By Tiffany Price
Advancements necessary for the developing technical communication classroom have been a topic of interest for many years now. As technology continues to take shape, the teaching techniques designed for a technical communication classroom change to adhere to the evolving technologies available. However, one realm of the changing technical communication classroom is linked specifically to the existing and growing diversity of the classroom, and the globalization of the workplace. In light of these two cultural areas of growth, there is a call for instructors in technical communication classrooms to not only meet the educational needs of the culturally diverse students, but to ensure that they are all prepared for a globalizing workplace. Instructors need to adjust pedagogical approaches to prepare each student for the globalization of the workplace by evaluating the history of education, utilizing plain language in and out of the classroom, and analyzing the expected future of technological advances.
History of Education
An effective way to manage pedagogical approaches in an intercultural classroom is to examine how education has developed and how the history of education affects the current classroom according to its evolutionary characteristics. One of the most significant measures of education is done through examining the use of textbooks. According to Longo (2000), “textbooks are cultural artifacts participating in knowledge/power systems” (24). The use of textbooks in the classroom derives from centuries ago, but was mainly identified as a significant means of learning beginning in the 17th century. The use of textbooks eventually led to the theory of standardized curriculum, which can attest to the academic drive of the 21st century (Longo 2000).
Through synthesizing the history of education and the importance of textbooks in our educational system, instructors can determine the appropriate use of textbooks in a culturally diverse technical communication classroom. Barker and Matveeva (2006) call for instructors to consider textbooks through the lens of awareness, information, and practice. Through examining the history of education, the use of textbooks, and the current obligation to gear textbook material to a culturally diverse classroom, technical communication instructors need to examine the material presented in the textbook to ensure they are meeting the educational needs of all students, no matter their cultural background.
Plain Language
Another trending topic in technical communication classrooms is that of plain language. Jones et al. define plain language as “publicly distributed information [communicated] in a ‘clear, concise, well organized’ manner” (2012). However, this particular theory of communicating in the most easily understood manner can change according to the audience. An intercultural classroom should be introduced to the concept of plain language, and the theory of using plain language should be incorporated in the instructor’s pedagogical approach designed to reach the educational needs of the culturally diverse technical communication classroom. Using plain language in the classroom will teach students the importance of using plain language in the globalizing workplace.
Jones et al. (2012) suggest that the terms “plain language” and “plain talk” are interchangeable, and through this understanding of communicating simply to the audience in a manner that will effectively achieve the rhetorically intended message, instructors can implement such theories in culturally diverse classrooms to accomplish the same goal. However, the use of plain language implemented in the lessons of a culturally diverse technical communication classroom can also be taught to adequately prepare all students of that classroom for a globalizing workplace. Students need to be prepared for the cultural diversity that exists outside of the classroom, and as the instructor strives to communicate effectively through the use of plain language, they can also teach the replicated theory for students to understand and use outside the classroom.
Future of Technology
The future of technology is another aspect of technical communication to consider while preparing an intercultural classroom for the globalizing workplace. Although there are many focuses that are born from such a broad topic, the future of virtual offices will be the primary means of concentration for technical advancements that match a globalizing workplace. “Now, with technologies such as company email systems and corporate intranets, the office has expanded to include co-workers from various national and cultural backgrounds and who are stationed in various locations around the globe” (St.Amant 2000).
Technical communication instructors not only have to adjust their pedagogical approaches when introduced to a culturally diverse classroom, but they also have to provide each student with the means of interacting in a globalizing workplace through the use of technological advancements. These technological advancements will continue to evolve, but accompanying that evolution is an ever-present culturally diverse representation of co-workers and colleagues.
Conclusion
The current atmosphere of the technical communication classroom is changing and evolving due to the incorporation of intercultural student representation. This cultural shift in the classroom is also being replicated in the globalizing workplace. Therefore, the technical communication instructor is not only called to teach an intercultural classroom in a way that meets the educational needs of the culturally diverse group, but also to prepare students to communicate effectively in a globalizing workplace. Adjustments to instructor pedagogies can be made when examining the history of education while allowing the past to drive the present (especially surrounding textbook use), using plain language to communicate with the class while simultaneously teaching students to effectively communicate with the use of plain language, and acknowledging the technological advancements that are currently molding the globalizing workplace while preparing students for a change in the traditional office environment.
References
Barker, Thomas, and Natalia Matveeva. 2006. “Teaching Intercultural Communication in a Technical Writing Service Course:
Real Instructors’ Practices and Suggestions for Textbook Selection.” Technical Communication Quarterly 15.2: 191–214.
Jones, Natasha, Justin McDavid, Katie Derthick, Randy Dowell, and Jan Spyridakis. 2012. “Plain Language in Environmental Policy Documents: An Assessment of Reader Comprehension and Perceptions.” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 42.4: 331–371.
Longo, Bernadette. 2000. Spurious Coin: A History of Science, Management, and Technical Writing. New York: State University of New York Press.
St.Amant, Kirk. 2000. “Success in the International Virtual Office.” In Telecommuting and Virtual Offices: Issues and Opportunities, edited by Nancy Johnson, 79–88. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
TIFFANY PRICE is celebrating her fourth term of teaching English Composition 1 through University of the People, a strictly online university that has recently partnered with UC Berkeley. Tiffany is able to apply her focus on the intercultural classroom, developed through her graduate studies in Technical and Professional Communications at East Carolina University, as she teaches students in an online environment that extends to over 200 different countries. In unison with attaining a certificate in Professional Communication through East Carolina University, Tiffany also achieved a certificate in Multicultural and Transnational Literatures. Tiffany and her husband have just recently settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan after a two-year residency in Manchester, England.
