Intercultural Competence for University Lecturers: Tools for Handling Germanys Increasingly International University Landscape

This webinar sensitises lecturers to the issues invol-
ved when teaching international students and working
with internationals in the context of German higher
education. In doing so, it will consider cultural and
communication challenges both from the perspecti-
ve of German lecturers as well as through the lens of
internationals themselves. This will give participants
the opportunity to troubleshoot for their own context
and consider how they can make relations run more
smoothly in general as well as how to level the playing
field for international students in their classrooms.

Participants will equally consider what ‘types’ of cul-
ture can affect values and behaviour as well as how
a student’s educational background can affect how
much of an educational culture shock they experience
in Germany. In addition, they will be offered practice in
adapting their communication style from low to high
context in order to give feedback and commands in
English without causing offence or embarrassment. In
connection to this, participants will also practise ‘rea-
ding between lines’, a skill necessary when interacting
with nationals of cultures (such as Britain, China, and
Japan) where negative messages are typically sent im-
plicitly, rather than explicitly (the opposite to the case
in Germany, the US and Scandinavia).

By the end of the webinar, lecturers will have an action
plan for their courses, greater intercultural competen-
ce in general and more tools to handle Germany’s in-
creasingly international higher education landscape.