of view of communicative and intercultural competence. Students will be provided knowledge and skills related to social, political and economic institutions in various cultures. Special attention will be devoted to the development of students´ critical awareness concerning the ability to evaluate on the bases of explicit criteria accepted in their own culture and in other cultures. This approach will be based on the analytic attitude to culture phenomena, their context, the awareness of the own ideological perspectives and values, like e.g. human rights, religion, etc., as well as f the potential conflicts between cultures. Students will be led towards empathy, i.e. accepting different systems of culture values and negotiating in business environment.
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • Structure of the course:
    1. Defining culture
    2. Culture, thought and language
    3. Home culture and target culture
    4. National identity
    5. Cultural symbols and rituals
    6. Cultural symbols and rituals
    7. Stereotyping
    8. Acculturation
    9. Culture shock
    10. Non-verbal communication
    11. Theory of cultures
    12. Multilingual dimension of the EU
    A Outline of lectures:
    1. Defining culture
    (cultural and cross-cultural awareness, elements of culture - ideas, products and behaviour, the role of pragmatics).
    2. Culture, thought and language
    (cognitive and linguistic development, taboos, colour categories, euphemisms, geographically conditioned aspects of language).
    3. Home culture and target culture
    (second language and culture learning, lingua franca, cultural differences and similarities, comparison of culture, gathering cultural data).
    4. National identity
    (traditional sociocultural patterns, positive and negative perceptions, globalisation, glocalisation, cultural adaptation).
    5. Cultural symbols and rituals
    (cultural reality and cultural imagination, subcultures, open versus closed doors, cultural codes in commercials).
    6. Cultural symbols and rituals
    (consciousness of cultural differences in values, beliefs and attitudes, commercial values, cultural connotations, social status, religions).
    7. Stereotyping
    (national stereotypes, examining stereotypes, "trap" words, overcoming stereotypes).
    8. Acculturation
    (adaptation to target culture, acculturation threshold, acculturation models, cultural conflict).
    9. Culture shock
    (symptoms of culture shock, its occurrence, concept of anomie, schizophrenic period of culture shock, prevention).
    10. Non-verbal communication
    (non-verbal channel of expression, kinesics, haptics, chronemics, proxemics and vocalics, universals, cross-cultural perceptual training).
    11. Theory of cultures
    (E.T. Hall, G. Hofstede, A. Pilbeams and their theories of cultures, power distance, context, contact and masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, international negotiating styles).
    12. Multilingual dimension of the EU
    (bilingualism and multilingualism, cross-cultural rhetoric, culturally different patterns of communication).
    B Outline of seminars
    Students are offered case studies and exercises aimed at intercultural communication, vocabulary expansion, reading comprehension, translation, and development of language and communicative competence. Each unit comprises the following chapters:
    1. Intercultural interactions
    2. Vocabulary expansion
    3. Contrastive rhetoric and translation skills
    4. Language awareness
    5. Culture tests
    Contents of the subject:
    1. Culture
    Defining and describing
    Expressing the present and the future
    2. The relationship between culture and language
    Agreeing and describing
    Expressing the past
    3. Comparison of home culture and target culture
    Comparing and evaluating
    Comparatives and superlatives
    4. Globalisation and national identity
    Asking for information, making requests
    Reported speech
    5. Deciphering cultural images
    Describing and accepting
    The Passive
    6. Values, beliefs and attitudes
    Accepting, denying and comparing
    Time clauses
    7. Overcoming national stereotypes
    Asking for opinions, making suggestions, making predictions
    Questions
    8. Cultural adaptation
    Explaining, persuading, comparing
    Expressing modality
    9. Overcoming culture shock
    Making comparisons and expressing differences
    Conditionals
    10. Non-verbal communication
    Describing, offering and making predictions
    Wish clauses
    11. Theories of cultures
    Describing and expressing preferences
    The infinitive
    12. Bilingualism and multilingualism
    Persuading , agreeing and denying
    Participles and gerunds

    V rámci vý
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 1990, Summer 1991, Winter 1991, Summer 1992, Winter 1992, Summer 1993, Winter 1993, Summer 1994, Winter 1994, Summer 1995, Winter 1995, Summer 1996, Winter 1996, Summer 1997, Winter 1997, Summer 1998, Winter 1998, Summer 1999, Winter 1999, Summer 2000, Winter 2000, Summer 2001, Winter 2001, Summer 2002, Winter 2002, Summer 2003, Winter 2003, Summer 2004, Winter 2004, Summer 2005, Winter 2005, Summer 2006, Summer 2007, Winter 2007, Summer 2008.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Winter 2006, recent)
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