Cultural awareness - trainer

1. Cultural awareness

1.1. Communication with non-native colleagues

Second languages are both learned and acquired –  through rule-based instructions in schools and/or practice and exposures in real communicative contexts. This is a demanding process that certainly requires a lot of effort and leads to emotional reactions or identity changes with individuals/second language speakers. During this long lasting learning process, immanent support and help from native speakers are undoubtedly of great value. 

Self-assessment: 

Carry out self-assessment to target learners about communication with non-native colleagues.

Aims of communication with non-native colleagues are to:

• understand that operating with second languages implies slower processing pace
  
• be able to understand, accept and adjust to alternative ways of using a language
  
• be open to variations in pronunciation, vocabulary and syntax with second language speakers
  
• learn how to correct errors and miscues
  
• negotiate for meaning 
  

Activity:

Where do most of the non-native speakers in the workplace come from? 

Discuss some of the characteristics of their mother tongues. What kind of challenges do they meet due to their linguistic background?

Talking around the world map: Start with non-native learners and let them present their own languages. Discuss with the learner possible challenges in talking, listening, reading or writing. Try to identify as many world languages as possible on the map.

Activity:

Ask the native speakers to analyze some recorded short stories/interviews told/ conducted by the non-native speakers. Learners should pay attention to pronunciation and vocabulary and discuss what kind of misunderstandings are possible and why.

Activity: 

Ask the non-native learners to ask native speakers about the meaning of some chosen, specific professional words and expressions. Explanations of such words and expressions can be done in several ways; by showing concrete examples, by synonyms, by drawings, by explanations in simple words etc. Help native speakers conduct the explanations. 

Activity: 

Ask two different non-native speakers to discuss a picture representing a situation from their working environment. The rest of the learners should function as an audience that is supposed to analyze the conversation and then attempt to register certain errors. Discuss whether they interfere with an overall comprehension and how they eventually could be omitted /corrected. In how many ways in general can we correct others? 

Afterwards, the native speakers should discuss the same picture, while the non-native speakers would react as if they did not understand. How can we express the same content in different ways and negotiate for a meaning?