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 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 curiosity 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 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 empathy 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. 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 the social conventions of my country are universal. People who do not follow those conventions are outcasts.

16. The term stereotype refers to:

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

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. A foreign friend of yours is always late for your dates out and every time he/she explains that in his/her country time perception is different. How would you react?

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. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

34. 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?

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

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

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

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

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