OSIRIS - Course offerings LET-CIWB204-IBC 2022

Course module

LET-CIWB204-IBC

Credits (ECTS)

1. Learning objectives

At the end of this course, the student will be able to reflect critically on primary literature in the area of intercultural communication, will have mastered the basic principles of setting up corpus research, will have learned to develop and test an analysis model and will have reported in the target language of a contrasting corpus analysis.
Regarding the written examination, the student will demonstrate that they:

Can explain and motivate the choice of literature
Can reflect critically on the primary literature
Can link the models used in the literature
Can apply the analysis models used in the literature to new material

With regard to the paper, in the form of a scientific article, the student demonstrates that they are able to:

Accurately describe the method used
Analyse and report the results
In the conclusion/discussion section, place his/her results in the context of the research and scientific field and reflect on, as well as translate, the consequences of the research to the professional field
Report scientifically in the target language on his/her research

Final qualifications: the learning outcomes of this course correspond with the learning tracks Foreign Language and Methodology.

Content

Is "geweldig leuk" more fun than "great fun"/"très amusant"/"muy divertido"/"ein großer Spaß"?: Corpus research into the formulation of language intensity in WOM in different languages

There are a lot of review sites on the Internet: Word-of-Mouth recommendations (or negative reviews) by individual users of products or services (book, film, hotels, household appliances, telecom products etc.). Often these sites use the star rating system: the user awards 0 to 5 stars as his/her rating and writes an accompanying review.
In this course, we will research whether and how recommendations in one language/culture can be compared to recommendations in another language/culture. We will also research whether negative statements have the same effect as positive statements. Perhaps the expression of an intense review in one language is more diverse and explicit than in the other language.

Fig. 1. The authors of the review shown above are not positive about the Budget Hotel in Amsterdam. This is clear from the argumentation and negative rating.

Level

Presumed foreknowledge

Accessible to minor students from the Faculty of Arts.
Accessible to minor students from other faculties (Max. 25 students).

Test information

Examination: Written examination based on information covered in the primary literature and lectures (after period 1) (40%)
Final paper on the basis of the collective contrastive corpus compiled for the target language. The introduction to this paper will be provided by the lecturers. Assessment will only take place on the basis of the following sections in the report: Research Question, Methodology, Results and Conclusion & Discussion. (60%)
Participation in the lectures is not compulsory, but participation in the seminars is compulsory. If a student attends 80% or less of the seminars, they will not be given the chance to take the resit. If a student is absent from more than 50% of the seminars of a component, they shall be excluded from corresponding course examinations as well as the practical exercises of the relevant component. The student shall then be unable to complete that component in the relevant academic year.
Final papers must be uploaded via TURNITIN and, if requested by the lecturer, must also be submitted as hardcopies. The hand-in time shown on Turnitin will be used to determine whether the deadline was met.

Students caught engaging in plagiarism will be reported to the Examining Board which will handle this issue (see BCL website).

If a student scores less than a 5.5 on the written examination or the research article, they must take the resit. If the course is not completed with a passing grade, the student must take the entire course again (partial grades will expire).

Specifics

Required materials

Learning Management System (Brigthspace)

De Langhe, B., Puntoni, S., Fernandes, D., & Van Osselaer, S. M. (2011). The anchor contraction effect in international marketing research. Journal of Marketing Research, 48(2), 366-380. Gudykunst, W. B., Ting-Toomey, S., & Chua, E. (1988). Culture and interpersonal communication. Newbury Park, Ca.: Sage Publications, pp. 99-116. Johnson, T., Kulesa, P., Cho, Y. I., & Shavitt, S. (2005). The relation between culture and response styles: Evidence from 19 countries. Journal of Cross-cultural psychology, 36(2), 264-277. Rozin, P., Berman, L., & Royzman, E. (2010). Biases in use of positive and negative words across twenty natural languages. Cognition and Emotion, 24(3), 536-548. van Hooft, A. (2011). A Comparison of Mexican and US American students’ perceptions of high-low context business communication style. ITL-International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 161(1), 68-89.

Costs

0.00

Learning Management System (Brigthspace)

van Mulken, M., & Schellens, P. J. (2012). Over loodzware bassen en wapperende broekspijpen-Gebruik en perceptie van taalintensiverende stijlmiddelen. Tijdschrift voor taalbeheersing, 34(1), 26-53. (English translation). Yoo, K. H., & Gretzel, U. (2009, January). Comparison of deceptive and truthful travel reviews. In: Enter (pp. 37-47). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-211-93971.

Costs

0.00

Instructional modes

Lecture

Attendance Mandatory

Yes

Working group

Attendance Mandatory

Yes

Tests

Written exam

Test weight

Test type

Written exam

Opportunities

Block PER 1, Block PER 2

Minimum grade

5,5

Assignment

Test weight

Test type

Project

Opportunities

Block PER 2, Block PER 3

Minimum grade

5,5