Internationalising the Student Experience: Preparing Instructors to Embed Intercultural Skills in the Curriculum

Abstract

The Internationalising the Student Experience Project was devised and piloted as a teaching innovation to improve the intercultural awareness of instructors and, subsequently, that of their domestic and international students. In this article we claim that instructor preparation in the use of the Alliance Building and Cultural Mapping tools of the international EXCELL (Excellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership) Program can provide a base for institutionalised support. We report and discuss this approach and the outcomes to the challenges of and opportunities for internationalising the curriculum in the broader higher education context.

Appendix A

The following, adapted from Mak et al. (1998, p.35) illustrates how an instructor/student counsellor can apply the EXCELL Alliance Building and Cultural Building tools to suggest how international students from culturally diverse backgrounds (e.g., the Asian-born) could seek help or information (e.g., course advice) from faculty members in Australia.

Alliance Building

Students are encouraged to explain how they would seek help from instructors in their original culture and the underlying values for such behaviours (e.g., showing respect towards teachers, demonstrating hard work on the part of the students). They are then encouraged to share their observations of how local students would seek help in the host culture (e.g., being quite direct) and how the international students think of such approaches (e.g., apparently rude, little opportunity for warming up to the request). Within a supportive group environment, international students can share difficulties they may have experienced in obtaining help effectively in the new culture and identify individual goals in seeking help effectively within a specific academic context.

Cultural Mapping

The instructor/counsellor can then produce a generic cultural map on seeking help from instructors on a computer screen or a handout or on a sheet on a large flip chart. The cultural map is laid out in four stages of interaction. The trainers identify the Western cultural values underlying the recommended actions that are likely to lead to successful results. For example, in Western culture, respect for authority figures is indicated by respect for their time, and hence polite and effective requests for their help should be direct, clear, specific, and succinct.

The first stage in this cultural map is approaching the instructor. This includes choosing an appropriate time to see the instructor (e.g., during office hours), knocking on the office door, and waiting for a “come in” response before moving into the office, making eye contact and orienting body towards the instructor, and maintaining an open body gesture. The bridging stage, which links the initial approach stage and the following stage of actually explaining the request, comes next. Appropriate bridging word phrases and short questions include, spoken with a normal clear voice, “Excuse me....” “Do you have a minute?”, “Is this a good time for me to ask you…”, and “I would like some help with....” The third stage is the commenting stage where the request is clearly explained. The task here is to state the request or issue clearly, directly, and succinctly, supporting the request with relevant documents if appropriate. The student may check if the meaning is clear. The fourth stage is the developing/closure stage where the dialogue may continue around the responses to the request, eventually leading to a closure of the social encounter. At closure, the student can briefly thank the instructor for his/her time and advice (e.g., by saying “I really appreciate your help with this”, or “thank you, I will see you at the next class”) before leaving.