Continuing Your Intercultural Development

Now that you’ve learned about the ‘growth mindset’, we can apply it to your continued intercultural development. Even when you are not travelling the world, there are lots of opportunities to continue expanding your cultural horizons and reflecting upon how you engage with different ways of being in the world. Use your curiosity, open-mindedness and respect for others as you explore the communities within Canada. Here are some suggestions to put your growth mindset to work and continue your intercultural development.

Lifelong Learning

One way to further your intercultural competence is by reading and engaging in lifelong learning. Here are some recommended resources to get you started:

• The Forbes article (IESE Business School, 2015), “Why You Need Cultural Development and How to Develop It” speaks to the importance of ‘cultural intelligence’ to organizations.
• Meyer’s (2014) Harvard Business Review article, “Navigating the Cultural Minefield” illustrates how cultural difference affects business.
• Participating in diversity, anti-oppression or intercultural training offered at your institution or in your community (Hint: these can go on your LinkedIn or resume).
• The online course Identity and Unconscious Bias at Work (from the University of Guelph) gives lots of insights and skills for working across difference and will give you a microcredential in ‘Diversity Skills in the Workplace’.
• Up your game even more and become an intercultural trainer to help others develop their skills.

Seek Out New Interactions

You can also seek out interactions with people who are different from you by:

• Volunteering to help newcomers to Canada with English skills or other aspects of settling in.
• Volunteering with other cultural groups and organizations in the community.
• Joining an organization in your community that promotes inclusion, culture, or languages.
• Visiting a religious service or event that is different from your beliefs.
• Visiting a neighbourhood in a city that has a distinct cultural heritage, like Chinatown, Little Italy or Greektown.

Enhance Your Knowledge and Appreciation for Cultures

Other ways to enhance your knowledge and appreciation for cultures that are not your own could include:

• Building a cultural playlist. If you need help, this cultural playlist from Spotify has curated playlists from different parts of the world.
• Finding ways to discover new foods in your home area. For example, check out your city website’s dining listings or find recipes online that you can cook at home.
• Learning a new language. Many public libraries offer free access to language programs and apps.

Share Your International Learning Experience

You can also make use of your international learning experience to assist others who may be about to undertake something similar or are having their own international learning experience in Canada as a visiting student. You can share your experience by:

• Volunteering at your college or university with those who are interested in learning abroad programs.
• If you are still a student, become a buddy to a newly arrived international student through a linking program.

  Learning Activity: Goals to Increase Your Intercultural Development

Brainstorm three (3) goals to increase your intercultural development. You can choose from the ideas listed in this chapter or come up with your own ideas. Once you have some goals listed, we’ll be following up on how to achieve them in the next section.