Course Syllabus
Welcome to COMM311: Intercultural Communication
Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor University courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.
Course Description
Course Introduction
We live in an increasingly globalized world. Technology enables us to do business just as easily with our neighbors as with a businessperson thousands of miles away from us. Knowing how to navigate cultural differences is an increasingly valuable skill that will make you a more valuable employee and leader. Encounters among members of different cultures frequently fail simply because of basic cultural differences, such as the importance of time, proper greetings, or even the use of eye contact. This course is designed to help you identify ways to become a better communicator in these sorts of intercultural situations. You will learn about barriers to successful communication that involve cultural differences. You will also learn more about your own communication style and how it can be developed to facilitate more successful intercultural encounters.
While some information is presented from a Western/US perspective, the information in this course can be applied to other cultures. You should consider how your culture fits in terms of interacting with other cultures. This course builds on other communication courses. You will learn to apply various skills that you have developed in other courses, including the ability to analyze an audience and the context of the communication in an intercultural encounter. Likewise, skill and insights into message development and the ways in which different groups receive and interpret messages will take on new meaning when applied in an intercultural context. Much of the information in this course will refer to the pioneering work of Geert Hofstede and his cultural classifications. Hofstede is one of the foremost influential scholars in the discipline of cultural studies, particularly organizational culture. His pioneering work, such as the cultural dimensions theory, has been the basis for subsequent research and the growth of the field and understanding of how members of differing cultures interact.
This course includes the following units:
- Unit 1: Communication and Cultures
- Unit 2: Adapting to Culture
- Unit 3: Intercultural Relationships
- Unit 4: Intercultural Communication Practices
- Unit 5: Intercultural Communication in the Workplace
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Compare communication practices across cultures
- Discuss the dimensions of intercultural communication using Hofstede's model
- Describe the benefits and challenges of intercultural relationships
- Analyze the constraints on communication and relationships among people of different cultures
- Evaluate how cultural differences affect business and workplace relationships
- Apply a set of strategies for the development of intercultural communication competence
Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.
Course Materials
This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.
All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course at this link: Resources.
Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score
Only the final examination is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn 70% or higher on the final exam.
Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. There is a 14-day waiting period between each attempt. You may only attempt the final exam a maximum of three times. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam after three attempts, you will not complete this course.
There is also a practice exam that you may take as many times as you want to help you prepare for the final exam. The course also contains end-of-unit assessments in this course. The end-of-unit assessments are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take these as many times as you want to until you understand the concepts and material covered. You can see all of these assessments at this link: Quizzes.
Continuing Education Credits
The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays not only the program hours you completed, but also continuing education credits (CEUs) for documenting successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 2.8 CEUs.
Tips for Success
COMM311: Intercultural Communication is a self-paced course, which means that you can decide when you will start and when you will complete the course. There is no instructor or an assigned schedule to follow. We estimate that the "average" student will take 28 hours to complete this course. We recommend that you work through the course at a comfortable pace that allows you to make regular progress. It's also a good idea to schedule your study time in advance and try to stick to that schedule as best as you can.
Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:
- Take notes on the various terms, practices, and theories that you come across. This can help you put each concept into context and will create a refresher that you can use as you study later on.
- As you work through the materials, take some time to test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned is important for your long-term memory and will make you more likely to retain information over time.
Technical Requirements
This course is delivered entirely online. You will be required to have access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and have consistent access to the internet to either view or download the necessary course resources and attempt any auto-graded course assessments and the final exam.
To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, you will need to be logged into your Saylor University account and enrolled in the course. If you do not already have an account, you may create one for free here. Although you can access some of the course without logging in to your account, you should log in to maximize your course experience. For example, you cannot take assessments or track your progress unless you are logged in.
For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.
You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor University mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.
Fees
This course is entirely free to enroll in and to access. Everything linked in the course, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, is available for no charge. This course also contains a free final exam which will award you a course completion certificate.
