NTLT 2013 - Jenny Magee - Communicating Across Cultures

Communicating Across Cultures

Haere mai

www.jennymagee.com

How culturally diverse

are your students?

What are your hopes and fears

in relating to students

from different cultures?

How culturally diverse

are your students?

What are your hopes and fears

in relating to students

from different cultures?

Culture defines us. It is the lensthrough which we see the world, the

logic by which we order it, and the

grammar by which it makes sense.

- Avruch & Black

What cultural aspects

or behaviours

do you find most challenging

to deal with?

Communicating Across Cultures

- 5 strategies

1. Know Yourself

Explaining your own culture is like trying to tell a fish

that it lives in water…

Communicating Across

Varieties of English

Speak at the slower end of your normal range

Use correct grammar

Pause for comprehension

Restate in different words

Check understanding with probing questions

Try to avoid slang

Use visuals, gestures or write it down

Practice mindful listening

2. Watch Your Bias

3. MindYour Language

What we know about accents

• They are relative

• They don’t go away

• More exposure makes them easier to understand

• A strong accent doesn’t mean poor grammar

Conversation patterns

A B A AB B A B

A

B

A A A BBB

4. What YouDon’t SayMatters Most

5. UnderstandThe Values

Our values tell us what is…

good evil

clean dirty

beautiful ugly

natural unnatural

right wrong

fair unfair

valuable worthless

kind cruel

appropriate inappropriate

In your culture, what behaviour

shows respect?

What is disrespectful?

Being culturally competent does not mean knowing everything

there is to know about every culture. It is, instead, respect for difference, eagerness to learn and a willingness

to accept that there are different ways of viewing the world.

~ Brenda Rodriguez

Communicating Across Cultures

E noho ra

www.jennymagee.com

Thank you!

Adieu!Farvel!

Sayonara