The course examines the complex relationship between language, communication and culture and equips students with a comprehensive understanding of how the cultural backgrounds of communication partners influence communication and interaction processes in business settings.

The course covers several topic areas. In the introductory part of the course, different concepts of culture and communication and their interdependence are discussed. Students are also introduced to various communication theories and models as well as to some important issues in intercultural business communication, such as rapport management, linguistic and cultural diversity, impression management, multilingualism and language management. By drawing on authentic examples of communicative events and texts (e.g. advertisements, job interviews, job application documents), various aspects of cross-cultural advertising and recruitment practices will be examined from a linguistic and communicative point of view. In addition, a special emphasis is placed on multilingualism and multiculturalism in organizations. In particular, students will discuss a range of diverse measures within a specific language management strategy (e.g. lingua franca, intercomprehension and receptive multilingualism, the use of interpreting and translation services). There is also a session devoted to intercultural training where students will gain valuable insights into theoretical foundations of intercultural training and learn to evaluate the quality of various intercultural training offers.

Assessment is based on the following components

individual assignments

in-class  participation - 100

review  of crucial concepts based from selected readings & discussion (peer-to-peer feedback) on the reviews - 400

reflection on having conducted a qualitative interview (incl. upload of the interview transcript) - 100

group assignment

Group project - 400