international – Page 2 – absolutely intercultural!

Absolutely Intercultural 218 +++ Erasmus babies +++ advice for the exchange students +++ indirect Erasmus effects +++

Hello and welcome to show 218 of our podcast “absolutely intercultural” which is the third of a series of “Erasmus” podcasts to celebrate and highlight the 30^th anniversary of the most successful of all student exchange programs. In this episode our students are going to share their own experiences and stories with you. You will hear some useful advice for your exchange semester. How should you be prepared before going abroad? How to make your integration easier? Also how Erasmus effects non-exchange students, and how they profit in their home country. And we will listen to a beautiful story about how an exchange semester resulted in a lovely Erasmus couple.
Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 218 +++ Erasmus babies +++ advice for the exchange students +++ indirect Erasmus effects +++”

Corruption +++ transparency +++ Dubai +++ worker rights +++ Absolutely Intercultural 217 +++

Did you know that Denmark regularly comes in at number 1 for global surveys of transparency and lack of corruption? Well I’m going to spoil all this by bringing you a show featuring only my family so there’s some nepotism right there! In this show we’re going to be talking about the dark side of visiting other cultures. We’ll start with my daughter, Mia, who has been doing a grand tour of the world. We are going to be a bit coy about naming the country she is talking about for reasons which will become clear later. But in this particular country she discovered how political corruption works. So what happens at election time?

And we’ll also be hearing from my brother, Greg, who has been on assignment in Dubai, about how abrupt some of the boundaries can be between one code of behaviour and another

Continue reading “Corruption +++ transparency +++ Dubai +++ worker rights +++ Absolutely Intercultural 217 +++”

Absolutely Intercultural 203 +++ Traveling +++ Diversity +++ Time Management +++ Culture and Traditions +++

In today’s podcast we hear from people who have traveled and are sharing their interesting and diverse experiences. We listen to Michael, a French student in Germany, telling us a story of how he was welcomed in Germany.
Then we listen to Audrey, she tells us how surprised she was after attending a German wedding and experiencing the customs and traditions of a typical German wedding. In the last part of the podcast we listen to Maris from Latvia who tells us the tale of “5 minutes”, information that every tourist should learn before traveling to Egypt. Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 203 +++ Traveling +++ Diversity +++ Time Management +++ Culture and Traditions +++”

Absolutely Intercultural 199 +++ Culture +++ Software of the Mind +++ Updates +++

blog-picture-software Absolutely Intercultural Show 199

Have you ever tried to explain something, and in the middle of it, you figured out that the best option would probably be to compare it to something else?

Hofstede did the same thing with culture and software, showing their similarities in his book “Cultures and Organizations – Software of the Mind“.

The metaphor of culture as the software of the mind works really well when we compare them in terms of installing, uninstalling and updating cultural software, for example.

In this episode, we listen to two interviews about Hofstede’s idea, on how you can easily see his theory present in your daily lives.

Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 199 +++ Culture +++ Software of the Mind +++ Updates +++”

neighbours +++ Social Learning +++ GROOC +++ McGill University +++ Absolutely Intercultural 198 +++

So it is time for those New year resolutions which we don’t tend to stick to. Maybe we have too many? Maybe we don’t share them with anyone so that makes them easier to break? In this show I am going to be exploring just one idea. Maybe, just maybe, if we stick to one idea then we have a better chance of succeeding. And that one idea is about being a good neighbour. How about it? Worth a try?

Continue reading “neighbours +++ Social Learning +++ GROOC +++ McGill University +++ Absolutely Intercultural 198 +++”

refugees +++ integration +++ Denmark +++ Germany +++ Eddies +++ absolutely intercultural 196 +++

We have a new look for the website, a Facebook milestone, a webinar on culturally responsive teaching and a plea for help on the Edublog awards! We will be talking to two teachers about how they adapt to a diverse classroom.
So we have updated the website to accommodate the new material we have on culturally responsive teaching. You can now also sign up for the Teaching Culture newsletter . Continue reading “refugees +++ integration +++ Denmark +++ Germany +++ Eddies +++ absolutely intercultural 196 +++”

Absolutely Intercultural 195 +++ international students +++ internship experience abroad +++ gypsy art +++

In today’s podcast we hear about ‘‘International students and their internship experience abroad”. We talk to Sander, a Dutch student who is living in Spain working in a bike tour company and he told us about how to plan, organize and prolong a student internship then we listen to an interview with two gypsy artists Delaine and Damian from Great Britain who are traveling the whole world and exhibiting their art in various places, e.g. at VHS Aachen Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 195 +++ international students +++ internship experience abroad +++ gypsy art +++”

SIETAR +++ Third Culture Kid +++ Shelley Morrison +++ Lisa Liang +++ Alien Citizen +++ Absolutely Intercultural 192 +++

In May I attended the SIETAR conference in Valencia, Spain and today I’m going to bring you two very different tastes from the conference. SIETAR is the Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research and we will be hearing about third culture kids and how to train people to work well together online. Continue reading “SIETAR +++ Third Culture Kid +++ Shelley Morrison +++ Lisa Liang +++ Alien Citizen +++ Absolutely Intercultural 192 +++”

IATEFL +++ Manchester +++ Pakistan +++ Nepal +++ Bangladesh +++ Afghanistan +++ Zimbabwe +++ Cameroon +++ Absolutely Intercultural 190 +++

In this show I will be taking you to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Cameroon and Zimbabwe. For example why do people learn English in Pakistan? And what do you think the best way of delivering training would be to the semi-literate migrant workers of Bangladesh? This show includes snippets of recordings made at the IATEFL conference in Manchester last month. Continue reading “IATEFL +++ Manchester +++ Pakistan +++ Nepal +++ Bangladesh +++ Afghanistan +++ Zimbabwe +++ Cameroon +++ Absolutely Intercultural 190 +++”

Mongolia +++ Aberdeen +++ Kenya +++ Inside Out +++ Absolutely Intercultural 188 +++

In this show we are going to go to Mongolia, to Kenya and to Aberdeen. There IS an over-arching theme but I wonder if you can guess what it is? Continue reading “Mongolia +++ Aberdeen +++ Kenya +++ Inside Out +++ Absolutely Intercultural 188 +++”