Intercultural Situational Awareness Training at the RDDC

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Intercultural Situational Awareness Training at
the RDDC
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Presentation Outline

• Definition of situational awareness
• Why do we need it?
• Intercultural situational awareness training
• Testing situational awareness

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Situational Awareness

• Perception Comprehension Projection
• Accessible knowledge Assessment Coping
• Information extraction Integration
  Orientation -
• Whats going on, why, and whats next?

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Intercultural Situational Awareness

• When cultures meet
• Added complexity
• Preconceptions
• Negative transfer

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The Endsley Model
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Why do we need it?

• We train military linguists who will serve as
• interpreters
• area experts
• cultural advisors
• liaison
• CIMIC
• PSYOPS
• HUMINT

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Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes?

• Knowledge of social structure in foreign
  culture
• Knowledge of cultural issues in area of expertise
  (target country)
• Very active formulaic vocabulary
• Active gesticulatory skills
• Adequate level of formality
• Diplomatic savoir-faire
• Strategic cunning
• Respect of the foreigner

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How do we do it?

• Scripts
• Conversation practice
• Lectures/Presentations
• Situational role plays
• Intercultural Situational Awareness Exam

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Scripts

• Dialogues from everyday situations
• Rote memorized
• Enacted as plays
• Include gesture and body language
• Break down barriers

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Conversation Practice

• Conversation face-to-face with native
  Egyptian-speakers

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Lectures/Presentations

• Lectures
• Discussing social and cultural issues in Danish
• Presentations
• Native Egyptians treating social and cultural
  issues in Egyptian Arabic

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Situational Role Plays

• Written description of situation
• Task-based
• Individual debriefing/walkthrough of video
  recording
• Lengthy conversation regarding performance

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What do we want?

• Ability to perceive, comprehend and anticipate a
  situation in a foreign culture and react
  adequately, including
• Verbally,
• With gesture and body language,
• Solving the task at hand

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Examination

• Same setup as in role play
• Performance judged on basis of
• Task solved?
• Role players happy?
• Adequate use of language?
• Adequate use of gesture?

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Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes?

• Knowledge of social structure in foreign
  culture
• Knowledge of cultural issues in area of expertise
  (target country)
• Very active formulaic vocabulary
• Active gesticulatory skills
• Adequate level of formality
• Diplomatic savoir-faire
• Strategic cunning
• Respect of the foreigner

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You cannot know everything
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Questions?
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Extras