Module 3: Cross-cultural communication

1. Awareness of feelings, sensations, needs, frames of reference (geo)political and historical events.

2. Connecting from empathy/compassion.

3. Considering of and openness to multiple perspectives.

4. Considering needs underlying behaviours.

5. Focusing on the positive intent underlying behaviour (personal and/or cultural).

6. Focusing on needs as a way (back) to connection when challenged/triggered by a specific situation/behaviour.

7. Curiosity about one’s own and other’s experiences (empathy enhancement).

8. Inviting in the (wisdom of the) minority voice.

9. Increasing confidence in one’s ability to self-regulate, co-regulate and navigate conflict and challenging dynamics in educational contexts, as well as in inter-and intrapersonal relationships (empowerment, resilience).

10. Awareness of universal needs and discussing/negotiating strategies (personal, cultural) to meet everyone’s needs (intercultural dialogue).

11. A willingness to re-think and co-create meaningful events and alternative meanings (curiosity, generosity, empowerment).

Cross-cultural communication (click on the image to dowland the file)

Critical incident analysis

Audiovisual content (click on the image to watch the video)

Nonviolent communication with Marshall Rosenberg

Empathy by Marshall

«If I use empathy to liberate people to being less depressed,
to help them get along better with their family, and at the same time not inspire them to use their energy to rapidly transform systems in the world, then I am part of the problem.
I am essentially calming people down, making them happier to live in the systems as they are,
Then I am using empathy as a narcotic.»

— Marshall Rosenberg

For discussion

• How can Cross-cultural communication (CCC) practices foster inclusion and resolve conflicts between students from different cultural backgrounds?
• What challenges may arise when implementing the components of CCC (observation, feelings, needs, and requests) in the classroom? How might you overcome them?
• In the context of deep democracy, how can we ensure that students’ voices from historically marginalized communities are heard and respected within the classroom?