be limits on what they find acceptable. Gather feedback on appropriate
alternatives that could be built into menus and catering provision. Advise
those arranging catering at induction events to be especially sensitive about
labelling food, so that international students don’t become anxious about
what they can and cannot eat.
7 Consider getting past students from different countries to write an
introductory guide to the idiosyncrasies of your country and institution!
This can be useful for new learners from abroad, and it’s also good for staff
and learners from the home country to see themselves through the eyes of
people from other cultures. Any texts your learners produce can be a starting
point for cross-cultural activities in lessons, and can help learners to find out
about each others’ backgrounds and feel that their own culture is valued.
8 Recognize cultural differences regarding attitudes to alcohol. Even if
mainstream attitudes are alcohol tolerant, significant groups of learners
come from cultures where alcohol may be forbidden on religious grounds.
You should not expect groups of learners, whatever their background, to go
on trips or visits which include a stop on the way back at a suitable pub!
Class discussions of alcohol marketing strategies or pub social behaviours
can be offensive or alien to learners whose culture forbids alcohol.
9 Consider the special facilities needed by learners from other countries.
For example, toilet and washing facilities need to accommodate the different
practices that are involved in some cultures or religions. When such learners
attempt to make use of ‘normal’ facilities, their actions are in danger of
being misunderstood.
10 Consider the accommodation needs of learners from other cultures.
Learners from some countries, when booking their place at your institution,
may not know what is meant by, for example, ‘hall of residence’, ‘single
study bedroom’ or ‘shared student apartment’. Accommodation literature
needs to be written, or supplemented, so that all learners know what each
category of accommodation entails.
11 Help learners from abroad to communicate with home, especially in
emergencies. International telephone or fax charges are high, and learners
may not have access to locations where they can use such communications
in relative privacy. The costs, both financial and academic, of learners
having to make emergency visits home are serious, and ways need to be
found of helping learners to sort out some of the problems that could lead
them into such costs.12 Designing feedback questionnaires
Questionnaires are widely used to collect feedback from learners on their
experience in our institutions. You may be required to use an institutional
questionnaire in any case. It is worth considering how you can gather feedback
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