Words that cannot be translated

Posted on April 30, 2013 by arturo.romeropereda@afs.org

Language is so ingrained in the way we live, in our culture, that very often we use words or expressions that only exist in our community or only make sense in our immediate reality. The Dutch language has the adjective gezellig (and the noun gezelligheid), which can roughly be translated into English as cozy, nice, homey, but that also can be applied to family time or activities that we do with loved ones. Needless to say that the Dutch are quite proud of having a word that, although difficult to translate to most languages, represents such important aspects of their culture as family ties and values or staying and spending time together.

Other languages have words that are difficult to translate as well. For instance, Portuguese-language music and poetry have made famous worldwide the concept of saudade, which is only matched in Galician language and can be described as a deep feeling of nostalgia for someone absent or who is missing. Other words and concepts related to emotions are described and mapped in these interesting infographics called Unspeakableness created by Pei-Ying Lin (alternative link).

But not all words that cannot be translated are related to love, emotions or states of mind! Here are some words and expressions that will make you think and smile.

Does your language have any words or expressions that are difficult to translate to other languages? What aspects or values of your culture do these words represent?

UNESCO publishes “Intercultural Competences: Conceptual and Operational Framework”

Posted on April 10, 2013 by arturo.romeropereda@afs.org

In March, UNESCO established a significant milestone in the area of Intercultural Competences by publishing the document “Intercultural Competences: Conceptual and Operational Framework“. This document serves as a reference framework that will help interculturalists and other professionals working in related fields to use as a common reference when discussing the components and dimensions of Intercultural Competence and its intersections with Cultural Diversity, Human Rights and Intercultural Dialogue.

This document represents a milestone in the field because it conceptually brings together and synthesizes a multitude of terms and concepts related to Intercultural Competence and offers definitions to all of them. As a framework, it places and defines the area of work of Intercultural Competence in a globalized world in which everyone is impacted by intercultural exchanges and influences at some level and therefore acknowledges the need for everyone to be interculturally skilled. It describes some of which might be the next challenges for policymakers, civil and human rights activists, social justice and inclusion specialists, politicians, economics and health professionals, educators, etc., and offers definitions for 26 concepts that should be common vocabulary across fields that draw on Intercultural Competence.

More importantly, this framework also offers these definitions and concepts in a programmatic and operational plan and specific action steps to immediately target institutions and populations that can benefit by accessing Intercultural Competences:

Clarifying Cultural Competences,
Teaching Cultural Competences,
Promoting Cultural Competences,
Enacting Cultural Competences,
Supporting Cultural Competences.

"The operational plan builds upon all these concepts, and so is depicted in the visual conceptualization as branches on the trunk of the tree. No match is intended between a specific branch and the theoretical concepts appearing closest to it – all concepts should be understood as having at least potential relevance at all operational steps."

This UNESCO document “Intercultural Competences: Conceptual and Operational Framework” is called to be a necessary reference in our intercultural work and in improving numerous areas of cultural diversity and rights studies, professional sectors, as well as education and development.

If you want to learn more about this document came to be, you can also read it in this entry on the blog of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue by its director Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz.

“Outrospection” and Empathetic Thinking

Posted on March 27, 2013 by arturo.romeropereda@afs.org

Philosopher Roman Krznaric has coined the term “outrospection” to provide us with a new way to approach our relationships with others. Outrospection is a way to get to know oneself by developing relationships and empathetic thinking with others. Krznaric does not see empathy as a soft social concept used to connect with those who are dis-empowered, but rather as a discovery of oneself by “stepping outside ourselves and exploring the lives of other people and cultures”. In this way empathetic thinking is a pathway to expand your social influence, overcome stereotypes and barriers about those who are different and engage individuals in collective empathetic movements that can make change. Learn more about “outrospection” and empathetic thinking on Krznaric’s blog or by watching this RSA video in which his words are accompanied by drawings about this theory.

As you watch the video, you will hear about several ideas that are closely related to intercultural learning and the work that we do at AFS, such as overcoming stereotypes, affective and cognitive empathy, perspective-taking, worldview, beliefs, assumptions, attentive listening, two-way dialogues, etc.

“Highly empathetic people get beyond those labels by nurturing their curiosity about others. How can we might nurture our curiosity? How can we find inspiration?”

Concept of “Cultural Intelligence”

Posted on March 19, 2013 by arturo.romeropereda@afs.org

Today we recommend an article on the concept of “Cultural Intelligence” by Clodagh O’ Reilly. The article is published on the site TrainingZone.co.uk, a portal with resources and articles for trainers and educators.

“Cultural Intelligence” is a concept that is directly related to cultural values and dimensions and to cultural adaptation. Generally, cultural intelligence consists of understanding the values, attitudes and behaviors of a culture group and a knowledge of how to appropriately apply this to achievement a specific goal (Earley & Ang, 2003). One’s own cultural intelligence is therefore developed not only by learning about other cultures, but also by interacting closely with people of cultures other than our own. By paying special attention to the motivations and emotional maturity of others during our own process of developing cultural intelligence, we can better foster this ability in others. According to O’Reilly, cultural intelligence also requires an intrinsic demonstration of respect for the other culture.

Cultural intelligence is relevant for individuals, but also for teams. Research shows that in multicultural teams and organizations, especially those with diversity in leadership, can offer more creative and innovative outcomes. However, diversity does not just happen by having diversity within a team. Unmoderated cultural diversity may increase team conflicts and miscommunication; therefore, cultural intelligence is necessary in teams in order to minimize the chances of experiencing conflict and increasing the successful communication that leads to innovation, Earley and Ang (2003) say.

To read more about cultural intelligence, check out Earley and Song’s book Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions Across Cultures or several books by David Livermore. Also, the Center for Leadership and Cultural Intelligence in Singapore and the Cultural Intelligence Center in the US are important points of reference in the study of this concept, not only with their research but also with professional and educational activities.

While defined differently by different groups of researchers and trainers, cultural intelligence is a concept that can expand the focus AFS places on increasing intercultural competence. As we learn more and incorporate frameworks and concepts into our work, we should keep an eye on research and practices in cultural intelligence that connect with our Intercultural Learning in focus (for instance: understanding values, attitudes and behaviors) and in our mission to promote heightened understanding between cultures.

The Value of Intercultural Skills in the Workplace

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Anna.Collier

Intercultural Skills is becoming a buzzword in educational and work environments, but why do employers value such skills? And which specific skills are employers actually looking for? British Council, together with Ipsos and Booz Allen Hamilton (a market research and consulting company, respectively), recently conducted a study on the Value of Intercultural Skills in the Workplace which addressed these particular questions.

The study found that “employers are under strong pressure to find employees who are not only technically proficient, but also culturally astute and able to thrive in a global work environment.”

The intercultural skills that where shown to be most important were:

The ability to understand different cultural contexts and viewpoints
Demonstrating respect for others
Knowledge of a foreign language

And these skills were so highly valued because employees with them:

Brought in new clients
Worked well within diverse teams
Supported a good brand and reputation for their organization

The study also suggested that policy makers and education providers could contribute to the development of these intercultural skills by prioritizing:

Teaching communication skills
Offering foreign language classes
Opportunities for students to gain international experience

These results from British Council’s study provide further justification for the importance of developing intercultural skills and sensitivity to differences – especially for the younger generations who have not yet entered the job market.

AFS is proud to have a long history of providing opportunities for its audiences to develop intercultural skills – as an exchange student, host family, volunteer, or staff! Read about the AFS Educational Goals and the Intercultural Link Learning Program as examples of how AFS activity contributes to this global theme.

Living in Interfaith

Posted on February 25, 2013 by arturo.romeropereda@afs.org

From wikipedia.org

Today we wanted to share a blog entry by Rev. Eleanor Harrison Bregman from the Huffington Post in which she talks about living with cultural differences within the family, at home – and with something as important as religion. Although she is a Christian Protestant Minister, Bregman is raising her children in an interfaith relationship as Jewish children and they attend a Jewish school. In her entry, she describes how she tries to participate in her children’s prayers and practices, in order to be a part of this aspect of their culture.

Looking for opinion texts on interfaith relationships or bicultural/bireligious households, one can very soon find many different authors with different opinions. This is such a thought-provoking topic that it is important to learn what interfaith parenthood, interfaith relationships and living with two religions means for different people and in different geographic contexts. Here are some links to articles that encourage you to reflect on this topic:

Ten Reasons to Teach Interfaith Children Both Religions: blog entry by Susan Katz Miller on her blog “On Being Both”.
How to Successfully Raise Interfaith Children: an interview with Psychologist Dr. Tara Boadu in which she reflects on how to raise children in a household where there are race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, socioeconomic status and religious differences.
Interfaith Children’s Movement: an online platform where you can find information about programs, activities and advocacy on interfaith children’s programs.
Bi-religious: a blog entry by an Israeli expatriate in the United States on the cultural adjustment of her daughter to religious holidays.

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section!

Intercultural Competence in European Youth Work

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Eva Vitkova

If we search for the definition of Intercultural Competence, we find a whole variety of answers – the term is defined differently by experts on Intercultural Communication, consultants working with Global Teams or by Intercultural Education theorists. The definition also varies across countries and regions of the World. Given this reality, we might be asking: Is there a need to redefine what seems to be well defined already? Probably not if our societies were static organisms that are not impacted by migration, to name just one global trend observable in many parts of the World, including Europe.

Changes that have occurred in society in the last decades and, in particular, trends that will shape Europe in the next ten years were the driving forces of a long-term project started by SALTO Cultural Diversity. The goal of the project was to redefine and review the concept and practice of Intercultural Competence Development in youth work at European level, in order to be able to provide more adequate support to youth workers and youth leaders in the future.

The belief that the traditionally used tools and approaches based on the understanding of culture as a static concept are not always achieving the educational objectives of youth trainings led SALTO to develop a new definition of Intercultural Competence:

Intercultural Competence (ICC) developed and demonstrated within the framework of European youth work…are qualities needed for a young person to live in contemporary and pluralistic Europe. It enables her/him to take an active role in confronting social injustice and discrimination and promote and protect human rights. ICC requires an understanding of culture as a dynamic multifaceted process. In addition, it requires an increased sense of solidarity in which individual fear of the other and insecurity are dealt with through critical thinking, empathy and tolerance of ambiguity.

This working definition (as defined by the SALTO Intercultural Competence working group in 2009/2010) was at center of the Research, which aimed to investigate it’s validity as well as link it to current practice.

It is by no doubt valuable for organizations who work with ICC development, such as AFS Intercultural Programs, to be familiar with how other actors see and define it. It is remarkable that the above presented definition can be easily linked to AFS Educational Goals. It’s context (Non-formal Education and Youth work) makes the definition also extremely relevant for any other organization working with Youth.

To learn about the practical outcomes of the research as well as about the reference literature behind it, access the full Research Report in English.

Aspects of “Everyday Life” from an Outside Perspective

Posted on January 15, 2013 by arturo.romeropereda@afs.org

“After 20 years of opining on weighty bilateral issues like NATO expansion and ballistic missile defense, the political analyst Nikolai V. Zlobin recently found himself trying to explain, for an uncomprehending Russian readership, the American phenomenon of the teenage baby sitter.”

In early December, Ellen Barry from the New York Times featured Nikolai Zlobin‘s new book “America — What a Life!” as an interesting read on Culture-Specific Insights and the perception of U.S. culture from another cultural value lens; in this case, the Russian lens.

But this book is not about the past or present political differences about these two countries. While Zoblin has been a political analyst for years, in this book he does not dive into the traditional narratives of political or diplomatic opposition between the United States and Russia. Rather, he looks at the most quotidian aspects of the U.S. American middle class and tries to explain them, with humor, to a Russian audience unfamiliar with such everyday-life matters. As the quote above reflects, one of the topics that the book tackles is “the U.S. American phenomenon of the teenage babysitter”, exploring the tendency of U.S. American parents to look for a youth (non-relative) to be a babysitter when they go out, while Russian parents would call the grandparents to take care of the children. While the tip of the iceberg may seem a bit boring, Zlobin takes this as an opportunity to reflect on the underlying, less-visible values of family and “grandparenthood” in both cultural contexts.

Another interesting read on this topic mentioned by Barry in her article on Zlobin is Ilf and Petrov’s American Road Trip, a diary of two Russians traveling in the United States and the positive impressions that they had.

Beyond these two books, there are many others that talk about foreign perceptions of a place or country, such as The Great Little Book of Fun Things You Probably Don’t Know About Ireland, a book about Ireland seen from the outside, particularly from an Irish-American perspective, or Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America, the memories of an Iranian girl growing up in the United States.

Can you tell us about similar insightful books that portray a culture from the outside in this manner? Share in this blog entry!

Bilingualism and culture

Posted on January 7, 2013 by arturo.romeropereda@afs.org

For several decades, experts in the field of Linguistics have debated the benefits and disadvantages of bilingualism or multilingualism in the development of children. From a cognitive perspective, some argue that bilingualism may delay or negatively affect the linguistic development of a child. However, most linguists nowadays support the idea that bilingualism does not only provide the skills to communicate fluently and effectively in two languages, but it also enhances other cognitive abilities, such as working memory, and it may help prevent certain illnesses. Chris Berube, blogger at radiolab.org, wrote a blog post a couple of weeks ago on this topic: Mapping the Bilingual Brain. Having consulted with currently very relevant researchers such as Ellen Bialystok and Cathy Price, Berube makes some points about the “wiring” of the brain of a bilingual or multilingual person, such as the increased ability of sorting information in busy environments, and the importance of learning two or more languages from an early age.

These positive effects have been extensively studied in the area of Linguistics from multiple perspectives, also with much evidence from the area of Bilingual and Bicultural Education. Some leading voices in the field, such as Ofelia García, suggest that, along with language abilities, there are other cultural and personal abilities that are heightened in bilingual and multilingual learners.Languages are not only channels of communication, they also capture ideas, values and frameworks around which their speakers build their interactions and descriptions of their environment. With the proper sensitivity, those raised in bilingual and multilingual environments can be more likely to bond with cultures similar to those of their languages, find ways to communicate ideas overcoming language barriers, or holding greater tolerance to different beliefs, behaviors or traditions.

The relation between bilingualism and intercultural learning is very close and direct and both develop similar abilities. Of the many factors that influence our intercultural abilities, language is one not to be ignored.

AFS Intercultural Link Newsletter – volume 3, issue 4

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Anna.Collier

The newest edition of the Intercultural Link Newsletter has just been launched. Feel free to leave a comment after you read it. Enjoy!

AFS Intercultural Programs is pleased to announce the October/ November/ December 2012 issue of AFS Intercultural Link Newsletter volume 3, issue 4 – Global Edition, which can be shared with everyone interested in learning more about intercultural education.

The AFS Intercultural Link Newsletter is the quarterly newsletter on intercultural learning in the AFS Network. The newsletter features content shared by the Intercultural Learning Work Group as well as other AFS Partners and guest writers, including information on trends in intercultural education, interviews with experts in the field and overviews of upcoming and previous conferences.