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Intercultural Learning
Working with Older Volunteers in Manual Intergenerational Projects
Intercultural learning is an essential part of international exchanges. It is a
main goal on exchanges to increase the participants’ identification with the
European idea by bringing them in contact with each other. This happens
mainly by cooperative work, common sightseeing tours and more informal
topics. Furthermore a specific learning process has to be activated in which
the participants are increasingly capable of reflecting on intercultural situations,
of communicating beyond cultural differences, whilst regarding these
differences as an enrichment and not as an obstacle.
At the beginning of exchanges there are two main mistakes which often
occur. Firstly differences are simply overseen or ignored intentionally and
instead, similarities are advocated for which there is no real actual basis. Similarities
are important – yet differences not being made may cause conflicts
which cannot be solved, because their origin is unclear (see Bertels et al. 2004:
39-40; Hinz-Rommel 1994: 38). Thus people make the same mistakes without
noticing it at all. Secondly – and this is antipodal to the first mistake
– differences come to the fore and are taken as an unbridgeable gap. This of
course mainly happens to people who are prone to stereotyping. Differences
appear stronger when they are associated with false and negative reasons.
Whereas it is hard to fight genuine stereotypes and it takes a long time, the
lack of sensitivity and false concepts can be corrected more easily, no matter
whether the latter derive from superficial perception or missing knowledge
of the different culture. Thus intercultural learning in the context of international
exchanges will be targeted less on the overcoming of stereotypes, but
on giving valid instruments of understanding to those who frankly go up to
people of other cultures. The aim is to strengthen their cross-cultural competence.
Cross-cultural competence is defined as “an ability gained in a learning
process which provides a high level of communicative skills and understanding
in indirect or direct contact with the members of other cultures” (Bertels
et al. 2004: 33). Educationists, psychologists and ethnologists allocate
quite a bundle of competences to this ability, among which are the awareness
for cultural differences, changes of perspective in order to comprehend other
people’s perspectives and the overcoming of ethnocentric barriers. Attitudes,
such as open-mindedness and tolerance play an important role in intercultural
learning as well (Bertels et al. 2004: 37; Kontos 1999). All the aspects
mentioned are relevant presuppositions for the gaining of general intercultural
competence. General intercultural competence enables people to use a
suitable form of behaviour, no matter to which form of culture it is applied.
This means that it completes country-specific knowledge which helps as well
when people deal with members of different cultures and try to comprehend
their actions and motivations.
Set of Methods 101