do know what the words ‘Hello’, ‘Goodbye’,
‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ mean in English, so
the least we can do is use them frequently
with participants. However, what if, once
we’ve found out what their native tongues are,
we were to surprise them by saying some of
those words or phrases in their languages?
With travel phrase books and translation
apps we have the resources to learn at least
a few friendly phrases at our fingertips.
Speaking from personal experience, if we
mix up the pronunciation, our patrons are so
happy to hear their instructor 'have a go’ at
their language that they will happily correct,
and there is no shame in learning from our
patrons. Even if they speak English fluently,
speaking the language of their country of
origin is a winner for building rapport.
Other ideas
Here are a few other ideas for increasing the
inclusivity of your group fitness classes.
• Have an idea as to when different cultures
are celebrating different festivals and be
ready to say, ‘Happy – festival name’ at
that time. Where possible, and if
appropriate, join in with their celebrations
– imagine the response of your Asian
participants if you were to attend Lunar
New Year celebrations in their area.
Consider, when festivals involve fasting,
offering
exercise
options
that
acknowledge the possibility of people
becoming dizzy or lightheaded.
• Be proactive in making it clear that your
facility is inclusive, not just tolerant. For
example, regardless of whether or not
you have hearing impaired participants,
you could include Auslan (Australian sign
language) signing in your introductions.
Watch the video here to learn some basic
greetings you could use in class.
Proactively integrating more elements of
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inclusion in your classes will make being inclusive second nature.
• Recognise how an organisation’s internal operations can serve to
encourage or discourage inclusion through the messages it
conveys (often unintentionally). If a club has a mantra about
inclusion, but only displays imagery of people who conform to
narrow body image ideals – whether in a public or internal forum
– call it out.
This has been a surprisingly difficult article to write, as it has
highlighted to me how much further I need to travel along the road
to inclusivity. Being inclusive requires us to step out of our comfort
zones, and that can be tough. Is it worth it? If we consider that our
goal is to get more people off the couch, moving, and transforming
their lives through exercise, the answer is a resounding yes!
For more information on inclusion in the fitness industry, visit Enable’s
Facebook Page facebook.com/fitnessforallenable
LEARN HOW TO GREET YOUR CLASS IN
AUSLAN
Watch Mel demonstrate how to give a friendly class greeting
using Auslan, the Australian sign language.
Mel Morony
Mel is a group fitness instructor based in Eastern Melbourne.
She is passionate about raising standards in the area of
group fitness, for both participants and instructors.