units

APG5652

Faculty of Arts

18 September 2017 29 April 2024
Monash University

Postgraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

LevelPostgraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
Organisational UnitEnglish as an International Language
OfferedClayton Second semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)Dr Zhichang Xu

Synopsis

This unit examines basic concepts of intercultural communication: face and politeness in language; the relation between cultural values and discourse; cultural variation in speech acts, turn taking rules and formulaic patterns; cultural differences in the organization of written and spoken discourse; and examines theoretical explanations of their interaction in intercultural communication. Case studies drawn from a wide variety of cultures will provide opportunities to examine language use in light of broader cultural, political and social issues such as stereotyping and discriminatory language, cultural expectation and attitudes, cultural awareness training, language reform and policies.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, a student will be able to:

  1. become aware of key research directions in the field of intercultural communication
  2. develop sensitivity to intercultural differences and similarities in communication patterns and cultural expectations
  3. describe key concepts of face and politeness in language; the relation between cultural values and discourse; cultural variation in speech acts, turn taking rules and formulaic patterns; cultural differences in the organization of written and spoken discourse; and examine their interaction in intercultural communication
  4. conduct small-scale research in the area of intercultural communication
  5. identify differences and similarities in cultural expectations and analyze reasons for intercultural (mis)communication

More generally students are expected to develop their abilities to:

  1. read and think critically
  2. gain experience in research
  3. interpret and analyse language data
  4. present coherent arguments both in speech and writing

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 100%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 288 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Zhichang Xu

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Applied linguistics

Prohibitions

APG4652