Joe McVeigh CATESOL 2013 San Diego, CA

Intercultural Communication Interest Group Workshop

Developing Our Own Cultural Awareness

Have you eaten yet?

“Hazigone?”

Hazigone?

How’s it going?

Language is not enough.

Have you ever had an experience of cross-cultural miscommunication?

What was it?

Have you ever had an experience of cross-cultural miscommunication in your classroom?

What was it?

Defining culture

What is culture?

Is culture a question of “content” such as holidays, films, literature, and food?

Or is culture a set of values, attitudes, and behaviors?

Culture is . . .

Take a minute to write down your own definition of culture. Complete this sentence:

Culture is ________________________ .

Culture is . . .

• Products, practices, and perspectives

• Artifacts, actions, and meanings (Moran, 2001)

• A set of basic ideas, practices, and

experiences that a group of people share

Culture is . . .

Take two minutes to discuss your responses with the person next to you.

What is culture ?

• The shared beliefs, norms, and attitudes that guide a group of people’s behavior and help explain their world (DeCapua & Wintergerst, 2004)

• “A complex frame of reference that consists of patterns of traditions, beliefs, values, norms, symbols, and meanings that are shared to varying degrees by interacting members of a community” (Ting-Toomey, 1999)

A Definition of Culture (Kohls 1996)

• Culture is an integrated system of learned behavior patterns that are characteristic of the total way of life of a given society.

• It includes everything that a group of people thinks, says, does, and makes — its customs, language, material artifacts and shared systems of attitudes and feelings.

• Culture is learned and transmitted.

So, then, what does culture consist of?

What might be some elements of a particular culture?

Elements of a particular culture

Manners Language Behavior

Customs Arts Morals

Beliefs Religion Humor

Ceremonies Values Rituals

Laws Knowledge Idea of self

Thought patterns

Social institutions

Myths and legends

Rhetorical patterns in writing across cultures

(Kaplan, 1966)

Elements of a particular culture

Manners Language Behavior

Customs Arts Morals

Beliefs Religion Humor

Ceremonies Values Rituals

Laws Knowledge Idea of self

Thought patterns

Social institutions

Myths and legends

Literature & Story

The Blind Men and the Elephant

A Hindoo Fable

by John Godfrey Saxe(1816-1887)

The Blind Men and the Elephant

It was six men of Indostan

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the Elephant

(Though all of them were blind),

That each by observation

Might satisfy his _________.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

The first approached the Elephant,

And happening to fall

Against his broad and sturdy side,

At once began to bawl:

“God bless me! But the Elephant

Is very like a ______!”

The Blind Men and the Elephant

The second feeling of the tusk,

Cried, “Ho! What have we here

So very round and smooth and sharp?

To me ‘tis mighty clear

The wonder of an Elephant

Is very like a _______!”

The Blind Men and the Elephant

The third approached the animal,

And happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Thus boldly up and spake:

“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant

Is very like a ________”

The Blind Men and the Elephant

The fourth reached out an eager hand,

And felt about the knee,

“What most this wondrous beast is like

Is mighty plain,” quoth he;

“ ‘Tis clear enough the Elephant

Is very like a __________”

The Blind Men and the Elephant

The fifth who chanced to touch the ear,

Said: “E’en the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most;

Deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an Elephant

Is very like a __________”

The Blind Men and the Elephant

The sixth no sooner had begun

About the beast to grope,

Than, seizing on the swinging tail

That fell within his scope,

“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant

Is very like a __________”

The Blind Men and the Elephant

And so these men of Indostan

Disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the _______ !

How is intercultural communication like the story of the blind men and the elephant?

Cultural competencies

What are some traits or competencies that are useful in working successfully with people from other countries and cultures?

Cultural Competency Description

Cultural self-awareness your own experiences with other cultures maybe from traveling abroad

Cultural awareness of others

knowledge about the differences of people, countries, and cultures

Cultural sensitivity respect and acceptance of other cultures Cross-cultural communication skills

verbal and nonverbal behaviors that are necessary to communicate across cultures

Tolerance for ambiguity the ability to live with uncertaintyFlexibility the ability to adjust to other ways of doing things based on the

new culture’s practices

Open-mindedness understanding that there may be more than one “right” way of doing things

Humility the ability to consider the needs of others before our own needs

Empathy the ability to put ourselves in the shoes of another to help us understand the other person’s point of view

An out-going personality

someone who likes to talk with and be with other people

Self-reliance the ability to depend on ourselves and to act independently

Adapted from Peterson, B. (2004). Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc. (p.161-166).

Some of the activities in this presentation are taken from Tips for Teaching Culture: Practical Approaches to Intercultural Communication by Ann C. Wintergerst & Joe McVeigh © 2010 Pearson Longman.

Permission granted to copy for classroom use.

Explore concepts of

personal identity

What is identity?

• Our sense of self

• The way we see ourselves as individuals

• The way we interact with others

• Within our first culture and other cultures

Thinking about identity

• Primary identities and secondary identities• Personal identity• Age• Social class• Religion

• Threats

What the teacher can do

• Must have a good sense of own identity

• Achieved through self-reflection, journaling, and talking with others

• Challenging area for classroom discussion

• Use questionnaires, discussions, journaling, writing assignments, reading/discussion of essays, stories, biographical writings of others

Activity : Exploring Personal Identity 1. Student-created collage2. Prepare a model and show it to your students3. Well before the start of the project, ask the class to

bring in magazines and newspapers with photographs4. Decide if you want to devote class time to this activity

or ask students to do their collages as homework. 5. Tell students the project is to make a collage that

represents their personal identity. They should include information they feel represents who they are, their interests, their views, etc. Point out that they can use photos, bits of text, their own drawings or writings – anything that helps portray how they see themselves.

6. Have students bring their completed collages to class. Display them around the classroom. Ask students to walk around the room and enjoy the collages. Give the class an opportunity to ask any questions about their classmates’ collages

Acting it out:Nonverbal

communication

Some aspects of non-verbal communication

Gestures and movement - kinesicsGaze and eye contact – oculesicsUse of space and touch– proxemicsUse of time – chronometrics ?

Acting It Out

• Conversational management.

• Nonverbal cues– Interested– Not interested– Want to end the conversation

Nonverbal cues• Gazing intently at the speaker to indicate

interest.• Looking over the speaker’s shoulder as if there

is something more interesting that you would like to go and do.

• Responding with enthusiastic nonverbal sounds e.g. Um-hmm!

• Responding with unenthusiastic, monotone nonverbal sounds.

• Tapping a hand, finger, or foot to indicate boredom.

• Avoiding eye contact with the speaker.

Steps to Acting it Out

• Choose a volunteer. Without identifying which one, role-play one of the cues. Ask the class to identify which cue you are role playing and the meaning.

• Form pairs. Choose a dialog from one of your textbooks. One student is the primary speaker and the other is the respondent. Have them practice the nonverbal behaviors above. Then ask students to switch roles.

• To finish the activity, ask the class to describe what happened during their role plays. Was it clear to them when the listener was interested and when not? Could they tell when the listener wanted to end the conversation?

Self- Awareness & Feedback

Preparation

• Write on the board: feeling tired, eating more or less, tight muscles (especially in shoulders and jaw), difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, irritability, headaches, worrying, and unhappiness.

• Introduce the topic of culture shock

Symptoms and strategies

• Ask students to think about other causes and symptoms of stress. Write their ideas on the board.

• Ask students about any ideas they have or strategies they use for dealing with stress. Write their ideas on the board.

• If students haven't mentioned the following, add them to the list on the board:– deep breathing– progressive muscle relaxation– meditation (mindfulness, guided imagery,

repetitive prayer)– exercise (yoga, tai-chi, walking)– massage therapy (by others, by self)

Stress-busters

Follow-up

• Share information with your students about how to explore these and other techniques at your institution’s health center, by doing research online, or by checking their local library or community center.

• Have students think about a personal plan that could help them reduce stress.

Gender and language

Gender and language

• How men and women view interaction

• For women, “communication is primarily a way to establish and maintain relationships with others” (Tannen 1990)

• “The primary purpose of communication for men is to exert control, preserve independence, and enhance status” (Tannen 1990)

Gender and language

• When talking with each other, women give and receive equal turns

• They show support and sympathy for each other

• They use questions to probe for greater understanding of feelings

• They work hard to keep the conversation going

• They are responsive to the comments of others

• They speak in concrete and personal terms

• They are sometimes tentative or apologetic

• Men focus more on gathering data or solving problems.

• They tend to express superiority and maintain control, dominating the conversation.

• They are not very responsive, may assert themselves, and may speak in abstract terms removed from personal experience.

(Wood 1994)

Agreement / CompletionAsk students to what extent they agree with the four statements below:

 

Women talk more than men.

Women talk more for the purpose of maintaining relationships.

Men talk more to get things done.

I feel comfortable talking to members of the opposite sex.

 

Then ask them to complete the following sentences:

 

I think that in communication, women are too . . .

I think that in communication, men are too . . .

Integrating culture and social responsibility

• How can English language teachers help promote tolerance of differences between people and cultures?

• As teachers, should we share our values, beliefs, and hopes in the classroom? If yes, how much should we share them?

Somewhere in those deep recesses of your mind and emotion you are guided by a sense of mission, of purpose, and of dedication to a profession in which you believe you can make a difference. Your sense of social responsibility directs you to be an agent for change. You’re driven by convictions about what this world should look like, how its people should behave, how its governments should control that behavior, and how its inhabitants should be partners in the stewardship of the planet. (Brown 2007, p. 512)

Introduce concepts of social responsibility, ethics, and human rights

• Raise student awareness of issues.

• Gently lead into discussions or exercises to help them explore their own ideas and opinions.

Activity: Thinking peace, doing peace

Thinking peace/Doing Peace

(adapted from Ochoa-Becker, 2003)2003)

• Select 4 or 5 photographs that depict war and violence from magazines and newspapers. Allow students time to examine them carefully and then discuss the following questions:– Why do you think this violence is taking place?– Could these problems have been settled in other

ways? How?– What are the ways we can help prevent war?

Thinking peace/Doing Peace

(adapted from Ochoa-Becker, 2003)2003)

• With the students, brainstorm the ideas that come to mind when hearing the word “peace.”

Thinking peace/Doing peace

(adapted from Ochoa-Becker, 2003)2003)• Place students in small groups and have them

discuss the following questions:– How would you define “peace.”– Think about a time you experienced peace. What was

the situation? Why did you find it peaceful? Explain why you found it peaceful. Give an authentic example of your own to begin the sharing.

– Can you think of a place where you feel more peaceful than in other places?

– What can you do to contribute to peace at a local level among your friends, in the classroom, and in your family?

Culture Assimilator

Culture assimilators

• Describe an incident in which an international visitor is faced with a dilemma, problem, or situation that has a cultural basis.

• Suggest four multiple choice explanations for why things happened the way they did.

• Prepare answers to explain.

Culture assimilator

A student from the Middle East is attending a university in the mid-western part of the United States. He has many friends that he hopes to have admitted to the university, so he often visits the offices of different departments to talk to the secretaries, talking about his friends and what good students they would be.

He makes many visits, and each time he is received with smiles and polite listening.However, no action is ever taken to admit his friends.

Later he discovers that his actions were perceived as annoying by the administrative assistants that he talked to. What went wrong?

Culture assimilator

A. The student was perceived as being over aggressive. People were just being polite by listening to him.

B. The student went to the wrong offices.

C. It was not appropriate for the student to talk for his friends. They should have spoken for themselves.

D. People smiled politely because they liked the student and thought he was interesting, but they couldn’t do anything to help.

Culture assimilator

A. The student was perceived as being over aggressive. People were just being polite by listening to him.

There is also some truth in C, because of the US value that people should be independent and act for themselves.

Exploring Humor

“My people are the people of the dessert,” said T.E. Lawrence picking up his fork.

T. E. Lawrence1888-1935

British army officer

“Lawrence of Arabia”

Arab revolt against Ottoman Turks 1916-1918

“My people are the people of

the desert.”

“My people are the people of

the dessert,” said T.E.

Lawrence, picking up his

fork.

•Bathing: do you use the same water?•Eating: silverware vs. hands•Where do you keep your toilet?

Exploring values

What do you think of as traditional values and beliefs of American “core culture”

Exploring values

Traditional American values and beliefs

Equality of opportunity and competition

Material wealth and hard work

Individual freedom and self-reliance

(Datesman, Crandall, & Kearny, 2005)

Exploring values

Values of the core culture in the United States

• A strong sense of individualism as opposed to group orientation

• Belief in the future, change, and the inevitability of progress

• An orientation to action

• Pragmatism• A belief in the general

goodness of humanity• Informality

Values of the core culture in the United States

• The distinction between work and play

• Directness and assertiveness

• The importance of privacy

• Cooperation and fair play

• The need to be liked

Exploring proverbs

• The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

• You’ve made your bed now lie in it.

• There’s more than one way to skin a cat.

• God helps those who help themselves

• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

•How are you?•Shut the damn door•It’s getting very late

•We really should have lunch some time

Register and politeness

Culturea question of perspective

Questions&

Discussion

Some of the activities in this presentation are taken from Tips for Teaching Culture: Practical Approaches to Intercultural Communication by Ann C. Wintergerst & Joe McVeigh © 2010 Pearson Longman.

Permission granted to copy for classroom use.

Photo CreditsThe following photos used under a Creative

Commons Attribution license and found on flickr

Tibetan mandala “Wonderlane”Blueprints Todd EhlersTaking the plunge Mark DonoherWoman gesturing David GoehringTest “hyperscholar”Culture shock “jovike”Woman and man Michele SandbergPeople at a party See-ming LeeTime David GoehringWomen talking ryanne “laihui”Question mark Ethan LoftonThank you flower Joanne Q. Escober

I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.

—— Mahatma Gandhi

Thank you !

www.joemcveigh.org