Intercultural Learning (ICL) in the Online World

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In a world as interconnected as the one we live in today, the importance of the online world for Intercultural Learning (ICL) cannot not be underlined enough. So many interactions occur online for students and professionals who are involved in education and we need to know how the connections in the online world affect those we work with and those we care about. By its own nature, the online world is a place for the interaction of cultures.

Global Education Conference 2012

The Global Education Conference 2012 will occur during International Education Week (November 12-16, 2012) and will take place entirely online. It is an event for students, educators and organizations that aims to build education-related connections, support cultural awareness and recognize diversity. While the conference does not focus on the use of information and communication technologies in education, it is interesting to see how it will take advantage of the new technologies to offer presentations and discussions on video conference calls and film screenings that promote global education. The mission of the conference revolves around the sharing of:

“ideas, examples, and projects related to connecting organizations, educators and classrooms, with a strong emphasis on promoting global awareness, fostering global competency, and inspiring action towards solving real–world problems“

The Global Education Conference 2012 is free and online. Session topics include using social networking to improve quality of education, how to teach with internet resources, and how to apply principles from the United Nations Earth Charter. Other topics related to ICL address university partnerships in crosscultural programming, leadership in organizations and more. The conference will also include keynote speakers and some film screenings online. If you would like to propose a topic for a session, you may do so until October 15.

At AFS we too are increasing our presence in the virtual world through the use of social networking media and by connecting those interested in ICL through our online Intercultural Link Newsletter, this blog, our Digital ICL Library, and some aspects of the Learning Program. As an international organization, much of our interaction occurs by way of conference calls, email, online publication sharing, etc. As we improve our own virtual intercultural communications, we can better foster global competencies that strengthen the intercultural experiences of young people studying abroad and of those who volunteer and dedicate their lives to AFS. For those of us connected to the online world, Intercultural Learning is key to accomplishing this, and the online Global Education Conference is a great place to start.

Language + Culture with VWZ Roeland

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Intercultural Learning is becoming increasingly recognized as a necessary piece of how modern, global citizens are educated. Some argue that a necessary characteristic of all global citizens is the ability to communicate in a language other than the native tongue. As many languages correspond with one or more cultures and fluency in a specific language could imply competence in a society and culture that speaks that language. To separate the two institutions of language and intercultural learning is to ignore a critical aspect of culture.

Roeland, a Belgian non-profit company promoting language skills in youth, seems to agree. In cooperation with AFS International, Roeland and AFS Partners in Argentina, China, Finland and Switzerland, provided the first group of students to participate in a full English language immersion camp that carried an intercultural component in the United Kingdom this summer.

The aim of this pilot was to test alternative ways of delivering short language programs with an extra focus on intercultural learning, while also being targeted toward a younger age group. Sixteen AFSers between the ages of 13-16 spent 12 days with 50 Belgian students in Sutton Valence, England to gain both linguistic and cultural knowledge. Apart from participating in intensive English language lessons, there were a number of activities, workshops and sport opportunities focusing on ICL, a trip to London and various daily themes such as British Day, Rhythm and Rhyme Day or Fame day. Throughout the camp, students had to follow a very strict “English-only!” rule.

Belgian and AFS Student Participants

Three very dedicated AFS volunteers: Jens Poulsen (AFS Switzerland), Sonja Gustafsson (AFS Finland) and Meng Zhou (AFS China) took charge in bringing the intercultural learning component into action, helped to deal with support issues throughout the camp and supported various other activities at the camp. The work of these volunteers showed how cooperation with like-minded organizations can help us to further the AFS mission of providing intercultural learning opportunities.

AFS International is now in the process of evaluating this pilot program in the hopes of using lessons learned to design a format for possible future collaboration. In the meantime, we hope that this was an opportunity for the almost 70 young students to get a taste of the life-long intercultural learning path, one that has inspired them to explore further avenues with AFS programs and other language-learning organizations.

Awareness Raising Activites on Diversity & Interculturalism

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“Hello” in Different Languages

As the newest member of the Intercultural Learning (ICL) team I take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name, Arturo, is a Spanish name, so you could guess that I speak Spanish. But not everyone calls me that, some people in my family call me “Artur”, with an emphasis on the ending “-tur”. My family speaks both Spanish and Catalan, and “Artur” is the Catalan version of my name. That is the story of my name. A few months ago, I explained this during a class activity on multiculturalism and conflict and one classmate said to me: “I had no idea that names could have stories, sometimes I think I am oblivious to the diversity around me.”

A compilation of activities that highlight diversity, including “The Story of My Name,” can be found in this list of Multicultural Awareness Activities. This compilation of resources has been created by Paul C. Gorski, a Social Justice activist on the site EdChange.org. The site offers an array of activities from icebreakers to group games to introspective individual activities. These activities revolve around issues of multiculturalism, but can also expand the focus of study to issues of community or race.  A good example of that is the activity “The Depth and Breadth of ‘Multicultural’” in which the students engage and define culture and its complexities with their own words.

Instructions for the “Story of My Name” activity can also be found on this compilation by the Wilderdom Store, along with other activities. An activity in this list that can be used as an icebreaker is “Hello in Different Languages,” in which you may ask the members of a group in how many languages they can say hello or greet someone. Even if you think that your group is not very diverse, remember that people have often studied foreign languages or may have family members or friends who speak different languages and who have taught them or been very influential.

Sometimes it may be easy to ignore the multicultural diversity around us during a busy day, or the complex stories that shape the identity of those with whom we interact on a daily basis. As global citizens, how can we become more aware, or make those around us more aware of this diversity? Whether as icebreakers or full-fledged activities, the activities in these two compilations can help us acquire the knowledge and critical thinking necessary for a global society.

“Circles of my Multicultural Self” is an activity that has been used by some in AFS to differentiate between stereotypes and generalizations, and to address the many facets of identity that our cultures shape for us. In developing an increased awareness of how our identities and our names can be rooted in culture we can enhance our ability to recognize the diversity around us, and the richness and impact of our cultures.

 

 

21st Century Icebreakers | Tools For Online Learning

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It’s always difficult to begin a course or a training workshop when your peers are strangers, especially when they are people who come from a conext or a culture you know little about. Imagine then, how tricky it can be to go through this process online, without the possibility of doing ice-breaker activities in person, or the non-verbal cues we rely so heavily on in communication. When interacting online, sometimes we operate with very few cues at all!

Aditi Rao

Everyone who has facilitated an online learning activity knows that the biggest challenge of online cooperation and learning is to develop feeling for the interest, preferences, and habits of those “on the other side of the computer”. It is difficult when you can neither see them nor sense any of the (verbal and) non-verbal cues that most of us rely on when building a relationship. So if you can’t rely on these cues, what can you do to make the online interaction successful and satisfying for all involved?

Aditi Rao, who has recently published an article about 21st Century Icebreakers gives a number of very practical and easy-to-use tips for “breaking the ice” in an online interaction. Her suggestions are simpler than you might imagine.

  • For creative ways of getting to know each other: you can use Pinterest (ask everyone to take 10 pins to represent themselves) or ask the group to prepare a very short podcast about themselves. Another possibility is for everyone to introduce her or himself through a blog post. For younger or especially creative groups it may also be effective to ask everybody to create comic strips about themselves.
  • For tools to collect feedback: Polleverywhere, Google Forms, Survey Monkey, and many other tools are available – for free!
  • For interactive tools that keep everyone engaged, and to get dynamic feedback use Word Clouds, QR Codes, and Voki (a tool for creating speaking avatars). During the last months, participants of the Intercultural Link Learning Program have also had the chance to experience Voice Thread and Blackboard - two interactive programs that are helpful for conducting successful online learning activities.
For more tips to having successful interactions online and links to resources on Aditi Rao’s blog visit TeachBytes.

Word Cloud for this article

For those with little experience conducting webinars, Cate Brubaker, an intercultural trainer who is experienced in delivering webinars, also shares some helpful tips:

  1. Attend enough webinars before you deliver your first own webinar.
  2. Practice, practice, practice with friends, test groups, or by recording your own webinar.
  3. Use a variety of strategies to deliver the content: pictures, graphs, polls, music, videos – whatever works best for you!
  4. Cooperate with another person for the facilitation of your session. This way, you’ll have more time to focus on the facilitation of your session.
  5. Choose a topic that you know a lot of people have questions about.
  6. Don’t think too much – just do it!

On her website SmallPlanetStudio, Cate Brubaker offers other material, free teleclasses, and ideas for how to successfully facilitate intercultural learning – online and offline. In the past few years, AFSers all over the world have been using these tools and materials to better support the interpersonal and intercultural learning connected to the life-changing experience of going abroad and hosting a young person from another culture. AFS Volunteers and Staff involved in the Intercultural Link Learning Program have participated in anumber of these online learning activities and have used many of the above mentioned tools.

When our work is rooted in interpersonal communication and in effectively and appropriately engaging with cultural differences, we have a lot to learn from online learning and can make the most of it by exploring the myriad tools and options becoming available each day. Tell us what online tools you’ve used to facilitate intercultural online learning!

Rethinking the Groupthink

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The rise of the 21st century saw the fall of the traditional work space. New technologies and innovations have led to media, speeds, and complexity of communication technologies that we have never seen before. Many have reflected on how new waves in technology have influenced the way humans interact, and we at AFS are no exception. We explore ways to engage and communicate across difference, and to incorporate technology means to be confronted with the challenge of communicating across difference from a distance.

One concept that has been affected by innovation is Groupthink. The term was invented by Irving Janis in 1972 when he wrote Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes, and it is used to refer to the dynamics of a group that collaborates to create, decide, deliberate and destroy. We seem however, to misrepresent Janis. Many societies look at Groupthink as a positive way of co-existing and communicating — a trendy work environment to accompany the trendy new iPad. Work environments want to create a Groupthink feng shui (shared spaces, de-cubalization, and brainstorming stations), and lost was Janis’ true theory. The group, he said, can in fact present a problem.

by Andy Rementer

A recent New York Times article, The Rise of the Groupthink, may be the first step to put Mr. Janis to justice. Studies from a number of accredited universities across the U.S. have done studies on this topic, and have reached similar conclusions: creativity, innovation, efficiency, an increase in both quantity and quality of work, are all possible in isolated environments rather than products of the infamous Groupthink. Some of the greatest innovators in the world have been introverts, working alone in their office without anyone’s input or distraction. A great example could be Steve Jobs, but look one step closer and we find the “introverted Steve”. With all the new noise from the electronics we have, a culture of the extrovert has developed. All the attention and credit goes to the charismatic type. Meanwhile, the basis of the Apple empire started with one man, in a dimly lit basement, with nothing but his own ideas and determination to keep him company.

by Andy Rementer

To clarify, the article does not suggest that personal relationships and social interaction are not important. Instead, it highlights some research conclusions that suggest the peak of creativity happens in solitude. With attention paid to these types of studies, we see how the brainstorming session may not always be ideal. We might take a different approach, creating an office space with a cafe-style atmosphere where you have the possibility of casual interaction and cooperation, but also have the opportunity to work in an individually-structured and focused way. No man is an island, but give him a desk surrounded by oceans and you might be surprised at what he can do.

The ways group dynamics, human interaction, and work environments have been affected by technology and innovation are many and varied – and this varies in the many cultures and countries we live in and visit. What prominent changes have the cultures you identify with experienced?

Connecting Young People Worldwide | The GNG Youtube Channel

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The Youtube channel of the Global Nomads Group (GNG), an NGO that fosters intercultural dialogue and understanding amongst the world’s youth, offers 272 free videos that portray how young people from all over the world live, what they think, and how they discuss and cooperate with others from different countries. Many of the videos show how groups of young people (usually secondary school classes) from two completely different countries meet each other, listen to each other, and learn about each other’s realities through online classroom exchange, known as Exchange 2.0. Many other videos also show interviews with young people and portraits of their lives in the US, Uganda, Haiti, Spain, Vietnam, and many other countries.

AFS-USA, AFS Indonesia, AFS Malaysia and the US Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam have cooperated with GNG for a media literacy project called the Global Connections: one LENS program. This program is sponsored through the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Through this project, opportunities were offered to students and educators from Indonesia, Malaysia, the United States, and Vietnam to develop their media skills and to get to know each other better through working towards a common goal. The students met online (through video conferences and social networking), and later also in person. The project ended with a local media festival, where students had the opportunity to showcase their public service announcements or digital stories. On the Youtube channel below, you can find videos that were taken during the completion of this project.

This cooperation of AFS and the Global Nomads Group was a big success. It has become more and more common for us, especially for young people, to connect to others via online tools and video conferences. AFS and the Global Nomads Group have pioneered in the area of facilitating youth exchange using these tools, and their positive and very successful experience lets us hope that there is more to come in this area.

Deep Culture Learning | Webinar with Young SIETAR

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Young Sietar is an international organization of young professionals in the field of Intercultural Learning that regularly provides its members webinars on numerous intercultural topics. One of these, an online webinar on “Deep Culture Learning: The Cognitive Unconscious and the International Brain” will take place on September 15, 2012 at 12:00 – 1:00 pm BST (British Summer Time). To check availability and to register for this webinar, click here.

This webinar addresses the fundamentals of neurology, cognition, and perception and by presenting the concept of “Deep Culture Learning” Joseph Shaules, author of the book Deep Culture: The Hidden Challenges of Global Living, invites participants to discover ways to get in touch deeply with a new culture - beyond the tip of the iceberg. Shaules argues that if we learn a culture, we will more deeply impact our brain’s unconscious “Auto-Pilot”, also known as our “Cognitive Unconscious”.

Joseph Shaules is an intercultural educator who has worked and lived in Japan, Mexico, and Europe for more than 20 years. He is now an associate professor at the Rikkyo University Graduate School of Intercultural Communication, Tokyo. He is the author of many books, including “Beneath the Surface: A Beginner’s Guide to the Deep Culture Experience” (Intercultural Press); “Identity” (Oxford University Press), and “Deep Culture: The Hidden Challenges of Global Living” (Multilingual Matters). Shaules works, thinks, and writes in English, Japanese, French and Spanish.

As an educational organization, AFS offers young people the opportunity to spend time abroad and to engage in intercultural learning. With support from volunteers and staff who have knowledge of intercultural concepts and skillful ways of applying that knowledge, the experience of each participant is shaped. Shaules’ webinar can be an opportunity to get deeply involved with intercultural learning, and to reflect on its importance for the contemporary world.

To learn more about Young Sietar, sign up for the 13th Annual Congress 2012, taking place from 6-9 September 2012 in Belfast, Northern Ireland!

Do you know your preferred learning style?

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Over the last 50+ years, many theorists have explored the idea that people have different preferred learning styles and strengths. These theorists have also developed techniques and approaches to guide your learning experience so that it is most beneficial for your preferred learning style. The first step, however, is to pinpoint which type of learner you are!

Howard Gardner

Each learning style theory is different and there is no “best” theory. In this post, we are featuring several free on-line tools to determine your learning style based on Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences.

The first site, businessballs.com, offers a relatively detailed overview of Gardner’s theory as well as offline learning style surveys you can download (one even self-calculates your scores).

A second online resource is learning-styles-online.com, which gives you free information on which type of learning style suits you and and how to use that knowledge to your advantage. The 70-question test gives you clear, graphic results to best guide you to your most optimized learning experience! Or you can browse the types of learning styles and read about each one.

This visual (to the left) and the text provided on the website explain how the different learning styles interact and are related.

It’s very useful to be aware of the approaches that support your preferred way of learning, allowing you to maximize your learning potential. Also, if you identify the learning styles that you struggle with the most, you can use resources like those on the website, Brain Training Games, for example, to improve aspects of your learning.

As noted, Howard Gardner is just one of numerous theorists who have explored the concept of learning styles. His theory is not perfect, nor does it speak to everyone, but it is a very useful tool for analyzing and reflecting on our preferred ways of learning. There are several books available on Gardner’s theory, if you are interested in more information.

Happy learning!

UNESCO Guidelines on Intercultural Education

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UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) offers online Guidelines on Intercultural Education. These guidelines provide an overview and fundamental understanding of an intercultural approach to education.

The document defines culture, education, language, religion, and diversity (among other concepts) and explains how their interrelation can help clarify what Intercultural Learning means and how best to approach it. UNESCO addresses the question: What is the role of Intercultural Education? and indicates four main objectives:

1) Learning to know. This objective highlights the value of a obtaining a general education, which brings learners into contact with other areas of knowledge and encourages communication.

2) Learning to do. This involves helping learners find their place within society and cultivates specific skills as well as an ability to develop and apply a broad range of new skills in diverse environments.

3) Learning to live together. Acquiring knowledge, skills and values that contribute to a collective spirit of collaboration allow learners to co-exist in societies rich with diversity.

4) Learning to be. Solidifying one’s sense of personality in order to act with autonomy, judgement and personal responsibility. Regard of a person’s potential and right to cultural difference strengthens identity and builds cognitive capacity.

The document proposes three main principles for Intercultural Education:

I: Intercultural Education respects the cultural identity of the learner through the provision of culturally appropriate and responsive quality education for all. This means that the learning content should relate to, and build on the learner’s background and the resources they have access to; also, the knowledge transmission should be culturally appropriate, incorporating local pedagogy and traditional ways of learning and teaching. This way, learners can become deeply involved in the learning process.

II: Intercultural Education provides every learner with the cultural knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to achieve active and full participation in society. This should happen by providing equal access to all forms of education, eliminating discrimination in the education system, facilitating the integration of migrant workers into the education system and respecting their special needs. It should also happen by eliminating prejudice about culturally distinct population groups within a country and by promoting an inclusive learning environment.

III: Intercultural Education provides all learners with cultural knowledge, attitudes and skills that enable them to contribute to respect, understanding and solidarity among individuals, ethnic, social, cultural and religious groups and nations. This should happen by encouraging learners to struggle against racism and discrimination. It can also occur through the development of curricula that promote knowledge about cultural backgrounds and their impact. This means that learners should be aware of how our way of thinking, feeling, and evaluating is shaped by our own cultural background and experience.

By understanding how our background has shaped our values, assumptions, and judgments, we build a base for effective, reflective communication and cooperation across cultures and social boundaries – thereby developing the knowledge, skills, and understanding to create a more just and peaceful world.

The Guidelines on Intercultural Education  are a part of the UNESCO online library, where you can also find other materials to learn more about ICL, Human Rights, Education, Culture, and more.

AFS Intercultural Link Newsletter – volume 3, issue 3

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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 July/August/September 2012 issue of AFS Intercultural Link Newsletter volume 3, issue 3 – 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.