Teaching Culture in ...

Discover the types of culture through the flowing situations.

• Developing observation skills is an important part of enhancing cross-cultural effectiveness. This activity provides an opportunity for learners to pay active attention to the body language of people they see, and to speculate on what people may be trying to communicate in non-verbal ways, either consciously or unconsciously.

1. Preselect a video showing some element of interaction or communication between people in another country or culture of interest. Three or four minutes of material are usually sufficient. Documentaries or news reports are often useful in this respect.
2. Give a copy of the 'Observing Body Language' handout to the learner and explain that the objective of the activity is to develop and practice observation skills.
3.  Provide some basic background information about the context in which the video is set: describe who the participants are and what situation they are in.
4.  Ask the learners to complete the handout as they watch the video. They may need to see the clip twice.