CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

What is communication? Basically, communication is the tool "beings" use to relay information to one another. Human beings use language as well as non-verbal communication, to express their thoughts, needs, culture, etc.

Most people in Canada speak English or French or both. But imagine you are in a land where you cannot use your language skills to communicate.

Discuss with your friends and classmates, how you would communicate to others if you did not speak the same language? How would you explain yourself? How would you understand what the other person is trying to convey to you? What would you learn about the other culture? What would you be teaching about your own culture?

Act out a scenario where this might happen. Remember that you cannot use words to communicate your messages.

An Interactive Quiz!

Try the following experiment in cross-cultural communication:

BELLY-TALK

Sit down across the table from someone you have never met before and without saying a word, gently stare at each other and write down in 5 minutes everything you think you can tell about that person ie.) are they from a big family, small, how many brother/ sisters, kind of music they like , favourite food, big town dweller, small town, sports, etc nothing mean, just fun...then after the silent time is over compare notes and see how much you got right/ wrong you'll be amazed...use this to get to know your new buddy...correct what they didn't quite guess right!

Next step, try this with a friend...just stand a comfortable distance apart...remember that your personal distance might be different from another person`s....and without speaking just stand facing each other, gently staring at each other for about 3-5 minutes without speaking. Discuss after what you communicated...if anything...were you on the same wave length or totally apart? Were you comfortable or uneasy without spoken words?

Communciation/Silence- Asian/Western comparison:

Generally, Canadians are not as comfortable with silence and tend to fill spaces and gaps in conversations with 'small talk'. In some Asian countries, silence is a much utilised form of communication. For example, the Japanese even speak about 'belly-talk' and knowing how to read someone's thoughts even though they are not speaking. How did you feel sitting in silence? What purpose do you think silence serves? What does it communicate/ mean to you?

---

GESTURE SKITS

time: 1 hour

In groups, students write their own play/skit using the collections of gestures and greeting from other cultures. It is up to the students how they want to teach the rest of the group about the gestures they researched. Each skit should be about 10- 15 minutes. The skit should incorporate misunderstandings and interpretation of gesture meaning in the various countries.

Gestures resource:Body Language and gestures in Asia and the Pacific: http://www.world culture.com/gesture.html
http://www.world culture.com/gesasia.html for picture demonstrations
Books: Roger Axtell , Gestures The Do's and Taboos of Body Language around the world
Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands (see reference already sent)

---

BAFA BAFA

This is a well known cross-cultural game designed to teach about stereotypes, culture shock, adaptation and assumptions. Participants are divided into two `cultures` Alpha and Beta. The cultures are fictitious yet tend to mirror east-west characteristics.
by Garry Shirts ( Simile II, PO Box 910 Del Mar, CA 92014)

Another organization which you may want to learn more about for cross-cultural training is SIETAR...The Society for Intercultural Training and Research. If you search under SIETAR on the web a selection of sites are available.

---

Other cross-cultural resources:

Multicultural Workshop by Linda Lonon Blanton and Linda Lee.
Heinle&Heinle Publishers ITP AN International Thomson Publishing Company. In Canada you can call 1-800-268-2222 for information.

Education for Development. A Teacher`s Resource for Global Learning by Susan Fountain. Unicef. Published by Hodder&Stoughton

Mark Borthwick, Pacific Century , The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia, The Pacific Basin Institute , Westview Press (1992) Allen& Unwin

Sinor, Denis " Foreigner- Barbarian- Monster". In East- West in Art, Theodore Bowie, ed. Bloominton, Indiana pp.153-173

Garrison, Jeffrey G. 1990 . Power Japanese " Body Language" . Kodansha International. Tokyo and New York.

Barnouw, V. Culture and Personality, 4th ed.