English Language Department
College of Arts and Letters
Bicol University
Legazpi City
First Semester
Academic Year 2020-2021
PROPERTY OF:
__________________________________________________
Name of Student/Course and Year
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
COMMUNICATION AND GLOBALIZATION
WHAT IS THIS LESSON ABOUT?
In this chapter, we discuss briefly globalization, its implications, and
the factors causing it and how communication has been affected by it.
Also, this chapter will tackle the various cultures and sub-cultures (races,
gender, generation, social class, religion, occupation) that affect
communication and a few examples of communication patterns of some
nationalities.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. Learn about globalization as a phenomenon, its implications and how it has affected
communication;
2. Gain awareness on the various cultures that shape communication; and
3. Read further about a country’s communication behaviour or patterns of
communication and do a creative presentation of what has been read.
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
1. Can you guess what these logos are?
1. _________________
2. _________________
3. _________________
4. _________________
5. _________________
6. _________________
7. _________________
8. _________________
9. _________________
2. Can you also guess the answers to the following
questions?
What are the new communication
technologies?
How do these new technologies affect the
way we communicate today?
Write your answers on your PURCOMM
notebook.
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
NOW LET’S DO A SELF AUDIT!
Check the column that best describes your ability to communicate in the context of
globalization.
USUALLY SOMETIMES SELDOM NEVER
3 2 1 0
1. I express my ideas effectively in
verbal, nonverbal, and written forms in
either digital or non-digital
environments or both.
2. I use effective listening skills to
evaluate arguments and rationalize
judgments, and work relationships.
3. I communicate with purpose to a
variety of audiences.
4. I understand the concept of diversity
and promote respect all the time.
5. I use technology and social media
responsibly.
6. I promote collaboration and
cooperation with others.
7. I apply creative thinking on complex
situations to arrive at sound conclusions
and communicate these in both digital
and non-digital forms.
8. I demonstrate working well with others
and sharing my ideas with them with
respect.
9. I consider diversity in communicating
with others.
10. I develop effective communication skills
for global context.
TOTAL
GRAND TOTAL
LET’S NOW SEE YOUR RESULTS AND ITS INTERPRETATION:
SCORE LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY
28-30 Advanced
25-27 Proficient
23-24 Approaching Proficiency
21-22 Developing
20-below Beginning
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
TASK #1
Read/ Listen to Sherry Turkle’s The Flight From Conversation (use the site/ link stated/
given in the syllabus, page 4). Then, answer the following questions.
Article: Flight from Conversation
Video: “Connected but Alone” in Ted talks
1. Identify the main idea.
2. How does the writer support the main idea? Enumerate the examples provided.
(2 examples only)
3. According to the writer, what is the difference between “conversation and
connection”? What does face-to-face conversation teach us? How?
4. What does “being alone together” mean? Cite 2 specific instances.
5. Explain the title. What does “flight from conversation” do to us?
6. Explain the following lines:
“We expect more from technology and less from one another…”
“I share, therefore I am.”
7. What does the writer suggest so that we can make rooms for conversations?
8. Do you agree with the writer? Explain your answer.
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
LESSON 1: GLOBALIZATION AND ITS EFFECT ON COMMUNICATION
LET’S READ!
COMMUNICATION has been greatly affected by globalization and globalization by
communication. In this lesson, we will discuss the meaning of globalization, what causes it, what
drives it, its implications, and how it affects communication.
WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?
In the 21st century, we have often heard of the term globalization. Globalization is a complex
concept and a single meaning may not be able to capture its total essence. Also, its definition
depends on which lens one looks at globalization.
Mansbach and Rhodes (2013) postulate that globalization involves proliferating connections
among societies and peoples, growing porosity of national frontiers, proliferation of transnational
processes, and the growing importance of authoritative actors other than national governments,
such as transnational corporations, social networks, and international organizations.
The above definition gives us a picture of nationalities, societies, races interconnecting and making
impact on each other’s economy, politics, culture (beliefs, norms, values, language, food, clothing,
etc.), social and education system.
There are those who think that globalization means convergence of cultures hence the termination
of diversity of cultures while there are those who believe that globalization may cause changes in
a nation but does not necessarily lead to losing its identity. Globalization is perceived by the
latter group as a phenomenon that leads to “deterritorialization.”
As technology advances, the world is getting smaller. Today we are able to communicate with
people across the globe at the touch of a button. While globalization, or communication between
nations beyond their borders, is an old concept, with the onset of new technology globalization is
affecting the ways we communicate and learn in fascinating ways.
We are expanding our understanding of fellowship and as we become more connected, we are
deepening our educational experiences. The rise in the use of the internet in particular has been
incredibly instrumental in improving the ways in which we connect with one another. Because of
technologies like the internet, we have the opportunity to view diverse perspectives that overlooks
outside of our scope before. We are able to fully connect with someone who is thousands of miles
away in real time and the effects are profound.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DRIVERS OF GLOBALIZATION?
COLONIZATION. This marked the beginnings of globalization. In the Philippines for instance,
history tells us that the Spaniards, Americans and the other colonizers have introduced their cultures
(language, food, clothing, beliefs, values, education, etc.) to the country, and some of these ways
of living have been consciously or unconsciously adopted by the Philippine society even up to this
age and age. Also, other Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hongkong and
other countries have their share of stories on how globalization has shaped their social, economic
and education systems without necessarily being disconnected from their own countries’ local
methods of civilization.
DIASPORA. Oxford dictionary suggests that diaspora is closely connected with the dispersion of
the Jews beyond Israel. In this era, this is a phenomenon that refers to people’s movement and
inhabitation in countries outside of their own. Other scholars call this MIGRATION. The United
States of America, Australia, and Canada are examples of popular lands of immigrants. People
migrate outside of their own homelands for several reasons (employment opportunities, education,
intermarriage, professional advancements, etc.). Immigration provides us a picture of fluidity
among peoples from different races from different races where new networks of economy and
cultures are established.
TECHNOLOGIES. Technologies have immensely facilitated globalization. With the internet, people
are no longer strangers to events outside of their own country. Exposure to various political,
economic and social systems through global news, current events and other media publicities have
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
considerably educated people hence on a micro level, potentially impacting individual’s views
towards one’s society, and on a macro level, possible influencing a nation’s perspective towards its
governance, economic trading, environmental care activities, social dealings, health activities and
education system. Also with communication technologies (smart phones, tables, computers), nations
have become more fluid in their interactions (video chats, phone conversation) allowing
instantaneous feedback and negotiations.
HOW DOES GLOBALIZATION AFFECT COMMUNICATION?
With globalization, a need for a common language to achieve international intelligibility is
germane.
“On almost any basis, English is the nearest thing there has been to a global language. Its
worldwide reach is much greater than anything achieved historically by Latin or French, and there
has never been a language as widely spoken as English. Many would reasonably claim that in the
fields of business, academics, science, computing, education, transportation, politics and
entertainment, English is already established as the decto lingua franca.”
(http:wwwthehistoryofenglish.com)
Albeit English has been acknowledged as the current global language and is learned by many
due to globalization, patterns of interactions (greetings, gestures, business dealings, etc.) may not
essentially be universalized. Nationalities, ethnic groups, religious communities, gender groups,
generations and other subcultures will still maintain their unique ways of communication expressions
unless they all agree to replace their distinctive manners of communicating with a newly acquired
one from another culture.
THE GOOD AND BAD ABOUT GLOBALIZATION
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
Think of additional advantages and disadvantages of globalization
(Write your answers on your PURCOMM notebook).
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY
Have you ever had to call someone from a different country and conduct a meeting in a different
language? For those of you that said, “Yes”, you understand how complicated and frightening this
can be. You can have the most specific and detailed agenda, but if you do not understand the
person you are conducting business with, the meeting becomes worthless. This is very frustrating
and creates roadblocks to success for many companies. For some organizations, global
communication is part of the day-to-day business, for others, this is uncharted territory. For those
that have not conducted global business, this can be a nerve wracking experience. It is not as
simple as using a web-based language translator to communicate effectively. Besides the
language roadblock, the organization has to understand the business culture and its
associated nuances.
Because there is a lot of room for error in communication, especially in a global environment,
organizations must focus resolving the challenges of communication in a global context. Starting
by bringing attention and development as it pertains to negotiating across cultures. If the
company requires that employees negotiate with others around the world, it is the company’s
responsibility to provide the tools needed to for their employees to communicate effectively. The
complexity of a dealing with foreigners with other beliefs, can create a roadblock of
misunderstanding. Generally, culture, language and business acumen can be so different that it
can impede successful negotiations. This can be true, especially when there is trouble translating a
simple and even general message. Moran, Abramson and Moran (2014) details that, “Foreign
negotiations often display many different styles of logic and reasoning”.
(Source:https://sites.psu.edu/global/2018/03/17/the-importance-of-effective-global-communication/)
Communicating effectively is so instrumental to success that speaking and writing well are
probably the most important skills a person can learn. Yet they are taught only piecemeal in
school, when taught at all. Instead of focusing on communicating thoughts and ideas clearly, schools
break communication into subjects like English, other languages, and public speaking. But there is
so much more to effective communication than grammar, spelling, or calming your nerves in front of
an audience. Good communication is not a hard trait to master; it is, in fact, quite simple. And best
of all, with good communication skills, you can do virtually anything. Here are some easy ways to
improve your communication starting today.
1. Keep it simple. An above ground yet grounded view of your topic is often best so that readers
get your point without getting bogged down in details. How would you describe economics, for
example? Most scholars have very complex answers riddled with technical jargon. Novices too
tend to struggle with the definition, often giving a vague and high level description
2. Eliminate technical jargon. As bad as it is to read jargon, it’s even worse in conversation or
during speeches. A live audience has no opportunity to reflect upon or look up ambiguous words.
Keep your words concrete and avoid any terms of art.
3. Be concise, but not too concise. Too many writers, coaches, and style guides have told us that
we should practice brevity in our writing and speaking. But their advice has been too brief. Our
jobs are to communicate effectively, not necessarily to communicate quickly. If a topic needs more
explanation to the reader or listener, by all means keep going. The best communicators never
leave their audience struggling to decipher words or wondering what was meant. It is in fact
quicker to explain what nouveau riche means (people who have recently come into money) than to
keep an audience guessing or force a reader to look the concept up.
4. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms. Virtually all acronyms should be avoided virtually all the
time. Unless the abbreviation has become a common word, don’t use it.
5. Reduce the use of canned phrases. Using canned phrases is passé, old hat, out of date,
yesterday’s news. Invent something new and make sure your analogy ties directly to the subject.
6. Be concrete. People despise abstraction. Either be 100% concrete or provide an example. On
the other hand, language is an abstraction, so we must work harder at it. Tell a story and people
will see your brushstrokes.
7. Be conversational. Whether you are having a casual conversation, conducting a meeting,
giving a speech or writing a memo, communicate with a specific voice and to a certain ear. Always
speak to someone specific even in a room full of people, and write to someone specific as well.
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/11/7-steps-to-effective-communication/
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
❖ Basically, done wisely, globalization could lead
to “unparalleled peace and prosperity”.
Done poorly, “to disaster”.
(Madrunio, M. & Martin I., p. 95)
TASK #2
Make a reaction paper on the “Flight from Conversation”
Note: Aside from the article: Flight From Conversation and video “Connected but alone” in
Ted talks, for additional information you can refer from the 2 videos “How social media can
make History and Wiring a web for global good. (Use the site/ link given in the syllabus,
page 4).
GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 2
