Cultural awareness might be a “buzz” word that’s been thrown around lately – but what does it actually mean and why is it so important? Hopefully, in this blog, we’ll take you through these questions and see if cultural awareness training is needed at your company. Let’s get straight into it!
Cultural awareness training helps your team understand and respect different customs, traditions, and communication methods. This type of awareness is vital when it comes to building teams. Naturally, your team will work harder and more collaboratively when everyone understands each other. This is even more important when you through multiple cultures into the mix. You need to create a culture that oozes with understanding and respect in the workplace.
Training should involve a 360 approach, meaning you must look at the initiative holistically. It should be incorporated into your current training sessions. Whether it’s onboarding a new employee or continuous professional development, you should have it as part of every training.
This is why we also incorporate cultural awareness training into our curriculums as part of English language training. Why? Well, for non-English speakers or multicultural teams, language isn’t just about learning words – it’s about how people interact, express emotions, and connect with one another. Without cultural knowledge, your team might miss important nuances or even misunderstand key phrases!
Learning a language is more than vocabulary and grammar. To truly communicate, you need to grasp how native speakers think, behave, and express themselves. So, why does cultural awareness matter so much? Here are our top reasons why:
As we know, every culture has its own way of showing politeness, agreement, or even disagreement. As a newcomer to the country, if you don’t know these unwritten rules, you might unintentionally offend someone or take offence yourself!
Remember that your multicultural team might not mean to offend, but it’ll just come out that way to their colleagues. This can lead to serious breakdown in intracompany relationships.
Have you ever heard a phrase that makes no sense when translated word-for-word? That’s because idioms and slang are deeply tied to culture. Knowing the background helps you use them naturally. And, knowing the culture will actually help you to perhaps guess what one means, even if you haven’t heard it before.
Making sure that your team has this skill will make lunchtime a lot nicer for teams. Idioms and cultural nuances are the heart and soul of humour, so you’ll see your team getting on a lot more if they have a few inside jokes!
When you show cultural awareness, you build genuine relationships. People appreciate it when you understand their customs, and it makes conversations much more enjoyable!
We now know that collaboration is the key to the success of any business. As a business owner, team lead, or manager, it is your job to ensure these connections are present among your teams.
A bonus is that any training program that has cultural awareness in mind naturally does this for you. A fun and effective learning environment, if done professionally, naturally creates bonds and forms relationships.
Cultural awareness training shouldn’t only be treated as an extra to help your team with collaboration and relationships, but we should also look at other benefits, like language skills! It can give your team the tools to navigate real-life conversations confidently, even without being fluent in English. It helps you with:
Nonverbal Communication – Body language, facial expressions, and gestures aren’t the same everywhere! Knowing these differences can save you from awkward situations.
Social Etiquette – Every language comes with its own set of manners. How should you greet someone? When is it appropriate to interrupt? These little things make a big difference!
Pronunciation and Tone – The way words are spoken often reflects cultural influences. Learning the correct intonation makes your speech sound more natural.
Want to improve your cultural understanding of others or your team’s awareness while their learning a language? Try these ideas:
Chat with Native Speakers – Nothing beats real conversations! Speaking with native speakers gives you insight into their way of thinking and communicating. Try peer-to-peer initiatives or inquire about group lessons here.
Watch Films and Read Books – Movies, TV shows, and books expose you to local humour, traditions, and social norms. Recommend some local stories to your team, so that they can get the exaggerated feel of local culture. For example, Topboy for London or The Young Offenders for Cork, Ireland.
Immerse Yourself in the Culture – If you have the chance, visit a country where the language is spoken within the team! If not, online communities and virtual events are great alternatives.
Join a Cultural Awareness Training Course – These courses teach you essential communication skills and cultural dos and don’ts. This should be incorporated into English learning courses like Everywhere English’s group lessons. Once-off cultural awareness training courses are also amazing and should be implemented perhaps once a year.
Cultural awareness training isn’t just a bonus – it’s a crucial part of learning a language! When your team understands the culture behind the words, your team communicates more effectively, avoids awkward moments, and makes deeper connections. So, why not get them to start today? A little cultural knowledge goes a long way!
