CULTURALLY EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

CULTURALLY EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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Communication is an essential skill utilized by any teacher. It is important to be a culturally competent communicator. It is also important to identify the belief systems of both the student and teacher to spot blocks to communication:

ETHNOCENTRISM: Inability to accept anothers culture's world view; "my way is the best"
DISCRIMINATION: Differential treatment of an individual due to minority status; actual and perceived; e.g., "we just aren't equipped to serve people like that."
STEREOTYPING: Generalizing about a person while ignoring presence of individual difference; e.g., "she's like that because she's Asian -- all Asians are nonverbal."
CULTURAL BLINDNESS: Differences are ignored and one proceeds as though differences did not exist; e.g., "there's no need to worry about a person's culture -- if you're a sensitive teacher, you do okay."
CULTURAL IMPOSITION: Belief that everyone should conform to the majority; e.g., "we know what's best for you, if you don't like it you can go elsewhere."

CONCEPTS RELATED TO BRIDGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES (ETHNIC)

E --	Everyone has a culture.
T --	Take time to collect relevant cultural information.
H --	Hold all judgements; ie. be careful about interpreting the culturally different student's behavior, especially if unfamiliar with the culture.
N --	Notice and negotiate differences in understanding of teaching and learning.
I --	Involve cultural resources as approtriate.
C --	Collaborate to develop objectives and educational strategies.