Time One of the messages that has come out loud and clear is the importance of time. The challenge of cross cultural supervision does require more time. For the supervisor it means speaking clearly and slowly and thinking about how you construct your communication. For the student it involves the concept of wait time as well as time to think, translate and process information. Use of other communication strategies also take time.
Every person has a unique communication style.
This must be taken into consideration in addition to all the other factors. Are there things that you do which interfere with effective communication. Seeing you articulate the words may be just as important as hearing them. Another factor to consider in supervision of students is the selection of tasks for them to undertake as part of their fieldwork experience. While challenges are appropriate to push students to higher levels of performance, supervisors must ensure that they are not setting up learners to fail.