Developing intercultural communicative skills

Wedding Symbols and Superstitions
What will bring good luck to the bride and groom on their wedding day? Different cultures have different beliefs, but nearly all do something to wish the couple a long and happy marriage. In Italy, it's (1)____________________for the wedding guests to the tie a ribbon in front of the building where the couple will marry. This is a (2)________________ of the couple's (3) _________________bond of marriage. There is another (4)__________________ in which the bride gives guests "confetti," which are small bags-of candy-covered almonds. Confetti is a (5)_________________ of fertility or the ability to have children. In Korea, ducks and geese (6)________________- faithfulness because they stay together for life. Many years ago, when a man found a wife, he would often give her family a pair of geese. Today, a Korean wedding ceremony may include (7)_____________ such as hand-painted ducks. These are a (8) ______________________ of the couple's promise to stay together. In Japan, in addition to wearing a white kimono, many women were traditionally painted completely white. This was done as a sign that the woman was (9)___________________ The woman were also a heavy headpiece. On this were many beautiful (10)____________________People believed this headpiece could attract good luck to the couple.
Lesson 4 Extralinguistic issues in cross-cultural communication (attitudes, rituals, traditions, body language, taboos and social roles in different cultures, stereotypes, images, symbols)
Handout 1




Activity II Read the text and share experience with group members
Time: 20 minutes
Materials: Handouts 3, 4
Objective: to help participants become aware of the facts about gestures and body language in the UK and USA, including differences and similarities, and comparisons to other countries


Handout 3
British and American body language and gestures
Although most British and American body language and gestures are the same or at least understood in the other place, there are a few important and sometimes amusing differences. There are also many gestures used in both places that could be misunderstood elsewhere. This article explains the most important of both kinds, starting with the differences. There is also another article on this site specific to British body language and gestures.
Differences between British and American gestures and body language