Open-hearted +++ Boquerones +++ Málaga, Spain +++ Absolutely Intercultural 233 +++

In this show, which could carry the sub-title “absolutely boquerones” we are going to focus on the culture of Málaga in Spain. And Boquerones is the typical fish grilled over open fire on the beaches of Málaga, but it is also the nickname for the inhabitants of Malaga. First, we will listen to Julian talking about his experience in Malaga, Spain, as he is doing a Semester abroad at our partner University, Universidad de Málaga. Juanjo, an Erasmus Student from Spain, who is currently studying a semester at RheinAhrCampus in Germany, will talk about the differences he noticed in the educational systems of Spain and Germany. And finally, we will listen to Trish, who is originally from Ireland but lived in various different countries and now lives in Málaga, will share with us why she decided to live in Spain.

Continue reading “Open-hearted +++ Boquerones +++ Málaga, Spain +++ Absolutely Intercultural 233 +++”

Soliya +++ Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange +++ African Science +++ Absolutely intercultural 232 +++

What is a virtual exchange? Maybe not what you think. We’ll be digging deeper into that in this special edition of Absolutely Intercultural coming to you from Denmark. My name’s Anne Fox and this is show 232. Today’s show is mainly about promoting dialogue between different groups of people. So what is dialogue? And can you tell the difference between dialogue and, for example, debate?

Continue reading “Soliya +++ Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange +++ African Science +++ Absolutely intercultural 232 +++”

International township Auroville +++ Magical place +++ Learning by doing +++ Absolutely Intercultural 231

In this show, you will hear about Auroville, an experimental international township in the South of India. This interpersonal and intercultural experiment was founded exactly 50 years ago in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa also known as “the Mother”. At first, we will listen to Noel Parent talking about his intercultural and spiritual journey and give us some detailed impressions about life in Auroville and what he enjoys most about this magic place. Our German student Lucas Bolten, who is currently studying a semester abroad at our partner university, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in India, will talk about his experience as a guest visitor in Auroville. And finally, we will listen to Noel Parent talking about the educational system and the importance of “learning by doing” in Auroville.

Continue reading “International township Auroville +++ Magical place +++ Learning by doing +++ Absolutely Intercultural 231”

Zanzibar +++ Chako +++ African football +++ sustainability +++ absolutely intercultural 230 +++

In this show we will be mainly in Africa; Zanzibar to be more exact. We’ll be hearing about people’s relationships with animals in Zanzibar. And about how football is played differently in the UK, US and Africa. Mostly we’ll be hearing from Christine Atkinson who now lives in Zanzibar and how she ended up getting a job with social enterprise, Chako.

Continue reading “Zanzibar +++ Chako +++ African football +++ sustainability +++ absolutely intercultural 230 +++”

India +++ Personal shopping +++ Non-vegetarian +++ absolutely intercultural 229 +++

In this show, you will hear about the grocery shop in India and believe me you will be surprised how different it is from European grocery shopping. Hari Gautham Somasundaram Dr. Arvind Sivaramakrishnan and Dr. TJ Kamalanabhan will talk about their own experience grocery shopping in India. In India, you need to go shopping early in the morning to get the best fruits and vegetables from the stalls. Hari, who is a student, tells us that he prefers going to the supermarket rather than the market or buying fruit from trollies in the street. Dr. Arvind, on the other hand, will talk about the challenges of grocery shopping in Indian markets.

Continue reading “India +++ Personal shopping +++ Non-vegetarian +++ absolutely intercultural 229 +++”

Grocery shopping +++Vegetarian vs BBQ+++Market vs Supermarkets +++Multicultural supermarkets+++Absolutely Intercultural 228

Grocery shopping is a regular activity in our every-day culture. However, there seem to be different cultural aspects in our weekly shopping. At first, we will listen to Beate and Kati talking about the two opposite but equally strong movements in Germany: have you banned meat from your diet or do you buy big portions for your weekend BBQ?  Javier from Spain reports how grocery shopping has changed through the generations in Spain. And finally, we will listen to  Professor Scott Henderson from Canada, who talks about how the diverse cultures in Canada influence the choice of produce in supermarkets and how they differ from European supermarktes.

Continue reading “Grocery shopping +++Vegetarian vs BBQ+++Market vs Supermarkets +++Multicultural supermarkets+++Absolutely Intercultural 228”

Intercultural trainers +++ SIETAR +++ Ethiopia +++ Ghana +++ absolutely intercultural 227

Coffee Pixabay
Creative Commons CCO

I have been curious about how you come to work in the intercultural field and have continued my conversations with people who are doing it.  One thing I realise now after talking to several people is that there are many ways into an intercultural career.

Here for example is Dawn who was based in Ethiopia and formed Broads Abroad, a support group for expatriate women, based on the conversations that used to happen after the Zumba lessons she started giving.

And Franklin Yartey, a professor of intercultural communication at Dubuque University, Iowa, worked as PR manager of a dance school in his native Ghana before ending up in the US to continue his education.

And once you are doing it, it seems that intercultural work is its own reward as Joe Kearns describes!

So this show is the second in our series on how to get into the Intercultural field. Thanks to everyone who agreed to participate.

Another thing I noticed about today’s contributors is that they all had a connection with Africa, two with Ethiopia and one with Ghana. Listen to find out which is which.

Continue reading “Intercultural trainers +++ SIETAR +++ Ethiopia +++ Ghana +++ absolutely intercultural 227”

Classroom Response Systems +++ Interactive Classroom +++ Learning Culture +++ Auto-Evaluation of Essays +++ Absolutely Intercultural 226 +++

Can technology in the classroom change the culture of teaching and learning? Could this culture be more democratic and give a voice to participants who in regular seminars would not be heard? Let us listen to Hannah Peter an exchange student from Canada who talks about a Classroom Response System she has tried out as a teaching assistant in lectures at RheinAhrCampus. Then we hear from a professor Jalal Kawash, also from Canada who has been using Classroom Response Systems for years. Finally,  Tsegaye Misikir Tashu from Hungary talks about a tool for Automated Essay Evaluation where professors can leave the reading and grading of essays to a computer program. Should we be scared by such innovations in the culture of teaching and learning? Continue reading “Classroom Response Systems +++ Interactive Classroom +++ Learning Culture +++ Auto-Evaluation of Essays +++ Absolutely Intercultural 226 +++”

Intercultural trainers +++ CultureBuff Games +++ Brett Parry +++ Lisa La Valle Finan +++ absolutely intercultural 225

In the show today I decided to contact three people who would describe themselves as intercultural trainers in order to find out more about what that entails and how they came to do this work. Predictably we ended up talking about much more than this so we will start with Lucy Fogarty, an Irish trainer based in London who has developed training that is based on cartoons. Why images I asked her?

Then I talked to Lisa La Valle Finan in the US who had a word of warning for the young.

And finally I talked to Brett Parry, an Aussie based in the US who was able to answer the question, what do you do on a Monday morning and much else besides.

Continue reading “Intercultural trainers +++ CultureBuff Games +++ Brett Parry +++ Lisa La Valle Finan +++ absolutely intercultural 225”

Learning Outcomes +++ New Project +++ Skills to Learn and Apply +++ Semester Abroad +++ Absolutely Intercultural 224 +++

Have you ever thought about outcomes of your learning process? Well, in today’s show, we are going to focus on intercultural learning outcomes in lectures and seminars at university but also in study abroad experiences. First, we will listen to Mariana Silva, an Erasmus exchange student from Portugal. Mariana studied at RheinAhrCampus in Germany and did an intercultural internship at the same time. She will talk about the research she has done into the theory of learning outcomes or graduate attributes and quote examples from her own observations in classes and her intercultural development during the internship. Then, our main editor Zarnura Hajiyeva will take the microphone and will turn Dr. Borgmann into a guest in this show – as a lecturer who has some experience in formulating learning outcomes for his own classes. As he noticed considerable effects on both the style of his teaching and the effectiveness of his classes, he will share his experiences of the process. His next project will be to apply the idea of intercultural learning outcomes to the study abroad experience of his students. Finally, we will listen to Husniyya Huseynova, an exchange student from Azerbaijan, who will share her impressions of the courses and the lasting impact on her personal intercultural growth. Continue reading “Learning Outcomes +++ New Project +++ Skills to Learn and Apply +++ Semester Abroad +++ Absolutely Intercultural 224 +++”