Learning in a new culture and in an intercultural environment Lars Peter Jensen inspired by Xiangyun Du Department of Control Engineering Department of Education, Learning and Philosophy

2 Overview Confronting culture Confronting culture Intercultural issues in teaching and learning Intercultural issues in teaching and learning Intercultural group discussion Intercultural group discussion Presentation Presentation

3 What are the things confronting when entering a new country?

4 Things that have been taken for granted in one culture might be unknown in another Parents

Meeting cultures – Cultural shock Please think about: What were your most impressive observations on arrival of AAU/DK?

6 A Danish kindergarten teacher worked at a kindergarten in Greenland. A real story she experienced: One day a boy’s mother was picking up him from kindergarten. He did not want to go home with her and behaved very badly. The mother pretended to leave kindergarten without him. She might expected the boy to go after her, however, he picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at his mother and hit her on the back of her head. Surprisingly, the mother turned round and cried ‘oh, how clever you are that you can throw stone so far and so precisely. Come on, we must hurry home to tell Dad. He will be very proud of you.’ Intercultural communication - values and meanings Rasmussen & Bank-Mikkelsen 2000: 8)

7 East vs. West - Cultural Differences comparison of Western and Asian culture in the eyes of a Chinese raised in Germany.

8 ME

9 WAYS OF LIFE

10 PARTY

11 TRENDS

12 STREET AT WEEKEND

13 SHOWER TIME

14 QUEUING

15

16 Symbolism Manners and body language – eye contact, distance, etc. Intercultural communication - non-verbal language Rasmussen & Bank-Mikkelsen 2000: 8)

17 Solution (Herlitz 1989:60) ‘The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said.’ (Peter F. Drucker American Educator, b.1909) Intercultural communication - cultural understanding

18 Intercultural communication - cultural understanding How would you read this?

19 Intercultural communication - cultural understanding How would you read this ad of pills?

20 Please work in pairs, talking to different people using the script which follows… The script: A: ‘Hello’. B: ‘Hello’. A: ‘You are late’. B: ‘I know’. Try to do it completely differently each time. Intercultural communication - Power of language

21 Intercultural communication in teaching and learning Why is culture an issue? Development of intercultural competencies for future engineers Establishment of international program

22 Challenges and identified problems 1 Miscommunication arises due to –Use of second language (English) as a means of communicationsecond language –Learning and working styles –Personality

23 Challenges and identified problems 2 Different beliefs on/ways of learning – different expectations Opinions? Educational background

24 Challenges and identified problems 2 Different beliefs on/ ways of learning  Nobody knows the exact answers until the project is finished  Students are responsible for managing their own learning  Learners are creating new knowledge Studying in a PBL environment, Denmark

25 Challenges and identified problems 3 Can group work be an efficient way of learning? YES, we can meet at 8 tomorrow morning NO, I can’t get up anyway Will they believe me because I am a girl?? Listen to me, I am very experienced If we don’t follow the supervisor’s suggestion, will he allow us to pass? They don’t understand even such easy things!! It is my turn to talk? He complains of my garlic, but he has coffee and carrots all the time!!!

26 Challenges and identified problems 4 Different expectations between students and teachers Foreign students’ perceptions The lecturers’ role: Transferor Is responsible for course contents and organization The students role: Receivers Reproduction of knowledge at examination Danish lecturers’ perceptions The lecturers’ role: Enter into a dialogue refrains from giving answers moves activity onto students The students role: Participation in formulation of course content commitment and self- management (Reimann & Ulsig 2005)

27 New Life Shopping? Cooking? Transportation? Housing? in Denmark Challenges and identified problems 5 New student life

Break for 15 minuts Eller er det biksemad ? 28

29 ’There is still one more seat in the wall’ Study environment in some countries… Big class, little room for individual ideas

30 Same materials year after year… (Karl Smith, UMN)

31 Memory is more important than application skills for high scores…

32 Transferred knowledge will be returned after exams

33 Room for creativity?

34 Xiangyun was a new student like you 9 years ago… I don’t understand the lecturer What on earth the supervisor wanted me to do? So difficult to do a project in group work! I am Depressed!

35 6:30 Get up in dorm 6:30-7:00 Morning Exercise Xiangyun’s story: being a student in China

36 7:00 Breakfast in Canteen 7:30 – 8:00 Morning Reading

37 8:00 – 9:50 Morning Lectures 10:10 – 12:00 Morning Lectures

38 14:00-16:00 Afternoon Activities Lectures Supervision Laboratory Library

39 16:00-18:00 Leisure timeLeisure time

40 Evening Activities – study individually

41 Exams Written form Hard tasks Textbook knowledge based Scores matter

42 Good Good Study, Day Day Up! Study hard - high marks - diploma - good student

43 ` I have never worked in a group in my educational life… In group work, I preferred to listen when some students discussed intensely, because I could not understand why it was a question to discuss. Sometimes I could not follow their ideas or thinking. I need to change and actively work in the group.´ (Chinese female master student) Student’s reflection

44 Is ethnicity the only reason that makes us different? Muslim Philosopher Animal doctor Young girl butcher artist wolf farmer

45 Engineering culture – engineer study

46 Engineering culture – engineer study

47 Is culture something we are born with? (Jensen 2005:18) ’I got culture from mom’s breast breeding’

48 (Jensen 2005:72) You are so big. You can not stay here! Come back when you become smaller! Learning from each other vs. cultural integration Self vs. others Acceptance vs. adaptation

49 PBL in International programs, AAU, Denmark Different backgrounds in educational culture Cultural reflections Doing PBL in ‘the right’ way! A new culture to be established Root of PBL in DK - Tradition of group work in Denmark - Critical thinking - Emphasis on - Collaboration and participation - Lower power gap - Close link between industry and university

What can we benefit from international programs? In multicultural groups of 6-7, your tasks are to discuss the one topic corresponding to your group number (all topics are relevant in a teaching and learning situation) (20 min) prepare a poster with the topic as the title and the most important and interesting results of your discussion (10 min) present your poster in plenum (3 min) Each participant in the group provides information about her/his own cultural background

Main Topics to be Discussed 1)Face-to face Communications 2)Timing 3)Appointments & Meetings 4)Learning Environment 5)Teacher-student Relations 6)Success and Failure 51

Bear in mind in the discussion: What is Core Value behind such behaviour? What is Core Distinction between different cultures? Language, Non-verbal communication, Stereotypes 52

53 Madalina Roxana Teaca 1 Edouard Merle Radoslav Buchakchiev Vincent Renaudat Anders Karstensen Ane Marinelarena Fedz. de Gamboa Abbas Aslani 3 Eric Khach Endika Delgado Cácálin Ston Isuren Vlaykov Celine Delettre Christos Sansaridis 4 Maria Carmela Cascino Arthur Schmitt David Sánchez Blanco Elena Mincheva Kasper Riis Zülow Constantin de la Seigliere 2 George Veliche Rafia Umair Ivan Adriyanov Nikolov Eduard Tardio Capdevila Florian Dufnot Nikolaos Drivas 5 David Robertaud Miroslav Gechev Jesus Rafael Alviarez Briceño Jose Angel Hernandez Garcia-Gango Simon Lindberg Andreassen João Salvado 6 Luka Jesensek Théophile Guittet Georgios Serafeim Adam Kjems Bente Schjødt