SCHOOL OF ENGLISH
ENGL4094 SPR UNUK Intercultural Communication
Spring Semester 2022 - 23
• Deadline: 3pm, Wednesday 17th May 2023
• Word limit: 4,000 words
• This assignment is worth 100% of the total assessment for the module.
Listed below are some possible topics, but you may select your own topic provided it is
approved by the module convenor. You are free to design your own study/topic/research
question, but it must address the issues covered in this module and draw on the
frameworks introduced as part of the module.
You only need to choose ONE topic.
Possible topics include the following:
1. We reviewed one of the most influential frameworks used to describe cultural
differences (i.e. Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural variability). Choose two different
cultures and analyse their similarities and differences using Hofstede’s framework.
You will need to provide empirical evidence to support your arguments. This means
that it will not be enough to claim that culture X is individualistic while culture Y is
collectivist. You must provide evidence to support these claims. You can collect this
evidence using a method of your choice, e.g. personal interviews with people from
All items of coursework, including dissertations, carry a maximum word limit that you
should aim to meet but must not exceed. There is no leeway on the word count for
any piece of assessed work. Marking practices and word limits relate to an assignment’s
intellectual, professional, and technical skills as outlined in the Faculty of Arts marking
criteria and your work will be marked accordingly.
Your word count includes all quotations, citations, footnotes and endnotes, but excludes
the essay title, tables and figures, and the set of references or bibliography at the end.
Appendices containing either data or passages used for analysis are also excluded from
the word count.
Marking scales and criteria can be found in the PGT Student Handbook.
Your work must be produced according to the Assessment Handbook.
Both documents can be accessed on the PGT Community Hub Moodle page:
https://moodle.nottingham.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=127446
Ensure that you have sourced and acknowledged all secondary material used.
Derivative work will be marked down; plagiarized work will be dealt with according to
the University's Academic Misconduct policy.
All assessed coursework must be submitted electronically according to School
procedures. A lateness penalty of 5% per working day will be applied to all coursework
which is not submitted electronically by the deadline. E-mailed coursework is not
acceptable.
different cultures, written questionnaires etc. If use questions previously used by other
researchers you will need to explicitly state this and explain the reasons for choosing
such instruments and any modifications you have made to the original sources.
You must collect your own data for at least one of the cultures included. The
comparison cultural data may be data you collect yourself or it may be taken from the
existing literature. You should discuss your findings in relation to Hofstede’s findings
and to similar studies in the area. You will also need to provide a critical discussion of
the effectiveness of this framework for analysing cultural differences.
2. We reviewed different frameworks used to explain the process of culture shock.
Choose one of these frameworks (it does not need to be one of the frameworks we
discussed in class) and provide linguistic evidence to support or refute that framework.
To provide evidence, interview a person (or a number of people) who have recently
moved to a different cultural environment or who are currently in the process of
cultural adaptation. Are the different stages outlined in the framework supported or
refuted by your data? Discuss your findings in relation to the selected framework and
previous studies in the area.
3. Focusing on politeness theory in intercultural and cross-cultural pragmatics,
provide a cross-cultural comparison of the way politeness is managed in two different
cultures. Examine the differences and/or similarities in either face concerns in the
selected cultures OR the use of politeness strategies in those two different cultures.
This comparison can be done by collecting data from people from two different cultural
backgrounds. Alternatively, you can collect data from one culture and compare it to
results of previous studies which have examined the behaviour of a different culture.
Data can be collected using personal interviews, questionnaires, or through authentic
written or spoken data (e.g. emails, conversations, etc.).
4. Focusing on the study of deixis, within intercultural or cross-cultural pragmatics,
provide an examination of the possible differences or similarities in the use of terms of
address by two different cultures in different contexts. You can follow two approaches:
a) Design a questionnaire or a set of questions that you can use in personal
interviews to investigate participants’ use of terms of address in specific contexts.
Collect data from people from different cultural backgrounds and use the data to
describe the use of terms of address. Analyse the similarities and differences you
find. You can either collect data from people from two different cultures or collect
data from one culture and then use previous research findings to provide a
comparison.
b) Instead of following a cross-cultural perspective, you can also examine the use of
terms of address in intercultural communicative encounters (e.g. a conversation
among people from different cultures, emails exchanged among people from
different cultural backgrounds, etc.). Describe the use of terms of address by the
different participants and discuss the effects that the use of different terms might
have on the communicative exchange.
5. Speech acts in intercultural communication. Choose one speech act and provide a
comparison of how two different cultures realise that particular speech act.
Are there any differences in the way they perform this speech act? You should collect
your own data. You can design a questionnaire or test to collect data from people from
two different cultures. Alternatively, you can collect data from people from one culture
and then use findings of previous studies investigating the behaviour of a different
culture to provide a comparison. You could also use authentic spoken data for your
analysis. Include a discussion of possible implications for intercultural (mis-)
understanding or communicative breakdowns. These are some of the speech acts that
could be examined:
- Compliment response strategies used by people from different cultural
backgrounds.
- Differences in the act of apologizing in different cultures.
- Style used in refusals and types of refusal responses used in different cultures.
- Strategies used when requesting in different cultures.
- The realization of complaints in different cultures.
- Types of greetings used in different cultures.
- Different ways of expressing gratitude in different cultures.
6. Select an advertisement (e.g. from television, print media or online) which presents
some aspects of a specific culture. Show the advertisement to people from different
cultural backgrounds and examine how they interpret the same media product.
Design a set of questions to examine participants’ interpretations. Are there any
differences in the way they interpret that media product produced by another culture?
Are there any universals in their interpretation? Discuss the possible implications for
intercultural advertising.
7. Examine the characteristics of nonverbal behaviour in different cultures. Choose one
of the types of nonverbal communication (e.g. proxemics, kinesics, chronemics,
silence, haptics, etc.) and interview people from different cultures to examine their
behaviour in the selected type of nonverbal communication.
You may choose your own data collection method. You could design a set of questions
and conduct personal interviews. You could present participants various examples of
specific situations and ask participants to explain how they would react (nonverbally)
or how they would feel towards a specific nonverbal sign. If you are focusing on
gestures or facial expressions you could also ask people to make the gestures or facial
expressions they would use to express a set of functions or feelings and record them
or take pictures. Are there any differences in their behaviour? In which ways do they
differ? Do you find any universal characteristics in the nonverbal behaviour of people
from different cultures? Discuss the implications of your findings for intercultural
encounters.
8. Imagine that you work for a company that provides human resources consultancy
service on intercultural communication issues to public/private organizations. Design a
1 to 2-day course to raise the intercultural communicative competence of a small
group of managers/leaders in an organization (of your choice).
Choose an approach (or set of approaches) that may inform the design of your course.
Explain how you would design the course and the research evidence in which your
design would be based. You will need to provide a detailed description of the different
materials you would use, including the context, needs analysis, the type of content you
will include, the methods that you will use for the training course, the sequencing of
the activities, etc. Remember that you need to create your own materials and your
own course. You can base your design on courses and materials designed by other
researchers or organisations but you will have to state that you are doing so and
explain how you have modified those materials.
9. Imagine that you are a teacher of English as a foreign language and you are asked
to include an intercultural communicative competence component in your class
(of your choice). Design the materials you would use in one or two classes.
Your choice and design of materials need to be supported by research in the field. You
need to provide a detailed description of the context, the students to which the course
is addressed, the content of the training course, the methods used, and the specific
activities. Remember that you need to design your own training course and activities.
You can use methods previously used but you will need to explicitly refer to those
sources and explain in which way you have modified those materials or training
instruments.
10. Assessing intercultural communicative competence. Imagine that you have to
assess the level of intercultural communicative competence of a group of students.
Your task is to select a method of assessment and design a test that you would use for
such purpose.
You need to design your own test. It can be based on instruments previously designed
but you need to find a way of further improving them or of adjusting them to your
particular context. Your design needs to be supported by research in the field. You
need to provide a detailed description of the context in which the test would be used,
the students to whom the test would be addressed, the method chosen for the design
of the test items, the content of the test, etc. Discuss the benefits of the test you have
designed in comparison to previously designed tests and discuss possible limitations
and potential problems of your assessment instrument.
Formatting your paper
You should write your paper like a research report or journal article and include clear
sections with sub-headings. There is room for flexibility in the sections included as this will
vary depending on the question addressed. Below are two suggested structures, one for an
empirical study and the other for a materials-design essay (e.g. Q8, 9, 10).
Empirical Study
Title: You should have a clear descriptive title for your assignment.
Introduction & Literature review: Explain what the issue(s) is you are looking into.
Give a brief overview of your study and the specific questions you will be addressing. The
introduction should outline what the project is going to be about.
Say what other people have had to say about this issue. These should include reference to
your wider reading and the particular tools and techniques to be used. These should be
carefully and systematically outlined, with relevant detailed referencing given.
Methodology
a) Participants: Explain who the participant(s) was/were, age, etc. (This section will only
be relevant for students collecting data from participants. If you do not collect your own
data but you use online videos, speeches, etc. you will also have to provide a brief
description of the participants involved).
b) Materials: Describe the method of data collection and the data. Which is the method
you used to collect your data? Which materials did you use? How did you design those
materials (test, interview questions, questionnaire, etc.). You should provide a critical
consideration of any drawbacks or potential methodological problems. The actual data
should be included in an appendix.
c) Procedure: How did you collect the data? Explain briefly the procedure followed for
collecting your data.
Analysis/Results: Thoroughly discuss and analyse the data. Explain what you have
found.
Discussion: Discuss your findings in terms of the issues discussed and questions raised in
the introduction. Which hypotheses are supported? Which are not? What does your study
add to previous research in the area?
Critical Reflection (may be combined with Discussion): Think critically about the study
you have conducted. Were there any limitations to your approach, question, or data? How
could you improve on these if you were to conduct the study again?
Conclusion (may be combined with Discussion & Reflection): Sum up the main points of
your findings.
References: List the sources you used. Any source which you quote or mention in your
paper must also be in your reference section.
Appendices: Include the data being analysed or designed in your paper. Include any
transcripts, blank questionnaires, interview questions, analysed images, designed
materials, etc. You can number the lines of any transcripts in the Appendix and put in
cross-references if you are referring to large chunks of data.
Materials Design Topic (e.g. Q8-10)
The majority of the structure will be the same as for an empirical study. The main
difference is that you will not have a Methodology or Results section. Instead, you will
have a section where you describe the materials or course being designed. These topics
still need to include a thorough literature review and theoretical underpinning. You should
also include a discussion and critical reflection of the materials developed.
Introduction & Literature Review
Design / Course Structure (may be divided into sub-sections): State the nature of your
design. Who is the target audience? Include a needs analysis. What are the materials that
you have developed? If designing a course, what is the plan for the structure of the lesson
etc.
Discussion
Critical Reflection (may be combined with Discussion)
Conclusion (may be combined with Discussion & Reflection)
References
Appendices
Research Ethics Procedures
Regardless of whether you are collecting your own data or not, you MUST complete the
module’s ethics procedures. Failure to follow these ethics procedures will result in a case of
Academic Misconduct.
If you ARE NOT COLLECTING your own data you must complete the online form stating
that you are not collecting any data. You must submit this form by Monday 3rd April.
If you ARE COLLECTING your own data you need to obtain ethical approval from the
module convenor. You must complete the online form stating which question you will be
answering and confirming that you will adhere to principles of ethical behaviour. You must
submit this by Monday 3rd April and await approval before collecting any data.
You must gather informed consent from all participants. You must also provide all
participants with a Study Information Sheet and a Privacy Notice. Templates and further
guidance for all forms are provided on Moodle for you to edit.
All data you collect must be stored securely in your University Offiec365 OneDrive account
and shared with the module convenor by the assignment deadline. You must retain all data
until completion of your studies at the University. Ethics documentation should not be
included in the digital copy of your essay submitted via moodle.