Intercultural Communication Skills for Teaching Within Diversity

1. Intercultural Communication Skills for Teaching Within Diversity Kathryn Brillinger, Faculty Advisor Adult Education Conference April 9, 2011 Conestoga College www.conestogac.on.ca Note: A version of this presentation is available with voice-over on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYM-U7ju9_Q

2. Bottom Line • Everything we do to support one student should help everyone INCLUDING THE TEACHER

3. So who am I? Kathryn Brillinger, Unionville, ON, Circa 1970

4. Nadia-Alysha-Zahra-Tameera “Each new generation is responsible to ensure the survival of the seventh generation.” (Canadian Aboriginal Belief)

5. Your Contribution Today • The 3-minute buzz. When you see a slide with a Turn to a person (a new person each time) and discuss the task for 3 minutes. Then we will share just 2 full group comments.

6. Your Contribution Today • The 3-minute buzz. When you see a slide with a Turn to a person (a new person each time) and discuss the task for 3 minutes. Then we will share just 3 full group comments.

7. Your Intercultural Life • If someone were filming a movie of an intercultural encounter when you were internally disapproving or anxious, how would it look? • Would it be a comedy, satire, tragedy, drama? • What facial expressions and subtle posture cues would the viewer see?

8. Tell a story about a time where someone behaved unexpectedly according to your culture. How did you feel and react? • Use tons of gestures and animated head nodding to punctuate your story. • You have exactly 3 minutes.

10. Internationalization in Canada has not kept pace with Globalization • Globalization is theeconomic, political, and societal forces pulling us towards international involvement. • Internationalization is theupgrading of international perspectives, skills and resources via inter-cultural training and enhanced language support.(Altbach & Knight, 2007)

11. Objectives Discuss the cultural differences affecting: • Touch • Eye contact • Facial expressions • Personal space • Willingness to share personal information – self-disclosure

12. What is culture and how does it impact interactions?

13. Culture = Shared Meaning “Shared meaning” informs values, beliefs, standards, language, thinking patterns, behavioral norms, communications styles, etc. Culture guides the verbal and non-verbal behaviors that individuals use in social situations. One culture’s communication competence can be another’s incompetence!

14. Negotiables and Non-Negotiables

15. Haptics (the study of touching behaviour) Seven types of touch: *positive affect (support, appreciation, inclusion)*playfulness*control (compliance, attention wanted, response needed)*ritual (greeting/leave-taking)*hybrid (mix some of above as in a hug good-bye)*task-related*accidentalJones and Yarbrough (1985)

16. What are 5 haptics “rules”for these students?

17. Proxemics (the study of distance in interaction) • Public • Social • Personal • Intimate Traditional Forms of Greeting

18. Oculesics (the study of eye contact) • attentive focus/challenging stare • shifty-eyed/respectful looking away • flirtatious up-look/“adultery of the eyes” • lustful glance/complimentary notice • attempt to access vocabulary/lack of attentiveness or ability

19. Micro-Expressions • Minute, readable, fleeting facial expressions • NOT easy to read across cultures • Can you tell a a "Duchenne smile" from a "Pan American smile“? The duchenne involves all muscles and the pan american just the mouth muscles. Google AlyshaBrillinger

20. Share an example with a new partner of being surprised by a non-verbal difference

21. Gesture • The triangle • The wrist • The hand to heart • The 3 per utterance Check out the Center for Non Verbal Studies’ Dictionary at http://center-for-nonverbal-studies.org/6101.html

22. Intercultural Concerns • With Sharing Personal Information • pushing/not pushing to make a connection • too many/too few of items in answer to a prompt • pushiness vs lack of self-promotion • giving of compliments • challenging information given • not obeying ‘wrap-up’ cues “People from _______ never give up. And they never go away” “People from _______don’t make a connection. Seem too stiff.” “People from _______act like they are your best friend.”

23. Self-Disclosure In terms of self-disclosing, there are tremendous cultural differences in the: * breadth * depth * valence * timing * targets

24. Traditional Western Social Concepts • individual self-sufficiency - central • intra-generational relationships • kindness, friendliness, social responsibility, and leadership • individual meals • order by consensus • everybody wins bargaining and negotiations • only you can bring you down • direct but non-confrontational communication • shared movie watching and game playing

25. Traditional Eastern Social Concepts • Family ties and support - central • Intergenerational relationships • Respect, modesty, trust, conservatism • Courtesy, hospitality, gift-giving • Communal eating • Patriarchal order, strong leadership • Win-lose bargaining/negotiations • Honor, shame, and revenge • Indirect communication • Story-telling and oral poetry

26. Cultivating the Space in Between: Sharing Meaning

27. Intercultural communication is not easy but it is rewarding!

29. Best Practices • What can we do to support our diverse classrooms and abilities?

30. Clearly outline your expectations. Make the best week-by-week ever! • Control classroom interactions and group work episodes. • List the key terms/concepts for each class on the side of the board. Tell students that through listening and participating in class, through readings and research, they are responsible for these items.

31. Model the type of questions that you would like to see asked. Hand out 10 questions midway through an early lecture and ask students to ask them. • You can show through your validation* of the questions that you value the interaction and that the give and take enriches the class. The next week, half way through, pairs of students can write a question they have down and then a few can be called on to ask their questions.

32. Create lower apprehension about speaking English through sheltered, course-related discussion workshops early in the term. • Offer seminars/web casts on roles and expectations for academic relationships and work. • Know each name! Ask the student what he/she wants to be called. If the pronunciation is challenging, ask for an English word with the same sound as a cue. “Sounds like …”

33. I wish you a happy, interesting, and rewarding journey teaching and living within diversity.