Skip Navigation LinksModule 3-Unit 3: Intercultural Competence : hw (33) - individual

Started: 10/24/2022 10:05 AM
Picture Placeholder: Mugurel Patrichi
Picture: Mugurel Patrichi
  • Mugurel Patrichi

HW (3/3) - Individual

​Can you provide an example you witnessed where somebody used metacommunication as a tool to better understand a person of different cultural origin?  


Output: comment to this post or post a podcast or a short video 

Picture: Mugurel Patrichi
  • Mugurel Patrichi
http://neptun:80/my/User%20Photos/Profile%20Pictures/mugurel_MThumb.jpg" alt="Picture: Mugurel Patrichi" />
Mugurel Patrichi

​Can you provide an example you witnessed where somebody used metacommunication as a tool to better understand a person of different cultural origin?  


Output: comment to this post or post a podcast or a short video 

5410/24/2022 10:05 AM10/24/2022 10:05 AMNo
Posted: 10/26/2022 6:41 PM
Picture Placeholder: Carolin Rothemeyer
Picture Placeholder: Carolin Rothemeyer
  • Carolin Rothemeyer

​An example of a misunderstanding of meta communication ; In Uni we were often told in Malaysia how to watch the videos they provided. They send every week a new explanation how to click on a video - which was basically very easy. Later I found out that this was meant as a reminder and used as metacommunication from the professors, as the clicking on the videos was recorded and there were missing many clicks. 

Picture Placeholder: Carolin Rothemeyer
  • Carolin Rothemeyer
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Carolin Rothemeyer" />
Carolin Rothemeyer

​An example of a misunderstanding of meta communication ; In Uni we were often told in Malaysia how to watch the videos they provided. They send every week a new explanation how to click on a video - which was basically very easy. Later I found out that this was meant as a reminder and used as metacommunication from the professors, as the clicking on the videos was recorded and there were missing many clicks. 

Mugurel Patrichi1010/26/2022 6:41 PM10/26/2022 6:41 PM
Posted: 10/30/2022 7:23 PM
Picture Placeholder: Gopi Krisshna Tuticorin Harihara Subramanian
Picture Placeholder: Gopi Krisshna Tuticorin Harihara Subramanian
  • Gopi Krisshna Tuticorin Harihara Subramanian

​I have a couple of Latino friends and it is always fun to hang out with them. I sometimes tend to use various hand and head gestures when I talk to them. This is basically me trying to get involved in the discussion even better and have fun interacting with them. Latinos are normally fast in speaking and some people tend to speak with loud volume. And I sometimes do that with my friends just to experience the conversations better :D​

Picture Placeholder: Gopi Krisshna Tuticorin Harihara Subramanian
  • Gopi Krisshna Tuticorin Harihara Subramanian
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Gopi Krisshna Tuticorin Harihara Subramanian" />
Gopi Krisshna Tuticorin Harihara Subramanian

​I have a couple of Latino friends and it is always fun to hang out with them. I sometimes tend to use various hand and head gestures when I talk to them. This is basically me trying to get involved in the discussion even better and have fun interacting with them. Latinos are normally fast in speaking and some people tend to speak with loud volume. And I sometimes do that with my friends just to experience the conversations better :D​

Mugurel Patrichi1010/30/2022 7:23 PM10/30/2022 7:23 PM
Posted: 11/2/2022 12:41 PM
Picture Placeholder: Niko Visulaaka
Picture Placeholder: Niko Visulaaka
  • Niko Visulaaka

​I have seen people adapting to another cultures by using more gestures like moving hands more than its done in like Finnish culture. To act like that it makes for example Italian more comfortable to talk with because they use much more hand gestures etc. than we Finnish people do. Like using gestures wrong in the way that people from another country could take it offensive so have to be careful and to know what different gestures mean in different countries and cultures.

Picture Placeholder: Niko Visulaaka
  • Niko Visulaaka
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Niko Visulaaka" />
Niko Visulaaka

​I have seen people adapting to another cultures by using more gestures like moving hands more than its done in like Finnish culture. To act like that it makes for example Italian more comfortable to talk with because they use much more hand gestures etc. than we Finnish people do. Like using gestures wrong in the way that people from another country could take it offensive so have to be careful and to know what different gestures mean in different countries and cultures.

Mugurel Patrichi1011/2/2022 12:41 PM11/2/2022 12:41 PM
Posted: 11/12/2022 10:31 AM
Picture Placeholder: GLADUNEAC M. MIHAELA
Picture Placeholder: GLADUNEAC M. MIHAELA
  • GLADUNEAC M. MIHAELA

I had a clear example when I went to Italy for an itership, a real problem of the language barrier was in August.
I know Russian, English, French but not Italian and in August I only had Italians at the hotel and then my colleagues always tried in different ways to make me understand what the customers were referring to, although in the end I managed to learn it anyway, it was a great experience, because I was mostly talking to the customers through signs and it took me about 15 minutes to understand that he actually wanted parmesan in the soup, not that I didn't understand at first but I didn't imagine such a thing, I did not know that there is a culture in which parmesan is put everywhere.​


Picture Placeholder: GLADUNEAC M. MIHAELA
  • GLADUNEAC M. MIHAELA
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: GLADUNEAC M. MIHAELA" />
GLADUNEAC M. MIHAELA

I had a clear example when I went to Italy for an itership, a real problem of the language barrier was in August.
I know Russian, English, French but not Italian and in August I only had Italians at the hotel and then my colleagues always tried in different ways to make me understand what the customers were referring to, although in the end I managed to learn it anyway, it was a great experience, because I was mostly talking to the customers through signs and it took me about 15 minutes to understand that he actually wanted parmesan in the soup, not that I didn't understand at first but I didn't imagine such a thing, I did not know that there is a culture in which parmesan is put everywhere.​


Mugurel Patrichi1011/12/2022 10:31 AM11/12/2022 10:31 AM
Posted: 11/13/2022 10:17 PM
Picture Placeholder: MORARIU M. ROXANA-MIHAELA
Picture Placeholder: MORARIU M. ROXANA-MIHAELA
  • MORARIU M. ROXANA-MIHAELA

​While I was living and studying in South Korea I got to learn about the gesture used by the people to accompany the message they are trying to rely or to enforce it. In Romania, except for one or two offesive hand gesture, I never really relied on gestures to convey my message. This was completely different in South Korea where people were using gestures such as a small head bow to say hello or thank you, a deeper one to show respect to someone on a higher position or an eldery person, using two hands to give or receive something, turning your head to the side when drinking with someone older and so on. There was almost an entire different system of communication made just out of gestures that once I learned helped me to better understand and communicate with the locals.​

Picture Placeholder: MORARIU M. ROXANA-MIHAELA
  • MORARIU M. ROXANA-MIHAELA
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: MORARIU M. ROXANA-MIHAELA" />
MORARIU M. ROXANA-MIHAELA

​While I was living and studying in South Korea I got to learn about the gesture used by the people to accompany the message they are trying to rely or to enforce it. In Romania, except for one or two offesive hand gesture, I never really relied on gestures to convey my message. This was completely different in South Korea where people were using gestures such as a small head bow to say hello or thank you, a deeper one to show respect to someone on a higher position or an eldery person, using two hands to give or receive something, turning your head to the side when drinking with someone older and so on. There was almost an entire different system of communication made just out of gestures that once I learned helped me to better understand and communicate with the locals.​

Mugurel Patrichi1011/13/2022 10:17 PM11/13/2022 10:17 PM
Posted: 11/16/2022 2:04 AM
Picture Placeholder: Hanna Dinser
Picture Placeholder: Hanna Dinser
  • Hanna Dinser

​I think metacommunication is always useful when you are traveling in a country where you do not know the language and you are using hands and things around you to communicate. 

Also smiling is always an amazing tool to connect with people and show them your emotions without talking.​

Picture Placeholder: Hanna Dinser
  • Hanna Dinser
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Hanna Dinser" />
Hanna Dinser

​I think metacommunication is always useful when you are traveling in a country where you do not know the language and you are using hands and things around you to communicate. 

Also smiling is always an amazing tool to connect with people and show them your emotions without talking.​

Mugurel Patrichi1011/16/2022 2:04 AM11/16/2022 2:04 AM
Posted: 11/16/2022 9:33 PM
Picture Placeholder: Santtu Viljami Räsänen
Picture Placeholder: Santtu Viljami Räsänen
  • Santtu Viljami Räsänen

​My experience comes from Italy where our Airbnb host did not speak a single word or English. Metacommunication to the rescue. It was that moment when I realized that you can have a full on conversation with only your hand signs. It also helped that I knew English because some of the words are similar which helped to one way or the other during the conversation. During that 10 minutes we ¨talked¨ I understood 90% of the functions in the house without him showing me half of it. I also started to use my hands when talking so he could understand me better. People are created with huge brain capasity and ability to solve problems, so I see no problem anymore to go abroad to the country where there is a language gap. You will survive.​

Picture Placeholder: Santtu Viljami Räsänen
  • Santtu Viljami Räsänen
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Santtu Viljami Räsänen" />
Santtu Viljami Räsänen

​My experience comes from Italy where our Airbnb host did not speak a single word or English. Metacommunication to the rescue. It was that moment when I realized that you can have a full on conversation with only your hand signs. It also helped that I knew English because some of the words are similar which helped to one way or the other during the conversation. During that 10 minutes we ¨talked¨ I understood 90% of the functions in the house without him showing me half of it. I also started to use my hands when talking so he could understand me better. People are created with huge brain capasity and ability to solve problems, so I see no problem anymore to go abroad to the country where there is a language gap. You will survive.​

Mugurel Patrichi1011/16/2022 9:33 PM11/16/2022 9:33 PM
Posted: 11/20/2022 8:56 AM
Picture Placeholder: Joonas Pulkkinen
Picture Placeholder: Joonas Pulkkinen
  • Joonas Pulkkinen

​I guess I don't have a good example here. The only thing that comes to mind is when I was a lot younger and we went on family vacations in different countries. My mom is really bad at english, but somehow she would still be able to communicate with everyone everywhere just by using gestures with her speech. This was always impressive to me that even in situations where neither of the parties really spoke english, they were able to make sense to each other.​

Picture Placeholder: Joonas Pulkkinen
  • Joonas Pulkkinen
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Joonas Pulkkinen" />
Joonas Pulkkinen

​I guess I don't have a good example here. The only thing that comes to mind is when I was a lot younger and we went on family vacations in different countries. My mom is really bad at english, but somehow she would still be able to communicate with everyone everywhere just by using gestures with her speech. This was always impressive to me that even in situations where neither of the parties really spoke english, they were able to make sense to each other.​

Mugurel Patrichi1011/20/2022 8:56 AM11/20/2022 8:56 AM
Posted: 11/20/2022 7:42 PM
Picture Placeholder: Turtureanu Malina
Picture Placeholder: Turtureanu Malina
  • Turtureanu Malina

It is not a personal example, but I saw people from different areas communicate through music, just music, without lyrics and I found this very powerful.​

Picture Placeholder: Turtureanu Malina
  • Turtureanu Malina
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Turtureanu Malina" />
Turtureanu Malina

It is not a personal example, but I saw people from different areas communicate through music, just music, without lyrics and I found this very powerful.​

Mugurel Patrichi1011/20/2022 7:42 PM11/20/2022 7:42 PM
Posted: 11/20/2022 9:48 PM
Picture Placeholder: Ho Bao Cat Anh
Picture Placeholder: Ho Bao Cat Anh
  • Ho Bao Cat Anh

I did my internship in Online Marketing last year and one of my tasks there was working with two writers from England. Besides using pure texts (email, messages,...), my boss advised me to used emojis (such as the smiling face, the sad face, heart, etc...) to show them my emotion, and avoid giving them the wrong idea about what i try to explain.

During presentations at school, I also use hand gestures. It makes the presentation more lively and sometimes, help me explain my idea better.

Picture Placeholder: Ho Bao Cat Anh
  • Ho Bao Cat Anh
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Ho Bao Cat Anh" />
Ho Bao Cat Anh

I did my internship in Online Marketing last year and one of my tasks there was working with two writers from England. Besides using pure texts (email, messages,...), my boss advised me to used emojis (such as the smiling face, the sad face, heart, etc...) to show them my emotion, and avoid giving them the wrong idea about what i try to explain.

During presentations at school, I also use hand gestures. It makes the presentation more lively and sometimes, help me explain my idea better.

Mugurel Patrichi1011/20/2022 9:48 PM11/20/2022 9:48 PM
Edited: 11/22/2022 12:38 AM
Picture Placeholder: Dlomen Roshni Victorina
Picture Placeholder: Dlomen Roshni Victorina
  • Dlomen Roshni Victorina

​I have experienced both negative and positive meta communication. I mostly experienced negative meta communication in the workplace example office politics i, I have see. bullying and mockery in class or by a family member so on so forth. ​I have also experienced positive meta communication from a boss who was like a mentor. Most parents are positive meta communicators. Friends can be both...it's not enough to just "say" positive things. You have to "do " positive things too... in an inter cultural environment politeness is always necessary. This neutrality is necessary because straightforwardness, stating conclusions, opinions, remarks, direct questioning to someone from a different nationality or background do not work well as it may be perceived wrongly or genuinely May be wrong because you cannot talk or assume the person is the same as you!

Picture Placeholder: Dlomen Roshni Victorina
  • Dlomen Roshni Victorina
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Dlomen Roshni Victorina" />
Dlomen Roshni Victorina

​I have experienced both negative and positive meta communication. I mostly experienced negative meta communication in the workplace example office politics i, I have see. bullying and mockery in class or by a family member so on so forth. ​I have also experienced positive meta communication from a boss who was like a mentor. Most parents are positive meta communicators. Friends can be both...it's not enough to just "say" positive things. You have to "do " positive things too... in an inter cultural environment politeness is always necessary. This neutrality is necessary because straightforwardness, stating conclusions, opinions, remarks, direct questioning to someone from a different nationality or background do not work well as it may be perceived wrongly or genuinely May be wrong because you cannot talk or assume the person is the same as you!

Mugurel Patrichi1011/22/2022 12:27 AM11/22/2022 12:38 AM
Posted: 11/22/2022 9:11 PM
Picture Placeholder: Foroughian Vafa
Picture Placeholder: Foroughian Vafa
  • Foroughian Vafa

​I lived in India for 3 years as a student and after a year of living in the country, I found myself using alot of hand/body gestures just like the way they do . It really helps to not only blend in, but to make them understand easier and faster without paying attention to words, specially if verbal language is a barrier in communication. 

Picture Placeholder: Foroughian Vafa
  • Foroughian Vafa
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Foroughian Vafa" />
Foroughian Vafa

​I lived in India for 3 years as a student and after a year of living in the country, I found myself using alot of hand/body gestures just like the way they do . It really helps to not only blend in, but to make them understand easier and faster without paying attention to words, specially if verbal language is a barrier in communication. 

Mugurel Patrichi1011/22/2022 9:11 PM11/22/2022 9:11 PM
Posted: 11/23/2022 8:02 AM
Picture Placeholder: Osei Kyerewaa Abena
Picture Placeholder: Osei Kyerewaa Abena
  • Osei Kyerewaa Abena

My colleagues and I traveled to Istanbul for work and on some occasions had to use hand gestures and pictures to communicate with some of the people we met. It was difficult at first because we couldn’t understand each other’s language​ but we got used to it as time went by.


Picture Placeholder: Osei Kyerewaa Abena
  • Osei Kyerewaa Abena
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Osei Kyerewaa Abena" />
Osei Kyerewaa Abena

My colleagues and I traveled to Istanbul for work and on some occasions had to use hand gestures and pictures to communicate with some of the people we met. It was difficult at first because we couldn’t understand each other’s language​ but we got used to it as time went by.


Mugurel Patrichi1011/23/2022 8:02 AM11/23/2022 8:02 AM
Posted: 11/28/2022 12:04 AM
Picture Placeholder: Anni Hirvonen
Picture Placeholder: Anni Hirvonen
  • Anni Hirvonen

I was talking to person from other country and I didn't understand everything she said.  Then she started to use her hand and things around us to communicate.​

Picture Placeholder: Anni Hirvonen
  • Anni Hirvonen
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Anni Hirvonen" />
Anni Hirvonen

I was talking to person from other country and I didn't understand everything she said.  Then she started to use her hand and things around us to communicate.​

Mugurel Patrichi1011/28/2022 12:04 AM11/28/2022 12:04 AM
Posted: 12/2/2022 9:20 PM
Picture Placeholder: LIVITCHI V. MARIA-ELENA
Picture Placeholder: LIVITCHI V. MARIA-ELENA
  • LIVITCHI V. MARIA-ELENA

​After doing an internship for 3 month with colleagues and customers who were talking English badly or even not at all, I appreciate metacommunication more than before! It is really challenging to have to work under pressure when you do not understand each others' language. I used to accompany my speech by a lot of gestures or explain a word with other ten. ​The most interesting and tough is to translate ideoms and some casual expressions, because people with a different cultural background can get them so wrong. It was hard in the begining, trying to get understood and not offend someone. Also, some jokes might get not funny at all, as sarcasm itself involves a lot of metacommunication :))  ​After some practice, metacommunication became a natural part of every day communication. ​

Picture Placeholder: LIVITCHI V. MARIA-ELENA
  • LIVITCHI V. MARIA-ELENA
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: LIVITCHI V. MARIA-ELENA" />
LIVITCHI V. MARIA-ELENA

​After doing an internship for 3 month with colleagues and customers who were talking English badly or even not at all, I appreciate metacommunication more than before! It is really challenging to have to work under pressure when you do not understand each others' language. I used to accompany my speech by a lot of gestures or explain a word with other ten. ​The most interesting and tough is to translate ideoms and some casual expressions, because people with a different cultural background can get them so wrong. It was hard in the begining, trying to get understood and not offend someone. Also, some jokes might get not funny at all, as sarcasm itself involves a lot of metacommunication :))  ​After some practice, metacommunication became a natural part of every day communication. ​

Mugurel Patrichi1012/2/2022 9:20 PM12/2/2022 9:20 PM
Posted: 12/2/2022 11:23 PM
Picture Placeholder: IACOB I. STELIANA-IRINA
Picture Placeholder: IACOB I. STELIANA-IRINA
  • IACOB I. STELIANA-IRINA

​I use a lot of metacommunication through hand and body gesture. I could blame my firends in Italy for that!! I started using them just because I wanted to integrate and understand better the way they behaved, but in time this thing got over me. Now I could not imagine to speak without gestures because it makes it easier to express yourself, even whe you don't know a language. It helped me a lot in the beginning, and it still does. I made great use of it when I was doing my interneeship this summer in Greece, as my roomates and my work collegues didn't speak a very good english.​

Picture Placeholder: IACOB I. STELIANA-IRINA
  • IACOB I. STELIANA-IRINA
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: IACOB I. STELIANA-IRINA" />
IACOB I. STELIANA-IRINA

​I use a lot of metacommunication through hand and body gesture. I could blame my firends in Italy for that!! I started using them just because I wanted to integrate and understand better the way they behaved, but in time this thing got over me. Now I could not imagine to speak without gestures because it makes it easier to express yourself, even whe you don't know a language. It helped me a lot in the beginning, and it still does. I made great use of it when I was doing my interneeship this summer in Greece, as my roomates and my work collegues didn't speak a very good english.​

Mugurel Patrichi1012/2/2022 11:23 PM12/2/2022 11:23 PM
Posted: 12/4/2022 3:48 PM
Picture Placeholder: Jesse Torni
Picture Placeholder: Jesse Torni
  • Jesse Torni

For a Finnish person I tend to use a lot more metacommunication when trying to explain something. This has especially become a habit of mine that I've developed from my international business studies and communicating with people from different cultures. Especially when presenting something in front of class I try to focus on my ​facial expressions and hand movements. Explaining to a group of people with different levels of English it helps to capture the attention of audience with metacommunicational expressions. Showing emotions is important when communication, because that is one of the biggest reasons why Finnish people are stereotypically seen as cold.​​

Picture Placeholder: Jesse Torni
  • Jesse Torni
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Jesse Torni" />
Jesse Torni

For a Finnish person I tend to use a lot more metacommunication when trying to explain something. This has especially become a habit of mine that I've developed from my international business studies and communicating with people from different cultures. Especially when presenting something in front of class I try to focus on my ​facial expressions and hand movements. Explaining to a group of people with different levels of English it helps to capture the attention of audience with metacommunicational expressions. Showing emotions is important when communication, because that is one of the biggest reasons why Finnish people are stereotypically seen as cold.​​

Mugurel Patrichi1012/4/2022 3:48 PM12/4/2022 3:48 PM
Posted: 12/7/2022 2:26 PM
Picture Placeholder: DARIE I. LAVINIA TEODORA
Picture Placeholder: DARIE I. LAVINIA TEODORA
  • DARIE I. LAVINIA TEODORA

I usually communicate by using metacommunication. While in Italy though, it proved to be a very useful tool, since many of the people there did not speak Enghlish. Therefore, gestures, smiles and signs were truly helpful. At some point, some Ukrainian collagues joined, with whom I had no way to communicate beside metacommunication. For this reason, I truly had to make an effort, show everything through gestures or correlations.​

Picture Placeholder: DARIE I. LAVINIA TEODORA
  • DARIE I. LAVINIA TEODORA
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: DARIE I. LAVINIA TEODORA" />
DARIE I. LAVINIA TEODORA

I usually communicate by using metacommunication. While in Italy though, it proved to be a very useful tool, since many of the people there did not speak Enghlish. Therefore, gestures, smiles and signs were truly helpful. At some point, some Ukrainian collagues joined, with whom I had no way to communicate beside metacommunication. For this reason, I truly had to make an effort, show everything through gestures or correlations.​

Mugurel Patrichi1012/7/2022 2:26 PM12/7/2022 2:26 PM
Posted: 9/28/2023 12:59 PM
Picture Placeholder: Ivan Klarin
Picture Placeholder: Ivan Klarin
  • Ivan Klarin

Best and only example I experienced where someone used metacommunication are hand gestures. Even if you dont understand the language of person you are communicating with using hand gestures can reduce the language barrier.

Picture Placeholder: Ivan Klarin
  • Ivan Klarin
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Ivan Klarin" />
Ivan Klarin

Best and only example I experienced where someone used metacommunication are hand gestures. Even if you dont understand the language of person you are communicating with using hand gestures can reduce the language barrier.

Mugurel Patrichi109/28/2023 12:59 PM9/28/2023 12:59 PM
Posted: 9/28/2023 10:02 PM
Picture Placeholder: Filip Stipaničev
Picture Placeholder: Filip Stipaničev
  • Filip Stipaničev

​I come from Croatia and work in tourism over the Summer. Tourists that don't speak English or Croatian often use ​hand gestures to communicate with me and in most cases I ​understand them.

Picture Placeholder: Filip Stipaničev
  • Filip Stipaničev
/_layouts/15/images/person.gif" alt="Picture Placeholder: Filip Stipaničev" />
Filip Stipaničev

​I come from Croatia and work in tourism over the Summer. Tourists that don't speak English or Croatian often use ​hand gestures to communicate with me and in most cases I ​understand them.

Mugurel Patrichi109/28/2023 10:02 PM9/28/2023 10:02 PM
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