Course information
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to
- Understand key terms, concepts and topics in the field of Intercultural Communication (ICC)
- Apply relevant ICC concepts to real-life contexts (e.g. interpersonal, professional and academic settings)
- Raise critical awareness of 'culture', 'communication' and 'identity'
- Develop a range of skills to effectively communicate with people having different backgrounds
Content
This course provides an introduction to culture and communication by exploring relevant concepts and theories in the field of Intercultural Communication (ICC). Topics covered include 'what is culture?', 'intercultural stereotyping', 'intercultural transition (e.g. culture shock)' and 'nonverbal communication'. Students are encouraged to actively engage with small group discussions in each class where they can learn different perspectives from others.
Teacher
Yoonjoo Cho
Study material
Online materials provided by teacher through MyCourses
Workload
30-36 h small group instruction + 41-45 h independent study
Prerequisites
No prerequisites
Evaluation
- Participation 20%
- Active Discussion 20%
- Individual tasks 30%
- Team project and presentation 30%
Teaching time and location
The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system
- The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
- From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected
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From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
Exam instructions at the Open University
The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.
Further information
Equivalences to other courses: LC-0420 Introduction to Intercultural Communication D
Online learning environment for the course
MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.
Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses
More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.
Registration and course fee
Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below:
Course registration
Registration for this course starts on 23.3.2026 at 9.00
Registration for this course ends on 16.4.2026 at 23.59
It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.
The number of participants is limited to 4. The course will be organized if there are at least 10 participants.
This course is organized by the Aalto University Language Centre
The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules
Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication
You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID
Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.
Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication
