Ashley Garcia
Santa Rosa Junior College
Daniel Foster
University of Maryland
Suggested Citation:
Garcia, A., & Foster, D. (2025). Looking out the window: Framing different verbal styles. Utah Journal of Communication, 3(1), 96-99. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15312882
Abstract
Taken-for-granted concepts, like low/high-context communication, direct/indirect verbal styles, and self-enhancement/humbling styles, in an intercultural communication class can present challenges for students to understand and recognize in their communication patterns. By interrupting the typical teaching and learning routines in a communication studies course by writing and analyzing poetry, it becomes possible to move students to see their internalized cultural frames while learning course concepts through this unfamiliar approach. Poetry provides students with a window through which they observe their communication patterns, exposing them in ways they often do not suspect. Additionally, the novelty of poetic writing helps the students engage in sentipensante pedagogy, a full sensory active learning process. In doing so, the students enhance their learning of these significant intercultural communication concepts while developing a deep awareness of their communication patterns.
Keywords: verbal styles; poetry; intercultural communication; sentipensante pedagogy
Course
- Intercultural Communication
Learning Objectives
- Students will define the low-context and high-context interaction patterns, the direct and indirect verbal styles, and the self-enhancement and self-humbling verbal styles.
- Students will identify multiple examples of low-context and high-context interaction patterns, direct and indirect verbal styles, and self-enhancement and self-humbling verbal styles in their work and that of their peers.
- Students will develop connections with one another as they engage the concepts through the writing and sharing of poetry.
Introduction and rationale
Language is the taken-for-granted aspect of our cultural lives that “frames our perceptions and interpretations of everyday events” (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2012, p. 112). Ting-Toomey and Chung (2022) argue that people’s “mannerism of speaking frames how a message should be interpreted or understood on a continuum” (p. 152). To aid students’ understanding of the communication patterns that serve as a framework for the different verbal styles, this activity tasks students with writing a poem about what they see when looking through the frame of a window. After writing and sharing their poems with colleagues, the students analyze their creative writing to reveal taken-for-granted aspects of their verbal communication styles. As Morgan, Lange, and Buswick (2010) contend, “poetry and expressive writing are useful for encouraging critical thinking, serving as a way for students to synthesize course content, and building classroom rapport” (p. 26), all of which are objectives of this intercultural communication activity. By analyzing these poems, students better understand the low-context and high-context interaction patterns, direct and indirect verbal styles, self-enhancement and self-humbling verbal styles, and their connections.
Materials and Preparation
Students must first become acquainted with the course concepts. Assign a reading on verbal communication to prepare them. We use and recommend Ting-Toomey and Chung’s (2022) textbook chapter, “What is the Connection Between Verbal Communication and Culture?” Each student will need notebook paper and a pen or pencil to complete the activity. Although we designed this activity for a 75-minute class, condensing it into a 50-minute class is feasible.
Procedures
At the beginning of class, divide the students into pairs. Instruct them to take ten minutes to define each of the following key terms with their assigned partner; each student should write out their answers to use later in the activity. We encourage the students to write out the textbook definitions and then work together to translate them into their own words. In a fifty-minute class, provide the definitions on a worksheet (included in the Appendix) that the students translate together for five to six minutes. Ting-Toomey and Chung’s (2022) definitions are as follows:
- Low-Context/High-Context Interaction Patterns
a) In low-context communication (LCC), “the emphasis is on how intention or meaning is expressed through explicit verbal messages” (p. 151).
b) In high-context communication (HCC), “the emphasis is on how intention or meaning is conveyed through the embedded contexts (e.g., social roles or positions, relationship types, intergroup history) and nonverbal channels (e.g., pauses, silence, tone of voice) of the verbal message” (p. 151). - Direct/Indirect Verbal Styles
a) In the direct verbal style, “statements tend to reveal the speaker’s intentions with clarity and are enunciated with a forthright tone of voice” (p. 152).
b) In the indirect verbal style, “statements tend to camouflage the speaker’s actual intentions and are carried out with a softer tone” (p. 152). - Self-Enhancement/Self-Humbling Styles
a) The self-enhancement style “emphasizes the importance of drawing attention to or exaggerating one’s credentials, outstanding accomplishments, and special abilities” (p. 156).
b) The self-humbling style “emphasizes the importance of downplaying oneself via modest talk, restraint, hesitation, and the use of self-deprecating messages concerning one’s performance or achievements” (p. 156).
After the students have defined the terms together, reconvene the class. Ask them if they have questions about the definitions or if there are terms they struggled with and would like to discuss as a class. Ensure the students are comfortable with the terms before proceeding to the next step.
Instruct the students to flip over their sheets of paper and write a poem about what they see out a window (space is provided on the worksheet for the condensed class). To get the students up and out of the classroom, we recommend instructing the students to use any window in the building (or nearby buildings if necessary). The key is that they must look outside through the frame of a window; this activity cannot be completed outside. We define a poem loosely for the students by saying it must be three stanzas in length, and each stanza should have at least three lines for a total of nine lines. The more they write, the better, as the next step of the activity will be easier with more substance. We discuss what a stanza is and that just because they are writing poetry does not mean the lines have to rhyme. We encourage them to write in complete sentences. Since each student must write a poem, we gently remind them that other classes are in session and they must write quietly, not together. Give them 10-15 minutes (12-13 minutes in a fifty-minute class) to write their poems and instruct them to return to the classroom at a particular time. The instructor should walk around the building as students write to answer questions and peek at what they are looking at outside.
Once all the students return to the classroom, have them read through their poems and answer the following reflection questions (for the condensed class, the questions are included on the worksheet):
- Did you take a high-context or low-context interaction pattern?
- Did you take a direct or indirect verbal style?
- Did you take a self-enhancement or self-humbling style?
Give students ten minutes to write out their answers and provide an explanation for each. We encourage them to point to specific instances where the pattern or style is present in their poem. If they believe they used both, we tell them to provide an example of each and to identify where the shift occurred in their writing. They sometimes ask for help as they struggle with the self-enhancement or self-humbling style; it is more difficult to determine, and they are concerned about identifying it incorrectly. We instruct them to make an educated guess based on their poem for now and tell them they will have the opportunity to discuss it with their partner in the next step of the activity.
After answering the reflection questions, instruct the students to share their poems with their assigned partners. Each student should read their poem to their partner, and their partner should answer the reflection questions about the poem. The author should refrain from identifying their patterns/styles until their partner has done so, preventing the partner from simply agreeing with the author. Have the author compare their answers with those of their partner. For this step, we have them discuss rather than write out their answers. Poetry sharing should take about ten minutes (five minutes per student). For a fifty-minute class, this step should be given about six minutes (three minutes per student). The three pairs of key terms are included on the worksheet so the students can quickly circle their responses. Additionally, after comparing their answers, each student should record their partner’s answers on their worksheet.
After each pair shares their poems, answers the questions, and compares their answers, reconvene the class. Ask the students if anyone is interested in sharing their poems and have a few volunteers read theirs to the class. After each, ask the students to answer the reflection questions. Then, ask the author to share their answers to the questions to compare. Engaging in this whole class discussion exposes the students to more examples than just their own and their partners. Condensing this activity into a shorter class will likely require cutting this step.
Lastly, have the students take home their poem and notes (completed worksheet for the condensed class) to use to complete a one-page, single-spaced reflection in which they address the following prompts (at least one paragraph per prompt):
- Address how your understanding of the key terms evolved through this activity.
- Address how this activity affected your awareness of your cultural frames.
- Address how your partner’s evaluation of your poem’s expression of the key terms reinforced or challenged your own, contributing to your understanding of those terms and your cultural frames.
Have the students turn in this assignment at the beginning of the next class. A short debrief of the reflection is effective as students gain further insights into the key terms and cultural frames after engaging in this reflective assignment.
Debrief
At the end of the class when the activity is completed, ask the students why you had them write a poem about what they saw out the window. In this discussion, they usually reveal that several chose to look out the same window, yet they wrote about different things. Have the students discuss why. After allowing students some time to discuss, explain how the window frame shapes what we can see and how we can see it. The window frame is a concrete example of an abstract term: a cultural frame. Ting-Toomey and Chung (2022) describe culture as “a complex frame of reference that consists of patterns of traditions, beliefs, values, norms, meanings, and symbols shared by varying degrees with interacting members of a community” (p. 26). When communicating, we must recognize that we use different cultural frames, which often results in miscommunication; we expect others to communicate using the same cultural frames. This activity demonstrates that although we might look through the same window frame when writing poetry, we often see/focus on different things, resulting in various poems. For example, if there are limited windows in your building, multiple students likely look out the same window when writing. One student might focus on the people outside, another on nature, and another on the weather. In this activity, the window frame is a physical example of a cultural frame. We must consider how our cultural frames impact communication across cultures to bridge differences.
Appraisal
As noted above, poetry is an effective tool to incorporate into the higher education classroom. Poetry is identified as a practice of sentipensante (sensing/thinking) pedagogy, “a culturally-validating, deep learning experience that addresses the harmonic balance and interconnection between intellectual, social, emotional, and inner-life skill development” (Rendón, 2023, p. 2). As an “illuminative knowledge” tool, poetry engages the “body, mind, and sensory processes” (Rendón, 2023, p. 2). This activity is effective in getting students moving around and out of the classroom; it is an example of getting students involved in what Smith (2015) calls “active learning” (p. 223). This activity also creates an element of curiosity because they do not know why they are writing a poem until the end of the class. Significantly, this activity requires a certain level of trust between the instructor and students; the instructor demonstrates that they trust the students to leave the classroom, complete the assigned task, and return within the allotted time. Lastly, this activity is rooted in dependence because the students rely on one another to create examples of the course content––the verbal styles––without even recognizing it (Smith, 2015). This activity recognizes how “first-hand experiences are related to subjective ways of knowing which engage a learner’s own mind, activate the senses, and allow learners to connect with the world around them” (Rendón, 2023, p. 2). By answering the reflection questions about their poems, their partner’s poems, and their classmates’ poems, the students have multiple opportunities to apply the key terms of this day’s content. This activity stands out to them on quiz/exam day, with many sharing that they remember these concepts because of this activity. As such, this activity reaches its objectives in a timely, creative, and engaging manner.
Conclusion
At the end of the class, we always ask our students if this activity was helpful. Despite their original lack of enthusiasm for writing poetry in a communication class, the students enjoy this activity and find it advantageous to learn the course concepts. They often share that their identifications of their patterns/styles surprised them; they thought they were one type of communicator, but their writing revealed the opposite. This difficulty in identifying their verbal pattern/styles is not surprising since “poetry forces you to find meaning in ambiguity” because it “accommodates multiple meanings” (Morgan et al., 2010, p. 2). Despite this challenge, students often reveal they enjoy this activity, describing writing about nature as therapeutic and calming, allowing them to slow down and take in what is happening outside. This activity demonstrates the benefits of using poetry to promote “students’ emotional well-being” while simultaneously developing “skills such as creativity and critical thinking” to “reach course learning outcomes” (Marjorana & VanDeusen, 2022, p. 27). We strategically plan this activity to occur around midterms to give them a reprieve from the stress of the academic semester while still being productive and engaging in the learning process. In sum, the benefits of this intercultural communication activity support the notion that education should “develop not only our intellectual capacities, but our ability to be creative and reflective, as well as to work with and understand other people” (Rendón, 2023, p. 28). Students walk away with a better understanding of their verbal styles and the influence culture has on them, which aids them in becoming better and more flexible intercultural communicators.
References
Marjorana, J., & VanDeusen, E. (2022). Promoting emotional well-being in the university classroom through poetry. About Campus: Enriching the Student Learning Experience, 27(2), 26-34. https://doi.org/10.1177/10864822221100251
Morgan, C., Lange, K., & Buswick, T. (2010). What poetry brings to business. University of Michigan Press.
Rendón, L. I. (2023). Sentipensante (sensing/thinking) pedagogy: Educating for wholeness, social justice, and liberation (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Smith, D. G. (2015). Diversity’s promise for higher education: Making it work (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press.
Ting-Toomey, S., & Chung, L. C. (2012). Understanding intercultural communication (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Ting-Toomey, S., & Chung, L. C. (2022). Understanding intercultural communication (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.