PD:Tècniques de Comunicació Intercultural

Teaching plan for the course unit

General information

Course unit name: Intercultural Communication Techniques

Course unit code: 364549

Academic year: 2025-2026

Coordinator: Iolanda Bianchi

Department: Department of Sociology

Credits: 6

Single program: S

Prior considerations

Our world is becoming increasingly globalised and interconnected, making intercultural communication an ever more relevant field of study.

This course focuses specifically on intercultural communication and its relationship with culture, society and business, in an effort to understand the social and political contexts in which communication occurs.

Students learn about and discuss major social changes and key themes in contemporary sociology as they relate to intercultural communication; explore concepts of culture, identity and cultural diversity and how they are managed; study a range of cultural perspectives; address the main challenges for interculturality alongside contemporary issues in the field; and acquire techniques for effective verbal and non-verbal intercultural communication. Finally, students gain an understanding of, and practical experience with, social science research methods for analysing and interpreting intercultural communication.

Estimated learning time

Total number of hours 150

Face-to-face and/or online activities

- Lecture with practical component	Face-to-face	15
- Problem-solving class	Face-to-face	30
- IT-based class	Face-to-face	15

Supervised project

Independent learning

Competences / Learning outcomes to be gained during study

-	CG6 - Creative and entrepreneurial skills (capacity to conceive, design and manage projects).
-	CG5 - Ability to work in a team (capacity to collaborate with others and contribute to a common project, capacity to work in cross-disciplinary and multicultural teams).
-	CG8 - Capacity to communicate in English and/or other foreign languages orally and in writing, comprehension skills, and mastery of specialized language.
-	CG3 - Capacity for learning and responsibility (capacity for analysis, synthesis, to adopt global perspectove and to apply knowledge in practice).

-	CE11 - Understanding of the culture and business practices of different countries, as the basis for adapting to an interacting effectively with other geopolitical contexts.

Learning objectives

Referring to knowledge

— Understand the major social transformations related to intercultural communication.
— Become familiar with the various definitions of culture, cultural diversity and intercultural competence.
— Learn the key concepts and issues of intercultural communication.
— Analyse, interpret and explain situations and practices of intercultural communication.
— Develop skills for effective intercultural communication.

Referring to abilities, skills

— Develop a commitment to ethical practice, including self-critical awareness and the ability to demonstrate attitudes consistent with ethical and deontological principles.
— Collaborate effectively, contributing to common projects and working within interdisciplinary and multicultural teams.
— Acquire strong communication skills, including the ability to understand and express ideas orally and in writing in English and the ability to research, evaluate and integrate information.
— Develop the learning skills necessary to undertake further research with a high degree of autonomy.
— Communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
— Strengthen the ability to learn independently and take responsibility for the learning process, including skills in analysis and synthesis, adopting a global perspective, and applying knowledge in practice.
— Cultivate entrepreneurial and creative abilities, including the capacity to devise, design, and manage projects.
— Acquire knowledge and understanding of the business cultures of different countries.
— Attain fluency in spoken and written English as well as a second language for business purposes.

Teaching blocks

1. Current social transformations

1.1. Processes and dimensions of globalisation

1.2. Processes and dimensions of migration and international mobility

1.3. Processes and dimensions of the network society

2. Culture, cultures and identity

2.1. Culture and cultures: key concepts and main topics

2.2. Identity: key concepts and main topics

3. Intercultural communication: techniques, models, forms and styles

3.1. Intercultural communication: techniques and models

3.2. Intercultural communication: forms and styles

4. Social research for intercultural communication

4.1. Basic elements of a research project on intercultural communication

4.2. Basic research methodologies and digital research

4.3. Designing and delivering interculturally effective presentations

Teaching methods and general organization

a) Lectures: These introduce students to the subject and present the key concepts and ideas, covering the main elements of each teaching block.

b) Class debates: Linked to the topic of each lecture, these sessions help students to further their understanding through interactive group activities, encouraging dialogue and developing communication and presentation skills.

c) Film screenings: Selected films are used to illustrate and connect different topics of the course.

d) Research project: This activity promotes teamwork and develops students’ capacity to design projects and apply sociological methods and techniques to the analysis of intercultural communication.

Official assessment of learning outcomes

Continuous assessment
Students are assessed on a continuous basis during the course by means of the following activities:

a) Participation in lectures and debates (15%).
b) Research project on a specific topic in intercultural communication (40%).
c) Final examination (45%).

The examination consists of four qualitative questions covering topics addressed in the lectures, film screenings, and class debates.

Students may opt for the single mode of assessment up until the final day of class.

Examination-based assessment

Single assessment
Students who are unable to meet the requirements for continuous assessment may request the single mode of assessment. Students sit a final examination, worth 100% of the final grade. The examination consists of four qualitative questions covering topics addressed in the lectures, film screenings, and class debates.

Students may opt for the single mode of assessment up until the final day of class.

Repeat assessment
Students sit a final examination consisting of four qualitative questions on topics covered in the lectures, film screenings, and class debates.

Reading and study resources

Check availability in Cercabib

Book

DEARDORFF, Darla.K. (ed). The Sage handbook of intercultural competence. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, 2009

Catàleg UB

SAMOVAR, Larry .A., PORTER, Richard E., McDANIEL, Edwin R. (eds). Intercultural communication : a reader. 13th ed. Boston, Mass. : Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012

Catàleg UB

Tuleja, E. A. (2021). Intercultural communication for global business: How leaders communicate for success (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Versió en línia (2022)

Ting-Toomey, S., & Dorjee, T. (2018). Communicating across cultures (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.

Catàleg UB

Chapter

LaFrance, Marianne., Vial, Andrea. C. (2016): “Gender and nonverbal behavior”. En D. Matsumoto, H. C. Hwang, y M. G. Frank (Eds), APA handbook of Nonverbal Communication (pp. 139-161). Washington: American Psychological Association.

Catàleg UB

Article

ROOT, Elizabeth, NGAMPORNCHAI, Anchalee. I Came Back as a New Human Being” Student Descriptions of Intercultural Competence Acquired Through Education Abroad Experiences. Journal of Studies in International Education [en línea] 2013,vol.17, núm.5, p. 513-532.

Vergés Bosch, Núria., & González Ramos, Ana. M.(2013). Beyond the work-life balance: family and international mobility of the highly skilled. Sociology and Technoscience, 3(3), 55-76.

KOESTER, Jolene; LUSTIG, Myron W. Intercultural communication competence: Theory, measurement, and application. International Journal of Intercultural Relations [en línea]. 2015, núm. 48, p. 20-21 [consulta: 8 de juny de 2017].

Jameson, Daphne. A. (2007). Reconceptualizing cultural identity and its role in intercultural business communication. The Journal of Business Communication (1973), 44(3), 199-235.

Dinkevych, Elena., Wilken, Robert., Aykac, Tayfun., Jacob, Frank., & Prime, Nathalie. (2017). Can outnumbered negotiators succeed? The case of intercultural business negotiations. International Business Review, 26(3), 592-603.

Web page

The Hofstede Centre. Disponible a: https://geert-hofstede.com/

Pàgina web