Cross-Cultural Communication Seminars

The English Language and Culture Institute offers cross-cultural communication seminars to students, groups within corporations, educational institutions, and service agencies. The focus of these seminars is to help native speakers of English identify and understand their own cultural norms so that they can better communicate with and understand the norms of different cultures, to learn something about other cultural values, and to experience and examine the sense of disorientation that can accompany cross-cultural communication challenges. Through these seminars, the ELCI strives to help bridge the differences that cross-cultural communication sometimes brings and to bring about cross-cultural understanding instead.

ELCI Director Rebekah Ranew Trinh comments that for many Americans, thinking about cross-cultural communication is in terms of a one-way street. Many Americans believe that when internationals come to the USA, they are only interested in learning about American culture. However, in today’s global society, it is valuable in almost every way for Americans to learn more about the cultural values of others as well.

Through learning about different cultures, and through becoming more educated about cross-cultural communication, students, business people, and citizens of Birmingham are in a better position to negotiate our increasingly international city.

For more information on our Cross-cultural Communication Seminars or to discuss your specific situation or needs with us, please email us at elci@uab.edu or call 205-975-6628.

The ELCI is now offering a series of cultural etiquette workshops to UAB personnel through UAB’s Training and Development Office. These workshops are free for UAB employees interested in learning about the various cultural groups represented at UAB facilities. For more information, please see our Late Fall 2006 schedule.