InterculturalCom: Intercultural Sensitivity and Competence: Intercultural Training - Part 2 (W13-Activity) Fa16

Some well-known intercultural training activities include "The Parable" and "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes".

"The Parable"

The study of intercultural communication has a rich and interesting history.  That's one of the reasons that I study it. There is a long history of government organizations training people to be better intercultural communicators (e.g., diplomats).  Out of this training comes some helpful and long-lasting intercultural training exercises.  "The Parable" is one of those exercises.  Below is the parable as it appeared in a 1973 Unesco document (pdf).  Read the story and then rank in order that characters that you most approve of.  The person that you approve of at the top and the bottom would be the person that you least approve of.

If you are curious, see also Dr. Ting-Toomey's version of The Parable.

Dr. Hart's classroom instructions:

• Write down on a piece of paper, in rank order, the characters whose behaviors you most approve.
• Break into groups of 4 to discuss your results.  Create a rank list for the group.
• What have you learned as a result of this activity?
• Can anyone point to something in your past that shaped the values you used in this activity?  Who/what programmed you?
• Value: “A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable” (TheFreeDictionary.com).

If you are curious: More related activities from CSU Fullerton faculty (pdf).



"Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes"

Another famous intercultural training activity was created by Jane Elliot.  What are the steps in Jane Elliot's Blue Eyes / Brown Eyes Experiment?



This is a clip that I edited and posted on YouTube. I use this clip in my Intercultural Communication course to introduce students to methods of using intercultural training to reduce prejudice. 

How effective do you think this method is?
Any ethical concerns?

Additional intercultural training activities may be covered in future posts.


Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

InterculturalCom: Intercultural Sensitivity and Competence: Intercultural Training - Part 1 (W13-Activity) Fa16

Research on the best methods of teaching and training in intercultural communication has a long history beginning with the work of anthropologist around the time of World War II. By the 1970s anthropologist lost interest in intercultural interactions and communication scholars carried on the study of intercultural communication. Two of these communication scholars (Gudykunst and Hammer) are among the top prolific authors and most cited authors in the field of intercultural communication (Hammer was my advisor at American University). In one of the articles written by Gudykunst and Hammer they outlined the overall goals of intercultural education or intercultural training (ICT).

• "...most ICT involves some form of change in three areas: cognition, affect, and behavior. Cognitively, ICT generally is aimed at helping trainees understand how their culture, stereotypes, and attitudes influence their interactions with members of other cultures. Cognitive ICT goals, therefore, focus on knowledge and/or awareness. Affectively, ICT generally is aimed at helping trainees effectively manage their emotional reactions (e.g., anxiety) when interacting with members of other cultures. Behaviorally, ICT generally is designed to help trainees develop the skills they need to interact effectively with members of other cultures" (Gudykunst, Guzley and Hammer, 1996, p. 65).

In this course we will work on these three goals: cognition, affect and behavior.


Let's explore some types of intercultural training and well-known intercultural training activities.

First, film may be used in intercultural training.  A fictional film which shows intercultural interaction may teach a viewer some facts about another culture and, depending on how well the viewer identifies with the characters in the film, it may also have an emotional or affective effect.



This is a clip that I edited and posted on YouTube. I use this clip in my Intercultural Communication course to introduce students to the difficulties of intercultural communication.

In the clip Jackie's fiancé has just arrived in the U.S.

Is there intercultural miscommunication? What is the problem exactly? Whose fault is it? Is it right to blame somebody?


Some additional types of intercultural training and well-known intercultural training activities will be explored in future posts.

Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

InterculturalCom: Intercultural Sensitivity and Competence: Intercultural Training - Part 2 (Activity) Fa14

Some well-known intercultural training activities include "The Parable" and "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes".

"The Parable"

The study of intercultural communication has a rich and interesting history.  That's one of the reasons that I study it. There is a long history of government organizations training people to be better intercultural communicators (e.g., diplomats).  Out of this training comes some helpful and long-lasting intercultural training exercises.  "The Parable" is one of those exercises.  Below is the parable as it appeared in a 1973 Unesco document (pdf).  Read the story and then rank in order that characters that you most approve of.  The person that you approve of at the top and the bottom would be the person that you least approve of.

If you are curious, see also Dr. Ting-Toomey's version of The Parable.

Dr. Hart's classroom instructions:

• Write down on a piece of paper, in rank order, the characters whose behaviors you most approve.
• Break into groups of 4 to discuss your results.  Create a rank list for the group.
• What have you learned as a result of this activity?
• Can anyone point to something in your past that shaped the values you used in this activity?  Who/what programmed you?
• Value: “A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable” (TheFreeDictionary.com).

If you are curious: More related activities from CSU Fullerton faculty (pdf).



"Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes"

Another famous intercultural training activity was created by Jane Elliot.  What are the steps in Jane Elliot's Blue Eyes / Brown Eyes Experiment?



This is a clip that I edited and posted on YouTube. I use this clip in my Intercultural Communication course to introduce students to methods of using intercultural training to reduce prejudice. 

How effective do you think this method is?
Any ethical concerns?

Additional intercultural training activities may be covered in future posts.




Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

InterculturalCom: Intercultural Sensitivity and Competence: Intercultural Training - Part 1 (Activity) Fa14

Research on the best methods of teaching and training in intercultural communication has a long history beginning with the work of anthropologist around the time of World War II. By the 1970s anthropologist lost interest in intercultural interactions and communication scholars carried on the study of intercultural communication. Two of these communication scholars (Gudykunst and Hammer) are among the top prolific authors and most cited authors in the field of intercultural communication (Hammer was my advisor at American University). In one of the articles written by Gudykunst and Hammer they outlined the overall goals of intercultural education or intercultural training (ICT).

• "...most ICT involves some form of change in three areas: cognition, affect, and behavior. Cognitively, ICT generally is aimed at helping trainees understand how their culture, stereotypes, and attitudes influence their interactions with members of other cultures. Cognitive ICT goals, therefore, focus on knowledge and/or awareness. Affectively, ICT generally is aimed at helping trainees effectively manage their emotional reactions (e.g., anxiety) when interacting with members of other cultures. Behaviorally, ICT generally is designed to help trainees develop the skills they need to interact effectively with members of other cultures" (Gudykunst, Guzley and Hammer, 1996, p. 65).

In this course we will work on these three goals: cognition, affect and behavior.


Let's explore some types of intercultural training and well-known intercultural training activities.

First, film may be used in intercultural training.  A fictional film which shows intercultural interaction may teach a viewer some facts about another culture and, depending on how well the viewer identifies with the characters in the film, it may also have an emotional or affective effect.



This is a clip that I edited and posted on YouTube. I use this clip in my Intercultural Communication course to introduce students to the difficulties of intercultural communication.

In the clip Jackie's fiancé has just arrived in the U.S.

Is there intercultural miscommunication? What is the problem exactly? Whose fault is it? Is it right to blame somebody?


Some additional types of intercultural training and well-known intercultural training activities will be explored in future posts.



Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.