About Centre – International students’ Action for Adapting Cross-Cultural activities (2023)

FAQs

How can cross-cultural awareness benefit international students? ›

Intercultural adaptation – regarded as the process of merging into personal cultural environment, inherently developing and absorbing its values, principles, standards, norms and behavior patterns – results in the individual's adaptability to a certain degree.

Why Is Cross-Cultural Communication Important? Cross-cultural communication allows people to avoid miscommunication and misinterpretation, instead opening up the possibility of fruitful relationships across previously daunting cultural barriers.

Some examples of cultural adaptation include: learning greetings of the new culture, learning language and phrases of the new culture, learning dress codes for the new culture, and learning how to access goods and services in the new culture.

Cultural Adaptation

The typical pattern of cultural adjustment often consists of distinct phases: Honeymoon, Crisis, Recovery, and Adjustment. Note that this cycle is repeated upon re-entry to one's home country or culture of origin.

Cultural adaptations can occur at any time and may be as simple as putting on a coat when it is cold or as complicated as engineering, building, and installing a heating system in a building, or building a space station for human habitation. Cultural adaptation has enabled humans to survive in harsh environments.

Cross-cultural psychology touches on a wide range of topics, so students interested in other psychology topics may choose to also focus on this area of psychology. For example, a child psychologist might study how child-rearing practices in different cultures impact development.

Why is it important to interact with different cultures? ›

Embracing different cultures through travel allows you to experience what it's like to be a part of a community other than your own. It also gives you cultural awareness and acceptance, which can help break down cultural barriers while interacting with people of different backgrounds.

Adapting to a new culture is an ongoing process. It may be challenging at times, but most students who experience culture shock agree that going through this transition helped them to learn more about themselves and to develop greater confidence in their ability to navigate new situations.

Cultural adaptability empowers us to work around potential challenges to find the best outcome. Not only is this important in international communication, but even individual teams can benefit from learning how to adapt communication for cultural differences in varied professional situations.

Research in expatriate adjustment has shown that cultural adaptation is facilitated when there is low cultural distance between the home and host countries—or, when the two countries have similar social, economic, and political contexts, and moving between these two countries requires less cultural learning (Church, ...

Developing cultural awareness and appreciation between individuals who don't have a common cultural framework promotes trust, better relationships, and more clear communication. This way, your learners develop attitudes and skills that help them work, communicate, and adjust to people from various cultures.

People Learn About Themselves: Through cross cultural training, people are exposed to facts and information about their own cultures, preconceptions,mentalities and worldviews that they may otherwise not have contemplated. Cross cultural training helps people learn more about themselves through learning about others.

What is cultural adaptation in simple words? ›

Cultural adaptation is “the systematic modification of an evidence-based treatment (or intervention protocol) to consider language, cultural, and context in such a way that it is compatible with the client's cultural patterns, meaning, and values” (14).

An adaptation can also be behavioral, affecting the way an organism responds to its environment. An example of a structural adaptation is the way some plants have adapted to life in dry, hot deserts. Plants called succulents have adapted to this climate by storing water in their short, thick stems and leaves.

Examples include the long necks of giraffes for feeding in the tops of trees, the streamlined bodies of aquatic fish and mammals, the light bones of flying birds and mammals, and the long daggerlike canine teeth of carnivores.

Cross-cultural adjustment is a process where a person interacts with and adapts to a foreign environment.

Some international students cannot find food they like or are afraid of saying the wrong thing to their classmates. For many students, culture shock describes the anxiety they experience when everything is new and different.

The general adaptation syndrome (GAS) was first proposed by Hans Selye in his classic 1936 letter to the editor of Nature. The GAS consisted of three phases: (i) the alarm phase, (ii) the phase of adaptation, and (iii) the phase of exhaustion.

Practice active listening

Active listening is a vital step in developing successful cross-cultural communication in the workplace. By actively listening to the speaker you can establish trust and build a relationship as they know you are really listening to what they are saying.

Cross – cultural communication is about how we communicate with different cultures. It is also about the challenges and benefits of relating to other cultures and the efforts people make to overcome any misunderstandings.

One of the first steps to building trust and rapport with people from different backgrounds and cultures is to show genuine curiosity and respect for their views, values, and practices. This means asking open-ended questions, listening actively, and avoiding assumptions or judgments.

How do you bring cultures together? ›

Music and dance performances, art exhibitions, and theater productions are some of the ways in which culture can unite people. Food and Cuisine: Food is an essential part of culture, and sharing a meal can bring people together.

Aside from learning about culture and people through reading books, watching movies, or attending classes, you can try gaining experiences. As clichéd as it may sound, having firsthand knowledge about another culture is the best teacher, if not immersion.

ac·​cul·​tur·​a·​tion ə-ˌkəl-chə-ˈrā-shən. a- Synonyms of acculturation. : cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from another culture.

Adaptability expands your capacity to handle change, no matter how serious it might be. Instead of throwing away your energy trying to change your circumstance, you will change yourself right from within, thus making you thrive in whatever situation you find yourself.

The integrative communication theory of cross-cultural adaptation provides two models to explain how and why people, on relocating from a familiar home culture to a new culture, are changed by continuous experiences of interacting with the host environment.

Adaptability is a soft skill that means you easily adjust to changing circumstances. An adaptable person in the workplace can keep up with moving priorities, projects, clients, and technology. They're skilled at dealing with changes at work, whether process updates or their work environment.

Cultural adaptation can promote better participation and engagement with a program. It can also create a better sense of ownership and control over a project, because those using the program are also the ones adapting the material.

How do you develop cultural adaptability? ›

People Learn About Themselves: Through cross cultural training, people are exposed to facts and information about their own cultures, preconceptions,mentalities and worldviews that they may otherwise not have contemplated. Cross cultural training helps people learn more about themselves through learning about others.

Learning about different cultures, traditions, and religions can also foster cultural sensitivity, empathy, and acceptance of differences in others. Interacting with people from various backgrounds will also help to prepare you for the diverse, multicultural workspaces you'll be a part of during your career in Canada.

Being able to communicate with people from diverse cultures is not just enough. Cultural awareness allows us to respect various cultures. As a result, the people start supporting cultural differences and embrace new ways to get along in society.

Developing your understanding of other cultures, or 'cultural awareness', lets you have more meaningful interactions with those around you. You're building your respect and empathy for other people, and celebrating your differences as well as your similarities.

Cross-cultural understanding means learning to value other cultures and respect their views. This comes when people move from thinking that “different” means “wrong,” to thinking that there might be another way, to being tolerant and accepting.

The goal of cross-cultural training is to increase awareness of cultural differences so that people are able to work more effectively together across cultures.

It gives them a better understanding of international issues, foreign affairs, and immigration issues. It provides opportunities for unique cross-cultural experiences, whether celebrating new holidays, sampling new cuisines, or traveling to visit friends in their home countries.

Cultural awareness helps us break down cultural barriers, build cultural bridges, and learn how to love, and appreciate those different from us. We can relate better to people with cultural differences as we begin to understand ourselves better. This results in more cultural connection and less cultural conflict.

How do you promote cultural awareness? ›

Culture is essential in international business because it influences how multinational and cross-cultural teams interact and collaborate. It dictates the business world's values, etiquettes, thinking patterns, decision-making, practices, and processes.

Cross Culture Examples

The recipient takes it with both hands, indicating respect. In China, giving a direct "yes" or "no" answer, or demanding one of anyone else, is considered very rude. Meetings are for talking things over, not announcing decisions. In Mexico, business is done primarily among friends and family.