Module 3

GEC06: Purposive Communication

Embracing Diversity:

CULTURE, ITS IMPACTS AND Objectives:

ADAPTATIONS After studying the module,
you are expected to:
“Culture is the name for what people are
interested in, their thoughts, their models, the 1. Determine the relative
books they read and the speeches they hear” definition of culture
  -Walter Lippmann 2. Associate culture with
communication
3. Enumerate and discuss
People act the way they do because that is their way the basic characteristics of
of life, their culture. They think and speak in a culture
distinctive manner which is quite different from what 4. Explain intercultural
we are used to.. Their beliefs and traditions are too communication and the
unusual for the norms that we believed in. Should they barriers encompassing it
be condemned because they are different? Should they 5. Identify the role of
be considered unearthly due to the fact that they are on technology in the cultural
the contrary of what is customary? Is there going to be aspect
a problem if our culture is different from theirs?

This module will dwell on the relative definition of culture and its connection to
communication. Likewise, this will expound the discussion on the characteristics and
the adaptations that one has to deal with in order to understand culture. Moreover,
this module incorporated a brief discussion on intercultural communication and the
barriers that comes with it. Lastly, technological influences were also included as
recent technological trends undeniably affected one’s way of life.

Throughout the discussion of this module, you are expected to reflect on your
experiences, the people around you and the world around you. With this, I hope that
you can gain a deeper and broader perspective on the idea of culture, not just your
own but others culture as well.

DEFINITION OF CULTURE

“It is the learned and shared behavior of a community of interacting

human beings” (Useem & Useem, 1963).

“a system of beliefs, assumptions and values shared by a group of people

(Fielding, 1996 in Singh & Rampersad, 2010)

“shared patterns of behaviors and interaction, cognitive constructs and

affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization” (Center
for Advanced Research in Language Acquisition, n.d.).

“learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values and norms that
affect the behaviors of a relatively large group of people (Lustig & Koestner, 2003)

GEC06 1
 These definitions mean:
We are all a part of various groups and subgroups that can be characterized by
nationality, language, gender, age or generation, ethnicity, religion, social class, region,
profession and so on.
Globalization, despite having an advanced technology, still has to deal with cultural
differences.

A. Characteristics of Culture (Chase and Shamo, 2013)

Cultures are…

1. Learned not innate. We think and act as Filipinos because our parents
brought us up this way. We acquired complete knowledge and understanding
of our cultural norms from our parents, teachers, relatives and friends. Our
cultural norms satisfy us, we accept them as true and we follow them.

Example: a) A Korean-born infant was adopted soon after birth and raised in USA, he
will think and act differently from his relatives who grew up in Seoul.
b) A Filipino-born 30 year old chef in Rome, who left the Philippines
at eight to live with his naturalized Italian parents, may still have some Filipino
traits if his parents practice these at home but will behave more like an Italian
because of exposure.

2. Shared. We act as members of our own cultural group not as individual.

Fitting into the group means acceptance and fellowship.

Example: Boys are embarrassed if mistaken as girls, so they live up

to the masculine idea.

3. Multifaceted. We are surrounded by cultural norms that affect language,

religion, basic world view, education, technology, organization, politics and
law all interacting with one another.
Cultural universals (Behaviors and things common to people who live
together in social groups)

4. Example: People in every culture cook their food, ornament their bodies, amuse
themselves, and educate their children but are done differently.

Dynamic. Cultures constantly change as cultural contact increases, new

technology emerge, and economic conditions vary.

Given the description above, provide your own example.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

GEC06 2
 5. Overlapping. We belong to multiple, overlapping cultures as we interact
with one another. Some of these cultures work together while others clash.

Given the description above, provide your own example.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Adaptation to New Cultures

Melting pot. A place where people of various races or cultures live together and
gradually create one community.

Ways of Adaptation

1. Cultural Integration
 Without sacrificing the characteristics of its own culture
 A positive kind of adaptation
 Healthy intermingling of two unique cultures
2. Cultural Assimilation
 Often losing the aspects of their traditional culture in the process
 Happens when immigrants voluntarily adopt their new country’s
language and cultural practices
3. Cultural multiculturalism
 Cultural diversity is encouraged and valued
 Cultures should be accorded special acknowledgement of their
differences within a dominant political culture
 Engagement with and respect toward people from distinctly different
cultures (Gamble & Gamble, 2013)
4. Cultural Accommodation
 Accommodation in the public sphere while maintaining the parent
culture in the private sphere (Cultural Accommodation and
Negotiation, 2017)
 Maintaining their cultural identity even while they strive to establish
relationships with the members of the dominant culture.
5. Cultural Separation
 Refusing to interact or join the dominant culture
 Prefers to interact with the members of their own culture
 Often known as outsiders

GEC06 3
Based on the lecture, we can summarize the cultural adaptation in this table. (Fill out the table as the
discussion progresses.)
Adaptation Parent Culture New Culture Key points

Integration
Assimilation

Nature of Common Cultural Differences (Four Basic Traits)

1. Leadership – power of influence

In an organization or even a workplace, how is an individual entitled with power?
What are the factors or traits that s/he must have to have power? Is it true for all
culture?

2.
Have you heard of a male-dominated profession? a female
Work Productivity dominated profession? What is your take regarding this?
a. Masculine culture
b. Feminine culture
c.
3. Group Allegiance – individual and group orientation
a. Individualistic culture (I) - use personal characteristics and achievements
to define themselves and value individual welfare.
b. Collectivist culture (We)- define themselves as members of groups,
which can be clans or communities. In these cultures,
people consider common goals and the group’s welfare
most important (Adler, 1997.)

Considering the Filipino culture, where do we belong? Are we individualists or

collectivists? Provide instances to support your claim.

4. Task Commitment
a. High-context culture-the information is already in the person, while very
little is in the coded, explicitly transmitted part of the message
- people are deeply involved with each other.
- information is widely shared through simple
messages with deep meaning (Hall, 1976 in Bai, 2016)
- communication style is more implicit and indirect
b. Low-context culture- information is vested in the explicit code
-highly individualized, and there is relatively little
involvement with others
-communication between people is more explicit,
direct and non-personal (Hall, 1976 in Bai, 2016)
You and your friend are sitting idly in a bench then a good looking guy or girl passed by.
You and your friend looked at each other, established eye contact, and after a few seconds,
you smiled at each other. What kind of context do you have with your friend?

GEC06 4
COMMUNICATING WITHIN AND ACROSS CULTURES

Communication across cultures or intercultural communication takes place

when individuals influenced by different cultural communities negotiate shared
meanings in interaction. Individuals who participate in intercultural interactions
gets benefits from these exchanges. Besides, being able to gain access to the
experiences of other human beings, they improve their communication skills,
they develop empathy toward others and openness to new ideas and they
increase their likelihood to challenge personal beliefs and embrace new
perspectives.

What do you think is the value of intercultural communication in this

pandemic? Discuss your answer briefly.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

GUIDELINES ON DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

1. Widen you field of experience by making new contacts.

2. Learn about history and the experiences and aspirations of people from
different cultures.
3. Examine yourself for possible stereotypes.
4. Look at the world from someone else’s way of looking at and thinking about
something, not just yours
5. Work on becoming more self-confident.
6. Appreciate cultural similarities and differences
7. Acknowledge the essential equality and value of all cultures.
8. Be sensitive and interpret cultural styles of communication.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION

(McKeiver, 2013; Chase & Shamo, 2013)

1. Ethnocentrism- usually defined as a kind of ethnic or cultural group

egocentrism, which involves a belief in the superiority of one’s own
group, including its values and practices, and often contempt, hatred,
and hostility towards those outside the group (Bizumic, 2015).

2. Stereotypes- “pictures in our heads.”(Lippman,1992 in Zhang, 2009)

- giving of certain attributes, labels, or stigmas to groups or classes
(Nisa, Kholil and Zulkarnain, 2017)

3. Prejudice-refers to a primary negative perception or irrational judgement

-created by individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, cast
or language (Ivypanda,2020).

GEC06 5
 4. Assumed Similarities-Sometimes people assume that two cultures are not
different, but are similar in their nature. For instance, if an
Arab prefers to drink coffee instead of tea then others assume
that coffee is a popular drink in UAE. This is not always true as
people from different cultures have different preferences. The
preference of a person or a group of people does not reflect the
entire culture (Ivypanda,2020).

5. Anxiety-  a state of human condition where a person has a feeling of unease

and nervousness. It is even sometimes associated with the
feeling of an unrealistic fear
- feeling of not knowing what to expect from their counterparts and lack
of any knowledge about the ways to interact with them usually
causes a great deal of anxiety in individuals (Ivypanda,2020).

Do you think the Filipino culture experienced such barrier in dealing with intercultural
communication?
If yes, what barrier is common experienced? Kindly provide a sample instance.
If no, justify your claim.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON COMMUNICATION

1. Technology provides us with unlimited information.

2. It creates opportunities for meeting new people.
3. It helps us keep in touch with family and friends anywhere in the world.
4. It brings new diversity to our culture and our lives.
5. It foster better cooperation among different cultural groups.
6. It isolates us.
7. It can make us create second lives.

Technology has already been a part of our lives. Many would claim that we can no
longer live without technology. Nevertheless, technology carries both perks and
setbacks. If you are to divide 100%, how much percentage will you allot for its benefits?
for its setbacks? Kindly reason out.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

GEC06 6
 L G I H I G H S E R U T L U C

Let’s N E P Y B V E C X K L P T G A
Take L E A D E R S H I P F J L V G the

S I A R A T B D H L A U O S I

I Z Q H N W Q I N I Y G D O S

N B S P M E L T I N G P O T J

T W X X Q Z D F G H B O P E Z

E T H N O C E N T R I S M K N

R T R I E F Q Z S V F N D J O

C K L T D E W S P O B R Y G I

U R I N T E G R A T I O N G T

L W F B N M U Y T M P J A O A

T D E T E C A F I T L U M X L

U E F L W X B N H J M Y I D I

R W A X G J L Y U I R Y C S M

A M F R E W C X A Q U U I C I

L M H U T N O I T A R A P E S

R E I G E M L E Q X U I O A S

O V E R L A P T E S X A R R A

Tests!

Test 1. Identify the words refer to in the following sentences. Encircle/highlight the
answers that can be found inside the box.

GEC06 7
1. Culture is not innate, it is _______________.
2. Boys are boys and girls are girls; they _________ common ideas and
characteristics.
3. It is a person’s way of life.
4. One’s culture may be different from another culture because really, culture is
____________.
5. Culture is always changing which proves that it is _____________.
6. Some of the cultures work together while others clash.
7. A place where people of various races or cultures live together and gradually create
one community.
8. It is a positive kind of culture adaptation.
9. This way of adaptation is common among immigrants.
10. It happens when you refuse to interact with the dominant culture.
11. It is a common cultural difference that pertains to power influence.
12. Presumably, engineering is a ______-dominated profession.
13. If there is an easy understanding between communicators, the context is
assumed to be _______.
14. It pertains to communication across cultures.
15. It views one culture as superior from another culture.

Test II. The following are movies and videos that had been the talk of the town for
quite some time. Analyze the movies or videos based on the characteristic of culture.
Evaluate whether the characteristic is present in the movie or video. If so, explain and
describe the scene to justify your answer (Choose only 4).

Analysis:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
GEC06 8
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
___________________________________
 Analysis:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________ Analysis:
________________________________________________ ________________________________
________________________________________________ ________________________________
________________________________________________ ________________________________
________________________________________________ ________________________________
________________________________________________ ________________________________
___________________________________ ________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
1. Uncle Roger'S Blog: British vs. American's Way of Cooking Rice ________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________

Analysis:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
___________________________________

Analysis:
________________________________________________
Analysis:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
___________________________________
________________________________________________
___________________________________

GEC06 9
 Analysis:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Performance Task! ASYNCHRONOUS EXTEMPO SPEECH
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
___________________________________
1. The following statements are the list of the topics for the speech. It is upon the discretion
of the teacher/professor on how the topics will be assigned. Students are allowed to have the
same topic.

2. Once the topic has been given, you have to either agree or disagree with the statement.
Note: Make sure that you have a clear stand.

3. In a 3-5-minute video presentation (the speech is pre-recorded), discuss your stand. Once
you make a claim, be sure to support it. Citing references is highly encouraged.Note: Follow
the instruction on the time limitation; failure to do so entails point deductions.

4. The mode of submission is upon the teacher/professor discretion. It could be through

email, Facebook Group, Messenger or Google Classroom.

LIST OF TOPICS

1. People usually have similarities and differences. However, there is a tendency that
differences outweigh similarities hence, culture clash.

2. With the aid of technology, it connects us to people who are distance away from us but
isolates us from people in front of us.

3. A lot of life patterns had emerged in the midst of this pandemic; both amusing and
enraging.

4. Cultural differences will create a divide among people.

5. We can no longer live without technology.

6. Stereotyping is already a ‘normalized’ norm.

7. A tight embrace to other’s culture is dangerous.

8. In view of the events of the pandemic, we must establish a culture of being critical.

Criteria for Evaluation

Content- 60 points
Organization- 30 points
Mechanics- 10 points

GEC06 10
Reflection:

Answer the questions posted in the introductory part of this module.

“People act the way they do because that is their way of

life, their culture. They think and speak in a distinctive manner
which is quite different from what we are used to.. Their
beliefs and traditions are too unusual for the norms that we
believed in. Should they be condemned because they are
different? Should they be considered unearthly due to the fact
that they are on the contrary of what is customary? Is there
going to be a problem if our culture is different from theirs?”
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

GEC06 11
 References

Adler, N.J. (1997). International dimensions of organizational behavior. 3rd ed.

Cincinnati, OH: Shout-Western College Publishing
Bai, H. (2016). A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Advertisements from High-Context
Cultures and Low-Context Cultures. English Language Teaching. Canadian
Center of Science and Education
Bizumic, B. (2015). Ethnocentrism. In R. A. Segal & K. von Stuckrad (Eds.),
Vocabulary for the
study of religion (Vol. 1, pp. 533–539). Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill
Academic Publishers.
Gut, A., Wilczewski, M. & Gorbaniuk, O. (2017). Cultural differences, stereotypes and
communication needs in intercultural communication in a global
multicultural environment: The employees’ perspective. 2017.
Hanel, P.H.P. et al. (2018). Cross-cultural Differences and Similarities in Human
Value Instantiation. Frontiers in Psychology.
Iivonen, M. & Sonnenwald, Diane & Parma, M. & Poole-Kober, E.. (1998). Analyzing
and understanding cultural differences : experiences from education in
Library and Information Studies.
IvyPanda. (2020). Barriers to Intercultural Communication. Retrieved from
https://ivypanda.com/essays/barriers-to-intercultural-communication/
Keith, K.D. (2013). Ethnocentrism. The Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural Psychology,
1st ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Klagge, Jay. (2016). Communicating in high & low context cultures.
10.13140/RG.2.1.2700.4563.
Madrunio, M. & Martin, I. (2018). Purposive Communication: Using English in
Multilingual Contexts. Quezon City, Philippines: C & E Publishing.
Nisa, J., Kholil, S. & Zulkarnain, I. (2017). Stereotypes and Prejudices in
Intercultural Communication the Indigenous Moslem and Ethnic
Chinese in Medan.International Journal of Humanities and Social
Science Invention
Routamaa, Vesa & Brandt (nee Hautala), Tiina. (2008). Understanding Cultural
Differences The Values in a Cross-Cultural Context. International Review of
Business Research Papers. 4.
Uychoco, M. & Santos, M. (2018). Communication for Society: Purposive
Communication. (1st ed). Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store, Inc.
Zhang, S. (2009). Stereotypes Communication. International Education Studies.
Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1065727.pdf

Images
https://images.app.goo.gl/xbe9gCd1cc7P5EVc6
https://images.app.goo.gl/yKvchZWDCnJUH14s9
https://images.app.goo.gl/XD6DBK3r65wtDFTn9
https://images.app.goo.gl/PfW9ZVsdy3MuhfCt7
https://images.app.goo.gl/RRVq6yD2YYyHqty3A
https://images.app.goo.gl/uZcdCivS9kfkDkqg6
https://images.app.goo.gl/ahsxpgvtauuDBsUP7

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53me-ICi_f8 (Uncle Roger)

GEC06 12
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsw6OpaMtFM (K’ana the Dreamweaver)

GEC06 13