Cultural and Linguistic
Competence
Using Gaming and Simulation to Understand
Barriers to Intercultural Communication
AfrICANDO 2007
September 21, 2007
AKWAABA
Welcome
Twi (tree)
BARNGA
A Simulation Game on Cultural Clashes
By
Thiagi
(Sivasailam Thiagarajan)
Objectives of BARNGA
Participants will:
 Realize that in spite of many similarities, people from
other cultures differ in the ways they do things;
 Learn that they must understand and reconcile these
differences to function effectively in a cross-cultural
group;
 HAVE FUN!
Agenda
 Introduction Go-Round – who’s here and why
 What is BARNGA?
 Form small groups at different tables
 Study game rules and practice
 Relinquish rules – NO TALKING!!!!
 Tournament begins
 Play several rounds
 Discuss together
 Final thoughts
 Celebrate!
Simulation
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Abstraction or simplification of some real life situation or
process. Participants usually play a role that involves them in
interactions with other people and/or elements of a simulated
environment (slice of reality)
Time is compressed
Safe – (fire drill, flight simulator, Shoot Don’t Shoot, etc.)
Provides specific framework for implementing the discovery
method which proceeds as follows:
Immersion in a real or contrived problematic situation
Development of a hypothesis
Testing hypothesis
Arrival at conclusion
Game
 Activity in which participants follow prescribed rules that differ
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from those of reality as they strive to attain an challenging goal
People seem to enjoy setting aside logical rules of everyday life
to enter an environment with different dynamics
Attaining goal involves competition
Games are challenging since goals have a probability of being
achieved (usually 50%)
Goals do not always have to include competition
Games are a form of play that enhance an individual’s cognitive
and creative growth
Games provide an attractive and instructionally effective
framework for learning activities
Simulation/Game
 Combines the attributes of a simulation (role-playing, a
model of reality) with attributes of a game (striving
toward a goal, specific rules)
 It may or may not involve competition and may be
relatively high or low in its modeling of reality
 Simulations and game activities may be designed to
be instructional if they help participants learn new
skills or values applicable beyond the game/simulation
itself
Form small groups at each
table
Game and Tournament
 You will have about 5 minutes to study the rules and practice
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playing “Five Tricks”.
Rules will be taken away and NO VERBAL COMMUNICATION
ALLOWED. You may gesture or draw pictures, but you may
not speak, write or sign words.
Tournament begins. You will play silently at your home table for
a few more minutes.
Tournament scoring and movement is explained on the
Guidesheet.
At the end of each round, players move as outlined on the
Guidesheet. The end of each round will be signaled by
presenter.
LET’S PLAY!
Reflection
 What were the steps of play?
 What went through your mind when:
1. BARNGA was introduced?
2. you first began to learn the game?
3. the rules were taken away and words were
banned?
4. you first had to move?
5. when you began to play with others from different
tables?
Reflection
 Did what you were thinking and feeling change during play?
 What were your greatest frustrations and/or successes?
 We have mentioned several major problems which arose
during BARNGA. What were some of the underlying causes?
 What specific real-life situations does BARNGA simulate?
 Have you had any parallel real-life experiences? Are there any
similarities between the Tournament rules in BARNGA and reallife “movement rules”?
Application
 What is your next important encounter with
groups different from yourself?
 What experiences do you want to have during
that encounter?
 What can you do to increase the probability of
having such experiences?
 What is the single most important principle you
learned from BARNGA today?
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have just been
BARNGATIZED!
Presenter:
Gwendolyn Willis-Darpoh, Ph.D.
Senior Research Analyst
American Institutes for Research
1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007-3835
(202) 403-6852 (Phone)
(202) 403-5001 (Fax)
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.promoteprevent.org