Why Prepare for Cross-Cultural Interaction?

It is only logical that the more a person prepares for something, the more effective he or she will be at that activity. Although many of us have experienced cross-cultural transitions in life, especially when enrolling in college or university, going abroad can add additional layers of both challenge and opportunity.

In Preparing to Study Abroad, Steven Duke identifies three key challenges that are common to the study abroad experience. These are posed as questions to encourage you to think of answers that work for you.

First, how can you interact effectively with people in your study abroad country in personal and authentic ways?  This challenge exists even if English is the predominant language spoken in the host country, and is even bigger when the predominant language is not your native language.

Second, what can you do to step outside the "study abroad bubble,” which is a real phenomenon around the world?

Third, what can you do to avoid making stereotypes about people in your host culture and instead form generalizations concerning both similarities and differences?

Learning more about the history, politics, artistic achievements, religions, social patterns, transportation networks, educational systems, and so much more will help you feel more confident when you arrive to your destination. Knowing even a bit about current events, sports and the arts will open many doors to in-depth conversations with the people you meet abroad. Although it takes time and effort to prepare, it is also well worth it.

So find an online newspaper or news site from the country where you will be studying and begin to learn more about what is happening there. If you do not speak the local language very well, use an online translator to translate a few stories written in the local language, or find a section of a news site that is published in English. Access the Things to Know Before you Go page for a list of topics you could start out with, then expand from there.