Intercultural communication

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH & MORDERN LANGUAGES *** Communication Hanoi 2012 According to Brown (1980), “second language learning is often second culture learning In order to understand just what second culture learning is, one needs to understand the nature of acculturation, culture shock, and social distance.” This course book is designed to provide you, the learner of English as a foreign language, with basic information about the cultural features of major English speaking countries, especially the United Kingdom and the United States It is hoped to enable you to have opportunities: - to discuss important aspects of culture; - to learn about life in the major English-speaking countries; - to recognize the relationship between language and culture; - to improve your conversational ability through intercultural communication Key terms • Culture: shared background (e.g., national, ethnic, religious) reflecting a common language and communication style, shared customs, beliefs, attitudes, and values Culture mentioned here does not refer to art, music, literature, food, clothing styles… Culture refers to the informal and often hidden patterns of human interactions, expressions, and viewpoints that people in one culture share The hidden nature of culture has been compared to an iceberg, most of which is hidden under water! Like the iceberg, most of the influence of culture on an individual cannot be seen The hidden aspects of culture have significant effects on behaviour and on interactions with others • Communication: the process of sharing meaning through verbal and nonverbal communication • Intercultural communication: communication between people from different cultures; communication which is influenced by cultural values, attitudes, and behavior; the influence of culture on people’s reactions and responses to each other Principles • Culture, unlike language, is not comprised of fixed rules that applied to all members of one culture • There are no absolute “right” and “wrong” implied, only cultural differences What is appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another culture • All cultures have values and ideals that their members say are true • People’s behaviour may not always reflect those values CONTENTS Unit 1: Introduction to culture and inter-cultural communication Unit 2: Some concepts of cultural patterns Unit 3: Introductions Unit 4: Verbal Patterns Unit 5: Nonverbal Communication Unit 6: Personal Relationships Unit 7: Family Values Unit 8: Educational Attitudes Unit 9: Cultural Conflict Unit 10: Cultural Adjustment Unit Introduction to culture and inter-cultural communication OBJECTIVES In this unit we will learn generalization of culture meanings of the word ‘culture’ definitions of culture in any fields definitions of intercultural communication intercultural communication in the social life Generalization of culture Culture (Latin: cultura, lit "cultivation") is a term that has many different inter-related meanings For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses: • Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture • An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning • The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization, or group When the concept first emerged in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe, it connoted a process of cultivation or improvement, as in agriculture or horticulture In the nineteenth century, it came to refer first to the betterment or refinement of the individual, especially through education, and then to the fulfillment of national aspirations or ideals In the mid-nineteenth century, some scientists used the term "culture" to refer to a universal human capacity For the German nonpositivist sociologist Georg Simmel, culture referred to "the cultivation of individuals through the agency of external forms which have been objectified in the course of history" In the twentieth century, "culture" emerged as a concept central to anthropology, encompassing all human phenomena that are not purely results of human genetics Specifically, the term "culture" in American anthropology had two meanings: (1) the evolved human capacity to classify and represent experiences with symbols, and to act imaginatively and creatively; and (2) the distinct ways that people living in different parts of the world classified and represented their experiences, and acted creatively Following World War II, the term became important, albeit with different meanings, in other disciplines such as cultural studies, organizational psychology, the sociology of culture and management studies Definition of culture • Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving • Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people • Culture is communication, communication is culture • Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a person's learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through social learning •A culture is a way of life of a group of people the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next • Culture is symbolic communication Some of its symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions • Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning influences upon further action Definition of inter-cultural communication What is intercultural communication? Intercultural communication in its most basic form refers to an academic field of study and research It seeks to understand how people from different countries and cultures behave, communicate and perceive the world around them The findings of such academic research are then applied to 'real life' situations such as how to create cultural synergy between people from different cultures within a business or how psychologists understand their patients The definition of intercultural communication must also include strands of the field that contribute to it such as anthropology, cultural studies, psychology and communication There are many researchers and academics of note within the intercultural field, who naturally all have different definitions of 'intercultural communication' For example Karlfried Knapp defines it as "'Intercultural communication,' can be defined as the interpersonal interaction between members of different groups, which differ from each other in respect of the knowledge shared by their members and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behaviour." For those wanting to dig a bit deeper it may be a good idea to look into the works of Edward T Hall, Geert Hofstede, Harry C Triandis, Fons Trompenaars, Clifford Geertz and Shalom Schwartz The theories developed by the researchers and academics can and has been applied to many fields such as business, management, marketing, advertising and website design As business becomes more and more international, many companies need to know how best to structure their companies, manage staff and communicate with customers Intercultural communication gives them an insight into the areas they need to address or understand Intercultural communication theories are now also used within the education, health care and other public services due to growing multicultural populations References Levine, D R & Adelman, M B (1982) Beyond Language Intercultural Communication for English as a Second Language Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J 07632 Valdes, J M (1986) Culture Bound Bridging the Cultural Gap in Language Teaching Cambridge University Press Nguyen Quang (Com & Ed.) Intercultural Communication Vietnam National University Hanoi Oxford Guide to British and American Culture Oxford University Press(UK) Tracy Novinger (2001) Intercultural communication- A Practical Guide University of Texas Press Unit Some concepts of cultural patterns OBJECTIVES In this unit we will learn general characteristics of cultures Hofstede’s view about characteristics of cultures Edward T Hall’s classification of cultures Vietnamese cultural characteristics Hofstede’s view Characteristics of Cultures (in general) Brown (2000) While most learners can indeed find positive benefits in cross-cultural living or learning experiences, a number of people experience psychological blocks and other inhibiting effects of the second culture Teachers who follow an experiential or process model (Robinson-Stuart & Nocon 1996) of culture learning in the classroom can help students turn such an experience into one of increased cultural- and self-awareness Stevick (1976b) cautioned that learners can feel alienation in the process of learning a second language, alienation from people in their home culture, the target culture, and from themselves- In teaching an “alien” language, we need to be sensitive to the fragility of students by using techniques that promote cultural understanding Donahue and Parsons (1982) examined the use of role-play in ESL classrooms as a means of helping students to overcome cultural “fatigue”; role-play promotes the process of crosscultural dialog while providing opportunities for oral communication Numerous other materials and techniques-readings, films simulation games, culture assimilators, “culture capsules,” and “cultur-grams”—are available to language teachers to assist them in the process o acculturation in the classroom (Fantini 1997; Ramirez 1995; Levine et al 1987; McGroarty & Galvan 1985; Kohls 1984) Perhaps the best model of the combination of second language and second culture learning is found among students who learn a second language in a country where that language is spoken natively In many countries, thousands of foreign students are enrolled in institutions of high education and must study the language of the country in order to pursue their academic objectives Or one might simply consider the multitude of immigrants who enter the educational stream of their new country after having received their early schooling in their previous country They bring with them the cultural mores and patterns of “good” behavior learned in their home culture, and tend to apply those expectations to their new situation What is the nature of those students’ expectations of behavior in their new educational system? Consider Kenji, a university student from Japan who is studying preuniversity language institute in the United States During his previous twelve years of schooling, he was taught some very specific behaviorswas taught to give the utmost “respect” to his teacher, which means number of things: never to contradict the teacher; never to speak in class unless spoken to—always let the teacher initiate communication; let teacher’s wisdom be “poured into” him; never call a teacher by a first name; respect older teachers even more than younger teachers But in his new U.S language school, his youngish teachers are friendly and encourage first-name basis, they ask students to participate in group work, they try to get students to come up with answers to problems, rather than just giving the answer, and so on Kenji is confused Why? Some means of conceptualizing such mismatches in expectations were outlined in a thought-provoking article by Geert Hofstede (1986), who used four different conceptual categories to study the cultural norms of fifty different countries Each category was described as follows: Individualism as a characteristic of a culture opposes collectivism (the word is used here in an anthropological, not a political, sense) Individualist cultures assume that any person looks primarily after his/her lose our cultural identities—but rather that we recognize cultural influences within ourselves and within others Cross-Cultural Questions Answer the following questions about your own culture and then discuss intercultural similarities and differences In your opinion, what areas of culture create the most serious problems in intercultural communication? Explain What kinds of cultural conflicts exist in a heterogeneous society? How are they similar to cultural conflicts between people from different countries? What is the difference between having pride in one’s identity and being ethnocentric? Why groups of people become ethnocentric? Can you think of cases where stereotypes have turned into prejudice or hatred? How can harmful stereotypes be combated? References 11 Levine, D R & Adelman, M B (1982) Beyond Language Intercultural Communication for English as a Second Language Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J 07632 12 Nguyen Quang (Com & Ed.) Intercultural Communication Vietnam National University Hanoi 13 Oxford Guide to British and American Culture Oxford University Press(UK) 14 Tracy Novinger (2001) Intercultural communication- A Practical Guide University of Texas Press 15 Valdes, J M (1986) Culture Bound Bridging the Cultural Gap in Language Teaching Cambridge University Press 19 UNIT 10 Cultural Adjustment OBJECTIVES In this unit we will learn Culture Shock The Adjustment Process The Re-entry Process Individual Reactions Cultural Notes Living in a second culture can be like riding on a roller coaster Sometimes foreign visitors are elated; sometimes they are depressed First there is the combination of enthusiasm and excitement that is felt while traveling New foods and aromas, different faces, foreign languages, and interesting customs all fascinate the traveler A foreign visitor usually has high expectations and is eager to become familiar with a new culture 20 Of course, not everything is easy during a long stay in a second culture International travelers may have difficulties understanding the adjustment problems that beset them Many people not recognize that the problems, feelings, and mood changes that are related to living in a second culture are not unique It is common for international visitors or immigrants to vacillate between loving and hating a new country The newness and strangeness of a foreign culture are bound to affect a traveler’s emotions Culture Shock Culture shock is the physical and emotional discomfort of being in a foreign country, another culture, an unfamiliar place, or all three “Culture shock” occurs as a result of total immersion in a new culture It happens to “people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad.” Newcomers may be anxious because they not speak the language, know the customs, or understand people’s behavior in daily life The visitor finds that “yes” may not always mean “yes,” that friendliness does not necessarily mean friendship, or that statements that appear to be serious are really intended as jokes The foreigner may be unsure as to when to shake hands or embrace, when to initiate conversations, or how to approach a stranger The notion of “culture shock” helps explain feelings of bewilderment and disorientation Language problems not account for all the frustrations that people feel When one is deprived of everything that was once familiar, such as understanding a transportation system, knowing how to register for university classes, or knowing how to make friends, difficulties in coping with the new society may arise However, it will be helpful for you to be able to recognize the signs of culture shock Symptoms Sadness Homesickness Loneliness Sleeping too much, too little 21 Anger Irritability Resentment Sense of helplessness The Adjustment Process “ When an individual enters a strange Culture, he or she is like fish out of Water.” Newcomers feel at times that they not belong and consequently may feel alienated from the native members of the culture When this happens visitors may want to reject everything about the new environment and may glorify and exaggerate the positive aspects of their own culture Conversely, visitors may Scorn their native country by rejecting its values and instead choosing to identify with (if only temporarily) the values of the new country This may occur as an attempt to overidentify with the new culture in order to be accepted by the people in it Reactions to a new Culture vary, but experience and research have shown that there are distinct stages in the adjustment process of foreign visitors When leaving the comfortably secure environment of home, a person will naturally experience some stress and anxiety The severity of culture shock depends on visitors’ personalities, language ability, emotional support, and duration of stay It is also influenced by the extent of differences either actual or perceived, between the two cultures Visitors coming for short periods of time not always experience the same intense emotions as visitors who live in foreign countries for longer terms The adjustment stages during prolonged stays may last several months to several years The following “W’ shaped diagram illustrates periods of adjustment in a second culture and might apply to a one-year stay (approximately) in a foreign culture Although the stages in the cycle not always occur in the same order and some stages may be skipped, the following pattern is a common one: 22 The Adjustment Process in a New Culture Honeymoon period Acceptance and integration Initial adjustment Culture shock mental isolation Time Each stage in the process is characterized by symptoms” or outward signs typifying certain kinds of behavior: (1) Honeymoon period Initially many people are fascinated and excited by everything new The visitor is elated to be in a new culture (2) Culture shock The individual is immersed in new problems: housing, transportation, shopping and continuously straining to language Mental comprehend the fatigue results foreign from language (3) Initial adjustment Everyday activities such as housing and shopping are no longer major problems Although the visitor may not yet be fluent in the language spoken, basic ideas and feelings in the second language can be expressed (4) Mental isolation Individuals have been away from their family and good friends for a long period of time and may feel lonely Many still feel they cannot express themselves as well as they can in their native language Frustration and sometimes a loss of self-confidence result Some individuals remain at this stage (5) Acceptance and integration A routine (e.g., work, business, or school) has been established The visitor has accepted the habits, customs, foods, and 23 characteristics of the people in the new culture The visitor feels comfortable with friends, associates, and the language of the country The Re-entry Process A similar process occurs when visitors return to their native countries, although the stages are usually shorter and less intense The following “W” shaped diagram illustrates reactions and emotions experienced when a person leaves a foreign country and returns to his or her own country The ‘Re-entry” Adjustment Process Acceptance and integration Re-integration Return honeymoon Return anxiety Re-entry shock Time As in the first diagram, each stage in the ‘re-entry” process is characterized by symptoms and feelings (1) Acceptance and integration See description given for the preceding diagram (2) Return anxiety There may be confusion and emotional pain about leaving because friendships will have to be disrupted Many people realize how much they have changed because of their experiences and may be nervous about going home 24 (3) Return honeymoon Immediately upon arrival in one’s own country, there is generally a great deal of excitement There are parties to welcome back the visitor and renewed friendships to look forward to (4) Re-entry shock Family and friends may not understand or appreciate what the traveler has experienced The native country or city may have changed in the eyes of the former traveler (5) Re-integration The former traveler becomes fully involved with friends, family, and activities and feels once again integrated in the society Many people at this stage realize the positive and negative aspects of both countries and have a more balanced perspective about their experiences Factors Important to Successful Intercultural Adjustments Open Mindedness The ability to keep one’s opinions flexible and receptive to new stimuli seems to be important to intercultural adjustment Sense of Humor A sense of humor is important because in another culture there are many things which lead one to weep, get angry, be annoyed, embarrassed, or discouraged The ability to laugh off things will help guard against despair Ability to Cope with Failure The ability to tolerate failure is critical because everyone fails at something overseas Person who go overseas are 25 often those who have been the most successful in their home environments and have rarely experienced failure, thus, may have never developed way of coping with failure Communicativeness The ability and willingness to communicate one’s feelings and thoughts to others, verbally or non-verbally, has been suggested as an important skill for successful intercultural communicators Flexibility and Adaptability The ability to respond to or tolerate the ambiguity of new situations is very important to intercultural success Keeping options open and judgmental behavior to a minimum describes an adaptable or flexible person Curiosity Curiosity is the demonstrated desire to know about other people, places, ideas, etc This skill or personality trait is important for intercultural travelers because they need to learn many things in order to adapt to their new environment Positive and Realistic Expectations It has been shown frequently that there are strong correlations between positive expectations for an intercultural experience and successful adjustment overseas Tolerance for Differences and Ambiguities A sympathetic understanding for beliefs or practices differing from one’s own is important to successful intercultural adjustment Positive Regard for Others The ability to express warmth, empathy, respect, and positive regard for other persons has been suggested as an important component of effective intercultural relations A Strong Sense of Self A clear, secure feeling about oneself results in individuals who are neither weak nor overbearing in their relations with others Persons with a strong sense of themselves stand up for what they believe, but not cling to those beliefs regardless of new information, perspectives, or understandings which they may encounter 26 Individual Reactions Individuals experience the stages of adjustment and re-entry in different ways When visitors have close relatives in the new culture or speak the foreign language fluently, they may not experience all the effects of culture shock or mental isolation an exile or refugee would adjust differently from someone who voluntarily traveled to a new country Certain individuals have difficulties adapting to a new environment and perhaps never do; others seem to adjust well from the very beginning of their stay Day-to-day living in another culture is undoubtedly an educational experience While traveling, and living abroad people learn second languages, observe different customs, and encounter new values Many people who have lived in other countries feel that exposure to foreign cultures enables them to gain insight into their own society When facing different values, beliefs, and behavior, they develop a deeper understanding of themselves and of the society that helped to shape their characters The striking contrasts of a second culture provide a mirror in which one’s own culture is reflected POLITENESS 27 Politeness is the expression of the speakers’ intention to mitigate face threats carried by certain face threatening acts toward another (Mills, 2003, p 6) Being polite therefore consists of attempting to save face for another Politeness theory states that some speech acts threaten others’ face needs First formulated in 1987 by Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson, politeness theory has since expanded academia’s perception of politeness (Mills, 2003) This text has influenced almost all of the theoretical and analytical work in this field (Mills, 2003, p 57) In everyday conversation, there are ways to go about getting the things we want When we are with a group of friends, we can say to them, "Go get me that plate!", or "Shut-up!" However, when we are surrounded by a group of adults at a formal function, in which our parents are attending, we must say, "Could you please pass me that plate, if you don't mind?" and "I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt, but I am not able to hear the speaker in the front of the room." In different social situations, we are obligated to adjust our use of words 28 to fit the occasion It would seem socially unacceptable if the phrases above were reversed According to Brown and Levinson, politeness strategies are developed in order to save the hearers' "face." Face refers to the respect that an individual has for him or herself, and maintaining that "self-esteem" in public or in private situations Usually you try to avoid embarrassing the other person, or making them feel uncomfortable Face Threatening Acts (FTA's) are acts that infringe on the hearers' need to maintain his/her self esteem, and be respected Politeness strategies are developed for the main purpose of dealing with these FTAs What would you if you saw a cup of pens on your teacher's desk, and you wanted to use one, would you a say, "Ooh, I want to use one of those!" b say, "So, is it O.K if I use one of those pens?" c say, "I'm sorry to bother you but, I just wanted to ask you if I could use one of those pens?" d Indirectly say, "Hmm, I sure could use a blue pen right now." There are four types of politeness strategies, described by Brown and Levinson, that sum up human "politeness" behavior: Bald On Record, Negative Politeness, Positive Politeness, and Off-Record-indirect strategy If you answered A, you used what is called the Bald On Record Bald OnRecord strategy which provides no effort to minimize threats to your teachers' "face." If you answered B, you used the Positive Politeness strategy In this situation you recognize that your teacher has a desire to be respected It also confirms that the relationship is friendly and expresses group reciprocity If you answered C, you used the Negative Politeness strategy which similar to Positive Politeness in that you recognize that they want to be respected however, you also assume that you are in some way imposing on them Some 29 other examples would be to say, "I don't want to bother you but " or "I was wondering if " If you answered D, you used Off-Record indirect strategies The main purpose is to take some of the pressure off of you You are trying not to directly impose by asking for a pen Instead you would rather it be offered to you once the teacher realizes you need one, and you are looking to find one A great example of this strategy is something that almost everyone has done or will when you have, on purpose, decided not to return someone's phone call, therefore you say, " I tried to call a hundred times, but there was never any answer Examples from Brown and Levinson's Politeness strategies: Bald on-record: These provide no effort by you to reduce the impact of the FTA's You will most likely shock the person to whom you are speaking to, embarrass them, or make them feel a bit uncomfortable However, this type of strategy is commonly found with people who know each other very well, and are very comfortable in their environment, such as close friends and family) An Emergency: HELP!! Task oriented: Give me that! Request: Put your coat away Alerting: Turn your headlights on! (When alerting someone to something they should be doing) Positive Politeness: It is usually seen in groups of friends, or where people in the given social situation know each other fairly well It usually tries to 30 minimize the distance between them by expressing friendliness and solid interest in the hearer's need to be respected (minimize the FTA) Attend to the hearer: "You must be hungry, it's a long time since breakfast How about some lunch?" Avoid disagreement: A: " What is she, small?" B: "Yes, yes, she's small, smallish, um, not really small but certainly not very big." Assume agreement: "So when are you coming to see us?" Hedge opinion: "You really should sort of try harder." Negative Politeness: The main focus for using this strategy is to assume that you may be imposing on the hearer, and intruding on their space Therefore, these automatically assume that there might be some social distance or awkwardness in the situation Be indirect: "I'm looking for a comb." In this situation you are hoping that you will not have to ask directly, so as not to impose and take up the hearer's time Therefore, by using this indirect strategy, you hope they will offer to go find one for you Forgiveness: "You must forgive me but " Minimize imposition: "I just want to ask you if I could use your computer?" Pluralize the person responsible: "We forgot to tell you that you needed to by your plane ticket by yesterday." 31 This takes all responsibility off of only you and onto "we", even if you were the person responsible for telling the hearer when the deadline was to buy the ticket Off-Record (indirect): You are removing yourself from any imposition whatsoever Give hints: "It's cold in here." Be vague: "Perhaps someone should have been more responsible." Be sarcastic, or joking: "Yeah, he's a real rocket scientist!" Cross-Cultural questions Answer the following questions about your own culture and then discuss intercultural similarities and differences Do you think there are stages of learning a language? If so, how stages in language learning correspond to stages in the cultural adjustment process? Do people usually change because of their experiences in foreign countries? If so, how? What problems might someone expect when returning home after a long absence? How might students decrease the impact of culture shock during their stay in a foreign culture? What kinds of people adjust best to foreign cultures? What is the best way to prepare for life in another culture? References Levine, D R & Adelman, M B (1982) Beyond Language Intercultural Communication for English as a Second Language Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J 07632 32 Nguyen Quang (Com & Ed.) Intercultural Communication Vietnam National University Hanoi Oxford Guide to British and American Culture Oxford University Press(UK) Tracy Novinger (2001) Intercultural communication- A Practical Guide University of Texas Press Valdes, J M (1986) Culture Bound Bridging the Cultural Gap in Language Teaching Cambridge University Press 33 ... others • Communication: the process of sharing meaning through verbal and nonverbal communication • Intercultural communication: communication between people from different cultures; communication. .. conditioning influences upon further action Definition of inter-cultural communication What is intercultural communication? Intercultural communication in its most basic form refers to an academic field... of note within the intercultural field, who naturally all have different definitions of 'intercultural communication' For example Karlfried Knapp defines it as " 'Intercultural communication, ' can