– This paper aims to describe a proverb game where the themes of work and money introduce participants to world perspectives on handling social transactions and establishing “fair play” between people.
– Students are involved in a “serious game” where they work in international groups to piece together parts of a linguistic puzzle drawing on the language competencies of the group. They exchange viewpoints about “fair play”. This experiential learning opportunity introduces an ethics and cross-cultural framework into the curriculum.
– The game has been used to “break the ice” at the start of international business programs and allow exchange students greater opportunity to become involved in problem solving activities.
– In three versions, the authors have tested over three academic years, the proverb game has allowed the participants to reach the objectives: become involved with international classmates, co-produce cultural knowledge with peers (an alternative to a teacher-driven seminar on culture), develop awareness of cultural self, study world values through proverbs, and examine the importance of rule-based behavior and fair play.
– To the authors' knowledge, there are no “language” games suitable for the international business classroom whose purpose is actually ethical.
