Echoes across cultures: navigating the diversity in transcultural professor-student communication

Abstract

Increased globalization of the world has caused the frequent surge in the number of students studying internationally, especially in the United States. This has led to a situation where classrooms and institutions of higher learning have become more multicultural in nature, thereby demanding students, professors, faculty members and all relevant stakeholders to consciously seek to develop competence in thriving in transcultural learning environments. Therefore, this research attempts to examine the concept of culture, and how various elements of culture influence professor-students communication in classroom settings. In attempts to achieve this main objective, some of the themes discussed include the concepts of culture; transcultural communication; cultural dynamism; and building inclusivity in learning environments. The theoretical underpinning that this research was predicated upon is the Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, with its comprehensive treatise of the 6 dimensions of distinguishing various cultures. Keywords: Culture, Transcultural Communication, Cultural Dynamism, Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, Inclusivity of Learning Environment.