Communication Between Cultures

• What and how a culture teaches is a reflection of its beliefs, values, and
  characteristics.


• Culture influences attitudes toward education.


• Lack of a common language is a challenge in the multicultural classroom.


• To be proficient in the contemporary learning environment, instructors must have
  intercultural communication skills.


• Competency in the multicultural classroom requires the following:

 Awareness that culture teaches different ways of learning

 Knowledge that cognitive patterns are culturally conditioned and vary

 Awareness that culture can create a preference for oral or literate learning

 Recognition that Limited English Proficiency places extra demands on nonna-

tive speakers

 Knowledgeof culturally different teacher–student relationshipbehaviors.

• Success in the multicultural classroom requires development of culturally sensitive
  instructional strategies.

Healthcare

• The healthcare industry is characterized by cultural variation among both care pro-
  viders and patients.


• Perspectives about illness, healthcare, and death vary among cultures.


• Every culture has a set of basic beliefs concerning illness and health:

 The supernatural/magico/religious healthcare tradition perceives the world

being controlledby supernatural forces.

 The holistic perspective considers the individual as a“whole,”consistingof

interdependentparts, such as physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, etc.

 The scientific/biomedical tradition is based on the Western scientific method,

relying oncause and effect.

• Illness prevention methods vary across cultures and can combine concepts from
  different beliefsystems.


• Language is the critical nexus at all levels of patient–caregiver interactions.


• Whenever possible, healthcare providers should use a certified medical interpreter.


• Cultures have developed different procedures for managing death and dying.


• In the United States, the patient is considered the best person to make health
  decisions, areflection of strong individualistic beliefs.


• In some collectivistic cultures, healthcare decisions are the responsibility of the
  family.

Summary 377

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