Interculturalizing the Technical or Business Communications Course

Abstract

Technical or business communications courses need to be interculturalized to prepare students for effective productivity and humanity in the new global workplace. This article defines and exemplifies problems of ethnocentrism, language barriers, and cultural differences. To assist informed educators in preparing new pedagogies for meeting these challenges, strategies include out-of-class and in-class sensitizing activities, and lectures to expand knowledge of basic cultural traditions, such as those of the East and the West. Traditional assignments including letters, resumes, memos, research feasibility projects, oral reports, and visual aid usage are shown to be easily modified for an intercultural audience or with intercultural content. Resources include up-to-date intercultural books, journals, videos, newsletters, training programs, and databases. The scale of interculturalizing depends on the creativity of the educator, and the partnership within the institution and with business.