College 1, Fall 2012: Dealing with Cultural Differences (From Althen, 2003).

1. Dealing with Cultural Differences
Russell Frank, ESL
College 1

2. QUESTION
What is one unexpected cultural situation
you have experienced since you came
here? How did you respond?
When you encounter a cultural situation
that is very new or different for you, how
does that make you feel?

3. Influence #1: Expectations
• The ideas, attitudes, and knowledge you
have about a new culture greatly affects
the experience you will have.
• The expectations we have come from a
variety of sources—media, friends, and
family, etc.
• Unrealistic expectations can lead to
unhappiness for newcomers in the U.S.

4. Influence #2: Personality
Characteristics
Characteristics that can help you adapt:
• Patience
• Sense of humor
• Tolerance for ambiguity
– ―Well, I don’t know what’s going on here. I’ll
just have to wait and see, or try to figure out.‖

5. Traits & Situations
• People’s behavior results from some
combination of their personality traits and
situations in which they find themselves.
• Unfamiliar cultural situations 
misunderstanding of people’s responses

6. Culture Shock
• The process of adjusting to a new culture begins from
the time we decide to go abroad
• Stage 1: excitement, curiosity, stimulation
• Stage 2: Culture shock: feeling of confusion &
disorientation
– Smells, flavors, feeling of the air, language, behavior…
– Everyone experiences it
– Passes with time
• Stage 3: Negative feelings:
disappointment, frustration, depression, anger, hostility
• Stage 4: Learning & understanding  more
competent and comfort

7. D-I-E to Adapt
• D = Describe
– What you see, objective facts
• I = Interpret
– What you think about what you see
• E = Evaluate
– What you feel about what you see
– Being judgmental usually isn’t helpful

8. Activities for Learning about
American Culture
• Ask questions
• Learn and practice local English
• Take field trips – observe people, places & things
– E.g., a busy intersection, parent-child interactions, male-female
interactions, a public commercial building, a restaurant, the reception
area of an office, an American business meeting, a public bus, a local
neighborhood, a local school, a drugstore/grocery store/department
store, a church service, the local police station, a meeting of the city
council, an American home, a sporting event, garage sales, an ―open
house‖
• Talk with experienced foreigners
• Keep a journal
• Learn the names of local and institutional VIPs,
• Read, reflect

9. Resource (on Canvas)
• Althen, Gary. ―Part 3: Coping with Cultural
Differences.‖ American Ways, 2nd Ed.
Boston: Intercultural Press, 2003: 259-
284.