Six ways to teach culture effectively

Six Ways to Teach Culture Effectively Ann Wintergerst Joe McVeigh NYSTESOL Melville, NY October 28, 2011

Joe McVeigh Ann 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

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)

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)

(Kramsch, 1998) CONVERSATIONAL SPEECH EXPOSITORY WRITING
transient, not permanent
permanent, can be retrieved
additive; items from prior turn-taking 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
superfluous or wordy; vocabulary and ideas are repeated
avoids redundancy; too much repetition is not considered 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

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 non-verbal 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

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?

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)

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)

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)

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
(Hofstede et al. , 2002)
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 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. United States, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, Hungary, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Italy Example cultures Guatemala, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Pakistán, Indonesia, and Costa Rica

Predictors of individualism-collectivism
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)

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
Present the concept of individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Draw a continuum showing the characteristics of each type of culture.
Write the students' home countries on the board. Ask students if they think their own culture is more individualistic or more collectivistic.
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.
To finish the activity, have volunteers share their ideas with the class.

Examples
Strongly Individualistic United States
Somewhat Individualistic Switzerland
Neutral Japan, Russia
Somewhat Collectivistic China
Strongly Collectivistic 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

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Photo Credits
Photos from flickr used under a Creative Commons Attribution license
Greek cathedral Wolfgang Staudt
Woman gesturing David Goehring
Man by the sea Jason Francisco
Sad teenager Jason Rogers
Jumping people Elvire R
Question mark Ethan Lofton
Thank you flower Joanne Q. Escober

Thank you Thank you ! Download copies of the handout and PowerPoint slides at www.joemcveigh.org/resources

Six ways to teach culture effectively

by Joe_McVeigh on Oct 28, 2011

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Six ways to teach culture effectively — Presentation Transcript