Internationalisation:Some impacts on teaching and learning

Cross-cultural learning situations have existed ever since human societies came into contact with each other. They have included teachers going abroad to teach, students going abroad to study, and migrant or refugee students attending schools in their new country. With an increasing awareness of the "global village" and the desire for greater international focus in education, it is worthwhile reflecting on the impact of different cultures coming into contact in the context of a teaching situation.

Teacher and student are seen as an archetypal role pair in most societies (Hofstede, 1986). When the teacher and student come from different countries, confusion can sometimes occur because of the different ideas about teaching and learning that are deeply embedded in their different cultures. In the context of higher education, it is helpful to consider the implications of internationalisation on the content and process of teaching and learning.

The relevance of the content of the curriculum differs for learners. What may be very useful and relevant content for learners from one culture may be irrelevant to another. The language and examples used to describe the content from only a local perspective will have little applicability to the interests of an international student. The challenge is to make content understandable and relevant to an increasingly international student body.

Cultures differ in the behaviour patterns expected when teacher and student, or student and student, interact and this affects the teaching process. Mutual role expectations between students and teachers are deeply rooted in the values of a culture. Such values lead to feelings of "right and wrong", or "proper and improper", feelings that, in a cross-cultural situation, can lead to premature judgements. Teachers in some cultures are allowed to say, "I don’t know", whereas in others they are always expected to have the answer. Students in some cultures will tend to practice mutual solidarity while those in other cultures tend to compete with each other. Younger teachers are liked in one culture, older teachers are respected in another. In what ways can we bridge these cross-cultural teaching gaps?