Su-Ann Tan – Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Key Concepts in ICD The next issue of Key Concepts in intercultural Dialogue is now available. This is KC115: Cross cultural adaptation, by Su-Ann Tan. Click on the thumbnail to download the PDF. Lists organized chronologically by publication date and number, alphabetically by concept in English, and by languages into which they have been translated, are available, as is a page of acknowledgments with the names of all authors, translators, and reviewers.

Tan, S.-A. (2025). Cross-cultural adaptation. Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue, 115. Available from:
https://centerforinterculturaldialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/kc115-cross-cultural-adaptation.pdf

The Center for Intercultural Dialogue publishes a series of short briefs describing Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue. Different people, working in different countries and disciplines, use different vocabulary to describe their interests, yet these terms overlap. Our goal is to provide some of the assumptions and history attached to each concept for those unfamiliar with it. As there are other concepts you would like to see included, send an email to the series editor, Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz. If there are concepts you would like to prepare, provide a brief explanation of why you think the concept is central to the study of intercultural dialogue, and why you are the obvious person to write up that concept.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Dr. Su-Ann Tan is the Founder and Chief Education Officer of Dr Culture Shift, an education and training consultancy that delivers cross-cultural and intercultural competency programs for individuals and organisations working across diverse cultural contexts. She is also an Adjunct Academic at The University of Queensland, Australia, where she teaches in the School of Communication and Arts.

Su-Ann Tan Su-Ann holds a PhD in Intercultural Communication and Cross-cultural Psychology, as well as an Honours degree in Intercultural Communication, and Bachelor’s Degree in Organisational Communication from The University of Queensland, Australia.

Su-Ann has 20 years’ experience in the international education sector, having held senior leadership positions including Director of the Southeast Asia Office for the Australian National University (ANU) at the Australian High Commission in Singapore, Director of Communications and Outreach at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at ANU, a number of Regional Manager (Asia Pacific markets) roles in leading Australian institutions. Su-Ann’s professional expertise spans strategic partnerships, international engagement, and designing innovative educational programs to enhance cross-cultural understanding and adaptation.

Her work focuses on acculturation, expectancy violations, cross-cultural adaptation, international student experiences, and the development of cross-cultural competence frameworks. She is passionate about fostering intercultural understanding by building cultural intelligence, aligning expectations, and enhancing intercultural communication.

Work for CID:

Su-Ann Tan is the author of KC115: Cross-Cultural Adaptation.