Bài tóm tắt tổng hợp những điểm khác nhau giữa văn hóa Mỹ và Việt Nam, dùng trong môn Văn hóa Mỹ lớp CN Anh.
Trang 1Getting Along with People
1 Introduction
The person smile when introducing himself or her self The handshake like firm and gently
They just shake hands some seconds The other person looks at your eyes when speaking
It is an arm a far from you to the other person in conversation
Who makes the
introduction? Either the person who wishes to meet another ora friend who knows the other person makes the
introductions
Same
Who should be
introduced to whom?
A younger person should be introduced to an older person, a subordinate to a subordinate to a superior
Introduce the friend first
What should you say? “Hello, my name is _”
“Mary Jane, I’d like you to meet my friend, John Jones.”
“Dr Raman, this is my associate, Pro Allen”
When greeting someone, say “xin chao” +given name + title
May a man introduce
himself to a woman?
May a woman introduce
herself
To a man?
What body language
(facial expressions,
gestures) should a
person use?
Smile, face the person, and look attentively at the person’s eyes
shaking hands both when greeting and when saying good-bye
bowing the head waving hand
What tone of voice
should you use?
Use a quite but friendly tone It depends on the area
Example: in the countryside is loud In the city (company) is friendly tone
Does a person shake
hands when meeting
someone?
How should you shake
hands? (*)
Men and woman usually shake hands firmly and gently Men shaking hand withthe other A man want to
shake hands with the woman, he must ask he permission
Do people embrace or
kiss people of the same
sex upon meeting?
Do you kiss or hug
children when they are
introduced?
No, unless the people are very close friends
Men kiss each other if they are relatives or very close friends
Not usually
Touching children on the head is only done by parents, grandparents, etc
Trang 2Page 2
Some good things to talk about with your new friend include the following:
1 The country you or the other person is from
- What is it like?
- How does it compare to US or Vietnam?
2 What the other person is studying or has studies in school
- What are you studying in school?
- What is your favourite subject?
- What do you want to do after you graduate?
3 The work that the other person does
- What kind of work do you do?
- Do you like it?
- What do you enjoy about it?
- How did you decide to go into teaching, programming,…)
4 North America
- What do you like about the US/ Canada?
- What interesting things have happened since you came here?
5 Your family
6 Current events
7 The weather
Some subjects that you should not talk about, especially with someone you don’t know well
1 How much money you have or make
- How much money do you earn?
2 How much someone paid for something
- How much does it cost?
- How much
3 Sexual subject
4 Class, status or racial issues
5 A person’s age
- How old are you?
- What’s your age?
6 A person’s weight
- How heavy are you?
7 Politics
8 Religion
9 Distance & Space Requirements
Riding on a bus with people you don’t know
Waiting in a doctor’s office One seat apart
Eating lunch in a restaurant or café 1 seat apart
Talking to your boss or teacher 3 – 4 feet apart
Talking to friends in a group 2 – 3 feet apart
Trang 3Talking to a child 3 – 4 feet apart
Trang 4Page 4
Attending school
School rule
VIET NAM
Trang 51 Don’t paint your fingernails/ don’t have
your fingernails painted
2 Don’t color your hair.
3 Don’t wear make up/ long hair (boys)
4 Not allowed to wear flip flops
5 Not allowed to swear (use bad words)
6 Not allowed smoke, drunk in school.
7 Don’t litter THE UNITED STATE
Kindergarten through high school:
1 Always refer to a teacher by title and last name Dr Walker, Mr Field (Never call a teacher
“Teacher.”)
2 You may speak to the teacher from your desk while you are seated
3 If you expect to be away from school because of an emergency, tell your teacher in advance, if possible, and ask for the work you will miss
4 All assignments you hand in must be your own work
5 Never cheat on test (Never look at or copy another student’s paper when you are taking a test.)
6 If you are having difficulty with a class, schedule an appointment to see the teacher for help The teacher will be glad to help you
7 You may miss school because of personal illness, a death in the family, or a religious holiday It is illegal to stay home from school for any other reason
8 You must give permission to have your work discussed with your parents
9 After taking the required courses in your major, you may select your other courses
10 You must be entirely responsible for your progress in a course You must seek help, either with professor in a lab, if you need help with the work
11 Colleges must accept and consider applications any student who applies
Idiom
1 Ace it : to get an A
2 Bomb the test = Flunk : to fail an exam
3 brown-nose = Suck up : to try hard to please
4 “Mega” homework : a lot of work to do
5 Blow-off course : an easy course
6 Pull an all-nighter : to study instead of sleep
7 Killer course : a difficult subject
8 Data brain : a very smart person
9 Hard nose : a difficult teacher
10 mark on a curve : to add points to the grades
11 Easy grader : Gives many good grades
Trang 6Page 6
Learning About North American Schools
Uniform
- Public – no uniform
How to go to
Greeting
Addressing
teacher
- Don’t call teachers “Teacher”
- Teacher - teacher
School day
- 5 period, start late, leave early,
Teaching
method:
- Student centered
» critical thinking (tư duy phê phán)
- Teacher centered
- Passive
» learn by heart
Learning
method
- Understanding
- Using knowledge
- Memorize
- Acquire knowledge
Grading
system - Letter gradeA B C D F A(plus+ and minus-) -(0 -10)Number grade
Building friendships
1/ Friendships across culture
The word friend in North America has a broad meaning, including everyone from an acquaintance to a long time best friend
Neighbor: some one who lives next door, across the street
Acquaintance: some one you have been introduced to but do not know well
Best friend: some one you can rely on and of whom you would feel comfortable asking for assistance at any time
Boy/girl friend: some one of the opposite sex for whom you have romantic feelings
Girlfriend: a female friend of another woman
Classmate: a student in your class
Colleague/ business associate: some one who works in the same place of business as you do
2/ Image; the way you appear to others as clothes, hairstyles, make up, cleanliness, posture, person’s
name
Concept about friend ship of Americans: the first, they spend much time to introduce the neighbor many things, many places (going shopping, doing everything together) Then they less contact because they think you need independence Sometime the friend send the email to ask something as health, work,… Good characteristics: friendly, honest, polite, humorous
Items list to hygiene: spray deodorant; roll-on deodorant; breath mint; chewing gum; mouthwash
3/ sharing good and bad times
Vietnam group American personal
Trang 7- Neighbors
They often give together cake, fruit, and many things when someone’s house has to organize a meeting or
an anniversary
When you got some sickness, they will come to ask about your health and bring something that’s good for your health
When they organize a wedding, death anniversary, funeral… they often help you to arrange everything better, and after all, they went home with some presents from the wedding or anniversaries like cake or fruit as the thanks of yours
- Acquaintances
When acquaintances meet together in the street, they often smile together if they are at the same age
If they are different about the age, the younger must bow down to express the polite, then the older will smile and ask something about you
- Best friends
Someone’s best friend can visit their house when he (she) has free time although the house owner don’t invite
Many polite behaviors may be skipped despite of some gestures are not too formal
They share good and bad time, but sometimes they hide their mood with other because they don’t want to make the others sad, too
- Boyfriends/Girlfriends
They often go on date in some private places, not in public
Some intimate gestures are expressed in the place that only both of them know
They also share affection, difficulty and success together
Sharing Common Interests
Superstitions: are beliefs that are not founded on scientific proof but nevertheless persists from generation
to generation
America:
Breaking a mirror: 7 years if bad luck
A black cat’s crossing your path: bad luck
Finding a four-leaf cloves: good luck
The number 13: very unlucky number
Knocking on wood: to prevent something bad form
happening
Crossing your finger: wish to have food luck
Rabbit’s foot: good luck will be carrying
Horse shoe: put it over the door of a new house to
bring luck
Vietnam:
Bad luck:
Don’t eat bananas, eggs before your exam It will make you fall
Don’t wear black clothes in wedding Don’t go out on the 5th, 14th, 23rd of lunar month Don’t like the number 4 because its sound likes the word “dead”
The number 8 and 9 are lucky Because it is a symbol of success
Trang 8New year:
- January 1st(US)
- Fireworks, cheering, singing and noisemakers: on New
Year Eve to scare evil spirits
- Paying off your debt: before January 1st Meaning arrives
past year and start new year Don’t pay out anything or
make loans on January Because money leaving you
- Kissing at Midnight: Kiss is a symbol that your affection
and close mess will last all after
- The first person to visit your home on new year’s day is
consider good luck
- February (Asians) January 1st on Lunar calendar
Vietnam not
- The first person to visit your home
on new year’s day is throughout the name
Wedding:
- Wear the veil: to disguise herself from evil spirits
- Breaking glass: lucky because symbolizes many
year they will happy
- Organized on Saturday and Sunday because
everyone free
- Wearing gold for bride: rich symbol in future
- Unlucky because symbol of unhappy and incomplete marry
- Chosen the lucky day for bride, groom and family Don’t marriage on the ages 23, 25, 31, 33
Foods:
- Hollow bread: someone was soon die
- Salt: bad of you helf other salt because saying “helf to
salt help to oppologize”
- Egg luck: farmer takes fresh egg into the fields to bring
a good healthy crop Egg have to yolk: marriage soon
- Don’t eat egg, banana before exam
- On Tet, don’t eat durian, banana
- Some fruits on five fruits tray as: custard, apple, coconut, papaya, mango, fig are lucky meaning
Animals and Pets:
- Spend a great deal of money on pets Buy coats, fancy
collars for pets
- Don’t mistreat an animal because you can convicted and
must to pay a large fine even go in jail
- Owner sell health insurance for their pets
- Dog and cat are fed on table, given bed and pillow in the
house
- Just to feed, don’t fancy anything and don’t coats
- People usually kill pets to eat
- Dog and cat given food under table our underground sleep in outside or house but have not bed and pillow
Health:
Breakfast Orange juice cereal (hot or cold) or toast Slight meal: noodles, soup, cakes…
Trang 9Lunch Salad or a sandwich beverage (often
mineral water)
The main meal: rice with fish and meat
Diner Broiled chicken (without the skin) fresh
vegetables (steamed) fresh fruit beverage
Usually at 4-5 pm
Smoking:
- Age limit: 18
- Smoking sections and non smoking sections: public
places often do not allow smoking and if wish to smoke,
check carefully the area to see the smoking section
because you can be fined
- No
- Public places often do not allow smoking and
if you want to smoke, it’s easy but you can should check the area to see the smoking section
Drinking:
- Age limit: 21
- Severe punishment: must be 21 years old to buy alcohol in
liquor store, bar, or restaurant and if a store sells alcohol to a
minor, the owner of the store is usually fined In addition,
people may not drink alcohol on the street or in the car,
anyone caught with an open container of alcohol may be
arrested
- Age limit: No
- In public places (school, company, street…) you can be prohibited In traffic law, people who drive car must not use alcohol
Participating in social events
1 social events
Birth Friends give a baby shower for expectant
mother; people send gifts for baby, flowers for the mother in hospital; send birth announcement to friends; people send greeting cards to new parents
Family of baby celebrated a party with family and friends They will send gifts for baby
Birthday Adults celebrate with family and usually
have a cake with candles; children have parties, invite friends, wear hats, play games, receive prizes, eat cake and ice cream; guests bring relatively inexpensive presents
Adults: somebody celebrate with family and usually have a cake with candles but somebody celebrate with friends in restaurant or coffee shop;
Children have parties, invite friends, play games, receive prizes, eat cake and foods Marriage
Engagement: Fiance gives his future wife a ring, usually with a diamond; the bride’s friends give bridal showers, where the bride receives household gifts, friends of the groom give a “stag party.”
Wedding: Guests attend the ceremony and,
if evented, a reception afterwards; guests give gifts, usually of expensive silver, china, or glassware, or they give money
marriage includes various steps and related procedures, but generally there are two main ceremonies:
Lễ Đám Hỏi (betrothal ceremony): Some time before the wedding, the groom and his family visit the bride and her family with round lacquered boxes known as betrothal presents
Lễ Cưới (wedding ceremony): On the
Trang 10wedding day, the groom's family and relatives go to the bride's house to ask permission to for the groom to marry and take his bride to his house Guests would
be invited to come and celebrate the couple's marriage
Wedding
anniversary
Husband and wife spend the evening together or go out with friends On the 25th
and 50th wedding anniversary, family and friends give the couple a special party and bring them presents
Some of people to get the wedding anniversary
Death Funeral home: Friends gather at the funeral
home or chapel to pay their respects, offer condolences; they send flowers or make a contribution to a charity in the name of the deceased,
Funeral: Family and close friends go to the religious service and then to the cemetery
to pay their respects
Relatives, friends, and descendants take part in the funeral procession to accompany the dead along the way to the burial ground After three days of mourning, the family visits the tomb again, or worship the opening the grave After 49 days, the family stops bringing rice for the dead to the altar And finally, after 100 days, the family celebrates, or the end of the tears After one year is the ceremony of the first anniversary of the relative's death and after two years is the ceremony of the end of mourning
Wedding ceremony White clothes for bride
Black vest or White vest for Groom
traditional weddings: betrothal ceremony, groom and bride wear
Ao dai wedding ceremony, as US
2 Saying the Right Things at Weddings and Funerals
1 Weddings:
- What a handsome couple they make
Yes, isn’t she a lovely bride!
- Do you know where they plan to honeymoon?
2 Funerals:
- He (she) certainly was a wonderful person
Yes, we will miss him (her) very much
I just spoke him (her) last week
- He (she) was very special to me I remember when… (tell incident)
- I’m sorry about your loss
I will miss him (her) so much
- I know It’s a very sad time
- I was sorry to hear about your (mother, father, sister, brother, husband, wife, child, friend)