Culture, Cross-cultural communication, etc.

Mini-Presentations

Take turns presenting and leading a discussion on your article, in the following order: Sauvé, V. (1996). Johnson, D. (2005). Ilieva, R. (2001).

10-15 minutes/articleSummary

How does the author approach culture and culture teaching? What are the goals?What dilemmas/issues are addressed?

ReactionDiscussion

Worth noting

A responseA question

Snow, Chapter 7: Ethnocentrism and stereotyping

1. What are some dangers of stereotyping and ethnocentrism for us as teachers/visitors? For our students? (p.129-131)

2. What are some goals and strategies to address the tendency towards ethnocentrism and stereotyping (for us, for our students)? (131-141)

Worth noting

A response

A question

Snow, Chapter 7: In-groups and Out-groups

Cultures vary in terms of the size of the “in-group” and how distinct the “in-group” is from the “out-group.”1. What are your in-groups? 2. How much responsibility do you have towards those

in your in-group? 3. Is there a difference between how you treat your in-

group and how you treat “outsiders”? 4. According to Snow, “Christians are called to have an

in-group that encompasses the entire human race” (p.146). Do you agree?

Cross-cultural communication

"There can be no functional use of the second language without adequate manipulation of cultural skills" (Bermudez)

"It is often the cultural differences rather than the linguistic ones which cause a breakdown in communication or lead to cross cultural misunderstanding"

Levine and Adelman (1982) quote Winston Bembeck as saying "To know another's language and not his culture is a very good way of making a fluent fool of one's self"

Critical Incidents

Identify the differences in communication styles, attitudes, world views, etc., that may be causing the communication problem.

List suggestions for dealing with the problem (e.g., if you were a teacher/friend involved in the situation).

Turn-taking

How do we take turns in Canada?Which scenarios illustrate this issue?

Hironori, Kim, Civil warImplications for

Teachers living in another country Class management Students living in Canada

Silence

How long does it take you to respond when someone asks you a question?

How do you fill the silence when thinking of an answer to a question?

How do we generally interpret silence?Which scenarios illustrate this issue?

Civil war, Kim, TEFL class in ChinaImplications for

Teachers living in another country Class management Students living in Canada

Showing attention and understanding

How do you show you are listening (verbally? nonverbally?)

Which scenario illustrates this issue? Kim

Implications for Teachers living in another country Class management Students living in Canada

Directness

Some cultures tend to place a higher value on being direct (or, conversely, saving face) than others. Where do you think we (Canadians) fit in?

This can vary according to topic, as some cultures can be direct on some topics and very indirect on others (e.g., bathroom issues)

What can be talked about, and where/when it can be talked about also varies.

Which scenarios illustrate this? Maria, Class uprising, Andjez, Tavi

Implications for Teachers living in another country Class management Students living in Canada

Touching/Personal distance/eye contact

How close you stand to a conversational partner varies in different cultures.

Who you touch, where, when, and how, also varies. Who you make eye contact with, what it means, and

whether or not you need to smile when you make eye contact can vary.

How can differences in this area affect attitudes, impressions?

Which scenarios illustrate this issue? Class uprising, Sara

Implications for Teachers living in another country Class management Students living in Canada

Formulaic language, Connotations of words

Every language has “formulas” – that is, language that is used to serve a certain function and is not always meant to be taken literally. Chi fan li ma? Yi amu ne? How are you? See you later.

How might taking a “formula” literally result in miscommunication?

Different understandings of connotations of words can cause misunderstanding.

Which scenarios illustrate this issue? Margo, Andjez, Tavi

Implications

Strategies for dealing with Culture

Be a good model in this area! Build connections between studentsATESL 2009, Best Practice #50:

“Instructional activities are culturally sensitive, and they encourage learners to share and celebrate aspects of their cultures explore their own and others’ world views expand their capacity to live and work in

Canada.”

Specifically…

“Instruction is sensitive to the cultural/religious norms of the learners.”

“Instructors (as insider members of Canadian culture) mediate for learners the hidden culture of beliefs, values, and ways of knowing in Canada.”

“Classroom activities expand learners’ capacity to live and work in a multicultural environment by encouraging learners to do a selection of the following…

(ATESL, 2009)

Design activities that encourage learners to: (ATESL, 2009)

Explore the impact of their own cultural assumptions on their own expectations, behaviours, choices, values, communication styles, etc.

Explore the impact of the cultural assumptions of those they meet in Canada on the expectations, behaviours, choices, values, communication styles, etc. of those individuals.

Explore and analyze consequences of embracing or rejecting the beliefs and practices of those they meet in Canada.

Develop skills for coping with and reflecting on incidents where differences in cultural assumptions, expectations, behaviours, values, communication styles (etc.) have resulted in dissonance, discomfort, or confusion.

Celebrate and share in a diversity of cultures and customs.

Examples of IC activities from Don Snowhttp://www.amityfoundation.org/cms/user/1/docs/learning_english.pdf

A critical incident is the story of a puzzling incident that occurs when people from 2 different cultures interact. Process suggested by Don Snow: (p.52)

1. Write a critical incident story based on a real incident (may have one correct explanation, or several possible explanations)

2. Tell/read story to students3. Have students brainstorm for possible explanations for the

situation.4. Have groups take turns giving a potential explanation (each

group give one, then move to the next group), recording them on board.

5. As a class, decide which explanations are most likely, and which least likely.

6. Discuss the incident from your perspective/knowledge.

Examples of IC activities from Don Snowhttp://www.amityfoundation.org/cms/user/1/docs/learning_english.pdf

“Imagine the following situation: This summer at your school there is a short-term English training course being offered by several Western teachers, and you have been assigned to be one of the assistants for the program. The Western teachers have not been in China before, and don't speak any Chinese, so your duty is to help them with daily life issues, and to generally serve as a host while they are in China. It is also your duty to make sure that they remain safe and well while they are in China. During a break between classes, you overhear Janet, one of the older Western teachers, say that she needs to buy some T-shirts. You offer to go out shopping with her this afternoon, but Janet says, "No thank you" and then rushes off to class. The next day, you overhear the students talking about how Janet got lost yesterday when she went off alone to a market on the other side of the city to shop for T-shirts.” (Snow, p.50-51)

“In pairs or groups, do the following: 1) First, decide how you would feel when you heard the

students talking about Janet. 2) Then think of several possible explanations for why Janet

turned down your offer to take her shopping. (There is no single right answer, but there are a number of likely possibilities.)

3) Talk with your teacher about this situation, and see what she/he thinks of the explanations you suggest.” (p.51)

For other examples from his book “Encounters with Westerners”, see p.171-178 of The Amity Teacher’s Toolkit 2003 http://www.amityfoundation.org/cms/user/1/docs/toolkit_2003.pdf

Centre for Intercultural Education: NorQuest

Intercultural Resources for Educators/Trainers http://www.norquest.ca/norquest-centres/centre-for-intercultural-education/intercultural-resources-for-educators-trainers.aspx

Online Workplace Integration Language Resources (OWLS) for videos, pragmatics, and intercultural communication: http://www.norquest.ca/norquest-centres/centre-for-intercultural-education/projects/completed-projects/online-workplace-integration-language-resources-%28o.aspx

References

Applegate, R. (1975). The language teacher and the rules of speaking. TESOL Quarterly, 9(3), 271-282. Gaston, J. (1984). Cultural Awareness Teaching Techniques. Brattleboro, Vermont: Pro Lingua Associates Gnida, S. (1991). Teaching in an adult multicultural ESL class. Unpublished master's thesis, University of

Alberta. Ilieva, R. (2001). Living with ambiguity: toward culture exploration in adult second-language classrooms.

TESL Canada Journal, 19(1), p.1-16. Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/tesl/index.php/tesl/article/viewFile/916/735

Irving, (1984). Cross-cultural awareness and the English-as-a second-language classroom. Theory into Practice, 23(2), 138-43)

Johnson, D. (2005). Teaching culture in adult ESL: Pedagogical and ethical considerations. TESL-EJ, 9(1). Retrieved from http://tesl-ej.org/ej33/cf.html (see Assignment 1)

Levine, D.R. & Adelman, M.B. (1982). Beyond language: Intercultural communication for English as a second language. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall

Levine, D.R., Baxter, j., & McNulty, P. (1987). The culture puzzle: Cross-cultural communication for English as a second language. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall

Sauvé, V. (1996). Working with the cultures of Canada in the ESL Classroom: A response to Robert Courchene. TESL Canada Journal, 13(2), p.17-23. Retrieved from http://www.teslcanadajournal.ca/index.php/tesl/article/viewFile/667/498

Tannen, D. (1983). Cross-cultural communication. California Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 253-061)

Trifonovitch, G.J. (1980). Culture learning/culture teaching. In K Croft (Ed.), Readings on English as a second language, for teachers and teacher trainees (2nd edition). Cambridge, Mass: Winthrop Publishers Inc.