what strategy can be used to increase intercultural competence

The images in this article were taken pre-COVID-19.

International travel has go a norm for many people, just not every opportunity offers a chance to learn about other cultures in a meaningful manner.

More and more travellers are deciding to pack their bags and participate in an feel away. Many people cull to travel for educational purposes, to make a outset on a career change, for adventure, or a mixture of the three.

Whatever your aim, you'll go to interact with local people and learn from the culture of the country you're in.

And you'll desire to accept advantage of every opportunity for intercultural interaction if y'all're looking to grow personally and professionally.

But this blazon of growth doesn't just come from flight overseas once travel opens upwards again. You'll need to plan for a meaningful experience abroad if y'all expect to proceeds the benefits.

A meaningful feel abroad is also one of the all-time ways to fix for the next step in your bookish or professional career.

Wondering how to go far on the types of travel opportunities that'll get y'all immersed in culture and build on your career at the same fourth dimension? Read on to find out!

Why having a meaningful travel experience matters

A meaningful travel experience is one where you gain an appreciation for the people and place yous've travelled to.

It also means contributing towards building on the community you're in, and not having a negative impact during your stay.

Farther reading: How to exist a responsible traveller

This could mean opting for a homestay – living with a host family – instead of staying in a hotel.

It could also include making a positive impact by volunteering in wildlife conservation with a local organisation. And, even commiting to recycling for the duration of your stay can make for a more than meaningful experience.

And, there are many names you can call this type of experience abroad: a gap year, semester abroad, written report opportunity away, travel adventure, and the list goes on.

But, one matter that all of these opportunities take in mutual is that they offer you the chance to develop personal and professional skills while travelling abroad responsibly.

This ways travelling in a way that doesn't have a negative bear upon on the social, economic or environmental well-beingness of the places yous visit.

How can responsible travel add to my development?

On a responsible travel experience, like a GVI service-learning program, your day-to-twenty-four hour period activities are centred on learning and practising specific skills.

These skills will get in easier for you to be a responsible tourist, and also add to your personal and professional development.

Some of the skills you'll acquire on a service-learning plan abroad include:

• communication
• flexibility
• networking
• teamwork.

These skills will also come in handy after your volunteer program abroad.

I of the most important skills you'll larn is intercultural competence. Just what exactly is intercultural competence?

Intercultural competence is being able to effectively communicate with local customs members. This refers to being able to speak with local people in an effective way, but also includes being sensitive to and considerate of their culture.

As a volunteer, gaining intercultural competence means acknowledging your ain perceptions and cultural background, and becoming aware of how you collaborate with other people.

Afterward that, it'due south all nearly figuring out how all-time yous tin can interact with fellow volunteers and local people in a way that fits within the larger cultural context of the country yous're visiting.

And it's this blazon of attempt that'll assistance in broadening your perspective of the world. You can brand sure you are developing intercultural skills by following the five actions below.

How to develop intercultural competence while travelling abroad

1) Learn from local people

The all-time fashion to learn virtually some other culture is to go a first-hand account from people who alive it.

Accept every opportunity y'all can to talk to local people, detect local traditions and get involved in cultural events where advisable and done in a respectful way.

This could hateful striking up a conversation with the cashier at a grocery store while running errands during your volunteering in Mexico programme.

It might also mean learning more nigh the country's sports from schoolchildren while volunteering in Bharat .

Or, perchance your intercultural experiences will kickoff off with yous taking office in an almsgiving ceremony during your free time while volunteering in Lao people's democratic republic .

Farther reading: Ten awesome things to do in Luang Prabang

Learning from local people is a good rule of pollex fifty-fifty if you want to larn more almost people from unlike backgrounds to your own in your hometown.

But information technology'south especially important while travelling abroad. This is because our perceptions of somewhere we've never been to can be shaped by movies, music or even the news.

But these perceptions aren't always accurate representations of the civilisation in another land, and the best way to effigy it out is to experience it for yourself.

Find out more nearly the best way to learn about cultures in this commodity: How travelling to India taught me the best way to learn almost other cultures .

2) Actively appreciate your experiences

Research has shown that being grateful is proficient for your wellness . But did you know that it's also practiced for your professional development?

And this applies while you're travelling abroad too.

Practice agile appreciation by thanking the people who let you lot experience their cultures during your volunteer program, without overstepping cultural norms. So, even if you're a hugger, first consider if hugging is culturally adequate.

If you're able to travel during the COVID-nineteen pandemic , this is some other thing to be grateful for as not many people will have this opportunity. So be sure to factor this into your everyday thankfulness checklist.

This will go a long style in helping you lot build relationships with local people, and acknowledge the positive experiences you have on a 24-hour interval-to-day basis.

Thank your teachers and supervisors for their aid every day. Give thanks your host for cooking y'all supper. Thank the street vendor whose nutrient cart you frequent. Fifty-fifty thank your roommate for enduring your musical preferences!

And besides just lifting your mood, finding something positive that y'all can accept away from every interaction yous take can fix you upwardly with wonderful memories of your time abroad.

Of course, some experiences may exist easier to exist grateful for than others. Just, learning from even your worst moments can make your experiences more meaningful.

Further reading: Service-learning: How to implement effective reflection

3) Immerse yourself in your environment

Yes, this means trying local dishes that you lot've never heard of earlier that are offered to you by your host family unit.

And it also means venturing out and trying things that are not part of your everyday volunteer activities.

For instance, if yous're volunteering in Cambodia , take a tuk-tuk (iii-wheeled taxi) to the Siem Reap night market during your free time. This fashion you can work on growing your intercultural competence independently.

Further reading: The top 4 foods to taste at the Siem Reap night marketplace

This volition make you a more flexible and adaptable learner, both of which will contribute to your time to come as a successful professional person.

Some other ways you can become immersed in civilisation include:

• visiting local museums
• joining a dancing, cooking or arts-and-crafts class
• taking a walking tour of your neighbourhood
• learning the local language.

Recall that some cultural immersion activities may not exist upwardly and running due to COVID-nineteen. Just don't fret, you lot can yet make the near of any available opportunities and build on your immersive travel experience in meaningful ways.

And this brings united states of america to tip number iv.

iv) Attempt to speak the local language

How much you get to practise and perfect the local language depends on how long you're going abroad for.

On a GVI volunteering program, y'all'll have opportunities to talk to local people every twenty-four hour period. This is because people from the local community participate in every ane of our projects abroad.

Further reading: Three of the all-time ways to experience full language immersion

Learning the local language volition equip y'all with a more meaningful way to engage with your host customs while travelling, working or studying abroad.

Many of our volunteer destinations offering one-on-i tutoring, where you lot'll learn the language from a native speaker while providing local people with English language lessons.

Further reading: 10 tips to make language learning fun

five) Talk about your own culture too

Cultural multifariousness is a skilful matter, considering it offers a wealth of information that we can all draw from in order to empathise each other ameliorate.

And, while beingness immersed in the culture of some other country can teach you a lot, remember that telling people near your ain culture can exist a learning experience too – for yourself and your host community.

Then don't shy abroad from getting stuck in!

In the right kinds of settings, you tin can even have conversations nearly differing cultural viewpoints. These types of interactions are a great way to start thinking near global concerns in a way you never have earlier.

Remember to always be respectful and empathetic during conversations like this.

And who knows, by the stop of the talk you lot may have a completely different perspective to what you started out with.

Be sure to give yourself space and time to digest these encounters, and to reflect on how they could potentially shape your worldview.

Information technology'southward a constant work in progress, just every bit of practice helps.

And why look for the perfect opportunity to abound your intercultural competence when you can benefit from i that'southward already upwards and running?

Take a look at GVI'south multi-award winning international service-learning programs and encounter how you tin proceeds intercultural competence, and add together to your development in a meaningful way.

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Source: https://www.gvi.co.uk/blog/5-actions-you-can-take-to-gain-intercultural-competence/

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