Intercultural Skills’ Assessment

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

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

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

4. 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?

5. 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?

6. 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?

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. 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?

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

11. Culture is:

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

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

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

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

18. 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.

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 the number of times people kiss when meeting each other may differ from country to country?

21. A stereotype is a form of bias.

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

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

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

25. Empathic communication is a powerful tool to solve interpersonal conflicts and establish deep connections.

26. How would you define empathy?

27. Do you think that linguistic competences could support you with your communication skills?

28. Communication is crucial in order to foster positive intercultural relations.

29. 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?

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

31. You have just moved abroad for a two-month internship in an organisation where your mother tongue is the working language. Do you still try to acquire a basic knowledge of the local one?

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

33. 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?

34. If a foreign student came to your class, how would you react?

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

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

37. 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?

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.