《商务英语口语实训教程：初级（修订版）》

Pair Role－Playing

Step 1 ：Have the students pair up．

Step 2 ：Choose from the following scenarios．

□ Two office clerks are using one copy machine at the same time．

□ A wallet falls out of someone’s pocket in the bank and someone else sees it．

□ Smoking is forbidden here！This is a conference room．

□ A sales rep is selling a new brand of shampoo to a lady in a café．

Step 3 ：The 2 students have 3 minutes to develop the scenario they chose into a complete and twisted story and make it long enough．Include all the body languages they can． Spoken language is forbidden．

Step 4 ：Show the body－language play in front of the audience．The play should be at least 1 minute long．

Step 5 ：Choose one student from the group to tell the class what has really happened in the story．Give all the details．

Supplementary Materials

I feel silly and kind of self－deprecating admitting this，but here it goes．I get really anxious when meeting people for the first time．I worry that we won’t have anything to talk about or that our conversation will be plagued with awkward silence．But at an event last night，all my fretting went out of the window．Here’s why．

Last night，my sweet friend Christine hosted a reception at a local coffee shop．She’s a photographer and a few of her favorite pieces were on display．As I walked in and approached the large group crowded around her，I felt that familiar nervous feeling in my stomach．I recognized a few people and quickly tried to come up with the conversation starters．

But then，Christine greeted me with a hug and after we chatted for a bit，she introduced me to Mia，a friend of her who was at the event solo．

“Flora，”she said，“You have to meet Mia．She lives just down the street from you and she just decided to get a car．She had been taking the bus like you．”

Mia and I immediately started exchanging restaurant recommendations and bus stories．I’m pretty passionate about Los Angeles’public transportation and could talk about it for hours on end．Apparently，Mia felt the same way．We talked for over 30 minutes！

Throughout the night，I noticed Christine connecting friends in the same way．Since she obviously knew everyone there，she’d share something her pals had in common when introducing them．I know it seems like a small thing，but it really made me feel so much more comfortable．As awkward as we all might view ourselves，I don’t think anyone wants to be alone in the corner with no one to talk to．

Intercultural Communication in Business Situations 1

Developing Intercultural Competence

When we go abroad to travel，study or work，or when we communicate，cooperate，or negotiate in a multicultural working environment，we may feel delighted and excited．In the same time，we may also feel frustrated，irritated，misunderstood，or annoyed．It is possible for us to get into an argument，a conflict or even a lawsuit．

When we are in a situation of intercultural conflicts，is there anything we can do other than tolerate passively or just walk away？Can we go further when we communicate with people with different cultural values？Can we find a solution to our dispute？Don’t say NO too easily．In many circumstances，we can solve the problem to various extents by learning the skills of intercultural competence．

We don’t naturally acquire intercultural competence and the ability to communicate comfortably with the people in a culture when we have learned only the knowledge about their culture，such as American culture，which is the most familiar to us．Why do so many people still feel anxious or have frictions when they go to work in America or have business with the Americans？We should be aware that knowledge of a certain culture does not automatically give us the ability to communicate successfully．

This is because a specific communication involves a specific context—the understanding of the‘specific’values of‘specific’parties／groups and their ‘specific’identities，‘specific’environment and‘specific’mentality and mood．The key to developing intercultural competence is exploring these‘specific’factors and how to make use of them flexibly and contextually．

Exercise 1

Hold a free exchange with your partner on following questions：

—Are you an introverted person？

—Are you unwilling to communicate with others when you are tired or annoyed？

—Does this mean that you are weak in communication？

Exercise 2

Sometimes we need to realize that some general impressions will prevent us from truly understanding an individual，no matter where he or she comes from．

Discuss with you partner or your classmates some different situations alongside some“familiar”cultural understanding．The first example is already given：

A． White people are rich．The customer who is now entering our shop is a white man．I’m going to talk with him a lot and try to sell him a Louis Vuitton bag．

But these situations also exist：

—Due to the economic slump in some countries，some white people are living a difficult life．It is no easy thing for them to buy a Louis Vuitton bag．

—Different white people hold different attitudes towards money．Some refuse to spend money on luxuries in spite of being rich．

—People who identify themselves as a“white man”may not be recognized as such by certain groups in certain contexts．

B． India is as dirty as a rat hole．Why do you want to travel there？

But these situations also exist：

﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

C． Japanese women are gentle and obedient．I am very lucky to marry a Japanese woman！

But these situations also exist：

﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

D． Europeans are respectful and enjoy a high level of equality．

But these situations also exist：

﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

Exercise 3

Attitudes and moods of the participants play an important role in the process of intercultural communication．Good communication requires a relaxed，peaceful mood，curiosity and a positive attitude．

Read the following examples．You can follow your heart or you can try to settle down to think about it in a different way．

Try to use our own words to express the alternative answers and then feel the change of moods and thoughts after you become more open and more relaxed．Some examples are already given．

A． I’m mad at you！Don’t talk to me now！

Instead you can say：I’m in a bad mood now．Give me half a day to calm down．I will talk to you in the evening．