IATEFL 2013

Activities to help learners improve their intercultural communication

Adrian Pilbeam

LTS training and consulting

Bath, UK

Aims for today

What is intercultural competence and effective intercultural communication?

How can we develop effective intercultural communication in our learners?

What are some intercultural communication activities you can use with your learners?

Hello activity1. What are the positive aspects of communicating with other cultures?1. What are the challenges of communicating

with other cultures? 2. In what situations and contexts do people

need to communicate across cultures?3. Can you define intercultural competence?

Intercultural competence is ..

… having the knowledge, attitudes, awareness and skills to communicate effectively with cultures other than your own

Robert Kohls

Knowledge Facts and figures about your culture and

other cultures What behaviour will be well or badly

perceivedCultural dos and don’tsKnowing some of the key cultural dimensions

and their implications for communication

Quiz about India1. How many official languages are there in

India – 1; 2; 18 ?2. What is the official religion?3. Match the religious groups to percentages

1. Sikh a. 2.3%2. Buddhist, Jain, Parsi b. 13.4%3. Hindu c. 1.9%4. Muslim d. 80.5%5. Christian e. 1.8%

Typical behaviour

Describe to each other a typical kind of behaviour in your culture or in a different culture where you have lived or which you know well. Explain why this behaviour is important, and what the reaction would be if a foreigner behaves differently.

Attitudes and Awareness

Awareness of your own culture – attitudes, values, communication styles

Awareness of other culturesRealising that what is normal to you may not

be normal to other culturesAwareness of potential cultural gaps

When communicating with other cultures

initial impressions can be misleading we can make incorrect assumptions behaviour can be interpreted differently different rules often apply

“What is normal to us may not be normal in other cultures”

What is normal?

1. What are some examples of ‘normal’ behaviour in your culture?

2. What examples have you found of ‘normal’ behaviour in other cultures, but which you considered different or even strange?

LTS Training & Consulting

LTS Training & Consulting

                                                                                                                        

          

Assumptions – it's obvious, isn't ?

Assumptions – which is right?

‘D I E’ Model

1. Describe

2. Interpret

3. Evaluate

Cultural artefacts

Think of an artefact – an everyday object, big or small – from your culture or another culture that you know well. Say how it illustrates some aspect of the culture of the country – its values, traditions, beliefs, customs, etc.

What is culture?

Language, non-verbal communication, behaviour

Food, dress, buildings, material thingsTraditions, history, customs, religionAttitudes, norms, beliefs, values,

assumptions, mindsets

Iceberg of culture

Elements we are

aware of

Elementswe are less aware of

BehaviourLanguage

Dress

Food

Implicit assumptions

Values

Mindsets

Attitudes

Iceberg of culture

Sayings and proverbs

Think of some common sayings or proverbs which tell us something about the culture (values, attitudes, expected behaviour) of a country.

Let’s play it by ear

It’ll be alright on the nightIt’ll be alright on the night

We’ll just have to wing itWe’ll just have to wing it

As a general rule of thumb …As a general rule of thumb …

Some British sayings

Dafür bin ich nicht zuständig

Dienst ist Dienst und Schnaps ist Schnaps

Erst die Arbeit, dann das Vergnügen

Ohne Fleiss kein Preis

Some German sayings

Skills Being observant – describe what is

happening before interpreting and evaluatingAdjusting your behaviourAdjusting your communication styleModifying your use of English Mirroring your counterparts’ styleShowing patience, tact and resilience

E-mail activity

You need to write a report by the end of next week. To do this, you need some input (facts, figures, etc.) from some other team members. Write a short email to one of them, requesting their input in time for you to integrate it into your report.

Biodata activity

Write a short biodata paragraph (50 words) about yourself that will go into the programme of a conference where you will be speaking

Biodata US styleBeth Shane’s consulting philosophy is one of true partnership and shared success. She specialises in the areas of global, diversity, cross-cultural communication, organisational development, team building, and gender issues. Everything Beth does is approached with high energy and a positive attitude. She also has extensive project management experience handling the roll-out of large, complex, global training initiatives. Beth has a Masters degree in International Communication from The American University School of International Service. She studied one year in Sweden and has travelled extensively in Europe, South America, and Japan. She volunteers with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Maryann enjoys in-line skating and music.

Biodata UK styleAdrian Pilbeam is British and is a training consultant at LTS Training and Consulting in Bath, UK. He specialises in training for business communication skills and intercultural communication. He has many years experience of working with multinational clients in all parts of Europe, as well as in Asia and the US. He is also a published author of many training materials, including Working Across Cultures and Logistics Management (Pearson). He has a degree in English from Oxford University and a postgraduate qualification in Education and ELT from the Institute of Education, University of London. Now resident in the UK, he has also lived in France, Portugal and Belgium.

Working across culturesWhat are some of the problems that might arise when advertising or marketing products in different countries?

Can you think of some examples where differences in communication styles might cause problems when communicating across cultures?

How do Asian ways of working contrast with western working styles?

Some things to keep in mind Don’t assume samenessYour norms and values might not be shared Familiar behaviours may have different meanings Don’t assume what you meant is what has been

understood Don’t assume what you understood is what was meant You don’t have to like ‘different’ behaviour, but you

should try to understand why it is like it is Most people do behave rationally, you just have to

discover the rationale

To learn more www.dialogin.com www.sietareu.org www.absolutely-intercultural.com Working Across Cultures (Pearson) Attend the LTS trainers’ course in Bath -

Developing intercultural training skills

(www.lts-training.com/ICTTcourse.htm)