Cross-cultural training resources

Discussing difference, discovering similarities

A toolkit of learning activities to improve cross-cultural exchange between students of different cultural backgrounds

This toolkit is designed to aid academic staff and those working with students in a support role to improve interaction and cross-cultural learning between students from different cultural backgrounds. This includes cultural diversity in its broadest sense and goes beyond ‘home’ and ‘international’ delineations. The activities included will, hopefully, encourage more interaction and deeper interaction, and will support students to discuss cultural differences and find similarities in a ways that feel both safe and constructive.
Download a pdf version of the guide
Activity resources from toolkit ready for photocopying

Bridging our Worlds
A DVD for training staff working with international students

Produced for UKCISA by Alison Barty, Colin Lago and David Eadington 2008

View extracts from the DVD:

Arriving: cultural shock	Surviving: conceptions and misconceptions	Qualifying: approaches to learning

In this DVD students from across the globe talk frankly about the things that have surprised, puzzled and challenged them about living and studying in the UK. British students and staff also reflect on the issues facing international students, how they can help with the adjustment process, and what they themselves have learned from the varied perspectives and experiences international students bring with them.

Sections on Arriving (initial experiences); Surviving (day to day matters); Qualifying (the learning experience); and Advice to (future) International Students, are further divided by topic, giving trainers the option of showing longer sections for a general overview, or picking out particular sequences and clips. Additional specialist material is included on providing welfare advice and on the complex issues around teaching international students.

Together with the accompanying Trainers’ Manual, this DVD provides a valuable resource for anyone tasked with providing training on international student issues. It provides a simple way of bringing student voices directly into the training room, allowing staff to hear authentic accounts of the issues involved.

Who should use this DVD?

Trainers wishing to increase awareness of international students’ experiences and concerns among staff and students within universities and colleges.

What audiences is the DVD suitable for?

The main sections of the DVD may be used for in-house training of staff at all levels and areas of responsibility. The specialist sections at the end are targeted respectively at those involved in welfare advice and in teaching international students.

How can the DVD be used most effectively?

The opening four sections can be used in both general cultural awareness training and topic-based sessions. They are intended as a pick and mix selection of sequences on key topics, from which trainers can select material most relevant to the audience. Clips and sequences can be used as triggers for discussion and to support training exercises. Some suggested exercises are given in the accompanying Trainers’ Manual.
Bridging our worlds DVD Order form

Working with International Students: A Cross-Cultural Training Manual (2003)

by Colin Lago, updated by Alison Barty
2003, ISBN 1 870679 37 7, 298pp
First published 1990 by British Council and Huddersfield Polytechnic
Second edition 2003 UKCOSA

Numbers of international students continue to expand and their presence contributes significantly to the academic, social and financial health of most HE and many FE institutions. Consistently, research into the experience of international students shows that, despite growing multi-culturalism especially in large conurbations, the cultural adjustment process is still complex, confusing and at times distressing.

Customer care emphasizes the importance of professional and skilled interpersonal communication, skills which will ease encounters for both the student and staff member.

This publication is a cross-cultural awareness training manual focused on aspects of academic, linguistic and social life affecting international students studying in this country. The training activities in it cover a broad sweep of issues and perspectives that reflect the complete experience of international students.

The exercises are divided by the nature of the activity from introductory exercises to evaluation. Any course is likely to use a variety of methods. Each exercise has an estimate of the time required to complete the activity, the target group and any special considerations. There are also more specific sections on activities related to language and to academic practice.
Through offering a considerable choice of training materials it is hoped that trainers will be able to find exercises and ideas pertinent to their task and consistent with their style of training.

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