Intercultural training programs allow employees of global organizations to learn about the differences between diverse cultures. For example, differences in communication styles, tone, body language, and work values can significantly affect how a company works, especially when people from all over the world work together. This is also applicable in classroom setups, be it virtual or physical. So while you’re coming up with new ways to keep your students interested and connected, don’t forget to think about how your teaching methods and actions might affect different cultures. Cultural training programs help educators correctly see, understand, and care about their students irrespective of the teaching platforms used.
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The Importance Of Cross-Cultural Training For Virtual Teachers
These days, cross-cultural training programs are being inculcated in many virtual training certifications. This is because cultural awareness helps teachers be more culturally responsive, which is more important than ever in the classroom. Students are becoming less alike, and school boards and governing systems are also starting to talk about issues related to race, gender, and class. Moreover, the concept of virtual teaching is witnessing a widespread, especially since COVID-19 came into the picture. Teachers who know a lot about different cultures are better able to handle the challenges in the education system.
So let us try understanding the importance of intercultural training programs, especially for virtual teachers.
#1 Cultivating Confidence
Cross-cultural training helps teachers and educators feel better about themselves by giving them a sense of control over things that were once hard to deal with on virtual teaching platforms. In addition, it builds their confidence about being able to understand their students better, thereby delivering lectures and imparting knowledge in a better way.
#2 Initiate Trust
When people lower their barriers, they understand each other better, which leads to more trust. Once trust is built, your students will naturally build curiosity and a willingness to learn, which leads to more cooperation and a more productive teaching environment.
#3 Getting Better Results
Even if teachers and students are not from the same cultures, it is essential that they understand and respect each other’s cultures. This means that there are fewer chances for misunderstandings to happen during teaching. In addition, keeping poor communication to a minimum will help students perform better and improve their results in the long run.
#4 Develop Interpersonal Skills
Online cultural sensitivity training teaches educators excellent “people skills” that they can also use in other parts of their lives. Cross-cultural training helps teachers deal with their students with more understanding and sensitivity than they may have had before. This is because they learn about the hidden ways that culture affects people’s behavior.
#5 Motivate
One result of cross-cultural training is that people start to see more clearly what their roles are at work. In addition, after cross-cultural training, teachers begin to see where they need to improve through self-analysis, which makes them want to grow and change for the better.
Ways To Improve As A Teacher By Applying Cross-Cultural Communication
Now that we have understood the benefits of applying cross-cultural training in your virtual teaching sessions, it is essential to learn how to improve teacher-student interactions with cross-cultural communication. Doing this will ensure a better learning experience for your students. There are a number of ways to understand and improve communication across cultures. And while it depends on the situation and the part of the culture you are dealing with, the following tips can be used in any cross-cultural classroom situation to ensure your message and intentions are clear and that you understand what others are saying.
Here are a few ways to improve your virtual teaching sessions and acing teacher-student interactions by applying what you have learned in culture workshops.
#1 Be aware
All of this starts with knowing that different countries do things in different ways and different situations. The way is not your way, and neither is theirs. A shared culture needs to grow in a virtual teaching environment gradually. And yes, this takes time, patience, and most of all, the will to really understand what drives the student you are dealing with. But before teachers can use cultural awareness in their lessons, they must first understand their own background.
#2 Communicate with Awareness of Other Cultures
The way a person talks is influenced by their culture. Some cultures don’t like to look somebody in the eyes, speak a different language than the teacher, or have different ideas about authority and how things work. If teachers pay attention to these cultural norms, they will be better able to talk to students and parents from all walks of Life and convey their ideas more effectively.
#3 Practice Paying Attention and listening
Listening well is a precious skill taught in many intercultural training programs. When talking to students from a different culture, it is imperative to pay close attention and listen to what they are saying. By listening, you can learn that there isn’t just one right way to talk to your students. Also, your colleagues or students with different ideas or points of view may disagree with yours, but you should still listen to them with respect.
#4 Question
If you’re willing to ask when you don’t understand or don’t know enough about the culture, you avoid faux pas. Instead, you’re showing that you’re eager to learn more about a new culture and the variable communication methods instead of rushing through without knowing what you’re doing.
#5 Bond Over Stories
With cultural training programs, there is already a story under your sleeve. Use this to your advantage so learners can see themselves as the main character. Start by telling your students a story. Talk to them about what it’s like to get lost in translation on both sides. Then take them through situations they’re already familiar with. This helps them feel their emotions more intensely and prepares them to pay more attention to possible solutions. Remember, teaching is not just you delivering lectures. It is a two-way process, and more often than not, your students are the drivers of that process.
#6 Be alert About Nonverbal Communication
Communication is also done a lot without words. Pay attention to the tone of voice, eye contact, and body language. Watch how students from the same culture interact with each other and do tasks. For example, some cultures don’t make firm eye contact when they talk, so if you try to do this with someone who isn’t used to it, you’ll make them feel very uncomfortable. This gets all the more difficult in virtual teaching platforms because there is a limited window through which you can interact with and observe your students.
#7 Devise a Curriculum that fits Different Cultures
A way of teaching that is easy for one group of students to understand might not work well for another group. In addition, some students might not be able to fully participate in some assignments because they don’t have enough access to technology, don’t speak the same language, or have complicated personal situations. Therefore, educators must ensure their classes are culturally appropriate for all students, even if they come from different places and have different skills.
#8 Never stop being learners
Teachers don’t always come from the same place as their students, so it’s essential for them to always be open to learning from their students and their cultures. Educators who try to learn more about different cultures can help close some gaps that get in the way of learning. They can do this by taking professional development courses or talking with students and their families. So even if you are a teacher now, you should not stop going to teachers.
A culturally responsive way to teach starts with being aware of different cultures. Culturally responsive teaching builds on students’ knowledge of their own cultures and uses that knowledge to help teachers communicate better. It also imparts the confidence in students to express themselves freely in front of their teachers. The culture gap can have a significant effect on how well students do in school. So make sure you lessen the gap or at least build a bridge. We hope our guide to intercultural training programs and applying them helped you get through that. Happy teaching!