Intercultural YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERCULTURAL LEARNING IN THE AFS NETWORK
VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2009 / JANUARY 2010
The State of Intercultural Learning (ICL) in the AFS Network & Update on Priorities MELISSA LILES, DIRECTOR OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION & PROGRAM SERVICES, AFS INTERNATIONAL With the launching of this Intercultural Link newsletter in October and four sessions dedicated to the topic at the 2009 AFS World Congress in Malaysia, it seems that there is renewed energy for discussions about Intercultural Learning (ICL) within the AFS Network. The Congress’s theme of “Acting on Vision 2020,” provided an apropos backdrop for some 160 AFS leaders to review our current and anticipated—both for 2020 and the near-term—ICL needs and aspirations. Coming out of this we have confirmed 4 AFS Network ICL Priorities (see box to right). These will shape a series of concrete Network-wide initiatives to be implemented beginning in 2010 and running through 2012 or 2013. The cross-functional, cross-Network ICL Work Group is now engaged in defining these projects. More information will be shared about each of these and inputs
IN THIS ISSUE The State of Intercultural Learning (ICL) in the AFS Network & Update on Priorities by Melissa Liles Page 1 Did You Know? Intercultural Learning Resources by Robin Weber Page 2
AFS Network ICL Priorities 2010-2013 #1: Core ICL knowledge/skills/competence development starting with staff then volunteers #2: Knowledge and materials sharing with emphasis on ongoing promotion & awareness #3: Improving and/or creating materials for host families, host schools, and sojourners #4: Enhanced visibility of ICL within the AFS Network and for AFS as an ICL leader externally sought in early 2010 as you will be essential to turning these ideas into successful realities, particularly as we first look to strengthen our own collective intercultural knowledge, skills and competence.
Educational Relations at the Institutional Level: AFS Austria’s Relationship with the Austrian Ministry of Education Based on the Experience of a Partner Director by Johanna Nemeth Page 5 Educational Relations at the Grassroots Level: A Proactive Approach to Working with Schools in Argentina Shared by Paula Magaldi Page 7
Concepts & Theories: Generalizations & Stereotypes by Robin Weber Page 3
Training Session Outline: Nonverbal Communication Activity Shared by Robin Weber Page 7
News You Can Use: Information for Partner Newsletters: Coping with Holidays while Abroad by Lisa Cohen Page 4
“Moving beyond Mobility” Conference Update by Annette Gisevius Page 7 ICL Field Conferences & Event Updates (Jan-Mar 2010)
Plan your schedule for the coming months around these upcoming ICL events Page 8 Current Network & Partner Initiatives: A Pragmatic Approach to Intercultural Learning at AFS Interculture Canada by Kathleen Broad Page 8 Beyond-AFS ICL News: Interview with Andrea Sebben Andrea Sebben is a cross-cultural psychologist, author, owner of an intercultural consulting firm and member of AFS's Educational Advisory Council. Sebben, who is based in Porto Alegre, Brazil, regularly trains and consults on intercultural exchange for business people, students, exchange organizations and major athletic teams. She was interviewed by Lisa Cohen Page 10
2 It is also evident that a great deal of ICL activity—some quite exciting—is happening at the Partner level, but that this is frequently unknown within the Network. If you were not at the World Congress where Partners had a chance to share updates about their local projects, don’t worry. As we work towards Priority #2 above, we will highlight these projects (like AFS Interculture Canada’s Intercultural Learning Certificate project featured in this issue) in the newsletter as well as in a Digital ICL Library expected to be a part of the AFS World Café online initiative. As we focus on the future, it is important to reiterate AFS’s ongoing commitment to research, including academic and educational impact assessments. Over the years AFS has made significant contributions to the ICL or Intercultural Communication (ICC) academic field, a legacy we are eager to maintain even as the field rapidly matures. Moving forward, we will look at project opportunities (such as the Kaleidoscope Project which will measure sojourner adaption and acculturation during the exchange experience) along with potential strategic alliances with
institutions that specialize in the study of intercultural issues and whose interests are aligned with ours. Finally, I am very pleased to announce that Johanna Nemeth, Partner Director of AFS Austria, has joined the ICL Work Group. Already hard at work, she has written a feature piece in the Educational Relations at the Institutional Level section of this issue in which she shares her insights about establishing long-term relationships with national-level Ministry of Education officials as a core part of an AFS organization’s success.
DID YOU KNOW? INTERCULTURAL LEARNING RESOURCES ROBIN WEBER, MANAGER OF INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION AND QUALITY, AFS USA In the last issue of the Intercultural Link newsletter we highlighted the AFS Orientation Framework http://www.afspedia.org/ index.php/ AFS_Orientation_Framework. In the current issue we would like to share resources related to the Culture Learning category of the AFS Orientation Framework applicable to the pre-arrival and pre-departure stages of orientation for host families and participants. This phase of orientation focuses on the concept of culture, distinguishing between cultural generalizations and cultural stereotypes, building awareness of one’s own culture and the ways that cultures may differ. To this end, the following are methodologies, resources and links that highlight these topics. Methodologies: Prior to conducting any of the below activities, facilitators should review with trainees, the equivalent information about culture, cultural generalizations and cultural stereotypes contained in the Theories and Concepts section of Volume 1, Issues 1 and 2 of Intercultural Link. • Use proverbs to illustrate cultural values of the home and target cultures and related behaviors. • In small, country-specific or mixed groups ask trainees to share, compare
and then report out “three things important to my generation, three things important to my parents’ generation and three things important to my grandparents’ generation” and related behaviors. The purpose of the activity is to identify and compare dominant cultural norms, highlight the concept of sub-cultures, the cultural continuum and the slowly but constantly changing nature of culture. • Analyze pictures, print advertisements or other visual media of the home and/or target cultures in terms of the cultural norms that they reflect. Print Resources: Landis, D., J. M. Bennett, and M. J. Bennett, eds. Handbook of Intercultural Training. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2004. Samovar, L. A., R. E. Porter, and E. R. McDaniel, eds. Intercultural Communication: A Reader. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2008. Stringer, M. D., and P. A. Cassiday. 52 Activities for Exploring Value Differences. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 2003. Hess, Daniel J., The Whole World Guide to Culture Learning. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1994.
Online Resources: The following lists are compiled by the Intercultural Communication Institute (ICI), based in Portland, Oregon. The first offers newcomers to the field some basic background reading on theories and concepts related to intercultural education. The second list is comprised of resources that focus on intercultural training and learning activities. http://www.intercultural.org/ books.php#general http://www.intercultural.org/ training.php#diversity This website summarizes many of the theories and concepts about culture and cultural differences generated by the noted US anthropologist Edward T. Hall. http://changingminds.org/explanations/ culture/hall_culture.htm#So Links to these resources will be aggregated in the future ICL Library. In the Next Issue In Volume 1, Issue 3 of Intercultural Link, this section will continue to explore ways that cultures may differ, including Milton Bennett’s “Five Frameworks of Culture.” Readers are encouraged to submit other models of cultural difference and related resources/methodologies for consideration in the next issue of Intercultural Link to Robin Weber at rweber@afs.org by 15 January.
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Concepts & Theories: Generalizations & Stereotypes ROBIN WEBER, MANAGER OF INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION AND QUALITY, AFS USA In the previous issue of Intercultural Link, we presented the concept of culture, including the visible (behaviors) and invisible (values, beliefs and attitudes) aspects of it (for more information see Intercultural Link Volume 1 Issue 1). In this issue we explore and distinguish between cultural generalizations and cultural stereotypes. There are sub- or co-cultures within a national culture and there are dominant cultural patterns within each. Being aware of and understanding the dominant cultural patterns of one’s own culture provides the basis for understanding other cultures, and cultural generalizations can help us to do both. The word generalization means categorizing all members of the same group as having similar characteristics. Generalizations are based on considerable research or many observations in a wide range of situations. Generalizations are flexible and open to new information and can lead to increased curiosity and awareness and improved cross-cultural relationships. An example of a cultural generalization would be “People from Country X tend to have an indirect style of communication.” Cultural generalizations allow for individual difference and help build cultural awareness. Cultural generalizations must not be confused with cultural stereotypes. The word stereotype means categorizing all members of a group as having the same characteristics. Stereotypes may or may not be based on tangible facts and can be positive. Stereotypes tend to be
inflexible and resistant to new information. They can, and often do, lead to prejudice, intentional or unintentional discrimination. An example of a positive cultural stereotype would be “Participants from Country Y are good students” or negative “People from Country Z are superficial.” Cultural Stereotypes do not allow for individual difference and interfere with efforts to understand others. Flexibility is the key difference between the two. Generalizations serve as a basis for comparison and a springboard for greater intercultural exploration and understanding. *Adapted from 52 Activities for Exploring Cultural Differences, Donna M. Stringer and Patricia A. Cassiday, 2003, Intercultural Press. The Cultural Continuum Just as you find difference between cultures, differences within a culture group also happen along what has been called a “cultural continuum.” Opposites exist at the same time and within the same culture even if they are contradictory.
On the left side of the chart below, the cultural value of Individualism in Culture A is displayed, and on the right side, the value of collectivism in Culture B. The midpoint of the bell curve for Culture A shows that, on average, individualism is the dominant cultural value. However, the curve also shows that some people from Culture A are much closer to the collectivist value of Culture B. Conversely, collectivism is the dominant cultural value in Culture B, but some people from Culture B can be found on the individualism side. The area shaded in green shows how certain people from opposite cultures may be more like each other on this trait than they are like the average person in their own culture. The bell curves show that there is a great deal of value diversity within each culture group, while at the same time there is a preferred or dominant cultural value. Whether an AFS participant, host family member, volunteer or staff, awareness and understanding of the dominant values and related behaviors of one’s own culture (or sub-culture) lays the groundwork for identifying and understanding how we are similar to or different from people in other cultures. This knowledge enables us to better understand the intentions and actions of others and helps us avoid the cultural misunderstandings that can hinder cross-cultural communication, relationship- and peace-building.
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News you can use: Information for Partner Newsletters: Coping with Holidays while Abroad LISA COHEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT, AFS INTERNATIONAL You have probably heard about the "adjustment curve" for exchange participants. The traditional "u-shaped" curve, as well as the more recent modification of this mapping of the exchange adjustment cycle, has been used to help participants and their natural and host families to understand the inevitable "ups and downs" associated with cultural adjustment and being far from home.
holiday time in an effort to minimize feelings of missing out. So, what can be done to ease the challenge of being far from home at special times? This is a good moment for local AFS volunteers and friends to check in with participants and invite them for outings. Whether inviting a participant for a
on school, family, and other activities in the host community. Most participants will appreciate interest being taken in their customs back home and having the opportunity to share a bit of that with their hosts. This can take the form of Hindu participants sharing Diwali sweets and decorations, US students cooking Thanksgiving dinners abroad, Muslim students sharing an Iftar feast to break the Ramadan fast, or Christian participants sharing culture-specific Christmas customs. Christmas is especially relevant this time of year and, since so many AFS participants come from Christian backgrounds and families, a large portion of AFSers are feeling particularly homesick during December. Keep in mind that even if a Christian participant has a Christian host family, holiday customs vary from country to country and family to family. Be sure to inquire about what your hosted participant usually does to celebrate the holiday back home, and what his or her natural family will be doing during this season.
The classic u-curve includes some highs related to early excitement, stimulation from the new culture, and achievement in terms of language acquisition and integration into the host culture. The lows in this paradigm are linked to disappointment following the early excitement, frustration at not acquiring language or cultural integration quickly enough for comfort, and suffering from being away from home during major holidays.
simple home-cooked meal or trip to a local place of interest, getting involved in what's happening around him or her is a useful way to keep the hosted participant from getting too homesick. It's also a prime opportunity for the host family and new friends to learn about culture and religion-specific rituals and celebrations in the participant's home culture. The important thing is to ask: Which are the main holidays that you celebrate back home? When are they? Would you like to do something special here at that time?
When it's holiday time back home, the exchange participant is acutely aware that s/he is missing special activities, family bonding, and culture-specific rituals that may not exist in the host culture. Even participants who have managed to limit contact with those back home are likely to increase texting/smsing, skyping, and other modes of electronic communication at
If the host family, local volunteers, and friends of the participant are aware that a special holiday time is approaching, they can be mindful that this is likely to be a low point in the adjustment cycle. The participant is likely to spend more time thinking about and communicating with people back home and may have trouble focusing
While this sort of homesickness, nostalgia, or saudades is quite normal, whether on religious or national holidays or on birthdays, you can help exchange participants in your life to limit their down period by encouraging them to keep busy, inquiring about their celebrations back home, and reminding them of the local holidays and festivities that they would not be enjoying if they hadn't come to their host community. Having taken the opportunity to live abroad on an intercultural exchange, chances are that today's hosted exchange participants will be missing their host country holidays when they are back home, this time next year.
Attached please find a PDF of this article translated into Spanish by Rosario Gutierrez, AFS Colombia, as well as version translated into French by Yves Martineau, AFS Canada.
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Educational Relations at the Institutional Level: AFS Austria’s Relationship with the Austrian Ministry of Education Based on the Experience of a Partner Director JOHANNA NEMETH, PARTNER DIRECTOR, AFS AUSTRIA Since the 1950’s AFS Austria – as a nonprofit organization - has had a close relationship with the Federal Ministry of Education. Only Austrian AFS returnees were allowed to give presentations about their AFS experience in schools. In the late eighties, AFS Austria was strongly involved when developing the very first materials on intercultural training materials for secondary high-school teachers. In October 1991 a new type of collaboration started when Dr. Anton Dobart, the newly-appointed Director General of the Division for General Education, Educational Planning and International Affairs at the Federal
Iron Curtain for decades. We gladly took up this idea, presented a project outline and started with the so-called “Trimester East Exchanges” in 1992. It must also be admitted that this new initiative created a number of challenges for the Austrian AFS organization because • It was very difficult to find Austrian families who were willing to host a student from the East (this did not apply for students who came from the “Western Europe”). Austrian host families were quite reluctant and hesitant due to language barriers, stereotypes and lack of social acceptance by the their local environment.
Key Tips for Building Relations at the Institutional Level • Don’t be afraid to contact high-ranking officials. • Work to establish or reinforce AFS as an expert in the field of Intercultural Learning. (Note that this is a long-term effort!) • Work closely with the Ministry of Education to determine its needs and how AFS can help fulfill them. In other words, pursue projects that are mutually beneficial. • Promote AFS volunteer exchanges so that less-experienced AFS organizations can learn from more experienced AFS organizations and vice versa. This also demonstrates the civil society-building aspect of AFS. • Use questionnaires/evaluation tools to gather stakeholder feedback. Share results with the Ministry of Education and internal stakeholders not only to improve programs, but also to demonstrate organizational effectiveness which can lead to further support and funding. • At a minimum, have regular annual meetings with a senior contact at the Ministry of Education. Where possible invite and receive ministry officials at relevant events (e.g. a formal portion of pre-departure orientations or anniversary/special events). Ministry of Education, invited me to a meeting (I had started as Secretary General of AFS Austria only a couple weeks earlier). In the course of this conversation Dr. Dobart asked me whether AFS Austria would be willing to run exchanges with Czechoslovakia and Hungary as he was convinced of the added value of exchanges between our countries that had been divided by the
• The AFS organizations in our neighboring countries were only newly established. The students arrived in Austria with expectations that were quite different from ours. • The students had to struggle quite severely with getting integrated into the Austrian school system and
getting accepted by their peers and teachers. Consequently we decided to take the following steps: Austrian AFS volunteers participated in volunteer trainings in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, sharing our approaches to careful selection, orientation and support of the sending students and their parents in order to create realistic expectations for the exchange experience. The Austrian “arrival-camp” was extended to 7 days (instead of 2 days) including all AFS students hosted in Austria and offering a German language course. In order to be able to better monitor and evaluate the exchange experience we sent questionnaires to the host students, the host families, as well as the host schools. I shared our first-hand evaluations very openly with Dr. Dobart and his colleagues, outlining the various obstacles, challenges and ways for improvement which finally resulted in about 300 AFS Trimester students from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, hosted in Austria and fully sponsored by the Ministry of Education for the following 10 years. Since the very first encounter in 1991 I made sure to have an annual meeting with Mr. Dobart to inform him about the developments in AFS Austria. In 1994 after a continuous decline in our sending numbers Mr. Dobart asked me in which ways the Ministry could help to change this situation. I told him frankly that the accreditation for an exchange stay abroad would definitely help as many students were afraid of all the exams they had to take when coming back home. In order to learn more about this issue, Mr. Dobart asked me to provide him with the respective statistics. That’s why we sent a questionnaire to the YP (year program) returnees of the previous three years asking them how difficult their
6 re-entry examinations had been, how many of them had to repeat their school year, how much they had been supported by their school principals and teachers, etc. When reviewing the summary of the questionnaire described above, Mr. Dobart was quite taken aback and promised that he would try to change this situation. In the following months we learned that there was tremendous resistance to change this re-entry procedure on all levels: bureaucrats, school principals, teachers and even some parent associations were totally against an easier procedure. Nonetheless, on December 30th, 1996 the Austrian school directives were changed in that regard: that if a student participates in an exchange program for at least 5 months and a maximum of a school year, the school attendance abroad is to be considered as equivalent to the one in Austria. The student only has to show a certificate that he/she has attended school abroad (no school subjects or classes need to be certified). With the help of the Ministry of Education the growing resistance to this change was overcome and has led to an enormous increase of our sending numbers, especially on the SMscSH (the school semester starting January-April) cycle and in 1999, when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of AFS Austria the Federal Minister of Education, Mrs. Gehrer, explicitly thanked our organization for having made her aware of the re-entry situation that had hindered many Austrian students from becoming more internationally focused. She also handed a check of € 14.300 to the AFS Austria Scholarship Foundation to enable financially less-fortunate pupils an AFS experience abroad. In 2004 we presented a follow-up study which showed very clearly that for 70% of the AFS returnees the re-entry was very easy to easy, for 24% is was medium and for only 7% it was difficult to very difficult. Noteworthy: the gradepoint average was slightly higher or about the same after having completed their returnee year in their school class. Furthermore, the Ministry officials themselves have started to lobby for the “Austrian re-entry procedures” on the European level referring to our statistics, asserting that AFS returnees are more motivated to get involved in school activities abroad being aware that they
“don’t lose” a year/semester when participating in a high-school exchange. In the following years, whenever AFS Austria participated in European-wide projects like the EFIL mobility study, the Comenius Study or the Comenius Project, we received the full support from the Ministry of Education when having to involve school principals in the questionnaires.
When celebrating our 60th anniversary last September, Mr. Dobart joined our festivities and explicitly thanked AFS Austria for our continual contribution to creating global understanding and handed another check of € 7000 to the AFS Austria Scholarship Foundation. He and his colleagues from the Ministry of Education continue to ask for our feedback, and for our experience
How to Present AFS as an Expert in the Field of Intercultural Learning Relationship-building is key. Start off with a meeting and ask questions to determine how AFS can help. There are many areas in which our work can be useful to a national ministry and support their national education agenda and goals. To help establish or reinforce AFS's credibility as a valuable ally and resource, here are some examples of information you can share or offer, even before a first meeting: • The results of the Educational Results Study, Long-term Impact Study, and other AFS research projects, which show the measurable gains from participating in an AFS experience: http://www.afs.org/research (Note that the Hammer study summary is available at the right reports listing in English, Spanish and Portuguese.) • Our knowledge of and contributions to intercultural learning theory and practice, including a unique orientation framework, 4 levels of educational goals for participants & host families, and ongoing training for AFS staff and volunteers • Familiarity with international mobility regulations and issues, including legislation and visa requirements on the national and regional levels (i.e. Schengen) • Market intelligence and practical experience related to international education, specifically working with foreign students and adults in the classroom and community, study abroad, plus as local & cross-border civic responsibility/volunteering • Materials related to cultural immersion & the related adaptation cycle, intercultural sensitivity, and foreign language learning • The results of satisfaction and post-experience personal and educational benefits evaluations from AFS schools, participants, families and NGO's • Relationships with thousands of secondary schools and many national Education Ministries around the globe, including growing instances of AFS study abroad program accreditation (as in the Austrian example) • Our global network of volunteers, program alumni (returnees) and families and the lifelong international learning friendships they forge • A listing of the many significant achievements of AFS alumni and supporters who, after or during their involvement with AFS, have accomplished outstanding contributions in their fields In 2007 the Austrian Ministry for Interior Affairs changed the visa regulations for foreign students from one day to the next. After having lobbied the ViceChancellor, the Minister for Interior Affairs, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry it was once again the Minister of Education who took the lead in revising the newly-established procedures based on the motto: it is against the interest of Austria to close our borders to foreign students (outside the EU) as our Austrian students may not be able to go there either in the near future.
whenever they consider starting or joining a new exchange initiative on the European level. What have I learned over the last decades? Don’t be afraid to contact highranking officials, Federal Ministers or even Chancellors; don’t be afraid to talk to them about AFS and our everyday work or challenges. You’ll be surprised how often they are just waiting for our inputs and are willing to support our activities!
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TRAINING SESSION OUTLINE: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION ACTIVITY
EDUCATIONAL RELATIONS AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL: A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO WORKING WITH SCHOOLS IN ARGENTINA
SHARED BY ROBIN WEBER, MANAGER OF INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION AND QUALITY, AFS USA Adapted from an icebreaker conducted by AFS Germany staff member Annette Gisevius, the goal of this activity is to demonstrate that cultures can differ in the area of nonverbal communication and to simulate the experience of communicating in a language other than one's own. The activity touches upon the Culture Learning and Cultural Adjustment and Coping categories of the AFS Orientation Framework and helps trainees build skills and knowledge in three areas of the AFS Educational Objectives: Personal Values and Skills, Interpersonal Relationship Building Attached please find a Word and Intercultural document of the Nonverbal Knowledge and Communication Activity TSO. You Sensitivity. are encouraged to translate this The target audience for document to your local this activity is outbound language and use it as needed. (sending) participants in the Pre-Departure phase of orientation, but it could easily be adapted to host families in the Pre-Arrival phase of orientation. It is intended to be conducted after an activity in which trainees define culture and identify the difference between cultural generalizations and cultural stereotypes (see Concepts and Theories in this issue).
SHARED BY PAULA MAGALDI, PR & MEDIA COVERAGE ASSISTANT/ JOURNALIST, AFS ARGENTINA AFS Argentina uses a strategic approach to working with secondary schools, being mindful of what AFS can provide that is useful for the schools and making use of local volunteers to build relationships. This framework allows local volunteers to visit schools with a clear offer and to begin a relationship that will be mutually beneficial. So far more than 100 schools, both public and private, are formally involved in the initiative. Questions can be directed to AFS Argentina staff: Paula Magaldi, Public Relations & Media, or Ariel Vallejos, Director of PR, Communications & Marketing. Attached please find a PDF of the plan in both English and Spanish.
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS OF THE EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE “MOVING BEYOND MOBILITY” ANNETTE GISEVIUS, EXPERT IN INTERCULTURAL LEARNING, AFS GERMANY In October 2008 EFIL, AFS Germany, IDRI Europa and AFS International organized a two-day Educational Conference “Moving Beyond Mobility: Intercultural Learning Through Youth Exchange” which was held in Berlin and preceded the annual AFS World Congress. In a special double edition of the International Journal of Intercultural Education selected papers from the Berlin Conference “Moving beyond Mobility” were published in November 2009. Ján Figel,’ member of the European Comm Training, Culture an ission responsible for d Youth and patron Education, of the conference, sp Roberto Ruffino, Ch eaking with air of EFIL and Secre tary General of AFS Intercultura Italy
The issue contains six research articles and six best practice papers covering topics related to intercultural learning in exchange programs for different target groups. To find out more about the articles visit: http://movingbeyondmobility.org/ The publication can be ordered at EFIL: info@efil.be e conference
icipants at th
Engaged part
Those who have already ordered the publication at the conference in Berlin will receive their copy automatically.
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ICL Field Conferences & Event Updates (Jan -Mar 2010)
If you are aware of upcoming conferences in the intercultural area, please advise Hristo Banov at hristo.banov@afs.org
January
February
March
Washington International Education Council 8th Annual Conference; 25-26 January 2010; George Washington University, Washington DC, USA http://www.washcouncil.org/
CSIET 2010 National School Conference on International Youth Exchange; February 2010; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA http://www.csiet.org/meetingsactivities/national-schoolconference.html ***AFS may attend***
The Forum on Education Abroad:Vision and Value in Education Abroad; 24-26 March, 2010; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA http://www.forumea.org/ dialogue-conference.cfm
Second Annual International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence; 29-31 January, 2010; Tucson, Arizona, USA http://cercll.arizona.edu/ icc_2010.php “Responsible citizens of intercultural Europe” – exploring the link between intercultural competence and citizenship (EFIL study session); 31 January - 07 February 2010; Strasbourg, France; See AFS Intercultural Programs Training Calendar for more details
Association of International Education Administrators Annual Conference; 14-18 February, 2010; Washington DC, USA http:// www.educatorsprofessionaldev elopment.com/association-ofinternational-educationadministrators-annualconference
Current Network & Partner Initiatives: A Pragmatic Approach to Intercultural Learning at AFS Interculture Canada KATHLEEN BROAD, TRAINING COORDINATOR, AFS CANADA A true symbol and concrete proof of their accomplishment, a new certificate allows participants to recognize how much they improve their second language skills and increase their cultural awareness while abroad. The Intercultural Learning Certificate, developed by AFS Interculture Canada, was put together after a recommendation by the Training Program consulting committee, which met in December 2007. The committee reviewed the impact of the AFS Canada training program and considered what
kind of improvements could be made. The committee felt that an increased focus on intercultural learning could help to improve the appreciation of the experience by the participants, their natural families, as well as the host families. The Educational Results Study conducted by Mitchell R. Hammer demonstrated that AFS participants’
experiences abroad led to improvements in intercultural effectiveness, host language fluency and in their knowledge of the host culture. Likewise, the research of Milton Bennett shows that an orientation with a focus on
9 intercultural learning and support to the participant before, during and after their time abroad can encourage a better development of intercultural skills and sensibilities.
An especially important part of the certificate is that the participants are each paired up with a mentor, who reads each of the participants’ six reflections throughout the year and Among other changes made to the pre- responds via e-mail with questions or comments. The reflections are focused departure training material and on themes of communication, cultural activities, AFS adaptation, and personal development. The mentors “I participated in the ‘pilot come from many different project’ and it really made me realize backgrounds but they all have one thing in how lucky I was. The Intercultural Learning common: their certificate asked me to take a moment and really intercultural think about what I was living. It helped me a lot, experience. From because it was another way to talk about problems I had AFS alumni to with my new community! It was also fun to take the anthropologists to language test because it showed how well you improved. world travelers, they I'm glad I have participated in the certificate. It made are ready to share me think about other cultures, and how they do things differently than we do. Thanks a lot!” - Marie-Pier Lambert YPscNH08 USA
they plan on incorporating them in their future work, travel or study plan. Through our evaluation of the project, it is clear that the benefits vary from the recognition of second language skills to increased selfawareness and confidence. The participants mentioned that being able to present a certificate attesting to their accomplishments after their program year was a significant advantage and that they planned on including it when presenting their resumes to future employers or applications to study. The second group of participants working towards the certificate are presently abroad and discovering the world of intercultural learning and building relationships across cultures. Along with their determination, the support of volunteers,
Canada decided to launch a pilot project that would provide students who participated in it with a certificate in Intercultural Learning from AFS Interculture Canada. Bernard Roy, Executive Director says, “We saw this certification project as an opportunity to take the participants’ learning to another level. The experiential learning is at the heart of the stay abroad, however the act of reflecting deepens the understanding of cultural differences.” Now in the second year of the project, and with double the number of participants, it looks like the Certificate in Intercultural Learning is on the road to success! In order to qualify for the certificate, the participant needs to: be leaving for a year-long program, participate in all of the AFS orientation and training sessions (pre and post), complete six “reflection assignments” on their experience (one prior to their departure, one post-return and four during their time abroad), as well as return home with a letter of recommendation from a teacher or an AFS volunteer in their host country. The participants are also given the opportunity to complete the IDI (Intercultural Development Inventory) test before and after their AFS program as well as take a language test to measure their second language abilities.
their skills by reading and commenting on the participants’ texts in order to help them to make certain connections between what they are experiencing and what they are inevitably learning. The role of the mentor is not to judge or evaluate the students, but rather to encourage them and to act as a guide in the development of their intercultural skills. At the post-return camp, the group who participated in the pilot project (YPscNH08) was full of motivation to continue their intercultural learning. As true representatives of the pragmatic nature of Canadian culture, they spoke of the benefits of the project and how
friends and host families in their host country, we hope that they return with a better idea of what the phrase, “It’s not bad, it’s not good, it’s just different” truly means!
Attached please find a PDF of this article translated into French by Yves Martineau, AFS Canada.
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Beyond-AFS ICL news: Interview with Andrea Sebben Andrea Sebben is a cross-cultural psychologist, author, owner of an intercultural consulting firm and member of AFS's Educational Advisory Council. Sebben, who is based in Porto Alegre, Brazil, regularly trains and consults on intercultural exchange for business people, students, exchange organizations and major athletic teams. This month she spoke to Lisa Cohen, Senior International Consultant at AFS International about the intercultural field, her new book and AFS. 1994 in Madrid. It was a fantastic experience because I discovered that there was a group of theorists called "Cultural Psychologists." It included John Berry, Harry Triandis, David Sam, Ype Poortinga, Geert Hofstede, among others, and I presented my paper in the same session as they did.
How did you get involved in the intercultural field? I began getting interested in the intercultural field when I had my own personal experience in Spain, studying psychology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. As my adaptation was somewhat painful I started to wonder why the psychology field was not studying the adaptation process. Why were some foreigners adjusting so well while others, like me, suffered so much? That’s how I first became interested in Intercultural Psychology. I worked with refugees in the Receiving Center for Refugees & Exiles (el Centro de Acogida a Refugiados y Exiliados), a UN organization for refugees, receiving people from Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Sierra Leone, among others. It was a very important experience that turned into a passion. If relevant, what academic field was your entry into intercultural studies? How do you see this link? The science I was getting help from was Intercultural Psychology, which provides very intelligent answers about migration issues, migration personalities, the acculturation process and similar issues. Even though it was a new area of study, it supplied important and clarifying answers for us. It was really good luck. In this line of thought I developed my first study, Is Becoming a Citizen of the World the Result of a Migration Experience?, which I presented at the XXIII Applied Psychology Congress (Congreso de Psicologia Aplicada) in the summer of
Which aspect of intercultural learning or communication has your work focused on? Today I use two sciences: Intercultural Psychology which helps us understand migration phenomena as a whole. Within the field this ranges from the migration personality and trends of an individual, to the influence of adaptative variables in the psychological well-being to the ethnocentric and social components of intergroup relations. Those are the interpersonal and intergroup variables that are so different but deeply useful to understanding migration. Second, Intercultural Education teaches us new ways of interaction through games of simulation and a set of pedagogical theories focused on the intercultural field.
What would you suggest for people new to the ICL field to read as they get started? My books!!! (laughs...) I believe I was really lucky when I started my career. People are used to starting with theory in the university and then going for the practice but with me things happened the other way around: I got out from the middle of the storm (my exchange program) searching for acceptable theories that could explain it. My suggestion is that people seek theories more and more and they should not be afraid to create their own concepts and ideas. We need more scientists and specialists in our area.
What do you wish more people would understand about intercultural work? People tend to believe that Intercultural Training is merely informative and will just explain about the host country (geography, history, etiquette, gastronomy, etc.) and that’s all. This is very sad and incomplete because we work from the behavioral point of view and not from the informational one. When people move, they tend to think about changes in the language, school, jobs and so on but often forget that the big change takes place inside the person that is moving. And that is our central point: to get out of the ethnocentric and prejudiced perspective towards something bigger, where the cultural differences can be seen not as a problem but as an unlimited resource.
What are the hot topics in ICL these days? The intercultural field is all over the place nowadays and that makes me very happy. Within Intercultural Psychology we are working in the fields of cognitive and social development, linguistic acquisition, child development, psychopathology, organizational
11 processes, gender differences (meaning in groups with different sexual options), minority group interventions (and that includes indigenous people, Gypsies, refugees) and, obviously migration issues. Each day we realize that the intercultural field is an interdisciplinary matter and has no boundaries. The conflicts between the left and right brain hemispheres, as announced by neuroscience, can also be understood as an intercultural phenomenon. The fast access that the Chinese have to both hemispheres illustrates their difference compared to Western thought, that is more Cartesian. This is neuroscience but intercultural studies as well. How has the ICL field changed since you entered it? First: other sciences began to deal with intercultural issues, sometimes just to be fashionable, sometimes for no good reason. Nowadays, every person I talk to, regardless of his or her field, always has something interesting to say related to our subject. For instance, when I talk to football players, expatriation interests them. It is also very interesting to talk to a lawyer about the way foreign clients
make their decisions. “How do they decide, Andrea?” they ask me. If I talk to a friend who works in a multinational company, she will be interested in understanding why her boss in Switzerland behaves the way he does. Second: due to this interdisciplinary nature, other professionals develop new methods and theories. From one point of view, that can be good, because we need it. But on the other hand, people with no formal education feel able to "do intercultural studies" using only their empirical knowledge or a second language or the fact that they lived abroad for some years. For me this is very dangerous because we need to have scientific criteria to talk about this subject in the very same way that it is required to talk about any other topic professionally. What steps do you recommend AFS take to continue to distinguish itself as a secondary school exchange provider in the ICL arena? For me AFS has three things that I consider fundamental to be a reference
Intercultural Learning Work Group Johanna Nemeth Rosario Gutierrez Annette Gisevius Lisa Cohen Melissa Liles, Chair Lucas Welter Roberto Ruffino Robin Weber
(AUT) (COL) (GER) (INT) (INT) (INT) (ITA) (USA)
Call for Submissions Partners are invited to submit articles, news items and intercultural activities with accompanying graphics or photos for consideration in future issues of Intercultural Link. Submissions can be AFS-specific or part of the larger Intercultural Learning (ICL) field. Simply send your inputs to Hristo Banov at AFS International: hristo.banov@afs.org
in the subject:
1. You are pioneers in it and you have
started from the experience and the need for change. That produces a fantastic legitimacy in what we do.
2. You have a passion for the subject
and Intercultural Education is all about love towards the other, with the need of going beyond, broadening our view - and with this affection there is no task in intercultural studies that cannot be accomplished.
3. And finally you have a group of
volunteers that add experience, passion and the will to go forward.
That’s why, as a scientist in the subject, I believe we have a very productive partnership because we have all we need: background due to our extensive tradition, love in all we do, science and professionals to help us. Isn’t that just wonderful?
Attached please find a PDF of this article translated into French by Yves Martineau, AFS Canada, as well as a version in Spanish.
Intercultural Newsletter Editor Editorial Consultant Layout Design Design Consultant & Graphics Researcher
Lisa Cohen Melissa Liles Giulia Fleishman Raquel Martinez Hristo Banov
YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERCULTURAL LEARNING IN THE AFS NETWORK VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2009 / JANUARY 2010
Questions or Comments to: hristo.banov@afs.org