Workshop on Intercultural Skills Enhancement

I am curious to know what activities you use with students to help them develop cross-cultural sensitivity. Have you developed your own activities, or used something created by others? I would love to hear examples about what you have found to be effective.

After months of planning, registration is now open for WISE 2010. The workshop will take place on February 26-27, 2010, at Graylyn Conference Center in Winston-Salem, NC.

Information is online at www.wfu.edu/cis/wise/index.html.

Recently, as I have talked with Wake Forest students who have returned from studying abroad, they have told me how important it was for them to receive training before their departure about the cross-cultural experiences that were in front of them. Several students described how other students in their programs clumped together, speaking English together and spending little time with locals, while they took advantage of opportunities to meet people from the host culture, go to activities and events, and get to know how things work in those locations. They came back from their abroad programs energized and with a richer understanding of their host cultures. These students were grateful for those pre-program activities that helped them move out of their comfort zone and engage in cross-cultural learning in-country.

Intercultural competency is important for students to develop, yet many don’t know how to go about it. This workshop is intended to guide faculty as they prepare their students for an overseas program. The workshop is hosted by the Center for International Studies at Wake Forest and is coordinated by a faculty steering committee. We invite all faculty who are teaching students abroad, particularly those leading study abroad programs, to participate in this workshop.

For more information about the workshop and to register, visit http://www.wfu.edu/cis/wise.