This is the first unit in a series of instructional materials arising from an exploratory study of cultural barriers to communication between North Americans and Colombians. A syllogistic model, in which our unspoken and unconscious assumptions comprise the major premise, is used to explain the difficulties of intercultural communication. These…

The general purpose of this project was to produce some reliable and valid knowledge of how differences in the non-linguistic aspects of North American and Latin American socio-cultural patterns (concepts, values, beliefs, norms, expectations, and ethnocentrism) act as barriers to cross-cultural communication. The end product was to be…

The materials presented here describe the Latin American naming system, explain how it differs from the North American system, and indicate how contrasting features of the two systems can be a barrier to communication between the two peoples. Major concepts considered are (1) the American full name versus the "nombre completo," (2) the…

This study, based on interviews with North American students and Peace Corps trainees in Bogota, and their host families, professors, and other Colombians in contact with the students, attempts to define the non-linguistic barriers to cross-cultural communication between North Americans and Colombians. The purpose of the study is to gather data…

This unit is one of a series of cross-cultural mini-dramas, and is offered as the prototype audio-visual unit of the Cross-Cultural Communication Packet (CCCP). The objective is to provide insight into the process of cross-cultural communication, and to develop observation skills, or to sensitize the student to concepts which will help him to…