The thesis completed by Trương Thị Minh Phúc, 10E16, ULISVNU, explores an intercultural study on some typical globalized Western gestures done by the students at Vietnam National University Hanoi The research is conducted purposefully with the hope of clarifying how VNU students use and perceive the finger gestures in general, five mentioned finger gestures (Vsign, Thumbup, OK sign, The middle finger and Beckoning) in particular among its various global meanings. Moreover, the study is undertaken as an attempt to take a deeper look at the tendency of using finger gestures in communicating of VNU students. The method employed in this study is that of survey research which mainly are survey questionnaire and observation. The investigation involves the participants of a hundred students coming from four different universities of VNU responding to the thoroughly designed questionnaire. Besides that, they are observed randomly and objectively for the purpose of valid data. By figuring, calculating, combining, comparing and generalizing, the data collected through research instruments is then analyzed carefully and discussed indepth, so that relevant and worthy findings can be found. The results and findings of the study truly help to answer the research questions. It allows the realization of the differences in using and perceiving finger gestures of the students from four surveyed universities as well as the reflection of their attitude towards using these finger gestures. Then, it also shows how much globalization has effects on how VNU students practice the finger gestures in their communicating.
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER AN INTERCULTURAL STUDY OF SOME TYPICAL GLOBALIZED WESTERN GESTURES DONE BY THE STUDENTS AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI Supervisor: Ngơ Hữu Hồng, PhD Student: Trƣơng Thị Minh Phúc Course: QH2010.F1.E16 Hanoi - 2014 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƢ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU LIÊN VĂN HÓA VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG MỘT SỐ CỬ CHỈ ĐẶC TRƢNG CÓ NGUỒN GỐC TỪ PHƢƠNG TÂY BỊ TỒN CẦU HĨA CỦA SINH VIÊN ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI Giáo viên hƣớng dẫn: Ngơ Hữu Hồng Sinh viên: Trƣơng Thị Minh Phúc Khóa: QH2010.F1.E16 Hà Nội - 2014 ACEPTANCE I hereby state that I: Truong Thi Minh Phuc, from group 10E16, English Department, HULIS, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purpose of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Date: May 5th 2014 i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation and my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Ngơ Hữu Hồng, for his precious guidance, insightful comments, unconditional invaluable materials as well as his huge encouragement from the initial to the final step for the accomplishment of this study Secondly, my big thank is extended to respectable lecturers of Faculty of English Language Teacher Education in University of Languages and International Studies for their motivation and devotion to every lesson during my four years at the university, which inspired me a lot to write this paper It is also my honor to say thank you to the facilitation and frequent remind from the Department so that my study could be in right process Then, I am in debt my profound thankfulness to my beloved family, my close friends and my colleges who are always beside me, wholeheartedly count on me, give me their constant supports and help me overcome difficulties Besides, I wish to thank the students at University of Languages and International Studies, University of Economics and Business, University of Engineering and Technology and International School, who enthusiastically participated in my data collection process for their valid information But for their assistances, I would not have completed this paper After all, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to acknowledge all of those who supported me in any respect during the completion of the study Truong Thi Minh Phuc ii i ABSTRACT The thesis completed by Trương Thị Minh Phúc, 10E16, ULIS-VNU, explores an intercultural study on some typical globalized Western gestures done by the students at Vietnam National University Hanoi The research is conducted purposefully with the hope of clarifying how VNU students use and perceive the finger gestures in general, five mentioned finger gestures (V-sign, Thumb-up, OK sign, The middle finger and Beckoning) in particular among its various global meanings Moreover, the study is undertaken as an attempt to take a deeper look at the tendency of using finger gestures in communicating of VNU students The method employed in this study is that of survey research which mainly are survey questionnaire and observation The investigation involves the participants of a hundred students coming from four different universities of VNU responding to the thoroughly designed questionnaire Besides that, they are observed randomly and objectively for the purpose of valid data By figuring, calculating, combining, comparing and generalizing, the data collected through research instruments is then analyzed carefully and discussed in-depth, so that relevant and worthy findings can be found The results and findings of the study truly help to answer the research questions It allows the realization of the differences in using and perceiving finger gestures of the students from four surveyed universities as well as the reflection of their attitude towards using these finger gestures Then, it also shows how much globalization has effects on how VNU students practice the finger gestures in their communicating iii i TABLE OF CONTENTS ACEPTANCE …………………………………………………………………………… …i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………… ii ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………… iii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………………iv ABRRIVIATION …………………………………………………………………………….v LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS &FIGURES…………………………………….………….vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study…………………………………………………………………….1 Aims of the study and statement of research questions……………………………… Significance of the study………………………………………………………………….2 Scope of the study……………………………………………………………………… Design of the study……………………………………………………………………… PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITURATURE REVIEW……………………………………5 1.1.Theoretical background……………………………………………………………… 1.1.1 Verbal and non-verbal communication …………………………………………… 1.1.1.1.Verbal communication………………………………………………………………7 1.1.1.2.Non-verbal communication ……………………………………………… .7 a Gestures………………………………………………………………………….8 b Origin and global meanings of the five listed finger gestures… .9 i “V” sign (Outward & inward)………………………………………………9 iv 90% 84% 80% 80% 70% 60% 60% 60% 50% 40% difference 40% 40% no differen ce 30% 20% 20% 16% 10% 0% ULIS IS UET UEB Chart 5: The awareness of differences in meanings of the two beckoning gestures (upward & downward) As illustrated in the chart, unlike the V-signs, VNU students express their consciousness of the differences in meanings between the two beckoning gestures: upward and downward more clearly When being asked, 84% of ULIS students and 80% of those from UEB highly agreed that the upward beckoning and the downward one are employed in different ways At the same time, also 60% of IS and that of UET students chose the same option to the question 40% of students from both IS and UET, 16% of ULISer as well as 20% of UEB ones think that both the two signs mean getting someone’s attention or it signals “Come here”, “come on nearer” As a result, they make no difference when 36 implementing it in communicating with others However, still they rarely exercise these gestures with the old or the senior To the ones who consider the two beckoning gestures different in meanings, they often use the downward beckoning to draw someone nearer or closer, they assess the beckoning with palm facing upward shows no respect or even shows challenges to others- and it can wage war on! Therefore, they seldom exercise this sign when they want to attract their partner’s attention Moreover, they believe that this upward sign is mostly used to call animals, especially for dogs Hence, it is rude to so with the people In this case, VNU students perceive and employ the upward sign in the same way as the Philippines- it somehow reflects Asian cultures 37 PART C - CONCLUSION Conclusions of the findings After doing thorough analysis of the data collected through both the questionnaire and observation, the researcher brings out some final findings which help to answer and clarify the research questions According to the answers counted from the questionnaire, most of the respondents agreed that finger gestures play an important role in communicating Using these gestures often helps them express their ideas as well as deliver their speech more easily and it makes their conversations more lively and effectively Nearly all of VNU students who were asked answered that they not use the finger gestures with all the people They use the finger gestures only in chatting or talking with their friends or others of the same age Rarely they practice it with the older people, the higher position people or the respected ones The same results are also collected from the researcher’s observation All four surveyed universities of VNU have large number of students being aware of the five listed finger gestures and they usually implement these finger gestures in their daily conversations Through the researcher’s observation, VNU students use these ones both spontaneously and intentionally in every talking In terms of origins, although most of VNU students suppose that the five listed finger gestures originate from foreign cultures, not from Vietnam, and they actually not put so much attention to the origins of the finger gestures used in their discussions Among the five listed finger gestures, “V” sign is used the most frequently while the middle finger gesture seems not too popular with VNU students to be recognized and be used 38 Interestingly, despite having many of global meanings, these five mentioned finger gestures are perceived in many different typical ways by VNU students, which have both differences and similarities with its original meanings and the meanings perceived in other countries and cultures Noticeably, VNU students generally practice these five gestures in the same way with those from Western countries, especially the American Implications First and foremost, according to the thorough analysis in the chapter, besides other nonverbal cues, some widely-used popular finger gestures such as “V” sign, Thumbup, the middle finger, “O.K” sign and beckoning are also experienced commonly by VNU students However, there still appear some differences in the use of these mentioned finger gestures Through the analysis, it can be seen that, VNU students perceive most of the meanings of these finger gestures in the same way as the Americans Therefore, it can be inferred that the culture of English-speaking countries, the culture of Western and particularly the culture of America are strongly impacting on communicating styles of Vietnamese young people Based on the analysis of scale and level of using these five mentioned finger gestures of the students from four universities of VNU, it can be confirmed that the students of Languages Colleges have more chances to interfere and join cultural cross communication frequently than those from other universities Hence, they may have more advantages in using the finger gestures and the nonverbal cues in general more effectively in their communicating process In such a widely- interacted world, there are more and more foreigners, not only from Western countries but also from others, choose Vietnam as an ideal destination to visit It can be very clear to see that, misunderstanding may be raised between the Vietnamese young people in general, VNU students in particular and the 39 communicators from other cultures once they lack of knowledge and experience about using finger gestures when they are communicating in Vietnamese culture Therefore, some solutions are highly recommended so that the culture shocks can be avoided Limitations of the study Although the researcher tried the best to complete the study, it is unavoidable that there still appear some limitations it needs revising First of all, to complete the paper, survey research method was applied in which questionnaire and observations were mainly used to collect the data The fact is that some disadvantages of the methods can affect the results of the study Because the respondents might answer the surveyed questions superficially, the data collected through questionnaire might not be a hundred percent valid Furthermore, the observation of the researcher is limited that also make it difficult Hence, the conclusion of the study exists some of the researcher’s subjective point of views It is no doubt that gestures is a large field and it need to be studied and analyzed more deeply and thoroughly However, due to the time constraint, the researcher’s ability as well as owing to the scope of the paper, the study mainly focuses on classifying five common finger gestures used by students of four out of total seven universities of VNU The participants were picked randomly from some students in some departments of each university to represent others Then, the conclusions of the findings were generalized; as a result it could not reflect and cover all the expected fields Therefore, further studies conducted in different ways are highly recommended so that it can give a more reasonable conclusion 40 Suggestions for further studies In order to overcome the limitations of the study and so as to help other researchers who develop the interest in the same topic, the researcher personally gives some suggestions for the further better studies Firstly, in this paper, the researcher just took one hundred students from only four out of seven universities of VNU to study and it somehow partly had some effect on the results Therefore, further research had better extend its range of participants to increase the validity of the data and conclusion Moreover, the other researchers can take a deeper look at the issue if they pay more attention to other criteria such as genders, years they have studied at university of the informants Secondly, the future researcher should widen the scope of their study As it was mentioned at the very first time, the study focused on only five widely-used finger gestures despite the fact that finger gestures includes a large range of motions Instead of five, they can conduct research on more finger gestures, or even hand gestures so that there is greater diversity and significance in the final findings It is hoped that there exist more interesting topics will be discovered 41 REFERENCES Armstrong, N & Wagner, M (2003) Field guide to gestures- How to identify and 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Trường: …………………………………………… Lớp: ……………………………………………… Câu hỏi Bạn có hay sử dụng cử tay giao tiếp để làm tăng thêm ý nghĩa nội dung câu nói bạn khơng? A Ln B Thường xuyên C Thỉnh thoảng D Không 45 Bạn có cho việc sử dụng cử tay giao tiếp quan trọng khơng?? A Rất quan trọng B Quan trọng C Bình thường D Không quan trọng Khi sử dụng cử tay giao tiếp, bạn có để ý xem cử thuộc văn hóa Việt Nam hay văn hóa nước ngồi khơng? A Có B Khơng C Có có, có khơng D Khơng quan tâm Bạn thường dùng cử tay giao tiếp với: A Bạn bè, người tuổi B Thầy cô giáo, người lạ C Bố mẹ, ông bà, người thân lớn tuổi D Bất Bạn có biết cử tay sau không? Theo bạn, ý nghĩa cử gì? A Tơi khơng biết cử 4.1 B Tơi biết cử Nó cử đặc trưng văn hóa a Việt Nam b nước ngồi 46 C Ý nghĩa ……………………………………………………………………………… A Tôi cử 4.2 B Tơi biết cử Nó cử đặc trưng văn hóa b Việt Nam b nước ngồi C Ý nghĩa ……………………………………………………………………………… A Tơi khơng biết cử 4.3 B Tôi biết cử Nó cử đặc trưng văn hóa a Việt Nam b nước C Ý nghĩa ………………………………………………………………………………… 47 A Tơi khơng biết cử 4.4 B Tơi biết cử Nó cử đặc trưng văn hóa a Việt Nam b nước ngồi C Ý nghĩa ………………………………………………………………………………… A Tôi cử 4.5 B Tôi biết cử Nó cử đặc trưng văn hóa a Việt Nam b nước ngồi C Ý nghĩa ………………………………………………………………………………… Hãy đánh giá mức độ sử dụng cử sau giao tiếp bạn cánh số từ đến để thể mức độ 1: Hay dùng 5: Ít dùng 48 Theo bạn có khác sắc thái ý nghĩa hai cử chúng dùng giao tiếp khơng? Hình Hình 6.2 A Khơng B Có Sự khác là: Hình 6.1 : …………………………………………………………………………… Hình 6.2:……………………………………………………………………………… 49 Theo bạn có khác sắc thái ý nghĩa hai cử chúng dùng giao tiếp khơng? Hình 7.1 Hình 7.2 C Khơng D Có Sự khác là: Hình 7.1: …………………………………………………………………………… Hình 7.2:………………………………………………………………………… 50 ...ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƢ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU LIÊN VĂN HÓA VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG MỘT SỐ CỬ CHỈ ĐẶC TRƢNG CÓ NGUỒN GỐC TỪ PHƢƠNG TÂY BỊ... NGUỒN GỐC TỪ PHƢƠNG TÂY BỊ TỒN CẦU HĨA CỦA SINH VIÊN ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI Giáo viên hƣớng dẫn: Ngô Hữu Hồng Sinh viên: Trƣơng Thị Minh Phúc Khóa: QH2010.F1.E16 Hà Nội - 2014 ACEPTANCE I hereby... http://thinkingouttabox.wordpress.com/, the palm- out “V” gesture is believed to be discovered by a Belgian lawyer named Victor De Lavelaye who aimed to find a symbol that could be used for the international