Training

We help everyone from educators and construction workers to health care providers and law enforcement agencies navigate the junctions between cultures.

Training

At Globalise, we strongly believe that training should be designed around the client’s needs, not around intercultural theories or politics. We therefore provide two types of training sessions.

  • Packaged programs, which are appropriate for a broad range of clients, and
  • Tailored programs, where we design the content, style and length around what you need.

Tailored programs

Here are some recent examples of training programs we have tailored for our clients:

Working with Chinese Customers

This 90 minute workshop was run for customer service staff at People’s Choice Credit Union. It covered:

  • Broad differences between the cultures of Australia and China, and how these may apply in a banking environment
  • An overview of the key features of Mandarin Chinese
  • Chinese names: how they work, how to pronounce common names, and how to address customers correctly
  • How native Mandarin speakers typically use English, and tips for effective communication.

Ten workshops were presented to groups of 5-12 staff.

Accessible Scientific Writing

This 90 minute workshop was run for academic staff at the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy. It covered:

  • How information is organised in different languages (focusing on languages represented strongly among their international postgraduate students)
  • How to make scientific writing more accessible to non-native English speakers without lowering academic standards
  • How to make manuals and PowerPoint slides more accessible to non-native English speakers
  • Editing manuals and course materials

This workshop was presented to a group of ten academic staff.

Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic Names

This full day training program was developed and run for staff at the Australian Crime Commission, and was subsequently run for the Australian Federal Police. It covered:

  • Analysis of the typical assumptions about names made by Anglo-Australians, and how Anglo-Saxon names differ from names from other cultures
  • Introduction to Chinese languages
  • A general overview of the structure and use of Chinese names, followed by an explanation of how to differentiate between Chinese names from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
  • Vietnamese names, including background on the Vietnamese language and relevant history, and materials on use, structure, pronunciation and westernisation.
  • Introduction to the Arabic language
  • The structure of a traditional Arab name
  • Arabic names from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, including background on relevant history and materials on name use, structure, pronunciation.

This training program was presented to groups of 10-20 participants.

Serving Multicultural Customers

This full-day workshop was developed for staff working at public libraries in the greater Adelaide area. It covered:

  • Understanding culture and cultural differences
  • Cultural differences in communication style
  • Identifying and addressing challenges arising from cultural differences
  • An analysis of the norms and assumptions of Australian customer service
  • Effective communication: politeness across cultures, making your English accessible
  • An introduction to Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern naming customs.

This training program was presented to two groups of 60-80 participants.

Packaged programs

The follow is a selection of our pre-packaged training programs:

Customer Service Across Cultures

Serving customers from a range of cultures? This lively, practical workshop will help you understand how cultural differences impact on your work and what to do about them. It combines a range of engaging activities and real-life examples to help you understand your multicultural customers with concrete tips to help you communicate effectively and address the challenges of providing customer service to people who don’t share your cultural background.

Topics covered include:

  • Understanding culture and cultural differences
  • Managing the language barrier
  • Cultural differences in communication style (with a focus on customer service)
  • Tips for addressing cross-cultural challenges

This workshop can be run as a half- or full-day program, and is designed for an audience of 8-20 participants.

Working with Asian Names

Struggling with names from Asian countries? This popular workshop compares Anglo-Australian and Asian naming customs, and provides in-depth information about names from 10 Asian cultural groups, including:

  • An overview of the language, culture and relevant history for each group
  • Guidelines on pronunciation, with practice exercises and quizzes
  • An explanation of the different parts of typical names, including information on how to address people correctly and enter names into databases

The languages covered in this packaged version are Mandarin, other Chinese dialects, Vietnamese, Thai, Tamil (south-east India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia), Sinhalese (Sri Lanka), Hindi (northern India), Punjabi (north-west India), Indonesia (Java only) and Japanese.

This workshop can be run as a half- or full-day program, and is designed for an audience of 8-20 participants.

Working with Middle Eastern Names

Confused by the multiple spellings and words like bin, al and abu in Arabic names? Need to know more about Middle Eastern names in languages other than Arabic? This workshop was developed in response to multiple requests from people who had attended ‘Working with Asian Names’. It includes:

  • A short introduction to the key features of Arabic, including how it’s converted into English, why there are multiple spellings and how to pronounce Arabic sounds
  • An explanation of the traditional structure of Arab names
  • A brief overview of the language, culture and relevant history for the groups covered
  • Guidelines on pronunciation with practice exercises and quizzes
  • An explanation of the different parts of typical names, including information on how to address people correctly and enter names into databases.

The countries covered in this packaged version are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Israel.

This is a half-day (4hr) workshop designed for an audience of 8-20 participants.

Understanding Chinese students: Their culture, language and learning style

Teaching international students from China? Struggling with class participation, critical thinking and plagiarism? This workshop is designed to help teachers understand their Chinese students better and provide them with concrete tips on how to address common challenges. It covers:

  • How native speakers of Mandarin Chinese typically use English, and why
  • Managing the language barrier effectively
  • How the Confucian and Australian education styles differ
  • Why Chinese students often struggle with class participation, critical thinking and plagiarism, and what teachers can do to help

This workshop can be run as a half- or full-day program, and is designed for an audience of 8-20 participants.

Australian Culture: An introduction

Looking for ways to help your international students? This short seminar is for international students who have just arrived in Australia. It uses straightforward English, and covers:

  • Culture, cultural differences and culture shock
  • Common challenges for international students studying in Australia
  • How Australian communicate: Australian English and the Anglo-Australian communication style
  • An introduction to mainstream Australian cultural values

This session runs for one hour, and is designed to be delivered to a large audience of up to a couple of hundred participants.

Contact Us

The team at Globalise Consulting consists of experienced and skilled professionals in effective cross-cultural communication. Call us today to discuss your organisation.