May Module Student Preparation: Intercultural Matters

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May Module Student Preparation Intercultural
Matters

• April 14-15, 2009
• April Valentine
• Office of Intercultural Engagement

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Intercultural by design

• Motivation What are your motivations for
  participating in this module?
• Program design You will learn both objective
  culture and subjective culture in a real-life
  environment, increasing your opportunities to
  develop intercultural competence.
• Objective culture Art, literature, dance
  social, economic, political and linguistic
  systems
• Subjective culture The learned and shared
  patterns of beliefs, behaviors, and values held
  by a group of people

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Cultural relativism

• When observing new or unusual practices of
  people outside our own societies, cultural
  relativism requires us to suspend any kind of
  judgment about those practices until we can
  better understand the motivations and cultural
  assumptions of the actors.
• -Joe Kinsella, Melissa Smith-Simonet, and Kathy
  Tuma in The Guide to Successful Short-Term
  Programs Abroad, 2nd ed.

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Dimensions of Intercultural Interactions

• Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars
  identified six value-tension pairs in Building
  Cross-Cultural Competence How to Create Wealth
  from Conflicting Values which can be useful for
  intercultural program participants.
• In the study abroad context, educational value
  is created when the international educator and
  students recognize and reconcile the different
  cultural values they encounter while abroad. -
  Joe Kinsella, Melissa Smith-Simonet, and Kathy
  Tuma in The Guide to Successful Short-Term
  Programs Abroad, 2nd ed.
• Although the above quote refers to international
  program, students participating in domestic
  intercultural programs from recognizing these
  value-tension pairs as well.

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Universal dilemmas

• Universalism (Rules, codes, laws and
  generalizations)
• Individualism (personal freedom, human rights,
  competitiveness)
• Specificity (atomistic, reductive, analytic,
  objective)

• Particularism (Exceptions, special circumstances,
  unique relations)
• Communitarianism (social responsibility,
  harmonious relations, cooperation)
• Diffusion (holistic, elaborative, synthetic,
  relational)

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Universal dilemmas

• Achieved status (what youve done, your track
  record)
• Inner direction (conscience and convictions are
  located inside)
• Sequential time (time is a race along a set
  course)

• Ascribed status (who you are, your potential and
  connections)
• Outer direction (examples and influences are
  located outside)
• Synchronous time (time is a dance of fine
  coordination)

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Intercultural Competence

• Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) by
  psychologists Colleen Kelley and Judith Meyers
  An assessment tool to gauge ones potential
  effectiveness in cross-cultural situations
• Emotional resilience Emotionally resilient
  people like new experiences and have confidence
  in their ability to cope with ambiguity.
• Flexibility/Openness Open, flexible people
  enjoy interacting with people who think
  differently from themselves.
• Perceptual acuity People who are perceptually
  acute are attentive to verbal and nonverbal
  behavior, to the context of communication, and to
  interpersonal relations.
• Personal autonomy Personally autonomous people
  are not overly dependent upon cues from the
  environment for their sense of identity.

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May Module Student Online Orientation

• Global Scholar http//www.globalscholar.us/ An
  email was sent with suggested components to
  complete. You also have a log in (Centenary email
  address) and password (maymodule09).
• Accounts
• Individual
• Group
• Courses
• Pre-departure modules
• Cultural Adjustment Tools and Issues
• Learn about Culture
• The Importance of Learning about Your Host
  Country's Culture (intl - 1 min)
• Read about Culture The Hidden Dimension (all 5
  min)
• Iceberg Exercise (all 5 min)
• Iceberg Discussion (all 5 min)
• Completion time (est.) US modules-1h14 min
  international-1h35

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Evaluation

• Intercultural Experience Reflection
• Availability The latest version will be posted
  on the May Module and intercultural web pages as
  well as sent to you.
• Version Please use only the most recent edition.
  This will help me submit a more substantive
  report of study abroad statistics for the 2010
  Open Doors Report compiled by the Institute of
  International Education.
• Submission Paper (if you write legibly) or
  electronic versions will be accepted. The due
  date will be announced later.

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Evaluation

• TREK
• CULTURE Component Assessment
• (module and study abroad)
• Dear Student This evaluation is used to help
  students fulfill the CULTURE component of TREK.
  Your typed answers should be as complete and
  thoughtful as possible. Module students Submit
  your responses to the module professor who will
  enter C (credit) or NC (no credit) for the
  CULTURE component of the module. Study abroad
  students Submit your responses to the Office of
  Intercultural Engagement.
• Name _________________________ Expected Date of
  Graduation__________
• Program title (module or study abroad)
  _____________________________________________
• Program location ______________________ Dates of
  Experience ___________________
• Major(s) ________________________________ Minor(
  s) ________________________
• E-mail Address____________________ Ethnicity
  ___________________________
• TREK
• Think about your previous experiences exploring
  possible future professions, engaging with people
  who are different from you, and participating in
  community service.
• Complete this section ONLY if you have completed
  one or more components of TREK (formerly the
  Centenary Plan) prior to completing this CULTURE
  program.
• Previously completed ? CAREER ? CULTURE ?
  COMMUNITY
• 1. How do those experiences connect with each
  other and with your previous classroom
  experiences?
• 2. What common issues and questions have these
  experiences brought to your attention?

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Why re-entry home is potentially difficult

• Unanticipated change home is a given
• Unadjusted expectations (or false expectations)
• Heightened critical sense
• Comparative framework (new perspectives)
• Unprocessed experience
• Little opportunity for application or sharing of
  non-technical knowledge (and, sometimes,
  technical knowledge too)
• Anticipation of future travel (uncertainty)
• Getting up-to-speed may be frustrating
• Need to negotiate relationships (family and
  peers)
• From the Training for International Transitions
  course packet, Summer Institute for Intercultural
  Communication (2003)

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Re-entry programs at Centenary

• Re-entry meeting in early September
• Multimedia storytelling workshop
• Intercultural Photo Contest
• http//www.centenary.edu/plan/intercultural

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Re-departure

• Continue language and international
  (intercultural) education.
• Involve friends.
• Write about experiences.
• Keep the connections gained alive.
• Make new connections.
• Seek out international (intercultural) volunteer
  and employment opportunities.
• From Maximizing Study Abroad A Students Guide
  to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning
  and Use

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Advocacy

• Senators Dick Durbin (D - Ill.) and Roger Wicker
  (R - Miss.) introduced the Senator Paul Simon
  Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2009 (S. 473). The
  legislation calls for the creation of an
  innovative national program to build the
  country's intellectual capacity and economic
  competitiveness by dramatically expanding
  opportunities for American college students to
  gain a global education.
• Urge your Senators to Cosponsor the Simon Study
  Abroad Bill Now at
• http//capwiz.com/nafsa/issues/alert/?alertid1278
  5386typeCO

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A safe voyage begins with planning!

• Advice from faculty leader
• Immunizations
• Department of Public Safety
• Department of State Students Abroad site