Improving Intercultural Learning Experiences in Higher Education: Responding to cultural scripts for learning(Issues in Practice)

For many decades people from all parts of the world have come to the UK to study. In recent years, numbers have increased, and arguably greater attention has been given to their experiences as students. Guidance is now available on issues of cultural awareness, but this guidance rarely focuses on students' learning experiences. This book fills that gap by considering these key questions: In what ways do cultures of learning vary? What do international students tell us about the experience of learning in the UK, and what happens if their current experiences differ from their previous ones? Can experiences of learning be improved? How and by whom? What might intercultural learning be and how might it help?

Table of Contents:
Introduction Core concepts The concept of cultural script 1 Learning we bring from home In which evidence is presented on the variety of cultural interpretations that are placed on the everyday activities associated with learning in higher education Talk for learning Writing in learning Reading for learning The teacher’s role Peer interactions So far... A theme: conceptions of learning 2 Homesick: learning sick? In which evidence is presented on the experiences of learners coming to the UK when they meet learning occasions that operate to a different cultural script Talking or shouting? Writing or conforming? Reading or labouring? No teaching no learning? Informal teachers, or is it a mask? Peer interaction or peer separation? So? A theme: conceptions of teaching 3 How about an intercultural home? In which consideration is given as to how practice in higher education could be changed and improved, and suggestions are made as to how intercultural learning could emerge Whose change? Pay attention to the learning experience Reshaping teaching to promote inclusive learning Promote intercultural learning The emergence of intercultural learning spaces Appendix: a draft statement by a teaching team

About the Author :
Dr Thushari Welikala is a senior research fellow in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. She has completed her MA and PhD at the Institute of Education, University of London (IOE). She also has experience in teaching and teacher education - TESOL - for over 12 years. Dr Welikala is an associate of the Centre for Higher Education Studies at the IOE. Chris Watkins is a Reader in Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. His research interests are in learning, learning-centred classrooms, learning about learning and development of learning culture in schools.