Module 2 Cultural Awareness

Thank you for your interest in this course! Regardless of where you live and who you are, it is very likely that sooner or later you are exposed to some kind of interaction with individuals from other cultural backgrounds. This course module aims to make you more comfortable when facing the challenges of multicultural interactions.

THE WHAT:

In Part 1, you will learn about the complex construct of culture and the various factors that influence it. You will be able to distinguish between the processes of enculturation and acculturation. You will have the opportunity to reflect on your cultural background, confront this with others, and challenge your current points of view. You will learn about cultural and traditional behaviours and events in the mid- and east- European countries and reflect upon how your culture approaches them.

Part 2 continues the practical experience of cultural awareness viewed from the educational context. The classroom is a compassionate environment where intercultural encounters may offer both opportunities and pitfalls. The Culturally Responsive Teaching pedagogy responds to this demand. In this module, you will learn more about this pedagogic framework and become aware of didactic practices for inclusivity in multicultural classrooms.

Part 3 highlights the role of cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity in intercultural communication and offers several self-reflection tasks.

THE HOW:

In this course module, you will study by:

• listening to audio files
• familiarizing yourself with the text materials and PowerPoint presentations
• doing tasks that support your learning

THE WHY:

After finishing this course module

• You realize that the definition of culture is multifaceted and complex.
  
• You have a basic understanding about cultural awareness and dimensions of culture.
  
• You raise awareness about enculturation and acculturation.
  
• You get the ideas of what Culturally Responsive Teaching is.
  
• You recognize the significance of intercultural sensitivity.
  

Module co-ordinator: Magdalena Szyszka, University of Opole, Poland

Co-authors: Magdalena Szyszka (mszyszka@uni.opole.pl) Ieva Margevica-Grinberga (ievam@lu.lv), Egija Laganovska (egija.laganovska@lu.lv), Michaela Hroteková (michaela.hrotekova@uniba.sk), Lucia Hlavatá (lucia.hlavata@uniba.sk), Lubomyr Ilyn (liubomyr.ilyn@ukd.edu.ua)

Cultural awareness (CA) is crucial in several walks of life. Constantly increasing global migrations make CA particularly needed in such areas as business and education. These settings trigger interactions which involve both behavioural and value-level dimensions of culture. In the following part, we want to focus on the role CA plays in pedagogical contexts. One of the theoretical frameworks, providing support for teachers who are challenged to educate students from multicultural backgrounds, is Hammond’s (2014) Culturally Responsive Teaching. This is explained in the following presentation.

Cultural awareness (CA) and intercultural sensitivity (IS) are particularly valuable when facing the challenges of intercultural communication. In the following part, you can learn what IS is and how both CA and IS are related to intercultural communication competence, defined as interlocutors’ abilities activated in intercultural communication.