The Power of Asking Questions Across Cultures
Cross-cultural misunderstandings often start with what each person assumes the other already knows: what a greeting means, how a greeting is meant, why a meal follows a certain order, or what silence signals in a meeting. These assumptions can remain invisible until someone asks about them.
A question opens a space to say, “Help me understand,” and invites another person to share their perspective. Asked with genuine interest, it also communicates that their way of living matters and lets them explain it in their own words. For students and professionals who study and work with partners in other countries, such conversations can be the beginning of shared understanding.
Research suggests that how we ask—and respond—matters. In a small study of an online exchange between university students in Spain and England, successful partnerships involved questions that invited reflection, thoughtful answers, and interest in what partners wanted to share. Another study comparing structured personal sharing with small talk found that questions encouraging progressively more meaningful sharing helped strangers feel closer. Together, these findings suggest that questions can deepen connection when both people have room to share and feel heard.
These findings connect with intergroup contact theory: interaction between people from different social groups can help reduce prejudice. In a face-to-face friendship study, meetings combining meaningful questions and cooperation eased stress among students predisposed to anxiety about another ethnic group. A structured online exchange between Muslim and Christian students also reduced intergroup bias, with benefits still evident six months later. These studies support creating opportunities for purposeful dialogue and cooperation, where people can get to know one another beyond group labels.
IVECA gives questions of this kind a place to happen. Students in different countries explore shared themes through issues in their own communities, exchange their work, and discuss ideas for addressing global challenges. A partner’s proposal becomes an invitation to ask: “Why does this matter in your community?” “What experiences shaped your approach?” or “How might your idea work where we live?”
Such questions make assumptions visible and show that a partner’s experiences and perspectives are worth understanding. Through classroom posts, replies, and live conversations over a semester, students have opportunities to listen, explain, and reconsider their first impressions. IVECA’s approach draws on the research’s emphasis on reciprocal dialogue and cooperation, creating opportunities to challenge prejudice, build closer relationships, and collaborate on the SDGs.
The power of a question continues in how we receive the answer—and what we do with what we learn. Understanding a partner’s perspective can also help students recognize assumptions within their own lives and communities. This is central to IVECA’s mission in global citizenship education: learning to interact appropriately and effectively across cultures and to cooperate toward a more harmonious, sustainable global community.
As students explore this semester’s themes connected to SDGs 4, 10, 12, 15, and 17, each thoughtful question offers a small but meaningful step toward that future. By asking with curiosity, listening with respect, and acting together, students can turn cultural differences into opportunities for shared understanding and collective action.
