Culture in Learning Design

Why Cultural Awareness is Non-Negotiable in Learning Design

I’ve spent the past few months living, learning, and working in Vietnam. Over time, I found my rhythm: how to greet people, what’s polite, how direct to be, and how to work with people in a way that feels respectful and effective in that context.

Then I took a short trip to Thailand.

It’s only a one-hour flight, and yet, the cultural difference felt huge. From the tone of voice to the pacing of conversations, even the small rituals around coffee or meetings, everything was subtly (or not-so-subtly) different.

It reminded me how often we group people by region:

“Asian culture.”

“European mindset.”

“Western way of working.”

But culture isn’t regional. It’s local, nuanced, and layered.

In the bus in Thailand

 A message that works beautifully in one context might land awkwardly in another.

In the Netherlands, direct feedback is seen as honest and efficient; saying, "This part isn’t working," is normal and often appreciated. In contrast, in Japan, such directness may come across as rude or confrontational, where harmony and non-verbal cues play a much larger role in communication.

An e-learning style that engages one team may completely miss the mark with another.

In Germany, learners often prefer structured, formal, and in-depth learning with clear objectives and thorough content. In contrast, in Brazil, learners are more engaged by relational, conversational, and socially-driven formats, such as group learning or storytelling.

(These two examples come from "The Culture Map" by Erin Meyers. If you have not read this, order that book now! It's a great resource to start or accelerate your cultural understanding.)

The two examples already show why cultural awareness isn’t a “nice-to-have” in learning design, it’s essential.

One tool I come back to time and again is Hofstede’s Country Comparison tool. It breaks down cultural values like individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and long-term orientation. It’s not a full picture, but it helps you ask better questions.

An example of Thailand, Vietnam and the Netherlands

To get the full description of each dimension, I highly recommend visiting the site, but a quick overview is: Power distance - describes the extent to which a society accepts and expects unequal distribution of power in institutions and organizations.

Individualism - Refers to how individuals are integrated into groups, varying from independent self-orientation to strong group interdependence.

Motivation towards achievement - This dimension examines what motivates people within a culture, specifically competition versus cooperation.

Uncertainty Avoidance describes how comfortable a culture is with ambiguity and uncertainty. Basically: rules & structure vs flexibility & risk. Long-term Orientation - This dimension reflects how societies view time. Indulgence - This dimension looks at how societies regulate desires and impulses. What is valued more: restriction or enjoying life?

When we convert this to learning design, think about this:

• Are you writing for a flat organization, or one that's strictly hierarchical?

  > That example for managers and how they coach others might not exactly hit the spot, as they don't have that style in communication.

• A country with high group interdependence? While teamwork is international, the input is different. Combine this with "motivation towards achievement" and you'll see if you have to focus on "we're all in this together" or "together we achieve the goal we set out for ourselves".

• Uncertainty avoidance, or the balance between structure and flexibility, is a great influence on the design of your courses. Do you need to leave space for your own thought or add a flexible, fun scenario? Or does the training need to be more rigid, with clear objectives to achieve at the end?

And so on. The different dimensions also influence one another, and their combinations yield some interesting perspectives on life and learning.

The better we understand how people interact in their context, the better we can design for real impact. Next time you're designing, are you also creating a cultural learner profile?

---

Note: While these dimensions are well-researched, individual differences and company culture both play a significant role. Always approach a sensitive topic like culture from different angles.