Running head: MULTICULTURALISM

Multiculturalism in Technical and Professional Communication

ENGL 7785

Spring 2016

"Multiculturalism in Technical and Professional Communication" was written as a critical

commentary essay to a piece of literature we had discovered in our research for a previous
assignment. This paper gave commentary on Laurie Grobman's 1999 article Beyond
Internationalization: Multicultural Education in the Professional Writing Contact Zone.

I enjoyed researching for this paper as well as writing it because of the debatable nature of
Grobmans findings. I feel confident in my research of responses made to Grobman and current
literature which bring in the question of how computers fit into Grobmans thought on teaching
multiculturalism, but I could have included more recent works to show the current situation. My
findings could have also benefited from current literature on the topic to strengthen my thoughts
on why technology has impacted the teaching of multiculturalism. Aside from a desire to
strengthen how this topic may be taught today, I am satisfied with the paper I have produced.

Since the article was written in 1999, I had the opportunity to trace how Grobmans article was
received and bring in my own research to show how technical communicators may deal with the
topic of multiculturalism today. Thrushs article was a direct response to Grobman and the other
articles were used to bring in a modern take on teaching multiculturalism in the technical
communication classroom. As stated in my reflection, I believe that I could have researched
more to strengthen my thought that the growth in technology would change pedagogical
methods.

Highly Dissatisfied Highly Satisfied

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Multiculturalism in Technical and Professional Communication

Introduction

Laurie Grobmans 1999 article Beyond Internationalization: Multicultural Education in

the Professional Writing Contact Zone sought to bridge the gap between composition and

professional communication studies through the addition of multiculturalism into professional

communication instruction (p. 427). During the time the article was written, the field of technical

and professional communication recognized internationalization as focusing on communicating

with a culture in a nation other than ones own. Grobman does not want to replace

internationalization because it gives valuable skills in cross-cultural communication, but rather

she suggests that multiculturalism be taught along with internationalization to professional

communication students. Grobman expresses that multiculturalism differs from

internationalization in that it deals with cultural diversity within America which Emily Thrush

(2000) states is necessary to teach because our students are more likely to be communicating

with these diverse groups in their own territory than in some distant land (p. 84). What this

statement did not take into account is the increase in web communications, which allows

students to communicate just as easily within and outside of their own culture or nation. Since

Grobmans suggestion of adding multiculturalism in the professional communication classroom,

the term has been applied in curricula over the years, but the question of how to teach

multiculturalism is still up for debate.

Historical Evolution of Multiculturalism

Since Grobmans article was written, other authors have commented on her idea of

teaching multiculturalism in the professional communication classroom and expanded on her

idea by implementing multiculturalism in their own classrooms. Thrushs (2000) A Comment

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on Laurie Grobmans Beyond Internationalization: Multicultural Education in the Professional

Writing Contact Zone was a direct response to Grobmans article in which she agrees that

cultural differences within the United States must be taught, but the question of how it should be

taught was raised by both authors. Grobman suggests that the professional communication

classroom be turned into a contact zone where students and instructor together use language

to contribute to the construction and deconstruction of meaning and value (p. 435). She

recognizes that students may be resistant to the issues raised in the classroom and to lessen this

resistance, an understanding of the significance of cultural differences needs to be made. To do

this, Thrush restates Grobmans suggestion that we can follow the example of composition

classes by asking students to analyze existing texts written by members of minority groups,

looking for clues to values, attitudes, and forms of expression (p. 88). Composition texts are

more beneficial to teaching multiculturalism than professional communication texts because they

are thematic and content oriented rather than genre and activity oriented. Professional

communication practitioners will not simply teach the texts, but also put into place their own

multicultural content into these courses in ways that both prepare students to become successful

professional communicators and enable them to critique and resist those practices and structures

they find abhorrent (Grobman, p. 439). While the teaching of multiculturalism may be a

delicate practice, Thrush mentions that it must be discussed because it contains enlightenment

as well as danger (p. 90).

In her article Business Communication Needs: A Multicultural Perspective Valerie

Goby (2007) echoes the thoughts of Grobman and Thrush that there is difficulty in teaching

multiculturalism. Focusing on teaching international business communication, Goby traces the

literature of what she calls intercultural communication behavior and finds that the previously
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mentioned approaches to teaching multiculturalism need to be approached differently (p. 426).

According to Goby, how cultures are examined needs to be changed because the rise of the

global economy, the spread of computer-mediated communication (CMC), the burgeoning ethos

of political correctness and inclusion rather than marginalization, and the condemnation of

stereotypes have contributed to a change in this approach (p. 426). Further, she claims

multiculturalism is already present in the classroom, if not in the curriculum, but her focus of

the term is related to host and guest cultures and not U.S. to U.S. cultures like Grobman and

Thrush (433). Gobys notion of multiculturalism is that creating rules for teaching this concept

cannot be static, but that the growing setting of online education creates a multicultural

environment letting students understand cultural differences. With changing technologies in

online learning, technical communicators will continue to evolve their teaching practices of

multiculturalism expanding upon the previous thoughts of technical communicators.

New technologies are what Hossain and Aydin analyze in their 2010 conference paper

Web 2.0 in Teaching-Learning Multiculturalism with web 2.0 being the focal point of the

authors suggestion of new technologies in social collaboration. According to Hossain and

Aydin, Web 2.0 is a collaborative Web development platform that refers to the cumulative

changes in the ways software developers and end-users gain benefits from the web (p. 355).

Examples of web 2.0 technology include blogs, forums, wikis, and social networks among other

collaborative platforms. This collaboration amongst web users is not fixed to U.S. to U.S.

interactions and therefore Grobman and Thrushs views that multiculturalism needs to be taught

within our borders has been put on the backburner with the rise of globalization. Interestingly,

Hossain and Aydin state that multicultural education is another new trend that is very likely to

be incorporated into many school curricula in the near future (p. 355). The statement that this
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new trend has yet to be placed in schools curricula speaks of the reluctance, or inability, of

technical communicators to decide on a way to teach multiculturalism.

Assessment of Multiculturalism

Laurie Grobmans claim that students in professional communication need to learn

multiculturalism is important, especially with todays ever-expanding communication

technologies. Although the methods proposed by Grobman may no longer be suited to such a

technological environment, the core concepts of multiculturalism should still be taught.

Grobmans argument for a multicultural perspective is that it can teach students of

professional communication about the complex relationship between language and ideology and

the underlying forces that shape and reflect the ways in which we use language (p. 428). At its

core, multiculturalism is not simply the teaching of cultural differences, but rather the application

of understood culture through language.

Thrush also agrees that a multicultural perspective is necessary and that students need to be

better aware of how cultural factors affect communication and why they need to be sensitive to

these factors (p. 88). Also in agreement is Goby who mentions that even negative experiences

provide students with an opportunity to learn to cope with the intricate context of international

communication (p. 435). Goby has taken multiculturalism down a new path focused on human

interactions through communication. She believes that these interactions should concentrate on

the teaching of cultural similarities rather than differences. By teaching similarities instead of

differences, students will be less inclined to catalog a culture which is a negative side effect of

teaching multiculturalism. Understanding cultural similarities also helps students communicate

effectively with others because there is already a sense that one knows that particular culture.

Changes in the ways that cultures communicate in the classroom have had a positive effect in the
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teaching of multiculturalism with authors like Hossain and Aydin at the forefront of these new

pedagogical technologies. Hossain and Aydin praise multicultural education as an essential

component of quality education and when taught effectively, multicultural education leads to

changes in participants worldviews and dispositions (p. 355). Using globalized technologies

like web 2.0 that Hossain and Aydin advocate, students will gain the benefits of multiculturalism

in a way that allows them to personally interact with people from other cultures.

Critique of Teaching Multiculturalism

While all the mentioned authors agree that multiculturalism should be taught in the

professional communication classroom, each of them holds a different view as to how it should

be taught. Grobman recognizes that bringing multiculturalism into professional communication

instruction raises significant pedagogical, practical, and ethical questions (p. 437). There are

many risks that come with teaching multiculturalism such as creating cultural boundaries due to

generalization and stereotyping. Teaching cultural differences in the wrong light puts students at

greater risk for the creation of cultural boundaries. When cultural boundaries are made, students

do not understand the culture in depth and do not learn to adapt communication to various

situations. But how should multiculturalism be taught to prevent these cultural

misunderstandings? The answer is unclear and the initial proposal set by Grobman of teaching

through composition texts with the addition of the instructors own multicultural content does

little to help create a unified teaching method across the field. Thrush is critical of Grobmans

idea that composition texts should be used to teach multiculturalism because these types of texts

would not likely transition well into the professional communication classroom (p. 88). In her

article, Thrush gives her own technique for teaching multiculturalism that she personally taught

to her engineering students. This method is a group decision making exercise that highlights
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some of the research findings about the tendency of minorities and women to be silent in public

settings where they are outnumbered (p. 88). Thrush has five or six students with female and

minority students included in each group mimic a workplace problem and create a solution. In

her findings, Thrush notes that without fail, the minority members and women have spoken

fewer times than the others (p. 88). While this process is useful because it gives students a

chance to learn in a real-world scenario, it neglects the addition of cultures outside of the U.S.

Goby bridged the gap between U.S. to U.S. studies and studies of non-U.S. cultures by

developing research which looks at students from the U.S., Singapore, and Cyprus. By using a

questionnaire, Goby found that all three respondents valued interpersonal communication skills,

but that the U.S. students may assume that they can carry their well-known culture with them

into new cultural settings (p. 433). American students tend to have a stronger national identity

than other cultures which may lead them, like Goby pointed out, not to look deeper into other

cultures because they assume theirs is known world-wide. Goby does not give a response as to

how U.S. students may be able to curb their sense of identity or if this strong identity should be

lessened when interacting with different cultures.

In newer literature, the idea of text based teaching of multiculturalism is nonexistent and has

given way to learning through online technological tools. There are already countless cross-

cultural online collaborative tools available and more are being created every day, so how does

one choose which tool or tools to teach? Hossain and Aydin recommend the web development

platform of web 2.0 as it allows users to develop user-centered participatory Web applications

to add, control, and share information interactively and interoperably (p. 355). Again, there is a

mention of control by the user which was alluded to in Grobmans suggestion that instructors

supplement texts with their own content. Having user-centered teaching methods does not help to
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create unification amongst the teaching of multiculturalism in professional communication.

There is still the unanswered question of, what material should be taught? There are several

different methods for teaching multiculturalism, yet no finalization of what should be taught,

leaving the content in the hands of the instructor.

Views of Multiculturalism

Even without a clear-cut way of teaching, multiculturalism should be taught in technical and

professional communication classrooms. With a lack of uniformity in teaching practices,

multiculturalism can open up more opportunities for instructors to teach the cultural differences

they find valuable by using whatever pedagogical tools they wish. As stated by Goby, We

perhaps need to devise as many ways as possible to introduce authentic multicultural

components into our courses so that students can experience navigating the passages of

international communication (p. 435). But, without uniformity, there is a greater chance of

instructors unknowingly teaching stereotypes and a generalized view of culture. To avoid this,

potential technical and professional communication instructors who wish to teach their students

multiculturalism should review the literature of how this topic has been taught in the field. By

doing so, they will see the benefits of teaching multiculturalism while avoiding the harmful

effects improper teaching can have on students.

Grobmans initial idea of merging internationalization with multiculturalism in the

professional communication classroom needs to be studied by all instructors who wish to teach

not only multiculturalism, but any culture in such courses. Her thought of using composition

textbooks to teach multiculturalism has given way to online tools, yet should still be viewed as

an instructional option. Along with these texts, Grobman lets instructors take content into their

own hands. A means to do this is through Thrushs group decision making exercises which get
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students to take note of minority and female students minimized roles in discussions. This leads

to students and instructors being aware of cultures that may be less heard from, but the instructor

needs to determine what lesson is ultimately learned from this exercise. Is it enough that students

are made aware of these minority and female students decreased roles in group discussions or

should students be taught a method to better include these types of students in group discussions?

In face-to-face group discussions, students from a different culture, or even female students as

mentioned by Thrush, may feel as though their voices are not as well heard, but the new avenue

of social collaboration through online means helps these voices have more impact. Online

collaborative tools have allowed more cultures than ever before to interact with one another.

There are many online tools available, so it is once again left up to the instructor which ones they

decide to use in the classroom. No matter the online tool, the basis of cultural collaboration

through online means is valuable to students because it allows them interact with other cultures

in ways which were not possible when Grobmans article was written. With changing times

come changing teaching practices and online learning methods such as collaborative tools are

currently the most effective ways of teaching multiculturalism. As the literature has shown, it is

up to the instructor what students are taught, but online learning tools should be in the lesson

plan of every technical and professional communication teacher who teaches multiculturalism.

Conclusion

Laurie Grobmans Beyond Internationalization: Multicultural Education in the Professional

Writing Contact Zone has been influential to the field of technical and professional

communication in many ways. Her article suggests that multiculturalism should be taught

alongside internationalization in professional communication courses, but her thoughts on how to

teach this topic have evolved as researchers have reviewed the literature. Goby agrees with
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Grobmans addition of a multicultural aspect added to professional communication courses, but

says, as of 2007, it is already a part of the classroom. Today, multiculturalism is taught by using

online collaborative tools because they provide interaction with the culture students are learning

about through the classroom. Grobmans suggestion, and Thrushs agreement, that composition

texts be used to teach multiculturalism has fallen to the wayside in exchange for online teaching

practices. Hossain and Aydin have studied multiculturalism in the classroom and have backed up

this recent trend of learning multiculturalism through online tools. This shift in pedagogical

practice was not due to negative findings of Grobmans thoughts, however. With the expansion

of the internet since her article was written in 1999, new online technological tools like the ones

mentioned by Hossain and Aydin have replaced textbooks. These developing thoughts of

multiculturalism have changed with the integration of new technologies into the classroom, but

Grobmans idea of teaching multiculturalism in the professional communication classroom is

what caused these advances.

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References

Goby, V. P. (2007). Business communication needs: A multicultural perspective. Journal of

Business and Technical Communication, 21(4), 425-437. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/docview/196459354?accountid=10639

Grobman, L. (1999). Beyond internationalization: Multicultural education in the professional

writing contact zone. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 13(4), 427-448.

Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/docview/196466766?accountid=10639

Hossain, M. M. and Aydin, H., "Web 2.0 in teaching-learning multiculturalism," Information

Technology Based Higher Education and Training (ITHET), 2010 9th International

Conference on, Cappadocia, 2010, pp. 355-362. doi: 10.1109/ITHET.2010.5480096

Thrush, E. A. (2000). A comment on Laurie Grobmans Beyond internationalization:

Multicultural education in the professional writing contact zone. Journal of Business

and Technical Communication, 14(1), 84-91. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/docview/196449572?accountid=10639