Facilitating transfer for adult learners through cross-cultural e-learning

Benefiting from globalization and technology advancement, e-leaming is increasingly being used by work organizations for improving the skills of knowledge workers. However, most workplace e-leaming is too theoretical to impact on-the-job and ultimately fails to serve the organizations\u27 quest for success. The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the variables that affect transfer of learning, and to provide feasible strategies to enhance transfer of learning for international adult learners in cross-cultural online learning environments. By conducting a critical review of purposefully selected peer reviewed journal articles, this review highlights the relationship between cultural differences and learning style preferences of adult learners in e-leaming environments. The analysis of the literature review in this paper is presented as answers to questions which instructional designers, instructors and corporation managers might find relevant when working with cross-cultural learners in e-learning environments. The review suggests three steps to design cross-cultural online learning environments that enhance transfer: considering learners\u27 characteristics in training design; creating supportive learner environments for transfer; and incorporating strategies that elicit transfer. These findings can influence the practice of instructional designers in designing online learning strategies for cross-cultural adults