Observing conventions (see also “Critical incidents”)
Vocabulary
brainstorm ['breɪnstɔ:m] глаг. – провести «мозговой штурм», коллективное обсуждение
collate [kə'leɪt] глаг. – сопоставить, сравнить (e.g. The students are asked to ~ their
responses).
disparate ['dɪspərət] прил. – разрозненный, несовместимый, разношерстный
dispute [(')dɪs'pju:t] сущ – спорить, дискутировать
elicit [ɪ'lɪsɪt]глаг. – здесь: выделить, особо отметить, подчеркнуть
encounter (здесь: встречаться, сталкиваться)
eventually [ɪ'venʧu(ə)lɪ] нареч. – в конце концов, в конечном счете
examine [ɪg'zæmɪn] глаг. – здесь: рассмотреть, проверить, исследовать
freely ['fri:lɪ] нареч. – свободно, без стеснения, смело
mimicry ['mɪmɪkrɪ] сущ. – имитация, пародирование
friction ['frɪkʃ(ə)n] сущ. – трения, разногласия
observe [əb'zɜ:v] глаг. – здесь: соблюдать, принимать во внимание (e.g. observing of
conventions – соблюдение условностей)
range [reɪnʤ] сущ. – здесь: класс, группа, ряд
request [rɪ'kwest] сущ. – запрос (коммерч.), просьба, пожелание, требование
turn up ['tɜ:n'ʌp] - появиться, прийти
Could you give any examples you may have of cross-cultural friction, from your work or
leisure experience. Discuss if any of these could have been avoided by trying to agree norms of
behaviour or communication beforehand. Examine the possibility of avoiding it by setting up
norms. Work in pairs. Then collate your responses. First give your responses individually (task
1), but then in the groups you can add together the scores for each statement, giving each one a
group score. Compare scores, identifying and discussing any major differences.
Give alternatives for statements with which you disagree (task 2}.
Brainstorm any extra ideas under either of headings. Give your comments. Take into account
that the human relations problems caused by the coming together of a disparate range of people
can be greater than those caused by technical or practical problems.
A multicultural project team which meets regularly both for business and socially may try to
establish certain rules about behaviour.
1 Read the list of provisional guidelines below, and then put the appropriate number in the box:
5 = Agree strongly 4 = Agree 3 = Neutral 2 = Disagree 1 = Disagree strongly
2 Suggest an alternative to those with which you disagreed (2 and 1).
3 Add any other items you consider necessary.
Business and Social
1
Dress casually for social events.
2
Aways separate business life from personal life
3
If you don't know what to say talk about the weather
4
Never ask anyone their age.
5
Men should talk to women differently from the way when the talk to men
6
Only speak when you are spoken to
7
Never disagree with a suggestion about what to do or where to go.
8
Make sure you pay for any food or drink you are offered in a restaurant.
9
Aways consult a guest about what they would like to do.
10 Use compliments freely.
11 Don't discuss salaries.
12 Employees’ spouses should not talk about work
13 Never talk about colleagues.
14 Aways arrive a little late at social funсtions
15 Arriving late for an appointment is unforgivable.
16 Aways pretend to listen, even if you are not doing so.
17 Always explain to a colleague any doubts you have about their suggestions.
18 Say what you mean clearly and directly
19 Never say directly that you don’t agree with somebody
20 Never say ‘no’ to a request.
Cultural dilemmas
Could you give any examples of occasions when you have been surprised by what a colleague or
guest has said, or how they have behaved.
The following situations are examples of what can happen within a multicultural team or in a
situation of intercultural communication. Read the cases, discussing and if possible agreeing on,
your choice of the best reply. There is scope for humour here, perhaps with some mimicry of the
more inappropriate responses. See if there is any degree of agreement.
1 Imagine you are a member of the team, and select the reply you find most appropriate.
1
Together with a colleague, you are visiting
a client in Rio de Janeiro. You have been
waiting in reception for 45 minutes. Your
colleague is angry and gets up to leave.
You say:
a Sit down this minute.
b Perhaps we should wait a little longer.
□
□
He may turn up eventually.
c See you back at the hotel.
□
4
Together with a colleague, you are making a
sales visit to an important customer. Your
colleague turns up dressed casually (trousers
and sweater). You are dressed formally. You
comment:
a You look very casual.
b They’re quite formal around here,
□
□
you know.
c We normally dress up for
□
important customers. Do you
think it’ll be OK if you go like that?
2
It’s 11.30 pm on a Sunday. You receive a
phone call from a colleague concerning
next week’s team meeting. You say:
a Hello, nice to speak to you.
5
□
What’s the problem?
b It’s rather late for this, isn't it?
a Please listen, won’t you?
□
b Let’s give somebody else a chance
But what can I do for you?
c This is far too late to ring me.
At a team meeting, one of your Scandinavian
colleagues who you know has some very good
product development ideas, fails to speak
because Italian and French colleagues don’t
give her the opportunity. You say to the latter:
□
□
□
to speak,
c I think Annika might have
□
something to say.
3
One of your colleagues receives a phone
call, but soon puts the receiver down in
disgust, because his Greek colleague on the
other end ‘speaks such bad English I
haven’t a clue what he’s talking about’.
You reply:
a Yes, terrible, isn’t it?
b Yes, I know he’s difficult to
□
□
understand, but his English is better
than my Greek. Shall I talk to him?
c That’s a narrow-minded attitude.
□
2 Imagine a suitable response to the following situations.
What would you do and say? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each respons. If
possible role-play some of the situations.
1
A colleague has just given a carefully
planned presentation on a proposed
reorganisation. At the end, another
colleague leans over and says ‘Bullshit’.
4
You have planned a conference in a hotel in
the mountains. The main purpose is team
building, although this is not explicitly stated.
The instant reaction of one of your team
members is: ‘Great. My husband loves the
mountains, he'll really enjoy it there.’
2
Your team meeting is over-running. It is
17.30 and you have promised your partner
you will pick up the children from their
after-school activity. What do you do?
5
You have scheduled some regular team
meetings for next year. One member of your
team tells you he can’t make it to the one in
June, saying ‘You see, in the first week in June
I always take my mother to the coast.’
3
Your boss works so hard he never takes a
holiday. He is beginning to look tired and is
less efficient than usual. Do you say
anything?
There is scope for discussion into areas of flexibility and tolerance, and how these characteristics
can contribute to good relationships, even if they are difficult to achieve.
“Critical incidents” are widely used in education to encourage reflection and develop
strategies for effective communication. They are examples of miscommunication or
misunderstanding usually caused by different cultural expectations held by the participants in
the interaction. Learners develop a means of analyzing critical incidents by:

describing what has happened

interpreting and explaining what has gone wrong with the communication

suggesting alternative ways of communicating
The activities encourage learners to develop skills and analyzing critical incidents, before
inviting them to identity, explain and discuss critical incidents of their own. Often no single
solution can be found however the identification and analysis of critical incidents is useful
improving the cultural assumptions that underlie communication.
Levels of formality (2.1) invites learners to observe and reflect on possible areas of difficulty
arising from choosing a formal or informal means of expression in different situations. The
next activity, Job Interview (2.2), asks learners to apply their observational and explanatory
skills to a particular situation, a job interview, which might mean different things to different
people.
Personal critical incidents acts as an introduction to critical incidents as a concept and
encourages learners to reflect on similar situation in their own experience and to develop
systematic strategies for dealing with them.
Some of the activities in this chapter therefore focus directly on uncomfortable situations
where misconceptions, disagreements or conflict might well occure, within and across
cultures. There is, of course, no guaranteed “formula” for resolving disputes and
disagreements whether within or across cultures. However, learners can be exposed to
situation where disagreements are likely to arise, and, in the “safe space” of the classroom,
practice recognizing some of the signals of conflict, and so develop strategies for dealing with
it.
In this light, Styles of conflict resolution (2.5.) considers different styles of dealing with
conflict. Conflict meditation (2.6) gives an example of a role play involving conflict, and
Reflecting on conflict (2.7 encourages learners to reflect on conflicts that they see on TV and
in films and to explore the language and strategies used to manage them. To conclude,
Questioning and defending a belief (2.8) helps learners to develop appropriate strategies for
discussing issues that they feel strongly about.
Levels of formality
1. Look at the situation in which people encounter communication difficulties. Example
An American and a Chinese professor of English are attending a conference. At the opening
session the American professor notices the Chinese professor is standing alone and looks
lonely. The American decides to say hello.
Brainstorm what the American professor might say in a situation like these, and how the Chinese
professor might respond. Work in pairs: each pair has to make up a short dialogue that they can
act out. Then compare your dialogues with the one shown in Box 2.1a
2. Please reflect on some of the basic decisions each of the participants has made, e.g.

Whether the speakers should address each other formally or informally.

Whether the speakers use each other’s first name or title plus surname.

How close they should stand to each other

How much eye contact they should use.
3. After discussing the issue take the dialogue in Box 2.1 a and read it aloud. Discuss then how
to change the level of formality and role play it. There is an example in Box 2.1b which
shows both professors being less formal. You can then discuss how the change in formality
changes the nature of the relationship between the two men.
Box 2.1a: Levels of formality
Model dialogue A: Formality level
American professor: Good evening. May I introduce myself? I’m Professor Joe Williams from
UCLA*.
Chinese professor: Good evening. My name’s Xiao Zheng.
American professor: I’m delighted to meet you, Professor Zheng. Have you travelled far to the
conference?
Chinese professor: Yes, I’ve travelled from Shanghai.
* University of California, Los Angeles
Box 2.1b: Levels of formality
Model dialogue B: Formality level
American professor: Hi there, how’re you doing? I’m Joe Williams from UCLA.
Chinese professor: Hello. My name’s Xiao Zheng.
American professor: Pleased to meet you, Xiao. Where are you from? Beijing?
Chinese professor: No, I’m from Shanghai.
4. How are you felt about changing the level of formality in this Exchange. Did you feel more
comfortable with an informal or a formal Exchange?
5. Different people might have different expectations of everyday encounters like this. For
example, an American Professor might feel more comfortable with an informal style of
introduction and consider formality a sign of unfriendliness. However, the Chinese Professor
might prefer a more formal style of introduction, and consider informality a sign of disrespect.
To get on with each other, then, the two speakers are going to have to make some
adjustments.
6. Take turns to play the roles of speaker A and speaker B for Situation when you might need to
ask permission to leave school or office early. Think about what you will say, suggest ways of
requesting permission to leave early. Elicit more and less formal ways of asking for
permission, e.g.:
Speaker A
(formal) Excuse me for asking, Mr/Ms X, but is it possible for me to leave the class before it
ends? It's necessary for me to visit a doctor (because of the doctor’s appointment)/
go to work this day
(informal) Looke [first name], there is a bit of a problem. I have to leave the class half-way
through to visit a doctor/ the doctor’s appointment, you know? That's going to be
okay with you isn't it?
Speaker B
(formal) I realize that this is important to you and I am happy for you to leave the class as
long as you do the work you miss afterwards
(informal) Sure, not a problem. Thanks for letting me know. Check with me later to see what
you’ve missed.
Which level of formality you are more comfortable with? Think of other situation when you
might need to ask permission to leave early (e.g.to open a bank account, to have time off for a
special celebration [e.g. someone's wedding, being a witness at a wedding], to attend a
wedding or a funeral, to pick up a child from school/ kindergarten, take the car to the
service/pick up the car from the service, to pick up a relative [e.g. 85 year old granny] from
station/ airport etc. How would you ask for permission.
7. Work in pairs: think about what you would say in the situations described. You should think
particularly about the formality of the language you will use and then rehears your dialogues
in pairs.
8. Re-enact your dialogues in front of the class. The class members should:



listen to the exchanges
summarize the problem
suggest ways in which the speakers could improve you they dialogues
Job interview
1. As already said the people from different cultures often have different expectations of
what happens in certain common situations. To illustrate this we are now going to explore
how different expectations influence a candidate success or failure in a job interview.
2. As an Example we can take a Job advert for employees with driver skills
(shuttle/courtesy driver; valet etc.)
Box 2.2a: Job interview
Advert: shuttle/courtesy driver
Best Western Seatle Airport Hotel require Shuttle/Courtesy Drivers
Must have clean driving licence
Basic salary: US$ 420 per week
Brainstorm the kinds of questions that an employer and a candidate might ask at the job
interview. Write them on the board, e.g.:
Employer questions





Have you got a clean driving license?
Have you got much experience of driving a van?
Have you got any other work experience?
What is your current job?
Will you be able to work a irregular hours/ evenings and weekends?
Candidate questions

Is there the opportunity for overtime?



How many hours work is there per week?
Is there the possibility of further training?
What is the holiday entitlement?
For more advanced students: elicit one or two questions and then try to come up with three or
more of their own
3. Role play in groups of three with two learners in each group taking the role of a job
interviewer, and the third taking the role of a candidate for the job. After each interview,
the “candidates” from each group can circulate between “employers”.
4. After each candidate has been interviewed three or four times, you can end the role play.
In a whole-class setting, if appropriate, the “employers” and “candidates” can discuss and
rate each other's performance.
5. Imagine a situation in which two candidates had very similar work experience but they
answered the questions differently. Two exchanges in Box 2.2.b can be taken as
Examples. Discuss in groups which of the two candidates you would choose to employ and give reasons why.
Box 2.2b: Job interview
Dialogue: Two example interviews
Candidate one
Employer:
Candidate one:
Employer:
Candidate one:
Candidate two
Employer:
Candidate two:
Employer:
Candidate two:
Have you got a clean driving licence?
I’ve never broken the law, no.
I see. Have you got any other work experience?
Yes, I’ve done lots of different things. I’ve never had any complaints.
Have you got a clean driving licence?
Yes, I’ve been qualified to drive vans since I was 18.
I see. Have you got any other work experience?
Yes – I’ve worked as a security guard and as a gardener. They didn’t
involve driving, but they did involve irregular hours and weekend work.
6. Possible comment on the expectations of each candidate: candidate one treated the
interview as a test and believed that the employers questions were intended to find out if
they had a criminal record or a poor work record. Candidate to did not read the interview
as a test and believed that the employers questions were intended to give an opportunity
to talk about their experience and how it relates to the job advertised. Candidate too is
more likely to get the job
7. Why the employer asks the following questions:
 Have you got a clean driving licence?
The employer probably wants to know something positive about the candidate’s driving
experience, for example, how long he or she has been qualified to drive a van
 Have you got much experience?
The employer probably wants to know something positive about the candidate’s relevant
work experience, e.g. other driving jobs.
 What other jobs have you had?
The employer probably wants to know something positive about the candidate’s
experience of other types of job with similar conditions, e.g. involving travel, irregular
hours, etc.
Discuss what the employer really wants to know. Rephrase the employer’s questions so
that they are more direct and explicit, e.g.



How long have you been applied to drive a van?
Have your had other driving jobs?
Have you done any other jobs that require irregular hours or weekend work? Have
you done any other jobs that demanded reliability and punctuality? Etc.
8. After this discussion build different groups of two employers and two candidates each.
Role play the job interviews again, one candidate after the other. This time, the
candidates must decide if they are going to treat the interview as a test or an opportunity.
The employers must also decide if they're going to ask an explicit or indirect questions.
9. Finally. The employers then decide which of the two candidates they wish to hire.
Personal critical incidents
1. “Critical incident” is an example of misunderstanding caused by people having different
cultural assumptions, values or expectations. Some of us can give here illustrations from our
own experiences. As an example of such an incident we can also take the reading text in
Box 2.4a. How you would explain the problem to the British couple and their Brazilian
hostess?
Box 2.4a: Personal critical incidents
Reading text: An example of a ‘critical incident’
A British couple were invited to stay with a Brazilian family. The Brazilian hostess prepared
large meals for the British couple, because it is considered a sign of good hospitality to offer
more food than her guests can eat.
However, the British couple felt terrible. Where they came from, it was considered polite to
finish eating all the food that was offered to guests. Therefore they forced themselves to eat
everything that was given to them.
The Brazilian hostess was surprised at her guests’ appetites, and provided more and more food
for each meal. The British couple ate it all up, and gained more and more weight. At the end of
their stay, they were grateful to leave – and the hostess was very happy to see them go!
Further reading: https://matadornetwork.com/read/7-food-etiquette-rules-around-world/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/empty-plate-cultural-differences_n_5807822de4b0dd54ce368d7e
2. Think of an example of a critical incident in your own lives. You can suggest situations
such as misunderstanding about punctuality, exchanging gifts, dress code for a party, etc.
Describe the critical incident in writing before you come to class and consider the following
questions:
 Who was involved?
 Where did the a critical incident take place?
 When did it take place?
 What happened?
 How did participants in the critical incident react?

How would you classify the critical incident? For example, is it to do with age
differences/ professional differences/ ethnic differences/ social class differences/
nationality?
3. Work in groups: share your stories and attempt to provide explanations for the incident. You
can also suggest some strategies for improving the communication between the participants.
4. Revise the written description of your critical incident and add:

a possible explanation of why it occurred

possible ways of avoiding the miscommunication, or improving understanding
After the work have been assessed some advanced learners can be invited to make a presentation
about the incident to full class, for discussion and debate.
Style of conflict resolution
1. Individuals from different cultures tend to have different ways of coping with
disagreements and conflicts. Please tick the boxes (Questionnaire 2.5b) depending on the
weather the statement is true or false for you. Be as honest as possible. When you have
finished, compare your responses with your classmates.
Box 2.5b: Styles of conflict resolution
Questionnaire: Ways of dealing with conflicts
Ways of dealing with conflicts
True
False
I don’t mind conflicts because I have a strong personality and I find
that I usually get my own way.
When there is a conflict, I prefer to work with others to find a new,
imaginative solution that suits both parties.
When I am involved in a conflict I usually just give in to the other
parties’ demands.
I avoid conflicts whenever I possibly can.
2. The four options in the questionnaire represent four possible strategies for dealing with
disagreement:
 Confrontational

Collaborative

Accommodating

Avoiding
Brainstorm the kind of language and behavior appropriate to each of the four strategies
building up a table based on the one in Box 2.5c
Box 2.5c: Styles of conflict resolution
Table: Strategies for dealing with conflict – appropriate language
Ways of dealing with conflicts
Suggested language
Confrontational: I don’t mind conflicts
because I have a strong personality and I find
that I usually get my own way.
I’m afraid you/we must . . .
You/we have to . . .
Collaborative: When there is a conflict, I
prefer to work with others to find a new,
imaginative solution that suits both parties.
Let’s look at this from a fresh angle.
Why don’t we . . .?
We could . . .
Accommodating: When I am involved in a
conflict I usually just give in to the other
parties’ demands.
Ok, I’ll let you . . .
Avoiding: I avoid conflicts whenever I
possibly can.
I don’t wish to discuss it.
3. Choose a situation of the disagreement (e.g. with your teacher about a homework
deadline, with your employer about your pay and conditions, with colleagues about the
quality of their work, with an angry client or a frustrated customer in case of their
dissatisfaction, etc.) and brainstorm a dialogue that illustrated such as situation and
possible strategies for coping with it. You can then discuss which strategies are likely to
be more successful. A possible dialogue is given in Box 2.5D (or Oxford Careers for
Tourism. Part II, Unit 8. O Tour/ “Dealing with a crisis”/ Language of claiming)
Conflict meditation
1. Let's explore an imaginary conflict situation and then try to resolve the conflict which is
between two people from different cultural backgrounds. The people involved have
different values and goals and also different ways of communicating.
2. As a warm-up: How do you understand the following two general styles of
communication. Two pairs of learners have to mime the communication styles silently,
before the rest of the class.
Intimate
Someone stands very close to you and looks at you straight in the eye when they are
talking to you. He or she touches your arm briefly while talking.
Distant
Someone stands at a distance from you and looks down when they are talking to you.
He or she avoids touching you.
3. The two communication styles may be interpreted differently by different people. For
example, the first speaker’s behaviour might be interpreted as friendly, , engaging or,
alternatively, as forward, impolite or even aggressive.
The second person’s behaviour might be interpreted as respectful and polite or,
alternatively, as cold, unfriendly or even suspicious. Misunderstanding between people
with different values or opinions can be intensified if they have different styles of
communication.