Building relationships

 Imagine you are entertaining a visitor from another culture at work who you don't know very well. Put the topics in order from the one you would most likely talk about to the least likely. Would you add any other topics to the list?

• family
• food in your respective countries
• living and working conditions
• language similarities and differences
• current news stories
• the reason you are together that day
• sports teams
• tourist attractions in each other's countries

Breaking the ice

Do you hear crickets when in actual conversation with other people? Do you want to know how to break the ice? In this episode, Chad Littlefield will show you 3 key ingredients that you can use to break the ice in a conversation.

What are two pieces of advice you find helpful?

Discuss

Think of a time you have already built a relationship with someone with a different language identity than yours. What of the following advice is most useful to you?

1. Be open about who you are and where you come from. Be proud of your culture, your first language, and your accent.
2. Ask open questions to find out about the other person's background (What/How)
3. Look for things you have in common. Key moments come when you share experiences.
4. Celebrate the difference between you and show interest in understanding them.

OWN IT- Be ready to present!

Think of three words or phrases or cultural concepts from your first language or another language. Be ready to present them to the class in the next lesson. you can include

• a word or expression
• a festival, dance, or celebration
• a type of humour 
• an important place that isn't well-known abroad
• a dish that reflects the best food from home
• an aspect of the national character that you want people from other countries to know about
• a well-love TV show, film, or song that represents your country