This activity aims to develop students' cultural intelligence by having them apply their knowledge of a foreign culture to hypothetical scenarios they may encounter while studying abroad. Students are divided into small groups, each assigned a scenario. With guidance from cultural experts, the groups discuss appropriate ways to handle the situation based on cultural norms. Scenarios involve issues like tension with a host family, unsatisfactory grades, illness, and social dining etiquette. The goal is for students to practice cross-cultural problem-solving and communication skills in a safe environment before their study abroad experience.

1. Cross-Cultural Navigation Activity
By Craig Geffre
Overview
The purpose of this activity is to make students think in a cultural subdomain that they are
unaccustomed to and project their identity into a new role of being a student in another culture and
country. They will apply abstract cultural knowledge to real-world scenarios in preparation of beginning
their study abroad experience. This activity is designed to be done at study abroad orientations, but can
also be easily adapted for classroom or online discussion settings. It could be used for any country,
though some of the example scenarios are written for cultures with indirect communication styles.
Learning Principles
The activity utilizes several of James Paul Gee’s Learning Principles:
1. The Identity Principle is important to this activity as students will need to project an idea of their
future self as if they were already studying abroad and navigating cross-cultural communication
situations. To do this, they will need to reflect on their current identity and connect that with
their future self.
2. The activity also invokes the Cultural Models of the World Principle. Students will need to think
purposefully and reflectively on their own culture and consider how they might need to adapt
certain behaviors to fit the norms and expectations of another culture.
3. Students are likely to utilize the Probing Principle through this exercise. As they come up with
ideas about what to try, their groupmates or the more experienced helper in the group might
point out that a strategy may not work well. The learners will then need to reflect, create a new
hypothesis, and put forward another approach.
4. The Multiple Routes Principle is also likely to appear. Scenarios for this activity are not intended
to be straightforward and there is no specific correct answer. The problems can be addressed in
multiple ways, based on the students’ choices and styles.
5. This activity relies heavily on the Psychosocial Moratorium Principle. The learners are able to
take risks and try out ideas in a safe environment that does not carry significant real-world
consequences.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the activity, students are expected to:
- Learn or review important aspects of the host culture

2. - Gain experience applying abstract cultural knowledge in an unfamiliar environment
- Develop a basic familiarity of their role as a student in another culture
- Practice discussing cross-cultural communication issues in a respectful and productive manner
Materials, Space, and Support
This activity will require:
- Access to cultural learning materials; this could be a free comprehensive resource, but
CultureGrams are recommended due to their breadth and brevity. (Note that CultureGrams
must be licensed for use—they are inexpensive but not free. They are available from
CultureGrams.com.)
- A classroom or other suitable space where students can organize into groups.
- Handouts with the scenarios written on them.
- Helpers—preferably past participants or current exchange students from the target country—to
help guide groups.
Briefing with Helpers
Inform the past participants and exchange students who will be assisting about the activity beforehand.
Let them know that the students should mostly be working through the issues on their own, but that
they can lend additional cultural insights or let students know if they should think of other things. Their
primary role is to help ensure that the discussion is going in an appropriate direction and ensure that the
conversation doesn’t get off track.
Set-up & Execution
Prior to the orientation, the students will be assigned to read a CultureGram about the host culture to
ensure basic familiarity with aspects of the host culture (formal and informal forms of address,
directness in communication, family dynamics, etc.). Divide the students into groups of 3-4 students
each plus one helper to guide the discussion and keep everyone on task. Assign one scenario to each
group and ask them to apply what they know about the culture to the scenario they are given. Instruct
students to consider who they would need to talk to, who they might consult for additional advice, how
they would address people, and any additional steps that they should take to resolve the situation. One
member of the group should take notes and one person should be prepared to present on the group’s
discussion and thoughts to the entire class. Allow approximately 10 minutes for the groups to discuss
before presenting. If necessary, add additional commentary after presentations to explain cultural
elements or make suggestions; helpers can also contribute any insights that they have. Finish by
reminding students that cross-cultural knowledge will help them navigate relationships and situations,
but how individuals will respond also depends on their personalities, past experiences, and the
relationship they have with the student.

3. Suggested Scenarios
Some scenarios that can be assigned for this activity include:
1. You are living with a host family and over the past few days things seem to be getting
increasingly tense in the household. You’ve noticed that your host parents appear
uncomfortable when you’re around, but they haven’t explicitly said that anything is wrong. It’s
important to you to figure out what is wrong, but you don’t want to cause offense by being too
direct. How could you handle this in an appropriate way that ensures that the problem,
whatever it is, gets resolved before your relationship with your host family gets damaged?
2. It’s halfway through the semester and you get your midterm paper back. You received a
significantly lower grade than you expected and the professor didn’t provide any feedback on
what was wrong with it. Because the course grade is mostly based on the midterm and final,
you’re concerned about how this will affect your final grade. The professor is known for never
checking their e-mail, they don’t hold office hours, and they never seem to be available before
or after class. How could you approach this situation? Who could you turn to for help if you
cannot contact the professor, and how would you present the problem to that person?
3. You’ve been feeling mildly ill for several days and decide that it’s time to go and see a doctor.
Your host mother recommends that you go to her best friend’s clinic for treatment and she talks
about how great of a doctor her friend is. However, when you have your appointment, you feel
like the doctor isn’t really listening to you about your symptoms and you’re unsatisfied with
their recommendation that you should just be eating healthier and get some extra rest. You
think that you should probably consult another doctor but you’re worried about offending your
host mother, and you think she may find out if you just go to another doctor without telling her
as they might call your home regarding follow-up or your host mother might open an invoice
that gets mailed to the house. How would you go about resolving this situation?
4. You meet someone who is from the host country and learn that they teach English at a local
school and that they’re excited to practice talking to a native English speaker. They seem really
nice and you accept their offer to take you to dinner. While at dinner they order an enormous
amount of food and drinks, including several dishes that you really dislike. They keep asking you
to eat more and ask if you want other items off the menu. You’re not sure if they’re making
suggestions of things they want to try or if it would be just for you, and you already feel greatly
indebted because you’re certain they’ve already run up a significant bill and there’s a great deal
of food on the table that you’ve barely touched. How might you navigate this scenario?
An auditory overview of this lesson is also available at: https://youtu.be/Q2IzUqrnKcY