Intercultural Skills’ Assessment

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

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

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 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 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?

7. 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?

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

12. Culture is:

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

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

15. 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.

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

19. A stereotype is a form of bias.

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

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

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

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

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

25. How would you define empathy?

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

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

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

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

30. 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?

31. During a vacation in Mexico, you come across the parade of the Day of Deads (Dia de los Muertos). For the first time, you witness a different way to remember those who have passed, which replaces mourning with celebrations. How would you react?

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, do you like to engage in a conversation with locals?

34. 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?

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

37. A culturally open individual judges other people.

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 greater the comprehension an individual has of his/her own culture (cultural self-awareness), including stereotypes and generalisations, the more that person can appreciate and understand other cultures.