Teaching Across Cultures: Building Intercultural Capacity in the Classroom

Teaching effectively across cultures means more than delivering content—it’s about relating and connecting. Intercultural teaching capacity is the ability to engage students through difference, creating inclusive, respectful, and empowering learning environments.

Why It Matters

Instructors with intercultural capacity recognize their own biases, make the hidden curriculum visible, and foster belonging. This aligns with core values like respect, integrity, and community.

Ask Yourself:

• Who was this course designed for? Who was the ‘imagined’ student and how does this compare to the reality in the classroom? Know Your Class provides some helpful cues about class composition. 
• Mirrors & Windows: Does the curriculum both reflect your students’ identities (mirrors) and offer new perspectives (windows)? 
• How are you building a learning community that values diverse knowledge? 
• Are students asked to assimilate or integrate into the disciplinary culture? How might this help or harm learning? 

Three Ways to Start: 

1. Model openness to different ways of knowing. Avoid microaggressions. 
2. Facilitate dialogue about global issues using respectful, inclusive, and culturally relevant teaching strategies.
3. Design assessments that welcome multiple perspectives.

Facilitation in Action 

Good facilitation draws on learners’ experiences and makes learning accessible. Try: 

• New discussion formats (e.g., fishbowls, sticky notes). 
• Varied feedback methods. 
• Clear language that avoids idioms or regionalisms (eg. Bunny hug).
• Mentorship across cultural lines (eg. power and authority in the classroom) 

Final Thought 

Intercultural capacity isn’t a checkbox—it’s a mindset and value. As our communities grow more diverse, so must our teaching. Want support? The Gwenna Moss Centre is here to help. 

Learn more:

Dimitrov, N., & Haque, A. (2016). Intercultural teaching competence: a multi-disciplinary model for instructor reflection. Intercultural Education, 27(5), 437–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2016.1240502 

McIntosh, P. (1998).  hite privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack.  n S. Rothenburg, (Ed.) Race, Class and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study.  ew York: St. Martin’s Press.  ttps://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED355141.pdf?utm#page=43

Questions adapted from the original created by Shannon Morreira and Kathy Luckett, University of Cape Town.  etrieved on July 30, 2019 from: https://folukeafrica.com/questions-academics-can-ask-to-decolonise-their-classrooms/

^{Title image credit: fauxels on Pexels.com}

This resource is shared by the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL), University of Saskatchewan, under a CC BY-NC-SA license.