Bafa Bafa is a cross-culture simulation exercise developed by R. Garry Shirts. It is designed for administrators, faculty, and students who are in situations that require an experiential understanding of another culture. After participants are given a brief orientation to the exercise, they are divided into two groups or "cultures." They are then…

Part of a larger study of volunteerism, a consulting team of nine individuals worked in eight countries studying the words used to describe people who "volunteer." Consultants participating in the discussion represented Australia, Ecuador, the United States, Jamaica, Canada, Germany, Japan, and Spain. The goal of the overall study was to…

This phrasebook is designed to introduce newly-arrived Iranian residents to the daily activities of American life. The phrases and supplementary vocabulary in the book's 19 units cover a wide range of situations. Topics include coping with the language barrier, useful forms of etiquette, giving information about oneself, recognizing signs,…

A study examined the communication problems between nondisabled and disabled persons. A questionnaire was created based on a theoretical model of intercultural communication involving three levels of analysis: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and systematic. One hundred and two nondisabled and 40 disabled subjects reacted to a helping situation…

The history of intercultural communication as a field of study in the United States is outlined. The origins of intercultural communication in cultural anthropology are explored. A relationship is pointed out among the fields of intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication, interracial communication, interethnic communication, and…

Using a language effectively involves both expressing oneself and acting upon one's surroundings. Linguistic theory has focused on the study of speech acts, but speech activity is basically pragmatic, that is, the conversational context determines the individual speech acts and not the other way around. Theorizing about the speech act independent…

This study reports a survey of 35 teachers of English as a second language in general, vocational, and academic preparation programs in a British Columbia community college, which used ethnographic interviews to study teachers' perceptions of their role as mediators of culture in the classroom. Four dimensions of a teacher's cultural role were…

Communicative competence is often characterized as an integrated control of language reflected in the speaker's ability to understand and use language appropriately for communication in various situations. The theoretical basis for the communicative competence construct is the anthropological, sociolinguistc, and pragmatic view of language.…

It is no longer possible to approach the teaching of foreign cultures with an ethnographic and objectivist perspective that allows students to believe in the absolute value of a given definition of culture. The first goal of foreign language and culture teaching is the acquisition of communicative competence in the broadest sense of this…

Preliminary results of a comparison of the language modifications made by teachers when telling stories to native English speakers and non-native speakers of English at various proficiency levels suggest that teachers need to do more than make the routine modifications in linguistic input to lower-level learners. Teachers need to: (1) act on the…

Drawing from a recent research report, highlights of previous research, expert opinion, and practical experience, this report seeks to create in teachers, administrators, counselors, tutors, and other learning resource personnel an awareness of the influences of culture on them and their students. Part I takes a preliminary look at the culture…

In the personalized system of instruction (PSI) used in beginning communication courses at George Mason University (Virginia), the students do more than read text materials and master cognitive course objectives. They are encouraged to have experiences that reinforce what they read and to consider how these experiences relate to everyday life. The…

Four therapist-client interview transcripts of one outpatient drawn from the files of a state mental health clinic are presented, with some narrative interpretation, to illustrate the need for foreign language skills in the psychological professions. The case is of Rosa, a non-English-speaking Hispanic woman referred by a Spanish-speaking social…

A field study conducted in Israel sought to identify emblematic gestures (body movements that convey specific messages) that are recognized and used by Hebrew speakers. Twenty-six gestures commonly used in classroom interaction were selected for testing, using Schneller's form, "Investigations of Interpersonal Communication in Israel."…

Cultural imperialism is seen not as a static phenomenon but as a dynamic process in which the more developed countries (the dominating "centers" of the world system) influence the less developed countries (the dominated "periphery" of the system). In this process the more developed countries produce artifacts and content that…