| LESSON OVERVIEW
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- discuss cross-cultural communication in business and an intercultural communication framework;
- learn collocations related to cross-cultural communication;
- practise listening comprehension with a video on the topic
With this lesson, students discuss cross-cultural communication in business! They think about previous cross-cultural interactions and share opinions on communication and culture. They explore the framework, ‘The Culture Map’, a scale which helps people understand how cultural differences impact international business. They watch a video on the idea, discuss questions, and consider cross-cultural misunderstandings. Students also practise relevant collocations (e.g. subtle tactic, common consensus).
WARM-UP AND ‘THE CULTURE MAP’
Students begin this lesson on cross-cultural communication in business by reflecting on their own experiences in which they’ve noticed cultural differences (e.g. dress code, body language). Then, they read some opinions on communication and culture, and they expand on the one they agree with most. Next, students begin to explore ‘The Culture Map’, a scale which helps people understand how cultural differences impact international business. They look at the names of the scales and match them with what they think they represent.
VIDEO AND DISCUSSION
Students continue talking about cross-cultural communication in business by looking at some statements. The statements are related to different cultures and where they are placed on ‘The Culture Map’. They must decide if the statements are true or false. hen they watch a video and check if they were right. After that, students discuss aspects of the video. Next, students analyse some situations of cross-cultural misunderstandings using the framework. They must rewrite the situations using some collocations in brackets (e.g. open confrontation, blunt criticism). Finally, students read the situations again and discuss some further points.
HOMEWORK/REVISION
This lesson plan also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students read some tips about cross-cultural communication in business and complete the gaps with the phrases in the boxes. Then, they read the tips again and write a counterstatement to each of them. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.
WORKSHEETS
Really fantastic lesson!
We’re thrilled to hear that! Thanks for the comment!
Hello , I cannot click on the quiz in the slides. it does not open. Thank you for the amazing lesson plan by the way
Hi! Thanks, we’re happy you like the lesson 🙂 Re the quiz, to click the link, you need to make the speaker’s notes a bit bigger. Please, check this article to see how to do it. You can also find the link to the quiz in the teacher’s version in ex. 5. Hope that helps!
Great content.
Happy to hear that!
I’m going to use this lesson plan later this week as it looks good. The link to the quiz in the teacher’s document doesn’t seem to work though.
We’re experiencing some temporary issues with the links in pdfs, but you can also find the link to the quiz in the e-lesson plan. I’m also pasting it here. Hope that helps, and have a good class 🙂
Glad you made a lesson around this book! I’ve got previous business students to read a chapter of it a week and discuss it in the past and it always promotes great discussion. Great lesson as always.
Thank you! Surely, they will plenty to talk about. 🙂 Have a great class!
I’m afraid I find the lesson rather disappointing
While the lesson starts with this statement- (which is great)
“Assuming people’s beliefs and behaviours just because of where they come from can lead to
stereotyping and oversimplification, which can hinder effective business communication.”
Unfortunately- the rest of the lesson then goes on to contradict this by ‘stereotyping and oversimplifying’
in Activity 4- Blanket statements attribute ‘behaviour and beliefs’ to an entire country or Nationality
“In Germany, decisions are made by teams and not only by bosses.
The British would first explain the principles and then summarize the main points when trying to persuade”
The final activity 6- then further solidifies and perpetuates (negative) stereotyping- which can be harmful…
For example – This one presents the notion that if someone is ‘Brazilian’ they will not be an inclusive manager –
.”I was surprised, almost shocked, when the new Brazilian manager communicated the decisions
without getting the team involved in any kind of discussion.”
it does not consider that this is just a general manager style/ approach (there are fantastic managers in Brazil as well) and is the same the world over- the notion then becomes implied that ALL Brazlian people have a non-inclusive communcation style…
These final ‘examples’ unfortunately only serve to create/ reinforce ‘false’ assumptions. negative attitudes and blanket steroptyping of anyone they meet from a particular country
Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns.
You bring up a good point about the risk of oversimplification and stereotyping. However, the aim of the lesson was to highlight potential cultural differences and encourage learners to think about how these differences can affect business communication. The examples in the lesson are mostly based on Erin Meyer’s research in The Culture Map, which identifies general tendencies in how people from different cultures typically approach certain business behaviors. But these are not to be taken as rigid rules. The goal is to understand and navigate cultural differences thoughtfully, rather than assuming things about individuals based on where they’re from.
I hope this helps you see the lesson in a different light. Thanks again for your input!
Hi Abi, thanks for getting back- I do appreciate the intention and background- but the activities I highlighted seem to do the opposite of the goal you mention – i.e describing behaviours on a ‘country’ level not an individual one..
There’s some interesting resources from the Council of Europe on this topic
this one *Developing the Intercultural Dimension…- https://rm.coe.int/16802fc1c3 – defines intercultural competence as the ‘ability to ensure a shared understanding by people of different social identities, and their ability to interact with people as complex human beings with multiple identities and their own individuality’ (p10) -and is ultimately an underlying factor when ‘communicating’ with someone new in social or professional contexts
This one is also good – https://rm.coe.int/16806ccc07 -highlighting the concept of ‘culture’ and the extension from interpersonal to intercultural skills (p19)
it’s also useful to highlight that finding similarities are just as important as finding differences to connect with people.. (There is the quote from the murdered MP Jo Cox which highlights this ““While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.” )
Anyway, thanks for your reply!- and best wishes 🙂
Really enjoyed this lesson, thank you! The flow was smooth, the choice of language spot-on, and it hit the CEFR level perfectly. My students loved it, and so did I!
Just one tiny note: people often write “common consensus”, but that’s actually redundant. Consensus already means a shared agreement. Maybe options like “broad consensus” or “overwhelming consensus” work better, what do you think?.
We’re thrilled to hear how much you and your students enjoyed the lesson – thank you for sharing that! And thanks as well for your note on ‘common consensus.’ I completely see your point, though ‘common consensus’ is often used as a collocation, much like the suggestions you’re making, which would work just as well! Thanks again!
could we have more of these types of video with Erin meyers
Hi there! I’m glad you found this video with Erin Meyer so interesting 🙂