How to Develop Cross-Cultural Skills

Deciding to spend a semester studying off campus is an investment of your time and money, and you will want to make the most of it!  GEO encourages you to start thinking now about strategies that can help you maximize cultural learning – and minimize frustration – when you are in surroundings that are culturally different from those to which you are accustomed.
 
Read these scenarios that demonstrate some tried-and-true ways to maximize your culture learning!

• Scenario #1

• Scenario #2

• Scenario #3

• Scenario #4

• Scenario #5

• Scenario #6

• Scenario #1 – Excluded in Ireland

  You are living with a host family in Ireland. They are very friendly, but every night after dinner they go into the living room and close the door behind them. You feel left out and wonder if you did something to offend them. What might you do?

  Try this strategy:

  DESCRIBE what is happening without making interpretations of why it is happening.In this case you could describe the situation as: My host family goes in the living room after dinner and closes the door behind them.

  ANALYZE without judging or interpreting – When we are facing something unfamiliar or that is different from our own cultural norms, we unconsciously tend to immediately judge and evaluate rather than reflecting on what we see or what actually happened. In this case an American student might immediately judge the host family’s behavior as rude: “My family would never close the door on a guest. That would be rude.”

  Instead, ask yourself if there might be other reasons they might be closing the door. For example:

  • Might they want to conserve the heat from the fireplace?
  • Might they think they are being too nosy and thus trying to make the house quieter so you can study?
  • Could there be another reason?

  If you can’t figure it out, ask the family or a cultural informant what might be going on. You would learn that without central heat, Irish families typically close the door of the room they are in to keep that room warm.

  EVALUATE: Once you understand that closing the doors is meant to keep the heat in, rather than to keep you out, you understand you are free to join them after dinner. In fact, they probably are wondering why you never seem to want to hang out!

  Congratulations! You are developing cross-cultural competence.

• Scenario #2 – Jilted in Japan

  You are living with a host family in Japan. Your host sister’s birthday arrives, and you spend a long time picking out the perfect present for her. You want her to know how much you appreciate the warm welcome she has shown you. But, when you give your present to her, she thanks you but leaves it on her desk and says: “Let’s go have dinner!” She didn’t even open it and you wonder why. You thought she’d appreciate your gift. What might you do?

  Try this strategy:

  DESCRIBE what is happening without making interpretations of why it is happening.In this case you could describe the situation as: My host sister said thank you but didn’t open my gift when I gave it to her.

  ANALYZE without judging or interpreting – When we are facing something unfamiliar or that is different from our own cultural norms, we unconsciously tend to immediately judge and evaluate rather than reflecting on what we see or what actually happened. In this case an American student might immediately judge the host daughter’s behavior as uncaring or rude: “If someone gives me a gift, I would open it right away to show appreciation for their gift. If I didn’t it might hurt their feelings.”

  Instead, ask yourself if there might be other reasons they might not have opened the gift. For example:

  • Were they worried that you were already late for dinner, and they didn’t have time to open the gift?
  • Might they have been embarrassed because they didn’t give you a present on your birthday?
  • Might they be worried that can’t afford to repay the kindness?
  • Could there be another reason?

  If you can’t figure it out, ask the family or a cultural informant what might be going on. You would learn that gift giving in Japan is a complex and nuanced practice that goes beyond simply exchanging presents.

  It is culturally appropriate not to open a gift in front of the giver in Japan. Reasons for this are linked to cultural norms of not outwardly sharing one’s feelings. They might be embarrassed to show you their happiness with the gift, or worried to show negative emotion if they don’t find the gift appealing and embarrass you (or cause you to lose face).

  EVALUATE: Once you understand that it is culturally appropriate to open gifts in private and express appreciation at a later time (often by giving a gift to you), you will not be offended or surprised by your host sister’s behavior. You are learning to understand the nuances of culture.

  Congratulations! You are developing cross-cultural competence.

• Scenario #3 – Chafed in China

  You are studying in China. After yet another conversation in which a Chinese friend seems to be speaking much more loudly than necessary, you catch yourself thinking, “Chinese people speak too loudly.” Then you think of your Chinese teacher whose voice is so soft you can barely hear her if you sit in the last row in class. What might you do?

  Try this strategy:

  DESCRIBE what is happening without making interpretations of why it is happening.In this case you might say: I am stereotyping Chinese people by saying they all speak loudly.

  ANALYZE without judging or interpreting – When we are facing something unfamiliar or that is different from our own cultural norms, we unconsciously tend to immediately judge and evaluate rather than reflecting on what we see or what actually happened. In this case, an American student who notices Chinese speakers speaking more loudly than an American might in the same situation could almost unconsciously judge a Chinese speaker’s loud voice as inappropriate or rude.

  Instead, ask yourself if there might be other reasons that some Chinese speakers might speak loudly. For example:

  • Are they in a noisy environment?
  • Are they afraid you won’t hear them?
  • Are they in a position of authority and supposed to speak loudly?
  • Could there be another reason?

  If you can’t figure it out, ask a cultural informant what might be going on. You would learn that In China people are used to nosy environments and being in large, dense crowds and traffic.

  The Mandarin language is a tonal language and Chinese people often are forced to talk loudly just to make themselves heard or even noticed. In private social situations, such as a person visiting someone’s home, loud voices can be an indication of cheerfulness, friendliness, and hospitality. Speaking loudly is a sign of confidence, and possible even honestly.

  EVALUATE: Once you understand that speaking loudly is not seen as inappropriate or rude in China, you realize that you are seeing the situation through your cultural lens. Instead, try not to be put off – they are not trying to be irritating, they are in fact being friendly. You can respond (loudly) in the same spirit of cordiality.

  And also remember the importance of using generalizations instead of stereotypes when you comment on people who are different than you.

  Congratulations! You are developing cross-cultural competence.

• Scenario #4 – Frustrated in France

  You are doing an internship for a French company in France. Every day when you get to work everyone seems to expect you to say good morning to them. Walking around to all their workstations seems stupid when you just saw them yesterday. You don’t like to waste time! What might you do?

  Try this strategy:

  DESCRIBE what is happening without making interpretations of why it is happening.In this case you might say: In this case you might say: At the company where I am interning my French colleagues greet all their colleagues each morning.

  ANALYZE without judging or interpreting – When we are facing something unfamiliar or that is different from our own cultural norms, we unconsciously tend to immediately judge and evaluate rather than reflecting on what we see or what actually happened. In this case you might be jumping to the conclusion that your colleagues are wasting time by being cordial.

  Instead, ask yourself if there might be other reasons that they all greet each other. For example:

  • Is this just the expected norm if you want to be polite?
  • Might they be better friends with their business colleagues than we tend to be in the U.S. where private matters are to be kept out of the workplace?
  • Could there be another reason?

  If you can’t figure it out, ask a cultural informant what might be going on. You would learn that greetings are important in French culture and necessary if you want to make a good impression. Shaking hands, doing cheek kisses, or responding with a “good morning”, “thank you”, or “goodbye” demonstrates affection, friendship, and respect. This polite formality governs daily life.

  EVALUATE: Once you understand that greetings demonstrate respect and good manners throughout France, you can embrace this nice formality as a way to make your daily life and work experiences more personal. Taking the time for each other, slows us down in our otherwise hectic days.

  So, whether you are arriving at work, speaking to a clerk, or just bumping into someone on the street, take the time to say a polite bonjour before you proceed. You are recognizing that the French view politeness (in the form of greetings) as a prerequisite to getting a lot of work done!

  Congratulations! You are developing cross-cultural competence.

• Scenario #5 – Stereotyped in Santiago

  After taking 10 years of Spanish classes, you are excited to be studying in Chile. You’re eager to use your skills! You start to notice that almost everyone either tries to speak to you in English or immediately tell you that they don’t speak English. Frustrated, you ask one of your Chilean classmates why this is happening. Your friend tells you that the people here probably assume that since you appear to be American, you only speak English. You’re annoyed. That’s so unfair! Not every American is the same! What might you do?

  Try this strategy:

  DESCRIBE what is happening without making interpretations of why it is happening.In this case you might say: In this case you might say that you’ve notice that the people you’ve encountered have the stereotype that all Americans only speak English..

  ANALYZE without judging or interpreting – When we are facing something unfamiliar or that is different from our normal lives, we unconsciously tend to immediately judge and evaluate rather than reflecting on what we see or what actually happened. In this case, you don’t need a cultural informant to see that now you are on the receiving end of stereotyping and are reacting similarly to how others act when they are stereotyped!

  Once you do a little research you will find that researchers say our brains are hardwired to create social categories that influence how we see others. BUT stereotypes can indeed prevent us from seeing the individuality of a person.

  Now, ask yourself…

  • What stereotypes do I have about the people in my host country? Are those stereotypes fair?
  • Are there people here I may have hurt or offended by assuming I knew things about them because of my stereotypes? Do I need to do anything to make things right with those people?

  EVALUATE: With this new perspective, you can start making distinctions between behavior that is personal (unique to the person), cultural (representative of the person’s culture), and universal (a shared human concern). Being abroad is the perfect time to start training your brain to think in this way!

  Understanding these distinctions can help you understand your own culture – and your host culture – a bit better and hopefully help you look more closely at your own stereotypes.

  Congratulations! You are developing cross-cultural competence.

• Scenario #6 – Conspicuous in… Anywhere

  You are a person with fair skin studying in Ghana. Or you’re a person with darker skin studying in Hungary. (Or your hair is straighter, curlier, lighter, darker, longer, shorter, covered, uncovered; your body is bigger, smaller, taller, shorter – different.) It comes down to this: You look different from the locals, and they openly stare at you whenever you go out. It’s super annoying. You find yourself asking, “Don’t these people realize that it is rude to stare?” What might you do?

  Try this strategy:

  DESCRIBE what is happening without making interpretations of why it is happening.In this case you can say that your skin color makes you stand out and people are staring at you.

  ANALYZE without judging or interpreting – When we are facing something unfamiliar or that is different from our normal lives, we unconsciously tend to immediately judge and evaluate rather than reflecting on what we see or what actually happened. In this case, you find the attention unwanted – and rude. But do the locals mean to be rude? What else might be going on?

  Ask yourself if there might be other reasons that they stare at you. For example:

  • How often do people who look like you visit their area? Could they simply be observing your differences?
  • Can they tell you’re from somewhere else? Might that make them curious about how you’ll act?
  • Might they think you look like an actor they’ve seen on American movies?
  • Could there be another reason?

  Once you do a little research you will find that people often stare out of curiosity. We are all curious when we see something new or someone different. Although it can make us feel uncomfortable, people often do this by accident, without meaning to. Not everyone will have met or seen someone who has that particular visible difference before.

  EVALUATE: Once you understand that they might just be curious (as are you or you wouldn’t be studying off campus), you could think about how all people tend to be curious about new or different appearances, and that could help you re-frame the unwanted attention in a better light.

  Ways to Respond:

  • Look at the person who is staring at you and smile. Most people will smile back and then look away.
  • Look at them and raise your eyebrows or tilt your head as if to say: What are you staring at?
  • Strike up a conversation with them about something else. They are likely to quit staring.

  One day you might catch yourself staring at someone who looks different than you. In such a case, practice alternative behavior by looking for similarities as well as differences between people of different backgrounds.

  Congratulations! You are developing cross-cultural competence.

In Summary:

Employers indicate that cross-cultural competence – the capability to relate and work effectively across cultures – is one of the most important skills needed in the workplace.

Maximize your cultural learning while abroad so that your cross-cultural competence will stand out to future employers!