Course Description and Objectives

Course Description

Communication 128, has as its primary focus Global Communication. The primary goals of the course are to introduce the students to Global Communication and help them improve their cross-cultural communication skills. The course examines what antecedents and considerations need to be taken into account when people from different cultures come together to share ideas and information. It explores three contexts where global communication is likely to occur – education, business, and healthcare. Students will practice their new global communication skills by interacting with students in another country via a common website and electronic forms of communication. The end goal is an enhanced appreciation of diversity and an improved ability to overcome many obstacles to global cross-cultural understanding.

This course meets the GE requirement for Social Sciences, area D. This course is UC Transferrable.

Course Objectives

Upon course completion the student will be able to:

- Define the concept of Intercultural Communication.

- Explain the importance of studying intercultural communication

- Compare and contrast similarities and differences in language usage and nonverbal communication across various cultures.

- Name and discuss three antecedents that impact the intercultural communication act.

- Identify and analyze the effects of culture and gender on intercultural communication.

- Compare value systems across cultures and describe how they might impact the education, business, and healthcare contexts.

- Organize and compose a 5 – 8 page paper on an intercultural communication topic of their choice.

- Collect information from their counterparts in the foreign country or organize and respond to 5 Web Quest Assignments on intercultural communication topics.

- Question their counterparts in the foreign country on intercultural topics.

- Conduct research on the Internet and assemble a group of intercultural websites particular to their paper topic.

- Use the class website “Global Intercultural Connection” and employ the interactive dimensions of the website – bulletin board, chat room, etc.

- Participate in group discussions on the website.

- Apply learned intercultural communication skills when communicating with counterparts in foreign country.

- Relate course knowledge to real life situations.

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