Intercultural Skills’ Assessment

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

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

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

4. 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?

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 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?

7. 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?

8. 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?

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. Cultural differences can also be observed between different generations.

12. Culture is:

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

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

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

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

20. 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?

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

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

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

28. 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?

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

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

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

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

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 think that an open person is, consequently, a flexible person?

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

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