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 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?

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

11. Culture is:

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

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

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

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

16. Cultural bias is the tendency of people to judge the outside world through a narrow view based on their own culture.

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

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

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

20. 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?

21. When stereotypes come up during a discussion, what do you usually do?

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

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

24. What do you think empathic listening means?

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

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

27. 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?

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

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

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

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

32. 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?

33. 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?

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

35. A culturally open individual judges other people.

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

37. Do you think that an open person is, consequently, a flexible person?

38. 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?

39. The less culturally empathetic and culturally open an individual is, the less xenophobic that individual may become.