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Communicating Across CulturesA Guide for TeachersHow to include culture learning in English language classes Linell Davis January 2019Linell Davis January 18,2019What do we mean by culture?wChinese speakers often mean characteristics of Chinese people as compared to characteristics of people from other nations wKnowledge about culture is often expressed as generalizationsThe English are conservativeAmericans are individualisticThe French are romanticwNational culturewPersonal traits of people from that nationMore meanings of culturewWay of life of any groupRegional culture-north/south,rural/urbanReligious culture-Christian,Buddhist,MoslemEthnic culture-Han,Hui,Tibetan,XinjiangGender culture-male/femaleEconomic class culture-farmer/intellectual/businessGenerational culture-youth/middle age/elderlyOrganizational culture schools,education“Way of Life”definition of culturewAssumes that people with similar life experiences share VALUES.wThey see the world in similar ways.wMembers of important groups share MEANINGS.wThey can understand one another more easily than they can understand people from other groups.wGroup membership is often more important than national culture.What do I know about the NBA?wNothing at allwI am female and I am oldwThe NBA is American and I am an AmericanwIt is an experience shared by male members of the international youth culturewI am not a member of that culturewSo,dont assume that national culture is the only or best level of analysis What do I know about teaching?wA lot;it is my love,my craft,my lifewI share many experiences with other teacherswIt doesnt matter whether they are Americans or ChinesewWe can communicate about teaching,learning,schools,students,etc.wWe share an academic or educational culturewDifferences in national culture are not necessarily significant barriers to communicationDo I know how to use chopsticks?wOf course,I do.Why do people keep asking me that question?wBecause Chinese use chopsticks and Americans use knives and forks,and I am an AmericanwThey assume that I am different from them in every way because I am a waiguo renwLook for similarities,not just differenceswWhen you meet someone for the first time,you look for what you have in common with that person.How do Americans celebrate Christmas?wIn many different ways,some not at allEthnic cultures Italian/Swedish/German/HispanicReligious cultures Christian/Jewish/secularRegional cultures south/north,east coast/west coastwPeople often ask me questions about AmericanswThey assume all Americans are alikewThey want me to give them a generalizationwGeneralizations about national cultures cause many misunderstandings in communicationDo all Americans sleep late?wA Chinese friend invited me to go to a park to do morning exerciseswBUT all along the way she complained about the traffic.wI asked Why do you do it if it is so unpleasant?wHer answer You are an American,so I didnt think you would want to go as early as I usually go.wI am an early-riser.wNational culture is not a good predictor of most personal habits.Are Americans more individualistic than Chinese?wThe conventional opinion is yes,they are.wThere is some truth to it,but it is an oversimplification.wThis idea alone is not a useful guide to predicting the preferences or behavior of Americans.wChinese educational culture is much more individualistic than American educational culture.American teachers collaborate more.Students do more group work.If you use American individualism to predict what Americans prefer,you will make many mistakes wIn international competition Americans excel at team sports while Chinese excel at individual sports.wAmericans are constantly forming groups and joining groups to meet a variety of personal and professional goals.wTypically,Americans participate in groups very differently from the way Chinese people do.Pay attention to processes rather than traitswHow do people carry on a friendship?wHow do they teach;how do they learn?wHow do they show respect?wHow do they express disagreement?wHow do they apologize?wHow do they handle relationships with people of higher or lower status than themselves?wHow do they participate in work groups?ICC-Intercultural communication competencewKnowledge of social groups in your own country and other countrieswAttitude of openness about other cultures and peoplewAbility to gain new knowledge and to act on that knowledgewKnowledge of processes and ability to use that knowledgewHow to communicate not just how to speak the target languageMeeting,greeting,starting a conversationExpressing agreement and disagreementAsking for informationWorking with others Then,how do we teach culture?Three approaches are used:wBig“C”CultureImportant people,works,eventsMark Twain,Bill Gates,“I have a dream”speech,War of Independence,Civil WarwLittle“c”cultureDaily life,holidays,customswCultural awarenessCulture-general rather than culture-specificTry these two approacheswCultural awarenesswThe classroom as a cultural sceneStretching,expanding,destabilizing the culturally prescribed ways of teaching and learning“When a butterfly flaps its wings in the north,it produces a typhoon in the south.”It means doing small things can have big effectsCultural awarenesswSensitivity toPeopleSituationsSimilarities and differenceswExpanding the concept of culture beyond the idea of national culturewWorking on problems of generalization and prejudicewBuilding on what students already know about how to communicateEnglish is a global languagewPeople in many countries learn English.wDont limit culture learning to the study of countries where English is a native language.wEnglish can be used to learn about many different cultures and about culture in general.wIt is likely that in the future your students will be communicating with speakers of English as a second or foreign language.wThey are participants in the emerging global culture.wSo are you!Culture learning begins with awareness of the home culturewHow did you/your family come to Shenzhen?wHow does your family entertain guests?wWhat was life like for your grandparents when they were your age?wTell about an experience in which someone judged you based on a single characteristic.wTell about an experience in which you communicated with someone different from you.Your class is full of cultural diversitywA microcosm of our global villagewThrough these activities you teach how to deal with differences wRespect differences,appreciate them and learn from themwLook for similarities as a basis for building relationshipswNotice that these learning activities are inductive and student-centered.wUsing them you are doing culture,not just learning about a specific culturewYou are modeling social practices from the global culture.Bring new experiences into the classroomwLook at the organizational culture of the school and the classroom.wTake steps to stretch that culture a little to move it closer to the ways of the target culture.wThis is the best way to teach culture.wIt is the way for you and your students to gain intercultural competence.Similarities in classroom cultureswStudents study similar subjectswThey usually live at home and attend school five days a weekwThey have homework;they take examswThey are sensitive to the approval/disapproval of their teachers and classmateswFrom the classroom culture they are learning how to participate in the larger cultureDifferences in classroom cultureswAmerican ChineseStudent-centeredTeacher-centeredKnowledge is sometimes discovered by students InductiveKnowledge is given by the teacher DeductiveMore than one answer is acceptable;uncertainty stimulates discoveryStudents prefer definite answers;uncomfortable with ambiguity,uncertaintyLearning through problem-solving thinking,actingLearning through reading-visualizingRelationships based on hierarchywThe teacher is at the top of the hierarchy,the leader of the classwRelationships between teacher and students somewhat distant because students owe respect and obediencewRelationships are reciprocal or complementary wThe pattern is one of mutual dependenceRespect,service and obedienceDirection,care and protectionCommunication flowwThe classroom leader,the teacher,belongs to other hierarchies.wTeacher owes respect,service and obedience to those abovewCommunication flows from the top down wTeachers communicate with one student at a time or with the group as a wholewStudents can communicate freely with each other unless they are competing for the approval of the leader.Teacher-Student InteractionwTeachers are likely to give very precise instructionswThe students job is to produce the correct answerwThis process is endlessly repeated and elaboratedwIt produces the examination systemWhat am I supposed to do?I hope I dont make a mistakeI better tell them exactly what to doI dont want any mistakesBring the new close to the familiarwDevelop your intercultural competence by stretching the system a little.wIntroduce activities in which students learn inductively cultural awareness activities.wEncourage student inquiry.wEncourage them to ask questions that do not have definite or fixed answers.Western style groups wShort term time limited group learning projectswBelong to many groups classes and a variety of extra-curricular groups such as sports teams and music groupswLess emotionally involved in each groupwPrefer equal relationships teacher is not as socially distant,not as elevated in statuswThe teacher is more like the coach of a teamRecreation groupsGroup identity and personal identity are separatewIn the West groups have less influence over the individuals behaviorwThe person forms and breaks ties easilywThe person looks for groups that are useful in achieving personal goalsProfessional groupsCommunity groupsWork groupspersonGroup leadership is dispersedwVarious members take leadership roleswLeaders win their roles by convincing members of their effectiveness wMembers expect to contribute in different ways to the groupwTheir rewards will be different too.FormalleaderProcessleaderResourceleaderTask leaderEmotionalleaderMembers cooperate and competewMembers may compete with one another for recognition,leadership,allies,etc.wThey also cooperate within the group and outside the groupwLinking the group with other groups is an essential functionwThe group boundary is relatively openwThese complex patterns of competition and cooperation are made orderly by rules of process called“fair play rules”Examples of fair play ruleswEveryone should have an equal opportunity to participate no one should dominate or be left outwDecision-making is shared not the exclusive responsibility of the leader whether that is the teacher or any other memberwMembers should give honest feedback students freely say what they like and dont like;they make suggestionswEveryone should focus on the task at handwSome tasks are individual;others are completed by the groupwKnow the difference and dont cheatwThese process rules are often more important than reaching a specific outcomePersonal motivation is criticalwBecause group membership is voluntary,members must be motivated to devote energy to the groupwIf a person must be in a group,it is still necessary to build motivation to create energy for the groups workwChinese classroom groups depend more on extrinsic motivation passing examsIf I do a greatjob Ill move up inthe organizationI like working with the peoplein this groupI can learn some new skills fromthis groupI really believein the purposeof this groupMy goalsare the sameas the groupsgoalsComparing group behaviorswWesternwlittle difference between ingroup and outgroup behaviorswless associative with ingroups;less hostile to outgroupswinformal and directw insensitive to hierarchical relations among memberswChinesewgreat difference between ingroup and outgroup behaviorswmore associative with ingroups;more hostile to outgroupswmay be motivated by loyalty to ingroupswexpect all members to be rewarded equallyQuestions for teachers who want to stretch the classroom culturewWhat motivates me and others?Do I respond to extrinsic or intrinsic motivation?wWhat roles do I play in the groups I participate in?A directive leader in some and passive follower in others?wWhat behaviors/attitudes from the target culture can I practice?Sharing tasks and information with colleagues without waiting for the leaders instructionsIntroducing inductive learning experiencesCoaching rather than directing learning experiencesTeams are Western style groupswTeams are highly motivated,voluntary,short term,goal-oriented groupswThe team metaphor includes the idea that the group will win;it will achieve its goalwMembers cooperate and even compromise if necessary to get the job done wHigh energy and some ingroup competition serve the larger goals of the groupwWhen you enact the team metaphor in your class,you prepare students for participation in the global culture.The Chinese national football team hired a coach from the WestwThe strategy was to build a Western style teamwPreviously every member was behaving like a Chinese dragonShowing how great they were as individualsSacrificing the best interests of the team as a wholew“One Chinese is a dragon;three are a worm.”wDo you still say that Americans are more individualistic than Chinese?For more informationwRead my bookDoing Culture:Cross-cultural communication in action.Beijing Foreign Languages Teaching and Research PressAvailable at Shenzhen Book City,telephone 0755-82073020;talk to Miss WuChapters 1-3 on cultural awarenessChapter 13 on working in groups
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