Why is intercultural awareness important?

In many if not most universities, students and staff come from different regions and countries. The campus is a place where people from many cultural and linguistic backgrounds come into contact and interact. 

According to information on the University of Leeds’ website, in 2020 the University had:

• Over 39,000 students
• 13,400 international students from 137 countries
• 9,200 staff from over 100 countries

You will shortly listen to three members of University of Leeds staff talk about what intercultural awareness means for them.

Before you listen to what they have to say, consider the following: what is a culture?

To explore this question, lead educator Niamh Mullen explores her own:

‘I was born and raised in the south of Ireland and left Ireland when I was 21 years old. I am now 42. I usually visit my family in Ireland on average twice a year. I lived in Germany and Switzerland for a year when I was 21, then lived in South Korea for 5 years. I moved from South Korea to Leeds (England) to do my master’s degree in 2006 and have lived in Leeds since then, so for 16 years at the time of writing this.

I am a lecturer working in a university and am part of a strong community of educators. In my free time, I do yoga and have a strong community of friends who also do yoga – we spend a lot of time together. I have lots of very close friends outside of the yoga community and one thing that characterises this group of friends is that we are always extremely honest with each other. Sometimes this honesty can be quite blunt, but we all understand that this is not meant to hurt but help.‘

Intercultural awareness

Academic views

Have your say:

Having completed this step, consider the following questions:

• Look back at step 1.16. Which of the scenarios could have had cultural elements to them? In which of the scenarios would having more awareness of other cultures and ways of thinking have helped us to understand the situation better? 
• Why might intercultural awareness be an important factor in listening situations a) in a learning environment or b) in everyday life?

Share your views in the comment section below. Do other learners have similar opinions to yours?

References:

UNESCO 2013. Intercultural Competences: Conceptual and Operational Framework. [Online] Paris: UNESCO. [Accessed 30 May 2022] Available from: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000219768