Intercultural Encounters – Colegio Necali
Within the ongoing globalization process, intercultural competence has been identified as one of the key competencies of the 21st century. At Necali they know that students’ development of intercultural competence does not occur automatically, but must be encouraged and supported.
International education is an integral part of the curriculum and is integrated throughout the school day. Students learn every day about other world regions and cultures. They engage in projects and activities with an authentic audience of international students using Zoom and other technology resources and connect with students from foreign countries and states.
Students investigate the world, consider various perspectives, communicate ideas, take meaningful action, and make a difference. They exhibit habits of critical thinking, rational optimism, innovation, empathy, awareness of the influences of cultures on individual behavior and world events. Throughout the school year, our students had the opportunity to connect with different ISA member schools, creating global connections and broadening their horizons.
4th grade students had the opportunity to connect with students from Argentina. To welcome our encounter we began with an icebreaker activity, sharing images that at first seemed common. As the activity was progressed, it was fascinating to see the reaction of the students when they realized that there were different ways of naming the same object between Mexico and Argentina.
9th graders connected with Hong Kong students, it was a great experience full of learning and cultural enrichment. They loved the fact that both, Mexico and Hong Kong are gamers and enjoyed the connection with students from another culture. Knowing that they also have deeply rooted traditions in the family, makes us realize that living in society is essential for our development.
These activities helped students discover the relationship between cultures: learn, respect, and appreciate cultural diversity. We truly believed that cross-cultural collaboration is the only way for the human race to succeed. Technology has played a very important role in today’s education and in how we communicate in the atmosphere with everything around us. That is why we have taken advantage of and implemented different tools to achieve our goals of educating global students. 3rd graders connected with Spain and Colombia sharing an issue that concerns us, creating ties for a better world. They elaborated online posters about the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic and the application of personal protective equipment, face mask waste, and energy conservation.
The seriousness and maturity with which the children approached the subject was surprising. We discovered that we cannot avoid the damage caused by waste, but we can reduce the amount, taking care not to get sick and produce less garbage, using reusable masks and dry soap so as not to increase the use of water. Technology has played a very important role in today’s education and in how we communicate in the atmosphere with everything around us. That is why we have taken advantage of and implemented different tools to achieve our goals of educating global students.
