{"id":3413,"date":"2022-06-27T14:36:10","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T06:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/?page_id=3413"},"modified":"2026-06-24T11:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T03:02:09","slug":"maal7003","status":"publish","type":"courses","link":"https:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/maal\/courses\/maal7003\/","title":{"rendered":"MAAL7003 Understanding Intercultural Communication"},"content":{"rendered":"

COURSE TEACHER<\/span>:<\/span>
\n<\/span>Dr. Lorena Potter
\n<\/span><\/b>Email:\u00a0lpotter@hku.hk<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(This refers to the 2025-26 version; updates for 2026-27 will follow.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Overview
\n<\/strong>This course introduces different approaches to studying and conceptualizing intercultural communication and intercultural communicative competence and development. It also develops students\u2019 ability to apply the theoretical concepts to evaluate, reflect and decide on the method of being an effective intercultural speaker using English as a lingua franca<\/em>\u00a0in a highly globalised world.<\/p>\n


\nObjectives
\n<\/strong>1. To critically evaluate the theoretical concepts of intercultural communication and intercultural communicative competence from multiple perspectives;
\n2. To critically evaluate and reflect on the ways in which English is effectively used in intercultural interactions with reference to literature; and
\n3. To decide on the most effective method of being an intercultural speaker.<\/p>\n


\nCourse Learning Outcomes
\n<\/strong>By the end of the course, students should be able to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Understand and critique different approaches to study intercultural communication and related concepts<\/li>\n
  2. Apply theoretical concepts, analyze and evaluate intercultural communication experiences<\/li>\n
  3. Demonstrate awareness of past and present intercultural communication experiences<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n


    \nSuggested Readings
    \n<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Byram, M. (2021)\u00a0Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence.\u00a0<\/em>2nd<\/sup>\u00a0Edition. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.<\/p>\n

    Neuliep, J. W. (2021)\u00a0Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach<\/em>. 8th<\/sup>\u00a0Edition. London: Sage.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Journals:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Journal of Intercultural Communication<\/em><\/p>\n

    Journal of Intercultural Communication Research<\/em><\/p>\n

    Language and Communication<\/em><\/p>\n

    Journal of Pragmatics<\/em><\/p>\n


    \nSchedule<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Session<\/td>\nContent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    1<\/td>\nUnderstanding the definitions and theories of culture<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    2<\/td>\nUnderstanding cultural patterns<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    3<\/td>\nUnderstanding verbal and non-verbal communication in intercultural communication<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    4<\/td>\nUnderstanding intercultural communicative competence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    5<\/td>\nUnderstanding intercultural communication in the workplace and the educational context<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    6<\/td>\nTeaching intercultural communication<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Assignment<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Instructions:<\/p>\n

    Recall two intercultural encounters (e.g., misunderstanding\/disagreement\/discussion in social interactions\/ in the workplace) between you and a person\/persons from another culture. Describe and provide detailed background information about the situation\/encounter\/event, topic, people involved and examples for illustration. Then, drawing on relevant intercultural communication theories\/concepts\/models, analyze and discuss critically the extent to which the events\/encounters could be seen as a success or failure in intercultural communication, and what could be done to improve\/support intercultural communication.<\/p>\n

    Write an essay of not more than 2,500 words (+\/- 10%).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3413","courses","type-courses","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/maal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/courses\/3413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/maal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/courses"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/maal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/courses"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/maal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/141"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/maal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3413"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/maal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/courses\/3413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7077,"href":"https:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/maal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/courses\/3413\/revisions\/7077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caes.hku.hk\/maal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}