Intercultural Skills’ Assessment

1. At your university, can you observe a growing cultural diversity?

2. Age, gender, and nationality are essential characteristics of a person.

3. When you are on university grounds, do you regularly hear different languages being spoken?

4. How would you evaluate yourself on openness on a 1-5 scale, where 1 means very weak, 2 weak, 3 neither weak nor strong, 4 strong, and 5 very strong?

5. How would you evaluate yourself on empathy on a 1-5 scale, where 1 means very weak, 2 weak, 3 neither weak nor strong, 4 strong, and 5 very strong?

6. How would you evaluate yourself on cultural self-awareness on a 1-5 scale, where 1 means very weak, 2 weak, 3 neither weak nor strong, 4 strong, and 5 very strong?

7. How would you evaluate yourself on verbal and non-verbal communication on a 1-5 scale, where 1 means very weak, 2 weak, 3 neither weak nor strong, 4 strong, and 5 very strong?

8. How would you evaluate yourself on curiosity on a 1-5 scale, where 1 means very weak, 2 weak, 3 neither weak nor strong, 4 strong, and 5 very strong?

9. How would you evaluate yourself on knowledge of cultural worldview frameworks on a 1-5 scale, where 1 means very weak, 2 weak, 3 neither weak nor strong, 4 strong, and 5 very strong?

10. Cultural differences can also be observed between different generations.

11. There are different cultural identities in the different regions of my country.

12. Culture is given from one generation to the other and stays the same.

13. The national culture of my country defines my country and makes it better than others.

14. Culture is:

15. The term stereotype refers to:

16. Cultural bias is different from racism in that it targets cultural differences rather than anthropological characteristics like skin color.

17. I believe that the social conventions of my country are universal. People who do not follow those conventions are outcasts.

18. I believe that nobody tasting my country's cuisine could dislike any of our traditional dishes.

19. I am aware that certain idiomatic expressions in my language may not be understandable in another cultural setting or translatable to another language.

20. Do you think that all gestures have the same meaning in all countries?

21. In your class, there is a foreign student who, although he/she is sociable in general, never looks the professor in the eyes when talking to him/her. What do you most probably think?

22. It is important to suspend judgments vis-à-vis different values and customs, and to consider multiple meanings.

23. Cultural empathy is the ability to empathise with the feelings, thoughts, and behaviours of members of groups with a different cultural background.

24. Do you think that empathy and sympathy are synonyms?

25. Do you think that cultural empathy is a prerequisite for effective cultural communication?

26. To be able to empathise with someone else’s feelings is more often a strength than a weakness.

27. In your country, a person who does not speak your language asks you a question. How do you react?

28. I look for opportunities to talk in foreign languages, even though I may make mistakes.

29. While working with a group of foreign students, do you pay attention to body language and gestures?

30. Communication is made to a significant extent of sounds and body language.

31. When you are abroad, are you interested in trying the local food?

32. Before, during, or after visiting a foreign country, are you interested in learning about its culture?

33. During a vacation in Mexico, you come across the parade of the Day of Deads (Dia de los Muertos). For the first time, you witness a different way to remember those who have passed, which replaces mourning with celebrations. How would you react?

34. When you are abroad, do you like to engage in a conversation with locals?

35. A culturally open individual does not assume, but questions.

36. In a working group formed by students with different cultural origins, do you try to impose your working method or do you rather value diversity in finding a common approach?

37. During a friendly discussion, a foreign friend says something that seems insulting to you. How do you react?

38. Cultural openness allows people to navigate without social constraint within and across different cultural groups.

39. Empathy implies approval.