Assignment:
Submit Educational Video and Essay about Approved Country for Term Paper (Costa Rica)
Meet the "Other." After your instructor has approved one of your Term Project Proposals, begin your research with a desire to respectfully learn, understand, appreciate, and communicate with someone having a different world view and living outside of the United States. To meet the requirement of this video, help yourself and your classmates understand that the country you selected is an important part of our global community. Research and select an appropriate video clip from TED Talks, YouTube, Creative Commons, Merlot, Country's Chamber of Commerce, Triple A Travel, or another reliable source that authentically and respectfully represents the people you are studying and their interpersonal communication (IPC) behaviors to show to your classmates. Need Assignment Help?
The website, Global Road Warrior, is a valuable resource to get you started. Find a video about your approved country that explains respectful and effective communication attitudes and behaviors in that country. At the top of your paper include the URL hyperlink to the video. Also include your name and the course name with section number.
Write one paragraph about your video, explaining why and how you believe the information presented in the video will promote respect communication with others that are different from you - and thusly avoid ethnocentric thinking and behaviors. In your paragraph, be sure that you identify at least THREE IPC theories, terms, concepts from the textbook that you are studying for this term paper and connect them to images or scenes in the video.
- Use and BOLD at least three terms from Module.
- Cite your terms by placing the textbook's page number or chapter/section number in parentheses after the term.
- Note! If the video is longer than 10 minutes, tell your reader where to begin and where to stop watching the video so that the video demonstrates that it is a reputable resource for the country.
At the bottom of your paper, cite the source of your VIDEO AND your TEXTBOOK in APA format. I will accept MLA format, but you will need to be consistent. These will represent your first TWO sources for your final term paper. A total of FIVE sources will be required at a minimum for a "C" grade. In Module Three you will conduct more research and submit an annotated bibliography of that research in which you will add at least three more sources. In that document you will include the paragraph that you are writing for this assignment about the video as one annotation. You will also write a paragraph about the section(s) in your textbook that you are using and referring to in the annotated bibliography. If you need help, contact the Writing Lab in Logan Hall. They can assist you online as well as in person.
Required Formatting:
- Save your document ONLY as a MS Word doc for this assignment. No PDFs and no links to a cloud where you save files.
- Place your Name at top of paper AND the hyperlink to the video at the top of your paper.
- Length: 1-2 pages
- Margins: 1 inch
- Spacing: Double-spaced
- Paragraphs: At least one
- Cite the source of your textbook and your video at the bottom of the page in proper APA formatting. You do not need to have a separate page for this.
Tiffany Carroll
COM-120
7 September 2026
YouTube Video: Travel to Costa Rica & Experience Pura Vida | National Geographic
The National Geographic video titled "Travel to Costa Rica & Experience Pura Vida" provides a genuine and respectful perspective on the world of Costa Rican interpersonal communication and worldview. Spanning merely five minutes and thirty-three seconds in total duration, the whole video can be viewed; it centers around the meaning of the phrase "pura vida" as a greeting, thank you and farewell and philosophy of life (0:00 - 5:33). It demonstrates the interactions between Costa Ricans with the tourists and with each other through the use of smiles, mutual experiences in the markets and in nature, and openness to relationship.
There are three concepts in the textbook that can explain the situations in the video. First, Costa Rica can be classified as a high context culture (Chapter 6, Section 3), as its communication is conveyed not verbally but in the context of "pura vida." Secondly, the focus on the elements of camaraderie, family-like relations and connections within groups reflects the principle of collectivism (Chapter 6, Section 3). Finally, the friendly attitude and non-judgmental manner exemplify face saving techniques from face negotiation theory (Chapter 6); people try to make their interactions pleasant so that "everyone quedará bien." Learning from the way in which locals utilize "pura vida" to knock on doors of interpersonal relations helps me understand how to be patient and smile in order to focus on interpersonal harmony rather than efficiency. Such practices help minimize ethnocentrism in that my own direct and low-context style of communication is not the only appropriate one. With the high context sensitivity, collectivism, and face-saving internalized, I will be able to enter into successful intercultural relations with Costa Rican partners.
Works cited:
Nacional Geographic. Travel to Costa Rica & experiencia pura vida (Video) (2023). YouTube.
Wrench, Jason S., Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, and Katherine S. Thweatt. "Interpersonal communication: A mindful approach to relationships." (2020).