Ten Steps Toward Cultural Sensitivity
1. Take the initiative to make contact with the "international", the
"outsider", the "foreigner" even if language is a problem at first.
2. Show respect for their culture and language. They may be in culture shock
and grieving over the "loss" of their culture or at least the fear of losing
their cultural identity. Ask, "How would I feel if I were in their shoes?"
3. Learn how to pronounce names correctly. Their name is as important to
them as yours is to you. Practice saying it until you get close to how it
should be pronounced.
4. Be sensitive to their feelings about their homeland. Developing nations
are not as poor, backward or uneducated as North Americans tend to think.
5. When speaking English, do so slowly and clearly. Remember, raising your
voice does not make English more understandable.
6. Be yourself. Show that you care about them as people and that you
honestly want to help.
7. Take time to listen. If you don't understand, or you are not understood,
take time to find out why. Explain or ask questions. A key question might
be, "Would you help me understand?"
8. Be careful about promises. In English we express the subjunctive
(possibility, probability or contingency) in a way that is sometimes
misunderstood by internationals.
9. The key ingredient to developing and maintaining a long-term relationship
with internationals is old-fashioned friendship built of mutual respect and a
desire for understanding.
10. Don't allow cultural differences (preferences) to become the basis for
criticism and judgments. Differences are neither good nor bad. What we do
with them is the key.
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