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Unit 4. Social Interaction. By the end of this unit, you should be able to:. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Social Interaction
have a better understanding of the conventions and expectations of English-speakers in areas such as inviting family members, footing a bill, giving or receiving gifts, offering and accepting drink and food, complimenting and responding, disagreeing;
be more aware of your own behavior patterns and how they are shaped by Chinese culture;
know how to avoid or lessen misunderstanding in cross-cultural communication and be able to convey your ideas more successfully
Warming up
Students think of some conventions in China and compare with those counterparts in an English-speaking country by filling the blanks below.
Conventions China English speaking country
Task 1 Identifying Cultural Differences
Below is an excerpt from a letter written by Andy to his friend James. Read it and answer the questions which follow.
1. What is Andy's job? 2. What invitation did he receive? 3. Did he accept the invitation? 4. What did he complain about? 5. What did he think of Chinese
hospitality? 6.What word did he use? 7. Do you think his complaint fair or unfair?
Task 2 Listen to the tape and find the answers to the following questions
How does Michael greet Peter? What question does Michael ask before
giving the invitation? Why does he ask such a question?
How does Michael express his invitation?
How does Peter reply?
When are they going to have dinner together?
Is there anything that Jean doesn’t like to eat at present?
Why does Jean have a stomach problem?
What are Michael and his wife thinking of having for dinner?
A very formal written invitation:
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Wells
request the pleasure of the company
of
Mr. Frederick Parsons
at Dinner
on Tuesday, 11 June
at 8.30 p.m.
RSVP
9 Mill Lane
LeedsRSVP = =repondezs’il vous plait(French)=please reply
Frederick Parsons thank Mr. and
Mrs. Anthony Wells for their kind invitation
for Tuesday, 11 June, which he
accepts with much pleasure/
very much regrets being unable to accept
due to a prior engagement
Dear Frederick, Jill and I are holding a party on Saturday, starting at about 8.00. Please come if you can. We look forward to seeing you very much. Best wishes Tony
Compare and draw a difference in the formal and
informal invitation letter wordings.
Step3
Footing the Bill
When someone suggests going for a meal at a restaurant, who is going to pay the bill? We Chinese may feel puzzled by this question: Why should you ask such a question? Of course the person who invites should pay; but this is not always so in some English-speaking countries.
China EnglandCommon way of settling the bill
Host pays 1.
To pay for oneself implies
Meanness 2.
Expectation 3. no need to return favor
We have been talking about cultural habits. Now let’s look at how tightly they are interwoven with language, In the text ‘Footing the Bill ’in Task 1 , you may find some vivid examples. Below is a flow chart which shows how customs affect language. Read the text and complete the chart.
1. Cultural custom 3. Idiom 2. Cultural custom
Hotel guests can pay meals by---- .
They sign the bill at the----or------- .
To foot the bill means --- .
1. signing the bill 3. to pay something 2. bottom, foot
Read the text 'Footing the Bill' once again and find the meanings of the following idioms. Write the meaning below each idiom. Don't use dictionary! Rely on the contexts and yourself!
1.go Dutch
2.pool their money
3.pick up the tab
4.buy his round
1.Share the cost of the meal equally between friends.2. Put together the right amount of money to pay the bill.3. Grab the bill to pay. ('Tab' in this idiom means 'bill'.)4. Ask everyone what they would like and then go to the bar to get the drinks.
Task 1 Listen and answer the following questions
What did Tony bring with him as a gift for his Chinese colleague?
What are in the tapes? Did Tony wrap up the tapes? When Tony gave his Chinese hosts
the gift, what did they do? What did Tony expect them to do?
Task 2 Listen and fill in the blanks on P152
Task 1 Listen and answer the following questions
What did Tony bring with him as a gift for his Chinese colleague?
What are in the tapes? Did Tony wrap up the tapes? When Tony gave his Chinese hosts the gift,
what did they do? What did Tony expect them to do?
Task 2 Listen and fill in the blanks on P152
Task1. Listen to the recording again and answer the following two questions.
What surprises Rod? What surprises the Chinese student? Who thinks no means no?
Task 2 Listen and answer the following two questions
1. Rod says that he cannot manage without something. What is it?
2. He also says one mustn't do something? What is it?
Task 3 Compare the differences in showing hospitality between China and western countries.
Responding to the compliments
China English way
Task 1 Identifying English ways of responding to compliments by finishing the dialogues in P159
Task2 Identifying Chinese ways of responding to compliments by finishing dialogues in P160
Task3 Compare the difference between the two by finishing the following table
Responding to the compliments
China English way
Who were involved in the dispute? What was the dispute about? What did the Australians want? What did the Chinese want? What did the Chinese point out to
support their initial refusal?
How did the Australians responding to the argument about the river?
What did the Chinese reply? Why did the Australians raise the matter
again? Why did the Chinese say that they
would look into the matter? Did the Australians understand the
Chinese intention? What did the Australians expect?
Task2.Read the passage in Task 1 again and give the meanings of the following words and expressions according to their contexts.
1. phrasing a polite refusal: 2. Sino: 3. chauffeur: 4. concede: 5. flatly: 6. at its face value:
Like the Chinese, people in the English-speaking countries also avoid losing one's face or hurting other people by using polite expressions when giving refusals. In Britain, in addition to polite expressions, people find or give excuses when refusing a request, and such excuses, if they are not genuine ones, are called 'white lies', lies told with good intentions.
Now you are going to listen to three dialogues which show how British people refuse requests politely. While you are hastening complete the table below, some of them have been done for you.
Request
Polite expression for refusal
Excuse
Dialogue
1.I'm so sorry
I'm going to use it myself; I've got a lot of things I need
Dialogue
give me a lift
2. 3.
Dialogue
4. 5. 6.
Case: Too modest?—When ‘No’ doesn’t mean ‘no’. Please read the case on P156 and write a letter to Rod to explain this phenomenon and give him some advice on such cross—cultural communication.
Analysis: we Chinese usually say ‘no’ when somebody offers something, because sometimes an offer is not a real offer but a polite remark. After we say ‘no’, we usually wait for the second or third offer before we accept it, but that never happens in a foreigner’s home.
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