In different societies people speak differently, not only because they speak different languages but because their ways of using language are different. These differences can be profound and systematic. Today’s transnational flows of people, ideas, languages, and practices mean that we encounter these differences in contexts ranging from home, school, hospital, workplaces, to international business, tourism, diplomacy and humanitarian work. This drives the need to understand both ‘cross-cultural communication’ (communication across different groups and societies) and ‘intercultural communication’ (communication within groups and societies). How people choose to interact with others stems from the languages they speak, and also from their histories, the values of the groups they identify with, their relations with their interactants, the goals of the interaction, the setting in which it takes place and the medium (digital, face-to-face, written). We explore these from a linguistic perspective, critically examining the empirical basis for claims made about communication in a range of societies including, for example, Australia, the US, Indigenous Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, Israel, Korea, and Hispanic speech communities. A general framework for understanding verbal as well as non-verbal communication across and between groups is outlined, drawing on insights from linguistics, psychology, anthropology, tourism, media and communication studies.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- identify and analyse speech practices that are characteristic of a speech community or community of practice;
- describe and analyse speech practices and associated ways of behaving from a non-ethnocentric perspective;
- identify and evaluate ways of studying cross-cultural and intercultural communication;
- reflect on their experience and contribute, in their own way, to a better intercultural understanding in Australia and in the world; and
- carry out research on intercultural or crosscultural communication.
Indicative Assessment
- Engagement tasks including quizzes, forum discussions and presentations (approx. 1000 words) (35) [LO 1,2,4,5]
- Data analysis task (approx. 1500 words) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Research report (approx. 2500 words) (45) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
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Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 35 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 11 hours of tutorial, and
b) 95 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Readings are available on the course Wattle site.
Assumed Knowledge
No assumed knowledge or required skills
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $3630 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $5580 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
