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 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?

6. 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?

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. 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?

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

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

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

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

14. Culture is:

15. Can you explain your personal values to people who are culturally different from you?

16. Which of the following could describe culture?: A. Learned and dynamic; B. Static and unaffected; C. Shared and integrated; D. Based on symbols and inseparable from language.

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

18. I am aware of my own cultural rules and biases and I can easily recognise them.

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

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

21. A stereotype is a form of bias.

22. Do you think that the number of times people kiss when meeting each other may differ from country to country?

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

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

25. The more one is positively exposed to people from different cultures, the lower his/her cultural empathy.

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

27. During lunch, there is a heated discussion between two of your classmates from different cultural backgrounds. You don't want to take a side. How do you react?

28. Do you think that widely recognised hand gestures, like the thumps-up sign of approval or agreement, may have opposite, negative, or even insulting meaning in some countries?

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

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

31. You have just arrived in a foreign country for a year of studying abroad. A local classmate invites you for dinner to his/her parents' house, where many things (the welcoming, manners, the food, etc.) will be new for you. How do you feel?

32. During a festive event, a group of foreign students encourages you and your colleagues to participate in one of their traditional dances. How would you react?

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

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

35. A culturally open individual judges other people.

36. How would you react if, during a working experience abroad, you are asked to adapt your schedule, personal and working routine, to local habits?

37. Do you define yourself as an open-minded person?

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

39. The meaning of the terms cultural bias and racism is exactly the same.