Transcript The basics of needs assessment

Six Ways to Teach
Culture Effectively
Ann Wintergerst
Joe McVeigh
NYSTESOL
Melville, NY
October 28, 2011
Joe
Ann
McVeigh Wintergerst
1. Have students articulate
their own definition of culture
Have students articulate their own
definitions of culture
• Definitions of culture
Have students articulate their
own definition of culture
• Products, practices, and perspectives
• Artifacts, actions, and meanings (Moran, 2001)
• A set of basic ideas, practices, and
experiences that a group of people share
Have students articulate their
own definition of 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)
Have students
articulate
their own definition of culture (3)
Have students articulate their
own definition of culture
Culture = an integrated system of
learned behavior patterns that are
characteristic of the members of any
given society. Culture refers to the total
way of life of particular groups of people.
It includes everything that a group of
people thinks, says, does and makes—
its systems of attitudes and feelings.
Culture is learned and transmitted from
generation to generation (Kohls, 1996)
2. Explore the
differences
between spoken
and written
language
Explore the differences between
spoken and written language
• Differences in spoken and written
language
• Cultures first relied on the spoken word
• Invention of writing: new ways of thinking
and communicating
Explore the differences between
spoken and written language
• What are some characteristics of spoken
English?
• What are some characteristics of written
English?
Activity 2
• Oral and written English (handout p. 3)
CONVERSATIONAL SPEECH
EXPOSITORY WRITING
transient, not permanent
permanent, can be retrieved
additive; items from prior turntaking talk are attached;
participants build on the
utterances of others
hierarchically ordered and
generally linear in nature
aggregative, uses formulaic
expressions to maintain dealings
between speakers
avoids formulaic expression, but
promotes analysis
avoids redundancy; too much
superfluous or wordy; vocabulary
repetition is not considered
and ideas are repeated
appropriate
grammatically loose
grammatically tightly structured
focus is on people; attempts to
involve the listener
focus is on the topic
dependent on context
reduced and away from context
(Kramsch, 1998)
Features of spoken language
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clustering
Reduced forms
Performance variables
Colloquial language
Rate of delivery
Stress, rhythm, and intonation
(Brown, 2007)
Rhetorical patterns in writing
across cultures
(Kaplan, 1966)
Differences between spoken
and written language
• Cultural thought patterns vary and persist
in written text
• Our writing students cannot tell what is
appropriate in written English
• Speech-like abbreviations used by
students in sending text messages add to
the difficulty
• BICS & CALP (Cummins, 1979)
What the teacher can do
• Help students explore differences between spoken and
written language:
– Elicit some of the differences from students themselves
– Make use of examples from text messages and from students’
own writing
– Examine different genres of speaking and writing
• Differences to note
– Spoken language is relatively informal, repetitive, and
interactive. Speakers may take long pauses, talk over others, or
interrupt each other
– Written language is relatively formal, more concise, and less
repetitive
Activity 2
• Oral and written English (handout p. 2)
3. Explore
kinesics,
movement, and
gestures in nonverbal
communication
Explore kinesics, movement, and
gestures in non-verbal communication
• Kinesics – the study of body movement
(Birdwhistell, 1970)
• Variance of meaning of body language
across cultures: East Asia, Middle East,
Latin America
• Use and quantity of gestures and facial
expressions vary by culture
Explore kinesics, movement, and
gestures in non-verbal communication
• Oculesics – eye behaviors including gaze,
blinking, winking, glancing
• Is eye contact desirable or not? What does
it mean if someone makes eye contact or
does NOT make eye contact?
Explore kinesics, movement, and
gestures in non-verbal communication
Multi-active vs. quiet group people (Lewis, 2000)
BODY PART
MULTI-ACTIVE
QUIET-GROUP
Eyes
close eye contact
staring, rude, avoid
Arms / hands
expressive,
gesticulating
insincere,
overdramatic
Walking style
bouncy, swaggering neutral
Feet
stamping to show
anger
boredom, rudeness
Activity 3: How do you say . . .?
• Stand in a circle
• You state action: students demonstrate without
talking
• “How would you _________?”
• Agree; answer “yes”; disagree; answer “no”;
show uncertainty; point to self: ask someone to
come here; indicate that someone is crazy.
• Debrief – show appropriate gesture in target
culture
4. Recognize the
causes and stages
of culture shock
Recognize the causes and
stages of culture shock
• Cultures share some basic cultural concepts
• Other concepts are seen as irrational or even
contradictory
• Basic cultural concepts help students interact
successfully and diminish culture shock
• Assimilation—when the new culture and its
beliefs and values replace the original culture
• Acculturation— adapting to a new culture while
not giving up one’s existing cultural identity
Four stages of acculturation
• the honeymoon stage - excitement &
euphoria
• the aggressive stage or culture shock –
distress, unhappiness
• the adjustment stage - gradual
adaptation
• - the recovery stage – new culture
accepted
(Oberg,1960)
Causes of culture shock
• the loss of familiar cues
• the breakdown of interpersonal
communication
• an identity crisis exaggerated by cultural
differences
(Weaver, 1993)
Culture shock
• Graphic visualizations to depict the stages of
culture shock:
– The U curve
– The W curve
• Intensity and length of symptoms vary from
person to person
• Culture shock is the norm for anyone learning a
second language in a second culture (H. D.
Brown,1999)
What the teacher can do
• Assure students that culture shock is a
normal part of the acculturation process.
Let students know that others experience
the same thing.
• Help students reflect on situations that
have led them to experience culture
shock.
• Share the teacher’s own experiences in
encountering a new culture.
Activity 4: Stages of culture shock
Steps:
• Discuss the basic concepts of cultural adjustment with
your class.
• Draw a diagram to represent culture shock and explain
it.
• Explain that with time people move through the stages of
cultural adjustment.
• Ask the class to think about their experiences in a new
culture. Have them write down a few notes about their
ideas and share them with others.
• An important goal of this activity is to reassure students
that culture shock is normal.
5. Counter the
effects of culture
shock
Counter the effects of culture shock
•
•
•
•
•
Understand the process of adjustment
Develop coping strategies
Learn something new
Have realistic expectations
Develop skills to facilitate understanding,
communication & adaptation
(Weaver, 1993)
Counter the effects of culture shock
An active and reflective approach to
create a positive experience
• Things I can do on my own
• Things I can do with other people
• Things I can remind myself of
• Things I have already done here
• Ways I can improve my language skills
(Storti & Bennhold-Saaman, 1997)
Counter the effects of culture shock
Get to know the host country
• History, factual information
• Cultural “dos and don’ts”
• Sympathetic compatriot
• Know how to meet basic logistical needs
• Explore the landscape
(Kohls, 1996)
Activity 5: Coping with culture
shock
• Present basic information about culture shock
explaining causes and symptoms
• List the broad categories: of things that can be
done alone, with others, reminders, things
already done, and ways to develop language
skills
• Put students in small groups. Have them
brainstorm 2-3 ideas in each category
• Have groups share ideas with the class
• Have you (or a student) write up the ideas and
distribute them to the class later
6. Identify cultures as either
individualistic or collectivistic
Individualistic / Collectivistic
• Cultural identity deals with the nature of the
culture in which we find our identity
• Individualism - primary importance is placed
on the individual
• Collectivism - the well-being of the group
takes priority
• Implications for students and teachers
• Relationship between the individual and the
group at the heart of identity (Hofstede, et al.,
2002)
Individualism-collectivism index
Highly Individualistic ---------------------- Highly
Cultures
Collectivistic Cultures
Individuals take care of
themselves and their
immediate family first.
The autonomy of the
individual and the self
are most important.
Characteristics
United States, Australia,
Great Britain, Canada,
Example
cultures
Hungary, the
Netherlands, New
Zealand, and Italy
Individuals work for the
good of the group and
suppress their identity for
the benefit of the group.
The needs of the group
come before the needs of
the individual.
Guatemala, Ecuador,
Panama, Venezuela,
Colombia, Pakistán,
Indonesia, and Costa Rica
(Hofstede et al., 2002)
Predictors of individualismcollectivism
• Economic development:
– Wealthy cultures tend to be individualistic
– Poor cultures tend to be collectivistic
• Climate:
– Cultures in colder climates tend to be individualistic
– Cultures in warmer climates tend to be collectivistic
Effects on student learning
• learning style preferences - (Ehrman & Oxford, 1990)
• English speakers rated individual learning highest; ESL
students did not (Reid, 1987)
• American students studying a foreign language preferred
individual work; ESL counterparts preferred group work
(Wintergerst, et al., 2002)
• Russian ESL/EFL students and Asian (Chinese, Korean,
and Japanese) ESL students preferred group work over
individual work (Wintergerst, et al., 2003)
• Chinese learning is characterized by cooperation
(Nelson, 1995)
What the teacher can do
• Ask students to think about their own culture
and identify their cultural characteristics
• Bring in readings illustrative of individualism
and collectivism, such as short stories or
articles
• Advanced students can be referred to page
125 of Lustig and Koester’s Intercultural
competence: Interpersonal communication
across cultures, which gives 69 country ratings
on the individualism-collectivism dimension
adapted from Hofstede
Activity 6: Alone or with others?
Steps
1. Present the concept of individualistic and collectivistic cultures.
Draw a continuum showing the characteristics of each type of
culture.
2. Write the students' home countries on the board. Ask students if
they think their own culture is more individualistic or more
collectivistic.
3. Ask students to think of examples of phrases, expressions,
situations, or proverbs that illustrate either the collectivistic or
individualistic nature of their culture. Write examples on the board:
The nail that stands up will be hammered down. The squeaky wheel
gets the grease. All for one and one for all.
4. To finish the activity, have volunteers share their ideas with the
class.
Examples
•
•
•
•
•
Strongly Individualistic
Somewhat Individualistic
Neutral
Somewhat Collectivistic
Strongly Collectivistic
United States
Switzerland
Japan, Russia
China
Guatemala
Individualistic or collectivistic?
Guess where these countries fall on the
chart:
Two are neutral, two are strongly
collectivistic, two are strongly
individualistic
Indonesia, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey,
Pakistan, New Zealand
Answers
Strongly Individualistic:
New Zealand,
Netherlands
Neutral
Spain, Turkey
Strongly Collectivistic
Indonesia,
Pakistan
Questions
Check out
our book at
the Pearson
booth or
online !
Photo Credits
Photos from flickr used under a Creative
Commons Attribution license
Greek cathedral
Woman gesturing
Man by the sea
Sad teenager
Jumping people
Question mark
Thank you flower
Wolfgang Staudt
David Goehring
Jason Francisco
Jason Rogers
Elvire R
Ethan Lofton
Joanne Q. Escober
Download copies of the handout
and PowerPoint slides at
www.joemcveigh.org/resources
Thank
you
Thank
you
!