About this booklet
Why are these materials needed?
We belong to a global community, where encounters between members of different cultures are increasingly common in social, commercial and academic contexts. Such encounters provide opportunities for cultural enrichment and mutual understanding but are also potential sources of misunderstanding and confusion. There is ample evidence that contact with other cultures in itself, such as when living or studying abroad, does not necessarily lead to mutual understanding and positive attitudes towards those cultures. Therefore, these materials aim to help students develop knowledge, awareness, skills, and strategies which will facilitate effective study in a context that may present cultural challenges.
Who they are intended for?
These materials are a resource to prepare culturally and linguistically diverse students for academic study in situations involving intercultural communication. They will typically be used by teachers and students involved in English for Academic Purposes courses.
What form do the materials take?
Unlike most open books which adopt a format similar or identical to a printed book, this activity-based booklet integrates text with open-access resources in a variety of media, including audio and video, as well as online interactive and collaborative activities.
How can they be used?
The materials can be used by language teachers and students in the classroom, online or in a blended learning approach, to create a learner-centred environment in which learners can co-create content to meet their individual needs. The intention is to facilitate a discovery-based, experiential approach to developing linguistic skills and intercultural communication competence.
| For students:
When completing tasks in the book, consider storing your work on your computer by exporting the documents. This will allow you to reuse and reference your work for future tasks. Follow the steps below to export your documents:
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The learning objectives
The intended learning outcomes of the modules are that the students will:
- Identify a variety of ways in which culture can be defined.
- Develop their own definition of the concept of culture.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how cultural ideas and behaviours are acquired.
- Explore the idea of culture shock and ways of managing it.
- Identify characteristics of the four stages of culture shock.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the four stages of culture shock.
- Approach cultural ideas and behaviours from the outside as observers, but also attempt to understand them from the inside, from the point of view of members of that culture.
- Be aware of the dangers of ethnocentrism and try to develop open-minded attitudes towards other cultures.
- Understand the importance of accepting and even welcoming cultural diversity in a global community
- Demonstrate a willingness to learn and practice critical thinking skills that will develop the competencies required to live in a global community.
The modules
The modules in this booklet are:
