Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal / Vol 3 / Issue 1 (2018):
Citizens of somewhere: How a cross-cultural discussion group offers opportunities for intercultural understanding
‘make the most of the opportunities that internationalisation brings’
‘they felt isolated and ignored in tutorials or discussions by some home students, who seemed to already have established their own groups of friends, and that they found making friends challenging.’
‘the removal of ‘empathic emotional intelligence’ (1993 cited by Haigh in Ryan, 2013, p.197). Haigh describes how interaction with others becomes problematic in a culture different to one’s own because we are unable to ‘read the cues, body language and codes that frame others’ actions’ (in Ryan, 2013, p.197). In an unfamiliar society, even the interpretation of simple gestures can cause confusion and this experience may produce reactions such as ‘high anxiety, blind panic and depression’ (Haigh in Ryan, 2013, p.198).
‘patronised by tutors who expected that she would not understand anything’
‘ignorance about their countries and a lack of interest in their backgrounds’
In tutorials, enthusiasm and eagerness to know more
Encourage people to work in native languages with translation
Encourage projects based on student’s home countries
Participation in a name pronunciation training
‘stereotyped and judged by her appearance’
‘understanding history and habits’ curriculum
Try to bring in examples
Still need to learn more
‘In contemporary Western culture, where verbosity and extraversion are often considered the norm, introversion and quietness can be undervalued (Cain, 2013). Quiet students may be misunderstood, and the student who chooses to remain silent, is often believed to be less able.’
For many students, silence could mean that they are thinking deeply about and engaging with ideas, rather than not connecting with them, as a ‘deficit’ model of their behaviour might suggest (Ryan, 2013, p.284)
Be ok with quietness in tutorials and not frightened by it
Find other ways to gauge learning
Using writing as a form of communication
Allowing rep participation to be written? Or read by someone else?
The use of unsophisticated language may be misunderstood as a ‘lack of complex thought’ (Ryan, 2013, p.284) and it is often assumed that certain students (often East Asian) lack criticality
Attendance
‘It has been well attended at the beginning of both autumn terms, with around 25 students participating in some sessions, and then numbers have dwindled to six or seven as the term progressed. Despite emailing and reminding students about the group, attendance can sometimes be unpredictable, and strategies are needed to improve this. Both postgraduate and undergraduate students have participated with a fairly even gender mix.’
Language Support Sessions often operate similarly
Main staff need to attend/run something like this, not out of team
Staff need to model enthusiasm and eagerness to learn about other cultures
Somebody shares something from their culture each week
Bring in something from home
Central to curriculum, mandatory part of Unit 1 so all attend
Not based on academic work – really, actually fun