Lesson 4 - Evaluating Messages

and/or Images of Different Types

of Texts reflecting Different
Cultures

Learning Objectives:

1. Demonstrate an
understanding of the

importance of cultural contexts in

the

communication process;

2. Analyze texts that reflect

varied cultures and practices;
3. Appreciate various cultural
identities and differences and the
value of co-existing with
individuals of different cultural
backgrounds.

Issues to Consider:
1. How can you avoid
miscommunication or
misinterpretations of ideas when
talking to persons with different
cultures?

2. How does non-verbal

communication, in general, or
bodily gestures, in particular,
pose miscommunication between
persons coming from different
cultures?

3. Accent (as deficiency before)

is now accepted as reflecting
identity. Do you agree with the
call for change in standardized
assessment to include different
accents? Why yes? Why not?
4. Why is there a need to be
aware or conscious of other
cultures?

Key Concepts:

1. One cause of
miscommunication or
misinterpretation is differing
pronunciation.
Speakers have different ways of
pronouncing words because of
differences in phonology. It is
then important to be exposed to
the ways other speakers of
English use the language to
reduce the degree of difficulty
that may be experienced.

2. Aside from pronunciation, non-

verbal communication also plays
an important role in effective
communication. Bodily gestures
should be properly interpreted as
their meanings vary from culture
to culture.

3. One's purpose for

communication as well as his/
her relationship to the
listeners/readers will determine
the kind of language he/she will
use.

4. It is always challenging to deal

with people from different
cultures. The challenge lies in
the way of understanding
not only the verbal code but also
the non-verbal code.

5. Misunderstandings between
people of different cultures can
be caused by the following:
ambiguity, performance-related
misunderstanding, language-
related misunderstanding, gaps
in world knowledge, and local
context.

Kaur (2016) cites the following as

the sources of misunderstanding:
(1) Ambiguity or the lack of
explicitness on the part of the
speaker in the form of
problematic reference and
ambiguous semantics in which
an utterance is open to different
interpretations; (2) performance-
related misunderstanding which
are slips of the tongue and
mishearing which may be due to
utterances spoken quickly and
unclearly; (3) Language-related
misunderstanding which is the
ungrammaticality of sentences;
(4) Gaps in world knowledge
which are gaps in content rather
than language; and (5) Local
context which are the turns and
the turns within sequences
produced by the participants
themselves, and the orientation
of the participants as well as the
repair moves that follow the
displayed understanding.

6. Intercultural communication
can be studied through the
functional approach,
interpretative approach, and
critical approach.

7. Misunderstanding in
intercultural communication may
not always be caused by verbal
utterances. Misunderstandings
may also occur due to wrong
interpretation of the non-verbal
code.

8. Communicating Across
Cultures by Carol Kinsey Goman
(2011) is a must read.
*Communicating across cultures
is challenging. Each culture has
set rules that each members take
for granted. Few of us are aware
of our own cultural biases
because cultural imprinting is
begun at a very early age. And
while some of a culture's
knowledge, rules, beliefs, values,
phobias, and anxieties are taught
explicitly, most of the information
is absorbed subconsciously.

*Intercultural communication is a
subject of importance because
the domestic workforce is
growing more and more diverse,
ethnically and culturally.
*We are all individuals, and no
two people belonging to the
same culture are guaranteed to
respond in exactly the same way.
However, generalizations are
valid to the extent that they
provide clues on what you will
most likely encounter when
dealing
with members of a particular
culture.

*All international communication

is influenced by cultural
differences. Even the choice of
communication medium can
have cultural overtones. The
determining factor may not be
the degree of industrialization,
but rather whether the country
falls into a high-context or low-
context culture.

*High context cultures

(Mediterranean, Slav, Central
European, Latin America,
African, Arab, Asian, American
Indian) leave much of the
message unspecified, to be
understood through context, non-
verbal cues, and between-the-
lines interpretations of what is
actually said. By contrast, low
context cultures (most Germanic
and English- speaking countries)
expect messages to be explicit
and specific.

*Some cultures think of time

sequentially
(ex. Amercians); that is, business
people give full attention to one
agenda item after another. Other
cultures view time
synchoronically (ex. Asians); that
is, the flow of time is viewed as a
sort of circle, with the past,
present, and future all
interrelated.

*In international business

practices, reason and emotion
both play a role; affective
cultures (ex. Americans) readily
show emotions while neutral
cultures (ex. Asians) do not
telegraph their feelings, but keep
them carefully controlled and
subdued.
*The key to cross-cultural
success is to develop an
understanding of, and a deep
respect, the differences.

Activity 1. Applying what you

have learned: A look into your
own family culture.

1. What is the communication

culture
(beliefs, practices, traditions) of
your family? (In this question,
you may consider a lot of things
that you observed from your own
family; like, is it easy to tell
members of the family about
anything and everything that
concerns you? There exist a very
open communication between all
members of the family it can be
done anytime and anywhere in
the house or there is some sort
of unwritten law that you need to
observe prior to talking to any
member of your family?... etc.)

2. On the other hand, what

communication culture that
seemed to be different from
yours and your family have you
observed from others like your
neighbors, friends, and
acquaintances? What about from
among other countries?

3. Are you high-context or low-

context; sequential or
synchronic; affective or
neutral. Why do you say so?

4. What is your family love

language? What about your
personal love language: words of
affirmation, physical touch,
quality time, gifts, acts of
service? Explain.

Lesson 5 - Communication for

Various Purposes

Learning Objectives:

1. Write essays or blogs.

2. Differentiate between a journal
or diary and blog.

3. Differentiate the research-

based argumentative essay from
the explanation
essay and the blog.

4. Deliver an oral presentation.

5. Discuss the importance of

debate (or discourse analysis:
spoken and written) in everyday
life.

6. Recognize the invaluable

place of literature in history and
in culture.

Issues to Consider:

1. How is the argumentative

essay the same or different from
the explanation essay and the
blog?

2. What is the role of research in

producing the argumentative
essay?

3. What pre-writing tasks must

be undertaken before you write
the argumentative essay?
4. How can you practice
intellectual honesty when you
write your essay or paper?

5. What is the greatest fear of

speakers?

6. How does one overcome

stage fright?

7. Are all answers to a given

issue to be considered correct at
the onset?

8. Why does literature have a

universal appeal?
Key Concepts:

1. An explanation essay is a
written piece of work that
addresses "why" questions. It
aims to inform or educate
readers. You may read our
sample essay, A Mansion of
Many Languages, by Danton
Remoto (2017) from this website:
[Link]
views-and-analysis/10/15/08/
mansion-many-languages-
danton-remoto

2. Writing an explanation essay

requires pre- writing activities
that will help you sharpen the
focus of your writing.

3. A blog is the online equivalent

of a journal or diary entry.

4. Because of its public nature, a

blog has more visual material
and makes use of topics that are
of general interest to the public.

5. Research is an essential
component in the production of
an argumentative essay.

6. Writing the argumentative

essay requires pre- writing
activities that help sharpen the
focus of your writing.
7. Intellectual honesty should be
observed in writing.

8. When preparing a report or

speech for oral presentation,
make a profile first of your
audience and the logistics
involved, i.e. venue and facilities.
Then read up and research on
the topic so you can write an
effective report, speech, or talk.

9. When making your oral

presentations, pay attention to
the paralinguistic cues and
prosodic features of the
language. Whereas paralinguistic
cues involve facial expression,
posture, gestures, and
movement; prosodic features
include intonation, tone, stress,
rhythm, and pause.

10. When making a group

presentation, follow strictly the
guidelines so you can come up
with a good performance. Be a
team player so that the
individually
assigned parts cohere with each
other.

11. Debates are used not only in

formal contexts but also in
informal settings such as the
home, market, mall, church, and
the like.

[Link] can be classified into

informal and formal. Whereas
informal debates happen
anywhere, formal debates take
place in formal settings such as
the classroom, the House of
representatives, and the Senate.
Informal debates simply call for
an exchange of arguments
without any structure or rules to
follow. Conversely, formal
debates follow a procedure, have
a structure, and observe a set of
rules.

13. Debates use all the language

macro-skills: listening, speaking,
reading, writing, viewing, and
critical thinking. Without one of
these, a debater cannot argue
effectively.
14. Literature is used as vehicle
for communicating ideas.

15. Fictional elements come

together to deliver an author's
message about human
experience

16. The fictional elements

include the setting, plot, conflict,
character, images, symbol, and
theme.

Module 6 - Communication
Across Professions

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the various genres

used across professions and
show understanding of
their structure;

2. Identify steps involved in the

job application process,
recognize importance of job
interviews, and demonstrate
communication skills in a mock
job interview.

Issues to Consider:
1. In what instances would the
traditional form of genres be
useful? What about their online
versions?

2. How does one prepare for a

successful job interview? See:
https:/[Link]/watch?
v=lTc4x2S2axA
3. How does one prepare his/her
application documents that would
attract the attention of the
prospective employer?

4. How do you know which

application documents should
you submit to a prospective
employer?
5. What are the important
questions one needs to answer
or know before submitting his/her
application documents to
prospective employers?

6. Is it unethical to apply when

there is no cut across
professions: business letters,
memoranda, and minutes of a
meeting, among others. Other
genres are Facebook, Twitter,
and LinkedIn which are found in
social media channels.

2. While traditional genres now

have their counterparts in the
social media, their structures are
essentially the same.

3. One important genre that cuts

across disciplines is the business
proposal which has three major
parts: the problem statement, the
proposed solution, and the
costing or pricing.
4. The job interview is a vital
component of the job application
process.

5. Job interviews are conducted

to determine whether or not the
applicants possess the qualities
expected from employee.

6. In job application scenario, the

employer is considered the
buyer, and the applicant is the
seller. The application letter
serves as the promoter.

LETTER FORM/FORMAT
SAMPLES:

1. Block Format
The block letter style is a format
with all elements aligned with the
left margin. Without a letterhead
(as in this illustration), begin the
top line no higher than 2 inches,
and key the return address
(without name) just above the
date. If a printed letterhead is
used, place that date several
lines (3-4 spaces) below the
letterhead, depending on the
length of the message.
Quadruple-space to the inside
address. Double-space between
the inside address and the
salutation. Key the subject line, if
used, a double-space below the
salutation aligned left; and
double-space (or triple-space)
again to the first line of the
message. (In this letter), key the
optional attention line as part of
the inside address.
However, the salutation still must
refer to the entire company.

Single-space the paragraphs,

and use double- spacing to
separate them from each other.
Indent displayed enumerations
and long quotations (if there are
any) from each other. Double-
space after the last line
of the message to the
complimentary close. Quadruple-
space to the signature; (this
space allows for the signature).
Block the signature and title (if
needed) under the
complimentary close. If the letter
is a personal business letter (as
illustrated here), no reference
(dictator's/typist's) initials re
required because the writer
probably also keyed the letter.

2. Modified-Block Format
The modified-block letter
includes features similar to those
of the block letter with the
exception of the positioning of
the date and the signature block.
The paragraphs may be indented
(as shown here) or blocked as
they are in the block letter. The
subject line as it is positioned
here is set flush left. If an
attention line had been used, it
would also have been positioned
flush with the left margin. The
complimentary close - aligned
with the date appears a double-
space
below the last message line.
Three blank lines (a quadruple-
space) have been allowed for the
written signature. The signature
block is then aligned with the
complimentary close.

Other notations, such as initials,

enclosure notations, and a list of
copy recipients, are placed a
double-space below the
signature block, flush with the left
margin.

3. Simplified Format
This letter is an example of the
simplified letter. It is a clean
format that saves time, boosts
productivity, a clean format that
saves time, boosts productivity,
and streamlines the look of the
document.

If you do not know the name of

the person to whom you are
writing and do not want to use
"Ladies and Gentlemen," the
simplified format is a good
alternative. Because no
salutation is used, the gender
question is solved on letters to
correspondents who have signed
previous letters with their initials
and a surname only.

A capitalized subject line is a

triple-space below the last line of
the inside address. Although a
subject line is optional with other
styles, one must be usedline is
optional with other styles, one
must be used with a simplified
format. The subject line is
positioned flush with the left
margin, and the word subject is
omitted.

The message begins a triple-

space below the subject line. All
paragraphs are set flush left.
Enumerated lists and tabular
data, if included, are set flush left
with double-spacing separating
one item from another. Items are
single-spaced internally.

The simplified format has no

complimentary close. Quadruple-
space to the signature
block and key Quadruple-space
to the signature block and key
the writer's name and title in
capital letters flush with the left
margin. Depending on the length
of the name and title, key them
on the same line or on two
consecutive lines. The writer
then signs the letter on the space
allowed.

The initials are keyed a double-

space below the signature block.
If a copy or enclosure notation is
required, key the material a
double-space beneath the
initials.