• Learning Culture Through Purposeful Observation > a one-week online course offered regularly by Grow2Serve. MOP participants complete this course after they arrive on the field, but it is recommended for all cross-cultural workers.
• Exploring Culture: participant observation for deeper understanding > recommended by Beth E. “It is a catalog of cross-cultural adjustment self-directed activities that students can click on and go through on their own. There is also a section for coaches to think about how to use the activities with their language students”. From the website: “These guided discovery activities for language and culture learners are based on work done by Herb Purnell, Ph. D. (professor emeritus of applied linguistics and TESOL, Biola University) and adapted by Jean Sodemann, M. A. (International Language Learning Consultant, ret., TEAM) in consultation “with the Centre for Lifelong Learning.”
• Cross-cultural Adjustment learning activity
• Cultural Progress Report > used by SEND Spain

• Understanding Culture by Lloyd E. Kwast
• The Cultural Intelligence Assessment > a self-assessment that measures an individual’s capabilities to work and relate effectively with people from different nationalities, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds
• Leading With Cultural Intelligence by David A. Livermore, Chapter 5
• Cultural Dimension: Me or We > video clip
• Gary Ridley's SEND U blog series on the ten cultural value orientations of Cultural Intelligence, Part 1 and Part 2

Each section below leads to a page that contains activities, powerpoint(s), and guided discussion guides to be used in cultural adaptation. The last link also includes a facilitators guide that could be used by an L&O Coordinator, team leader or anyone helping new workers adapt to cross-cultural living. These documents were created and adapted by SEND Russia and have been edited to be used in any cross-cultural situation over a 1-2 year period of time.

1. LanguCulture
2. East Meets West
3. Dressed to Serve (Public Appearance)
4. Ticket to Ride (Transportation)
5. Night on the Town (Entertainment)
6. You are what you Eat (Food)
7. Beliefs and Traditions (Religion)
8. Learning about Learning (Education)
9. Let's Celebrate! (Holidays)
10. Be our Guest (Hospitality)
11. Ancient History
12. Hi-Ho (Work and Jobs)
13. Show me the Money
14. Mind the Gap (Generations)
15. We are Family
16. Outside the City Limits (Village Life)
17. Are you Current? (Current Events)|
18. What do you think of me? (Perceptions)
19. May the Force Be With You (Common Cultural Knowledge)
20. Facilitator Guide

See this wiki page.

See this wiki page.

• Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by E. Randolph Richards. Those who grew up in the west are quite often unaware that those in different cultures don't approach the Bible with the same assumptions that we do. This doesn't necessarily make us (or them) wrong, but it can lead to problems in communicating effectively. Since the Bible wasn't written from a Western perspective, it can hamper our own understanding of Scripture as well.
• Communicating Across Cultures by Stella Ting-Toomey

• Ministering Cross-Culturally by Lingenfelter & Mayers - the authors present a model to help cross-cultural workers identify their own basic values.
• Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally by David J. Hesselgrave. Recommended by Susanne Kuhnke. “The book helped me to understand why the Czech people have so much problem with the Roma (Gypsy) and refugees in their country. It helped me to look to different areas in cultures.”
• Effective Intercultural Communication (Encountering Mission): A Christian Perspective by A. Scott Moreau, Evvy Hay Campbell and Susan Greener. Reviewed by Gary Ridley on SEND U blog.
• Cross-Cultural Conflict: Building Relationships for Effective Ministry by Elmer, Duane
• Cross-Cultural Connections: Stepping Out and Fitting In Around the World by Elmer, Duane
• Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility by Elmer, Duane
• Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold-climate Cultures by Lanier, Sarah A.
• Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World by Livermore, David
• Serving With Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-term Missions with Cultural Intelligence by Livermore, David

• "The Incarnation as the Foundation for Missions" by Ernest Manges
• “Sent like Jesus” (blog post by Gary Ridley)
• "Lifestyle Choices in Missions: What to Carry/What to Leave Behind" by Christine Jeske.
• ”The Missionary as Cultural Pilgrim“ by Marcus Dean. One way of thinking about the journey of a missionary is as a “cultural pilgrim.”
• Are missionaries called to be incarnational? by Ken Guenther

• Culture Stress > a video clip of a presentation given by Dan Fishel to incoming International Students at the Columbia Business School. This video shows how cultural differences can result in stress. It is also interesting to hear a foreigner's perception of American culture. And find Part 2 here.
• What Missionaries ought to Know About Culture Stress > by Ronald L. Koteskey
• Am I still Me? > by Lois Dodds., discussing how the stresses that are created by a cross-cultural move often result in a deep identity crisis.

• A popular model or understanding of cultural adjustment is the U-curve “4 Stages of Adjustment”. This model was popularized by anthropologist Kalvero Oberg (1901-1973), one of the first to talk about culture shock. It has been widely used in missionary training.
• But in the last few years, this model has been criticized for not being adequately grounded in research. See Darlene Jovellanos' article on the SEND blog about this rethinking of the U-curve model. Darlene suggests that there are other models that we might want to consider. Take a look at the Bennett Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, and then watch this presentation about this model.

• Cultural Intelligence Center Assessments
  • CQ Assessment > See this wiki page.
  • Cultural Values Profile > See this wiki page.
• CernySmith Assessments (CSA) are online assessments that measure stress in 5 major areas: Organizational, Cross-Cultural, Relational, Personal, and Behavioral as it relates to the adjustment and well being of people living and working cross-culturally. Dave & JoAnn Loewen in the US Office administer this assessment to SEND missionaries.
• IDI This is an intercultural development inventory widely used by profit and not-for-profit organizations worldwide. SEND does not presently use this program.
• Core Cultural Values and Culture Mapping. This is a quick self-assessment to understand your own core values. Used by SEND Russia.

For information on ethnography, please go to this page