On April 22nd, the Center for Language Education and Zhiren College jointly organized a themed lecture “Intercultural Awareness and Communication”. The presenter was the CLE instructor Beatrice D. Clegg who started to teach at SUSTech in August, 2020. The lecture was so well received by the colleges and the students that Beatrice presented again at Shuren College on May 6th.
The focus of this workshop was divided into two key parts: how language affects our perceptions of self and others; and how cultural background informs attitude, personality, and worldview. Concepts for analysing intercultural communication were introduced, including R.M. Barna (1997)’s concept of six intercultural barriers: anxiety, assuming similarity instead of difference, language, ethnocentrism, stereotypes and prejudice, and nonverbal misinterpretation.
These issues were explored through examples and the students attending were asked to discuss in small groups questions such as “which language do you feel most confident in?”, “how does being a Chinese speaker affect how you think?”, and “what cultural barriers exist between you and the countries you want to visit or live in?” Through these activities students developed understanding of the issues inherent to intercultural communication as well as a deeper understanding of the role language plays in our perception of reality.
The CLE@Residential Colleges Workshops cover a variety of topics co-hosted by the CLE and residential colleges this semester. Please stay tuned for our upcoming activities!
