Communication Between Cultures

 Explain potential cultural differences in intellectual property rights (i.e., what is

plagiarism)

 Make clear the policy and consequence of academic dishonesty

• Beaware of family and community backgrounds

 Be aware of the student’s home and community environment

 Recognize that cultural intolerance and stereotypes learned in the home may

presentclassroom challenges

 Explore the resources in your students’communitythat can help you reach all

of your students

 Invite outside speakers to address culturally related topics

• Beculturally responsive

 Be cognizant of the different ways of learning and vary your instructional format

 Design classroom activities to illustrate cultural differences

 Recognize the cultural variations in communication styles^41

We expect that you now understand and appreciate the impact that cultural diver-

sity has in the educational context. Gollnick and Chinn provide a succinct reminder

of this influence when they say,“Not all students can be taught in the same way

because they are not the same. Their cultures and experiences influence the way

they learn and interact with their teachers and peers.”^42 Effectiveness in the multicul-

tural classroom requires an understanding of the students’culturally based learning

behaviors and communication styles. In order to extend and enhance the learning

experience, the competent educator will have the ability to use the richness of values,

worldviews, and lifestyles represented in the students’diversity.

Healthcare in a Multicultural Context

By now you should be convinced that you live, study, work, and play in a truly glob-

alized society, a society characterized by the continued commingling of people of dif-

ferent cultures. This mixing is not likely to abate, given the many humanitarian

crises, political oppression, and desire for economic betterment facing much of the

world’s population. In the previous sections we sought to demonstrate the influence

of culture and the role of intercultural communication in the business and education

contexts. For our final example of applied intercultural communication, we have

selected a context that all of you will experience throughout your life—healthcare.

If you have not already done so, at some point in your life, you will encounter people

of different cultures in the healthcare setting. This can occur during treatment involv-

ing yourself, a family member, or a friend. Some of you may find employment in the

burgeoning healthcare industry where knowledge of culture and competent intercul-

tural communication skills are increasingly required, as indicated by Purnell:

Health ideology and health-care providers have learned that it is just as important to

understand the patient’s culture as it is to understand the physiological responses in

illness, disease, and injury....A lack of knowledge of patients’language abilities and cul-

tural beliefs and values can result in serious threats to life and quality of care for all

individuals.^43

The Multicultural Classroom 365

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