Appreciating Different Cultures
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do" - Learning to appreciate cultures/diversity
To be able to communicate with people of other cultures you will need to acquire a certain degree of cross-cultural awareness.
Constructive, fruitful, and appreciative discourse between and within cultures is grounded in active participation, empathy and a change of perspective. With these three general competences, a sustainable and long-term processing of newly gained cultural experiences is almost guaranteed.
It is totally reasonable for students to feel scared or uncomfortable sometimes, since that is what the unknown or unfamiliar can evoke. Do not worry if at first it seems difficult for your students to take a step forward or engage in immediate direct contact:
We have got you covered! Following are different exercises and activities you can use for your own intercultural classroom:
1. Title: 'Alpha-Beta Partnership'
Description: Participants are divided into two groups (Alpha and Beta) which, in this roleplay, have to negotiate to solve a problem. At first, both groups are given time to study the information about their own culture and subsequently discuss the problem in their group. Then, both groups are split in half and mixed, so that the problem now has to be discussed with members of the other culture. This exercise can help learners to understand that cultural behaviors and communication patterns can impact negotiations between two groups.
Source:52 Activities for Improving Cross-Cultural Communication
For further inspiration check out the other 51 exercises :)
2. Title: ‘The Banana-Peel’
Description: After making sure your participants have no banana allergies or other restrictions, give each of them a banana. Participants are asked to peel their banana and hold onto the peel. They may eat the banana and are then asked a few questions about their peeling process. This exercise aims to raise awareness of the intercultural value and caution in common practices.
Source: https://blog.culturaldetective.com/2014/11/25/bananas/
For further inspiration check out: Culture Detective
3. Title: ‘Maps Activity Book’
Description: This creative book provides pages with beginnings of drawings and instructions for the learners to complete. The topic is the variety of countries and cultures our planet has to offer and students learn in a playful way to value variety and interculturality. The book is fitted for younger students, as the exercises and instructions run on a fairly basic level.
e.g.: ‘Color the flags & Design your own’ or 'Sports...' (see pictures)
Source: Maps Activity Book; Aleksandra Mizielinska & Daniel Mizielinski; Big Picture Press, 2015, ISBN: 978-0-7636-7771-8