My husband and daughter

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Cultural Diversity


I think that I do communicate differently with people from other cultures depending on the occasion. I enjoy being around people of different cultures because I can learn from them. However, there have been times where I have become irritated with being around people from other cultures. One experience I remember is when I was in undergrad. I had a foreign teacher whom I couldn’t understand at all. The verbal communication between the two of us was horrible. The way I passed this course was from notes. Luckily, he issued out notes that were typed up to all students.

It is hard communicating with someone who doesn’t share the same culture of you. You all have nothing in common which makes it harder to communicate. It is possible to communicate with people of different cultures, but it may take a few adjustments. When communicating with someone of another culture you must be careful of their language, know what’s considered offensive to their culture, and be aware of any hand gestures and body language they use. The main concern is being open-minded!      

4 comments:

  1. Andrea,

    It can be difficult to communicate with people from other countries and cultures. There are things that you can find that are the same for both of you. In the case of Early Childhood education, the child's success is something that both you and the family have in common. Taking the time to listen and learn about their culture and doing research on the internet or connecting with someone you already know from that culture helps you to understand their viewpoint.

    I definitely agree with you that keeping an open mind is key when working with anyone different from ourselves! Learning about their culture aids in knowing which body language might be offensive to them. Do you have access to interpreters so that language is not a barrier?

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    1. No, I wouldn't know the first place to begin looking for an interpreter.

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  2. Andrea,
    First I would like to say I have not been on your blog page before but I am glad to know that someone is from my home state. I am from Columbus, northeast of Jackson. My husband is a graduate of Jackson State University. Glad to meet you. Second, yes it could be diffcult to communicate with someone that is not open minded. Our best treasure is to be open minded and keep the conversation going postively.

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    1. O wow! I'm a graduate from there as well. Born and raised in Jackson, MS. Glad to meet you as well.

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