AFS Orientation Framework
…for AFS & Friends
The AFS Orientation Framework was developed by an international group of AFS volunteers and staff in an effort to help participants and host families achieve greater intercultural awareness, as well as ensure the quality and consistency of orientations within the Network before, during and after the AFS experience. A driving force behind the creation of the framework was a shift to viewing the participants and host families as true partners in the intercultural learning process rather than solely emphasizing the participant, as had been the case in the past. The AFS Orientation Framework outlines the goals of all mandated orientations in the AFS orientation cycle in both the home and host country. The AFS orientation cycle provides participants and host families with a framework for structured support and practical information. The educational value of AFS programs comes from the direct experience of the participants in their encounters with previously unfamiliar places and cultures. This methodology can be referred to as experiential learning, which is learning by doing and involves the body, the senses and the emotions, and the mind, as well as relationships with others. The AFS Orientation Framework encourages the use of one’s intellectual abilities to understand these intercultural experiences in a larger context of intercultural education and global awareness.
ORIENTATION AT DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE AFS EXCHANGE EXPERIENCE AFS has long understood that our program participants have different learning needs at different stages in their experience and AFS’ orientations are organized to provide support to participants and host families at those times of peak difficulty. For each AFS participant, some of the orientation program is provided by the sending Partner and some by the hosting Partner. The interdependent nature of AFS compels us to reach some consensus internationally on the goals that each will address at different stages and on how sending and hosting Partners will coordinate their efforts. The framework names the goals that should be handled by the orientation program in each stage of the experience.
ORIENTATION TOPICS Throughout these stages, a number of consistent topics are included:
AFS and You: What the participant needs to know about AFS - AFS Mission, the support structure, rules and regulations.
Required Logistics: Information about travel, AFS program and school requirements.
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Personal Safety and Wellbeing: Knowledge and skills needed to help keep participants safe and healthy while on the AFS Program.
Cultural Adjustment and Coping: Stages of cultural adjustment, culture shock and related coping strategies. Interpersonal relationships, changing attitudes and behavior.
Culture Learning: Understanding cultural differences and similarities, communication skills, developing appreciation for the home and host country and culture in a wider context.
Personal Goals and Expectations: Reflection on the participant’s own goals for the experience.
GOALS FOR EACH ORIENTATION (PARTICIPANT) The following are some of the recommended goals for AFS Partners to include when planning each section of their orientation program. The dates accompanying each orientation are guidelines and each organization should adapt these to their needs and realities. The goals represent expected competency for the participant or outcomes from this particular phase of the program and are worded to complete the sentence, "During the orientation or by the end of the session, participants will be able to..."
PRE DEPARTURE ORIENTATION (several weeks prior to departure) AFS and You: “… place their participation in an AFS program within the context of AFS’ history and mission.” Personal Safety and Wellbeing: “…identify challenges they may face in their exchange experience that could affect their health, safety and ability to stay on the AFS program and list sources of support to help deal with difficult situations while abroad.” Cultural Adjustment and Coping: “…reflect on ways to cope with the stress of adjusting to a new family, culture, school, etc. and list several strategies for effective cross-cultural communication.”
How should the participant prepare for his or her AFS experience?
Culture Learning: “…identify several of their own cultural characteristics and consider how they might react upon encountering cultural differences abroad.” Personal Goals and Expectations: “…reflect on and record their motivation for becoming an AFS participant and their hopes for the experience.”
ARRIVAL ORIENTATION (upon arrival to host country) Required Logistics: “…know what AFS Orientation events they and their host family are expected to attend throughout the year and when these will take place.” Personal Safety and Wellbeing: “…discuss host country laws, cultural attitudes, common behaviors and how they can help ensure their safety and wellbeing in the host country.” Cultural Adjustment and Coping: “…identify challenges they may face between now and the PostArrival Orientation and record strategies for dealing with anticipated challenges.” Culture Learning: “…list one or more basic ‘do’s and taboos’ in the following three areas: at home, at school, in the host community.” Personal Goals and Expectations: “…record goals for between now and the Post-Arrival Orientation.”
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POST-ARRIVAL ORIENTATION (2 to 5 weeks after arrival) Personal Safety and Wellbeing: “…identify challenges participants may face in their exchange experience that could affect their health, safety and ability to stay on the program and demonstrate strategies for avoiding situations that put them at risk.” Cultural Adjustment and Coping: “…record where they feel they are in terms of cultural adjustment, level of confidence, culture fatigue or shock, etc.” Culture Learning: “…identify cultural differences they have observed between themselves and their host Is the participant adjusting to life with her or family and develop alternate interpretations and his host family? explanations for these differences using the D.I.V.E. Method (Describe, Interpret, Validate, Explain/ Evaluate).” Personal Goals and Expectations: “…review and assess progress on the goals generated during the Arrival Orientation and set personal goals to achieve between now and the next orientation.”
MID-STAY ORIENTATION (approximately at mid-point of exchange) Personal Safety and Wellbeing: “…express personal reactions to cultural differences.” Cultural Adjustment and Coping: “…identify challenges they are facing, including integration into the areas of family, school, and community, and discuss strategies to help deal with these challenges.” Culture Learning: “…recognize and celebrate culture-learning successes to date and identify strategies for effective intercultural communication.” Personal Goals and Expectations: “…review and assess progress on the goal/s generated during the Post-Arrival Orientation and set personal goals to achieve between now and the next orientation.” Is the participant making friends?
PRE-RETURN ORIENTATION (2 to 6 weeks before departure) & END-OF-STAY ORIENTATION (upon departure) Personal Safety and Wellbeing: “…generate advice for future AFS participants hosted in their area about how to avoid/deal with stressful, unhealthy, risky and/or uncomfortable behavior and identify things that they can do to help ensure their wellbeing while in transit to the home country.” Cultural Adjustment and Coping: “…review the year’s experience in terms of ups and downs on their own adjustment curve and discuss strategies for coping with challenges related to re-entry.” Culture Learning: “…celebrate and share ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ aspects that they have learned about: themselves, their home and host cultures, and their natural and host family and consider and reflect on and record how this newfound knowledge may impact their life in the future.” Personal Goals and Expectations: “…record and share ways they changed as a result of the experience and discuss how these changes may be viewed by their natural family, friends and others in their home culture.”
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POST RETURN OR RE-ENTRY ORIENTATION (4 to 6 weeks after return) Personal Safety and Wellbeing: “…understand the role that re-entry adjustment may play in any health concerns.” Cultural Adjustment and Coping: “…review their cultural adjustment progress from prior to departure to now and identify strategies for dealing with the challenges of re-entry.” Culture Learning: “…identify new insights about the ‘hidden’ characteristics of their own culture that they have only come to recognize after their experience in another culture.” Personal Goals and Expectations: “…identify strategies for dealing with challenges of re-entry and reflect on and record how they have changed, their perception of the world has changed, and their role in the world has changed.”
GOALS FOR EACH ORIENTATION (HOST FAMILY) The following are some of the recommended goals for AFS Partners to include when organizing each section of the orientation program. The dates accompanying each orientation are guidelines and each organization should adapt these to their needs and realities. The goals represent expected competency for the host families or outcomes from this particular phase of the program and are worded to complete the sentence, "During the orientation or by the end of the session, host families will be able to..."
PRE ARRIVAL ORIENTATION (several weeks prior to departure) AFS and You: “…describe AFS’ support structure.” Culture Learning: “…give an informal definition of culture in the context of AFS programs and identify ways in which their culture may differ from their participant’s culture and the potential impact of such differences on their hosting experience.” Cultural Adjustment and Coping: “…identify strategies for supporting their hosted participant and other family members during the initial period of adjustment in the following three areas: (1) Building relationships at school, (2) Building relationships in the community, (3) Building the participant/liaison relationship.”
Has the host family shown interest in the participant’s culture?
Expectations and Goals: “...express their expectations for the experience and reflect on personal goals for the experience in light of their expectations and the AFS Mission.”
POST ARRIVAL ORIENTATION (2 to 5 weeks after arrival) AFS and You: “...tell AFS volunteers how often they and their participant have received support from their liaison or contact person and to give their assessment of the quality of that support.” Culture Learning: “...identify cultural differences they have observed between themselves and their participant and demonstrate one or more methods of culture learning.” Cultural Adjustment and Coping: “...state the opportunity challenges they / their hosted participant are facing, including integration into: Family, School, Community, and identify ways to help themselves, host siblings or hosted participants deal with these challenges.” Exploring Personal Expectations and Goals as Related to the Mission: “...review, assess, and revise expectations and goals they generated during the Pre-Arrival orientation and identify strategies for achieving their goals between now and Mid-stay.”
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MID-STAY ORIENTATION (approximately at mid-point of exchange) AFS and You: “...tell AFS volunteers how often they and their participant have received support from their liaison or contact person and to give their assessment of the quality of that support.” Culture Learning: “...discuss value differences and reactions to cultural differences, and identify strategies for effective intercultural communication.” Cultural Adjustment and Coping: “...identify challenges they/their hosted participant are facing, including integration into the family, community, and school arenas, and identify strategies to help themselves, the host siblings, and hosted participants deal with challenges in these arenas.” Personal Expectations and Goals as Related to the Mission: “...review, assess, and revise expectations and goals they generated during the Post-Arrival orientation and identify strategies for achieving their goals between now and Pre-Return Orientation.”
PRE RETURN ORIENTATION (between 2 and 6 weeks before departure) AFS and You: “...identify tasks to be done in preparation for their hosted participant’s return and strategies to help the participant accomplish these tasks.” Culture Learning: “...reflect on what they have learned about their own culture, family, self, and their participant, his or her family, and culture, as well as how they will apply what they have learned.”
How has the host family changed, thanks to the participant’s presence?
Cultural Adjustment Cycle and Coping Strategies: “...reflect on and identify ways the family may change before the participant departs and identify strategies for ‘letting go’ and gaining closure.”
Personal Expectations and Goals as Related to the Mission: “...reflect on and share behaviors and/or beliefs that have changed as a result of the experience.”
The AFS Orientation Framework…
offers Partners international guidelines for the structured support and practical information provided during the AFS orientation cycle. supports experiential learning. names learning and outcome goals for both program sojourners and host families. covers 6 orientations, each discussing at least 4 of the 6 types of orientation topics.
Visit the Digital ICL Library (icllibrary.afs.org) for materials to complement the AFS Orientation Framework
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