EDUC 6165 - week 3

From the minute I start my day, I communicate with people of varying cultures and I most certainly adjust my communication style accordingly. I will use my interactions at work as examples, but the diversity continues after work in the hugely culturally diverse city that I live in.

Although we all speak English at home, my husband and I speak Arabic as well. When we do speak Arabic to each other our tone of voice, as well as volume and expressions change dramatically.

The gardener for the nursery is one of the first people I see early in the morning. He is from Pakistan and his English is very limited, but he understands some Arabic due to his religion. I greet him in his religion's greeting method, which is in the Arabic language and then if we need to exchange information about the landscaping, I use a repertoire (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012) of words that he understands which include English, Arabic and some Urdu. There is a lot of hand gestures and pointing, to make sure I am understood.

The support staff at the nursery is all from the Philippines and although they all speak English, they would not understand me fully if I spoke as I would to a native English speaker. So from the greeting to any instruction or questions I have for them, I slow down, break up my sentences, use simple words and repeat a lot in order to make sure that I am understood. In addition, I ask them to repeat or I prompt them to see if they truly understood. I write a lot out on paper that they can read and reread to re-enforce the spoken message.

The teachers at our nursery come from ten different countries but all speak English very fluently. Although they understand my English perfectly, I always support with written minutes of meetings, email reminders, notes in drawers and so on. If I am having casual conversation with the teachers, I definitely cater the topic or choice of expressions according to the teacher's culture. It makes the conversation more relevant and understood. For example, the humor with our American nurse might not be understood by the British teachers, and so on.

The parents at the nursery are from about 35 different nationalities and I most certainly pick my sentences according to the parent. Not only do I use more high language (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012) because they are customers, but the method of greeting, choice in words, and the speed of conversation can differ tremendously. This is not to mention the use of English and/or Arabic according to the family.

The driver of the bus that the support staff uses is from India and although he can get his message across fairly well in English; he does not always understand my English. Once again, I have to slow down, repeat, gesture, ask and rephrase to make sure I am understood.

In summary, having to communicate with numerous cultures all day everyday has taught me to never assume that the message was received entirely as I intended it. Use of repetition, rephrasing, gestures, questions and sometimes translation are necessary to ensure effective communication.