An Experiential Approach to Intercultural Education
Beulah Heights University, a predominately African-American institution, specializes in reaching the adult student of average age 38. Most of these students have 9-to-5 jobs as well as family and church responsibilities. Seated in the classroom, there are pastors, teachers, church administrators, he...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
2008
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| In: |
Christian higher education
Year: 2008, Volume: 7, Issue: 2, Pages: 110-122 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Beulah Heights University, a predominately African-American institution, specializes in reaching the adult student of average age 38. Most of these students have 9-to-5 jobs as well as family and church responsibilities. Seated in the classroom, there are pastors, teachers, church administrators, health care workers, salespersons, bank tellers, security officers, postal workers, morticians, and so forth. As adults return to the classroom, they are most likely to succeed in courses that validate their work-based prior learning and competencies. Thus, the instructor's challenge has been to carefully develop an intercultural communication course designed specifically for the adult learners with the view to getting them actively involved experientially, making use of learning styles and the rich backgrounds that each of them brings to the classroom. At the beginning of the course, various interactive experiences are used to help students see themselves as a product of their own cultural environment. This is based on the assumption that knowing one's own culture makes a person more able to understand people from other cultures. As the course progresses, additional interactive experiences including cultural scenarios, case studies, simulation games, and mock visits are introduced to provide a context in which students can learn to apply intercultural communication principles, theories, and strategies appropriately when relating to people of different cultures, worldviews, and value systems. |
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| ISSN: | 1539-4107 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian higher education
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/15363750600586431 |