CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION INVENTORY

Instructions: This is a learning instrument which will help you gain a better understanding about important cross-cultural communication principles. Read each of the statements below carefully. Decide whether the statement is true (T) or false (F). Then indicate your decision by placing a mark in the appropriate column to the right of each statement.

		T F
Failure or inability of members of one culture to understand members of another often results in problems like anxiety, disorientation, depression, and sleep disorders.	[x] [ ]
In order to improve communication among different cultures it is helpful to first interpret other cultural situations according to the values of one’s own culture.	[ ] [x]
As a general rule, a strong foreign accent indicates that the speaker does not have a good understanding of English grammar and vocabulary.	[ ] [x]
Because people of all cultures share common human traits, non-verbal communication like gestures and facial expressions mean the same thing all over the world.	[ ] [x]
About 65% of a message’s meaning is conveyed through non-verbal behavior.	[ x] [ ]
Much of the meaning and understanding is communicated via the context of the message in North American culture.	[ ] [x ]
Appearance is an important non-verbal communication attribute because it gives information about a person’s age, gender, race, culture, and profession.	[x ] [ ]
A potential barrier to cross-cultural communication is the physical distance between the speaker and the receiver.	[x ] [ ]
Thought patterns, forms of reasoning and logic are universal human behaviors which occur the same way among all cultures.	[ ] [x ]
A smiling, nodding response by an employee to a supervisor’s instructions always indicates understanding.	[ ] [x ]
All cultures tend to view the use of time the same way.	[ ] [x ]
Sign language that is used by the deaf is considered to be verbal communication.	[x ] [ ]
Attitudes, the social organization of cultures and roles in society affect relationships among people of different cultures but not communication between them.	[ ] [x ]
In order to minimize cross-cultural misunderstandings, teachers should emphasize the need for culturally diverse students to adopt “mainstream” American values and norms.	[ ] [x ]
Foreign language skills are essential in order to work effectively with people of other cultures.	[ ] [x ]
In order to obtain feedback from an employee of another culture a manager should always ask precise, direct questions.	[ ] [ x]
The more groups differ in culture the greater the possibility of communication difficulties between them.	[x ] [ ]