Accommodating student diversity and different learning backgrounds

Student mobility presents both challenges and opportunities in higher education due to language, cultural and learning background differences among students. Effective integration of 'real world' group situations into class and assessment activities assists students to develop skills in accommodating cross-cultural language differences in line with convergent principles of communication accommodation theory. This case study reports on a cross-cultural post-graduate Management subject in a regional Australian university, demonstrating how explicit teaching results in improved learning outcomes by integrating experiences with theory, while better preparing students to participate in a globalised workforce.