UNIT
5 - MODULE ON INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE & (CULTURAL)
IDENTITY - PART II
Activities
- part 1:
Preliminary
(15 minutes) (From the Council of Europe's All Different,
all Equal education pack, with adaptations)
Ask
the students to each take a slip of paper from a hat or
other container. The students then mingle in the middle
of the room and greet each other by saying their own name
and using the action described on the piece of paper. The
papers contain the following greetings (do not put the country
names on the pieces of paper):
-
Greet
the other person by embracing and kissing them three
times on alternate cheeks (Netherlands, Belgium, Serbia)
-
Greet
the other person by embracing and kissing them twice on alternate
cheeks (Portugal/Spain)
-
Greet
the other person by embracing them and kissing them four times
on alternate cheeks (Parisians)
-
Greet
the other person by placing your hands together in prayer
position and bow forward (Japan/Thailand)
-
Greet
the other person by rubbing noses (Inuit,/Maori)
-
Greet
the other person very warmly with a big hug (Russia/Palestine)
-
Greet
the other person with a very strong, firm handshake (Germany)
-
As
you greet the other person keep a distance of about 2 feet
between you and shake hands, but only with a very light grip
(England)
Tips
for the facilitator:
This is
a light-hearted icebreaker that is most useful for a group of
people who do not know each other. It is a good lead-in to the
exercise that follows. One should be careful not to enforce stereotyping
in this icebreaker. The short discussion afterwards can prevent
this and can include any of the following issues:
·
How do people tend to greet each other in your family?
· Do you greet men and women the same in your family?
· Can you guess where each greeting came from?
· To what extent do you think these greetings are stereotypes
(does everybody from this culture greet each other this way)?
Actual
Activity:
Step 1
Each student
takes an A-4 piece of paper and draws a picture of how he/she
sees himself/herself. This picture should take up about half of
the A4 sheet. The students are then asked to draw arrows that
point to the drawing. Along these arrows the students write down
everything that they think characterizes who they are (use a broad
view). Teachers should encourage students to draw about 20-30
arrows. If students cannot discover enough characteristics then
the teacher can give the following hints:
-
Think
about you and your family
-
Think
about the kind of food you like best
-
Think
about your character or personality
-
Think
about your favorite music
-
Think
about the thing that makes you happiest
-
Think
about your most important goal in life
-
Think
about your favorite film
-
Think
about the color of your hair
-
Think
about your favorite sport
Actual
Activity:
Step 2
When
this has been completed the students are placed in groups of 4 or
5 (teacher - try to make sure the groups are diverse). There are
two specific tasks: one student is given the task to present the
findings of the group; another student is given the task of facilitator
(for a discussion of this role see the teacher manual). Each group
now spends 1/2 hour - hour discussing which of these characteristics
are easily visible (by others) and which are "hidden"
or "inside". Make two long lists, one of visible characteristics
and one of "hidden" characteristics.
Next, have
the students discuss in small groups which of these characteristics
are influenced by a person's cultural background. This is also
presented briefly to the full group.
Discussion:
The
teacher discusses the results with the class by using the iceberg
model of culture (see the resource section of this website). This
model shows that only a small part of culture is visible, the rest
is to be discovered.
