Writing for International Readers
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this chapter are to
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Establish a perspective on international cultures.
Discuss the importance of understanding readers from various cultures.
Explain how to interject a cultural variable in the planning process.
Provide skills for writing to readers in other cultures.
Examine how cultural background affects reaction(s) to graphics.
TEACHING STRATEGIES
Like the previous chapter on communication ethics, this information on international readers
can be used in a variety of ways. You can use the differences in perception as a means to get
your students to explore their own comfort zones and expectations in terms of truth, power
relationships, uncertainty, etc. With today’s mixture of students, you may even be lucky to
have some international students who can offer some depth of understanding, as well.
Beyond self-reflection, this chapter can be used to add a neat slant on the typical technical
writing projects; have students write a set of instructions to an international audience, require
students to research different cultural approaches to business and write a recommendations
report to a hypothetical boss who is considering overseas expansion, or have students
compare the style and design elements of Web pages published in very different countries
(Japan and Canada, for example).
Regardless of how you apply the chapter, it really offers a super chance to get students to
think about corporate culture. They may be surprised upon graduating and entering the
workforce how different their lives become. This surprise can help them feel like they’re
finally “growing up,” or it can be a shock as they try to adjust and find a place in a new
community of professionals. Asking themselves where they stand on these cultural beliefs
can also be a good introductory exercise to brainstorming how these beliefs will shape their
audience-centered writing.
We’ve all heard from numerous sources that our world is shrinking—due to the
instantaneous and inexpensive communication offered via the Internet and the more
widespread ability to travel to foreign countries. The “exotic” nature of considering other
cultures and how they intertwine with the professional world can be a nice, thoughtful
change from or an intriguing addition to the more run-of-the-mill technical writing
assignments.
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WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES
Here are some ideas for workshop activities to help students learn about writing for
international readers covered in Chapter 6.
Traditional Classroom
1. Interview an international student regarding the cultural traditions of his/her
country. This can be done via the Web—through e-mail pals or listservs or discussion
threads—or by the instructor contacting the on-campus international student association.
International students who are new to the English language benefit from conversation
partners who have English as their primary language. The practice helps these new
students master the language, feel more comfortable, and make new acquaintances. Pair
up your students with conversation partners for a substantive amount of time, maybe as
much as four 30-minute meetings over a two- to four-week period. Encourage students to
use their chat time to find out about cultural practices in the international student’s home
country. Make sure to emphasize to your students, however, that the time together should
benefit both participants—it should not be a time of grueling interview questions for the
international student. A more formal approach to this can take place via the Web, where
students can find cyber pen pals in other countries and interview them regarding cultural
practices. Remind online students of the time differentiation and of potential language
barriers.
2. Interview a professional about international business practices. Students may do this
individually or in groups, and they may interview professors or professionals who they
know or who they have found for this assignment. If the relationship with the interviewee
is just for the assignment, make sure the students use excellent interview etiquette by
contacting the interviewee ahead of time, brainstorming a specific set of (open-ended)
questions, and conducting the interview in a way that is most conscientious of the
interviewee’s time and trouble. Remember that e-mail interviews may be an excellent
choice in this situation.
3. Brainstorm how a persuasive document would be tailored to a specific international
audience. Assign student teams to plan a highly persuasive proposal aimed at a specific
international audience (an engineering firm VP in Mexico or a research funding grant
committee in Japan, for example). Have them brainstorm how their proposal content,
graphics, design, and style will differ in light of the audience’s cultural background.
Some online or library research into different cultural traditions may be helpful.
4. Gather three published articles (or books or reputable Web sites) concerned with
how cultural practices affect international business in a particular country. For
example, students (or small teams) might research the impact of cultural differences on
business practices in Central America, Russia, or China. If done individually, let students
form small discussion groups according to country or region and discuss their findings.
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Computer Classroom
1. Compare the content, style, and design of an internationally based Web site to one
of a similar company based in the United States. Have students find two Web sites for
similar-type businesses (research, retail, food service, travel, etc.). Encourage them to
look carefully at details of the site. Do the style and design follow the cultural differences
described in the text? If so, how? If not, where do students see the divergence? Does the
Web site seem to be written by an international audience but for an American reader?
2. Contribute to a discussion of where your perspectives fit into the continuums
presented in the reading. Assign students to small teams with specified discussion
threads, listservs, chat areas, or e-mail lists. Allow them to explore their own beliefs
through online discussion. (This will often promote a more thoughtful approach than
sitting down in person because it takes longer and putting thoughts in writing is done
with more deliberation than when just speaking back and forth.) As instructor, you may
need to provide occasional encouragement, follow-up thoughts or questions, or
redirection to keep the conversation going. Encourage student-to-student discussion, and
try to coach from the sidelines.
3. Using the descriptions in the chapter, do some online role-playing in terms of
international perspectives. Have pairs or small teams write a letter of complaint,
proposal rationale, or job application letter together. One student should be assigned to
interpret the whole interaction and respond in accordance with the cultural perspectives
of another country. See how this added perspective shapes the document development.
WRITING PROJECTS
This chapter can serve as the central tenant of an assignment or as an addition to add a new
level of depth to more run-of-the-mill work. Throughout a semester, you can even use it in
both capacities. Here are some ideas for a variety of projects related to Chapter 6.
Traditional Assignments
1. Write a report describing cultural practices in the country or region of your choice
and comparing them to American perspectives. This assignment can be an extension
of the fifth workshop activity above or stand alone. Make sure that students check for
information availability before committing to a specific country or region. Think broadly
in terms of sources; a student who supplements two good articles with an analysis of two
good Web pages in his country will fare just as well as a student who has four good
articles or a student who has two articles and an extensive interview.
2. Write a persuasive proposal aimed at an international audience. Continuing with the
context described in the fourth workshop activity above, have students work through the
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proposal. The proposal context could be up to the students (let them apply it to their
specific field interests), or you can assign the proposal purpose.
3. Write a memo reporting on the results of your interview(s) with international
students and/or professionals. Again an extension of the workshop activity described
above, this can be nicely woven together with the first or second writing projects above.
Remember to encourage students to provide detail and thoughtful analysis, not just
generalizations or a Q&A transcript (unless these are what you want!). Quotations,
examples, or illustrations will make the report much more concrete and applicable.
Distance Learning Assignments
1. Plan, conduct, and report on an interview with a current professional who works
with an international audience/partner/client. This project may be wonderfully easy
and interesting or very difficult, all depending upon the availability of interviewees and
the time students are given to complete the interviews. Students can brainstorm questions
about audiences, purposes, cultural practices, even technology and business practices in
small, online teams. Remind them about interview etiquette, including the need to contact
the professional ahead of time for permission to interview him/her, the helpfulness of
thoughtfully organizing questions, and the advantages/disadvantages of different
interview media (phone, in-person, e-mail, chat room). Emphasize the importance of
putting the professional’s obligations and valuable time ahead of everything else. Have
them write thank-you notes to the professional as a follow-up exercise, and, if possible,
send the professional a copy of the report. If this project is conducted over several weeks,
you can also require a post-interview/pre-writing progress report. If interviewee response
is poor, students can fall back on published information regarding culture and business.
2. Participate in an online discussion of cultural perspectives and differences;
summarize your team’s main points and special insights. Have small online student
groups use an e-mail list, listserv, chat room, or discussion thread to explore their own
cultural perspectives and how these will shape their own professional lives. Remind them
to explore all the characteristics listed in the reading, from Individualism versus
Collectivism to Masculine versus Feminine. Emphasize the difference between what they
expect as future professionals and where on the spectrums they are now. They may
consider how they will or will not have to adjust their attitudes to work within their future
fields. At the conclusion of the discussion, have the students write an independent
summary of their team exploration, highlighting interesting points as possible.
3. Locate a Web site designed for an American audience, and then recommend
changes to the Web site to make it appropriate for a particular culture or country.
Have students select a Web site clearly intended for an American audience. Then have
them select an audience from another culture or country for whom they may redesign the
Web site. The students must research the culture and compile a list of communication
guidelines for that culture. You may then have students use the information to write a
recommendation report for you in which they discuss how the Web site should be
changed to accommodate the new audience, or you may have them actually redesign the
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Web site and submit the HTML document and perhaps the recommendation report if you
would like to combine the two documents for this assignment.
RELEVANT LINKS
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Untangling the Web: Going International
(www.eeicommunications.com/eye/utw/96feb.html)
Appreciating Cultural Differences Makes Good Business Sense
(www.media3pub.com/bizonline/articles/culture.html)
The International Communication Association (http://www.icahdq.org)
Nancy Hoft Consulting: What Are the Most Important Skills for Creating International
Technical Communication? (http://www.world-ready.com/stcorlando.htm)
Nancy Hoft Consulting: Sources in International Communication: An Annotated
Bibliography (http://www.world-ready.com/biblio.htm)
WORKSHEETS
You may wish to reproduce the following worksheets for use in class or as homework.
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International Reader Portrait Worksheet
Context
Topic & Purpose
Notes
Audience(s)
International Influences
Audience’s Home Country/Region
Views of Individualism/Collectivism
Views of Business/Private Relationships
Views of Distance between Social Ranks
Views of Universal/Relative Truth
Views of Expected Content of the Text
Views of Uncertainty
Views of Power, Value of Time
Views of Masculine/Feminine
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International Communication Planning Checklist
1. Document audience?
2. Age(s)? Interests? Education? Job Responsibilities? Title?
3. Attitude(s) toward you? Toward your topic/purpose?
4. Specific audience characteristics as noticed in prior communications?
5. Non-U.S. culture characteristics?
 Oriented toward individual or group?
 Separate business and personal relationships?
 Value success of individuals or groups?
 See truth as universal or situation-specific?
 Want entire message in document text?
 Value time and efficiency?
6. Ability to read English?
7. Situation that led to you write this document?
8. Intended purpose? Desired resulting action or outcome?
9. Choices necessary about
 Structure (inductive/deductive)?
 Organization of ideas?
 Degree of specificity?
 Type of information disclosed about you/your organization?
 Stylistic choices (word, sentence, paragraph levels)?
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Culture is . . .
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A shared system of meanings, derived from the environment in which people live.
Examples:
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A mind-set, people’s response to their physical and human environment; a survival
mechanism passed from generation to generation.
Examples:
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A transmitted system of values, ideas, and behaviors; a set of common
understandings.
Examples:
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OVERHEADS
The figures on the following pages may be reproduced as overhead transparencies or simply
shown on a computer. The following set of discussion questions associated with each of the
figures may be used to elicit student reflections on the concepts.
Discussion Questions for Figure 6-1
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Where do your values fit?
Where will your typical audience’s values fit?
How can you tailor your writing to address these audience traits?
Discussion Questions for Figure 6-2
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What evidence of the above have you seen or heard in the news lately?
Will you have to work against your American upbringing to adopt any or these
perspectives?
Brainstorm and share some examples that apply these perspectives to working-world
situations.
Discussion Questions for Figure 6-3
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Do you see any trends in the relationships among data?
What fundamentals of culture do you think drive these differences?
Do you think a 2010 survey would show any significant differences? Why or why not?
Discussion Questions for Figure 6-4
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Look at the sample U.S., Pakistani, and Mexican business letters in Chapter 6. Mark the
places in the letters where the sections identified here are located. Discuss how each letter
accomplishes its goals: For instance, what kind of language does the letter use as it
presents its message or seeks to build rapport? What tone does the letter take? What
strategy does the letter use to develop its point?
Discussion Questions for Figure 6-5
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Review the rationale behind some of these dos and don’ts.
How might some of these pieces of advice also be applicable to intra-national
communications (American to American)?
Brainstorm some examples of how these guidelines have been used successfully or
unfortunately ignored. What were the ramifications?
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International Audiences and Cultural
Differences
Achievement Emphasis
Individual----------•----------•----------•--------Collective
Time
Hurried-------•----------•----------•---------Slower Paced
Professional Relationships
Businesslike-------•----------•----------•-------Personal
Power Relationships
Questioned-------•----------•---------Highly Respected
Truth
Relative-------•----------•----------•----------•---Absolute
Figure 6-1: International Audiences and Cultural Differences
Perspectives for Success with
International Audiences
 Cultures vary, but one is not superior
 Audience ground rules are your guide
 U.S. culture is dramatically different
 Everyone is ethnocentric, thinking his/her
culture is best
Figure 6-2: Perspectives for Success with International Audiences
Sample Cultural Dimension Scores*
Country
Individualism
USA
G. Britain
S. Africa
Israel
Japan
Iran
Mexico
Taiwan
Panama
91
89
65
54
46
41
30
17
11
Power
Distance
40
35
49
13
54
58
81
58
95
Uncertainty
Avoiding
46
35
49
81
92
59
82
69
86
Masculinity
62
66
63
47
95
43
69
45
44
* From Greert Hofstede, Cultures and organizations: Software of the Mind (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991).
Figure 6-3: Sample Cultural Dimension Scores
Three Examples of Organizing
According to Reader Expectations
U.S. Business Letter
 News up front
 Support in body
 Requested action in closing
Pakistani Business Letter
 Rapport building first
 Suggested purpose last
Mexican Business Letter
 Introduction to establish rapport
 Background development
 News in the middle
 More development follows
 Conclusion reestablishes rapport
Figure 6-4: Three Examples of Organizing According to Reader Expectations
Culture & Graphics Guidelines
Do…
 Use arrows or numbers to show directions of
flow in graphics
 Think about which side of the page is the more
prominent placement
 Use plain typefaces
 Use graphics that are internationally
recognized
 Use black and white rather than colors if
possible
 Use gender-neutral clip art and other
representations
 Determine how fluent in English your audience
is, and write accordingly
 Use page design carefully
 Expect common formats to vary with cultures
Don’t…
 Use acronyms, abbreviations, jargon, slang,
and colloquialisms
 Attempt to use humor
 Use graphics that provoke strongly different
interpretations in different cultures
 Use graphics that depict hand gestures
Figure 6-5: Culture & Graphics Guidelines