Each year millions of people cross borders and must adapt to new cultural environments. This document discusses various types of cultural transitions and the challenges involved. It describes common stages of cultural adaptation, including initial excitement (honeymoon phase), culture shock and crisis as unfamiliar aspects of the new culture are encountered, adjustment and integration into the new culture, and eventual mastery and acceptance. Language and culture shock can cause stress but can also promote personal growth as people develop new communication skills and expand their sense of identity.

2. • CONTENTS:
- Introduction.
- Types and Dimensions of Boundary Crossers.
- Transitioning to a New Culture: Long-term and Short-term
adaptation.
- Types of Transition Shock.
- Language and Culture Shock.
- Stages of Culture Shock and Adjustment.
- An Integrative Communication Theory of Cross-cultural
Adaptation.
- Optimizing Intercultural Transitions.
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

3. • Each year, millions of people cross borders to study, work, perform military duties,
represent their government, conduct business or volunteer work, take part in peace
mission or engage in tourism. Some choose to make another territory or country
their new home; others are forced to seek temporary or permanent refugee in a
foreign land. When people leave all that is familiar and enter a region that is new
to them, they naturally come into contact with groups and individuals who have
different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In the process the newcomers may be
exposed to unfamiliar languages or dialects, values, norms, beliefs and behaviors
may be both exhilarating and confounding.
• Types of Migrant Groups: A dialectical perspective requires that we examine
intercultural transitions on both a personal and a contextual level. To understand
intercultural transitions, we need to examine the personal experiences of the
individuals and the larger social, historical, economic, and political contexts in
which the transitions occur.
Types and Dimensions of Boundary Crossers
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

4. Migrant is a person who leaves the primary cultural context in which he or she was
raised and moves to a new cultural context for an extended period of time.
Cultural transitions can vary in length and degree of voluntariness.
Four types of migrant groups:
1. Voluntary: There are two types of voluntary migrant groups.
a. Sojourners: Individuals who move into new cultural contexts for a limited period of
time for a specific purpose (for example, study, work).
b. Immigrants: Those who voluntarily settle in a new culture.
• There are various reasons for immigration, and there are fluctuations in the
relationships between countries that send and receive immigrants.
• Countries often restrict immigration during economic downturns.
• Most of the international immigration does not occur from developing countries to
industrialized countries; most is from one developing country to another.
Types and Dimensions of Boundary Crossers
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

5. 2. Involuntary: The voluntariness of immigration is more variable than absolute.
There are two types of involuntary migrants.
a. Long-term refugees: People who are permanently forced to relocate because of
war, famine, and oppression.
b. Short-term refugees: People who are forced to move for short or indefinite periods
of time within a country.
• According to one recent estimate, 14 million people have left their home
countries because of superpower struggles since 1979, and, more recently,
because of internal ethnic strife.
• There are also cases of domestic refugees who are forced to move within a
country.
• The large number of refugees presents complex issues for intercultural
communication, suggesting the importance of context.
Types and Dimensions of Boundary Crossers
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

6. Migrant-Host Relationships: There are four different types of migrant-host
relationships.
A. Assimilation: In an assimilation mode, the migrant does not want to maintain an
isolated cultural identity but wants relationships with other groups.
1. The migrant is more or less welcome in the host culture.
2. This is the archetypal "melting pot" because the focus is not on retaining one's
cultural heritage.
3. Conflicts may arise if this type of relationship is forced on migrants by the dominant
culture.
4. Doses of discrimination over time could discourage or eliminate cultural
maintenance of one's native cultural heritage.
Migrant-Host Relationships
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

7. Migrant-Host Relationships
B. Separation: There are two forms of separation.
1. In the first, migrants willingly choose to maintain interactions within their own
cultural groups and avoid interacting with others (for example, Amish).
2. In the second, migrants are forced by the dominant society to separate themselves;
this is called segregation.
3. De facto segregation includes practices like redlining-banks refusing loans to people
who want to live outside "their" area.
4. If migrants realize that they have been excluded from opportunities, they may
promote another mode of relating to the host culture and demand group rights
and recognition, but not assimilation.
C. Integration: Integration occurs when migrants have an interest in maintaining their
original cultures and maintaining daily interactions with other groups.
1. This approach demands a greater degree of interest in maintaining one's own
cultural identity.
2. Resistance to assimilation can take different forms, such as celebrating ethnic
holidays and avoiding popular culture products or fashion.
3. This approach assumes that the dominant society is open and accepting of others'
cultures.
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

8. Migrant-Host Relationships
D. Marginalization: Marginalization occurs when there is little interest in
maintaining cultural ties with either the dominant culture or the migrant
culture.
1. This situation may be the result of actions by the dominant culture such as
when Native Americans were forced to live away from members of their
own nation.
2. Generally, however, individuals are marginalized, not fully able to
participate in political and social life, as a result of cultural differences.
E. Combined Modes of Relating: Sometimes immigrants and their families
combine the four modes.
- They may integrate in some areas of life and assimilate in others.
- Migrants generally have to adapt to some extent in the new culture.
- Adaptation is a process.
- It occurs in context.
- It varies with each individual.
- It is circumscribed by relations of
dominance and power.
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

9. Exposure to an un familiar linguistic and cultural environment can have a
profound, long-lasting impact on both temporary and permanent boundary
crossers. In the last few decades, educators and researchers from different fields
devoted considerable attention to the linguistic, socio-cultural, psychological and
physical challenges that newcomers face in a foreign land.
1-Long-term adaptation: immigrant and other settlers:
For many decades social psychologists communication specialists applied linguists and other
scholars have studied the adaptation of immigrants and refugees who settle in a new cultural
environment more or less permanently either voluntarily or due to circumstances beyond
their control.
ACCULTURATION AND SECOND LANGUAGE SOCIALIZATION
• ENCULTURATION: the process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, skills (language,
communication), attitudes and values necessary to become functioning members of their culture.
• ACCULTURATION: the term used to refer to the changes that take place after contact between
individuals or groups with different cultural backgrounds.
• SECOND LANGUAGE SOCIALIZATION: refers to the process by which novices in an unfamiliar
linguistic and cultural context gain intercultural communicative competence by acquiring linguistic
conventions, socio-pragmatic norms, cultural scripts and other behaviors that are associated with
the new culture (Duff 2010; ochs &schieffelin 1984).
This transformation entails knowledge gains in social, cultural and linguistic domains and is
closely tied to the notion of identity reconstruction or expansion.
TRANSITIONING TO A NEW CULTURE: LONG-TERM AND SHORT-
TERM ADAPTATION
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

10. ACCULTURATION PATTERNS:
Researchers have discovered that the ways in which individuals or groups respond to intercultural
contact and the process of acculturation can differ significantly.
• Cultural Maintenance :refers to the effort to sustain elements of one’s culture or
heritage by preserving core values , traditions , ways of being , etc. especially when
faced with pressure to adopt a more dominant culture (e.g. The majority culture)
(Berry 2006)
• Language Maintenance: refers to the preservation of a language or language
variety in a context where there is considerable pressure for speakers to shift
towards the more prestigious or politically dominant language (swan et al.
(2004:172).
• Acculturation strategies: the ways that individuals and ethno-cultural groups
respond to the process of acculturation. Which include:
- Assimilation
- Integration
- Separation (Segregation)
- Marginalization
2- Short-term Adaptation: sojourners: most investigations of short-term sojourners
(e.g. international exchange students, expatriates) have focused on the need to
quickly adjust to their new environment.
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

11. TRANSITION SHOCK:
• Culture shock is a subcategory of a more universal construct called transition
shock. Transition shock is a state of loss and disorientation predicated by a change
in one's familiar environment which requires adjustment. There are many
symptoms of transition shock, some which include:
- Excessive concern over cleanliness - Feelings of helplessness and withdrawal
- Irritability - Anger - Mood swings - Glazed stare
- Desire for home and old friends - Physiological stress reactions
- Homesickness - Boredom - Withdrawal
- Getting "stuck" on one thing - Suicidal or fatalistic thoughts
- Excessive sleep - Compulsive eating/drinking/weight gain
- Stereotyping host nationals
TYPES OF TRANSITION SHOCK:
• Transition Shock.
• Culture Shock.
• Role Shock.
• Language Shock.
• Identity or Self Shock. © Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

12. • Transition Shock: It is a broad construct, which refers to the state of loss, disorientation
and identity confusion that can occur when we enter a new situation, job, relationship or
physical location and find ourselves confronted with the strain of adjusting to the unfamiliar
(J.M. Bennett 1998). Events such as these can have an emotional, psychological, behavioral,
cognitive and psychological impact.
Example: Moving from secondary school to university or from one's family home to a
dormitory.
• Culture Shock: When sojourners cross borders, they
travel with the language, values, beliefs and habits, that
they developed in their home culture through the process
of enculturation.
In 1950, anthropologist Cora DuBois used the term CULTURE SHOCK to refer to the
disorientation that many anthropologists often experience when entering a new culture to
do fieldwork (La Barack & Berardo 2007). A decade later, another anthropologist, Kalvero
Oberg (1960) extended the term to encompass the transition of any individual who travel
outside their home environment and face challenges adjusting to new culture. That literature
led Peter Adler (1075) to define Culture Shock is a set of emotional reactions to the loss of
perceptual reinforcements from one's own culture, to new cultural stimuli which have little
or no meaning, and to the misunderstanding of new and diverse experiences.
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

13. • Role Shock:
- It is characterized by lack of knowledge and confusion about the norms of behavior in a new
culture (e.g. the social roles of politeness, business etiquette).
- In an unfamiliar country, students may be surprised to discover that the roles of teachers
and learners differ from what they have become accustomed to.
• Language Shock:
- Boundary crossing frequently involve exposure to a language that is not one's mother tongue.
Language shock refers to the challenge of understanding and communicating in a second
language in an unfamiliar environment. (Smalley 1963)
- Language shock is the frustration and mental anguish that results in being reduced to the level
of a two-year-old in one's ability to communicate. Not having enough language skills to
perform simple daily task can be very frustrating and humbling.
• Identity or Self Shock:
- It refers to the intrusion of consistent, conflicting self-images, which can involve loss of
communication competence, distorted self-reflections in the responses of others and the
challenge of changing identity bound behaviors. (Zaharna 1989)
- As newcomers try to make sense of their new environment and communicate who they are,
they are sometimes dismayed to discover that they are not perceived as they would like.
Communicating one's preferred identities through a second language can be frustrating and
easily misunderstood. Newcomers also may experience some confusion about who they are
and how they fit into the world around them. So newcomers' frustration becomes not so
much trying to make sense of the Other (i.e. culture shock) but rather the Self (i.e. self-
shock). (Zaharna 1989) © Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

14. LANGUAGE AND CULTURE SHOCK:
CAUSES OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE SHOCK
- Unrealistic, romantic expectations: if you have decided to move to a new environment
expecting it to be perfect, it can be quite shock to discover that it is not like in your dreams.
- Inadequate preparation: Not studying what life will be like in the host culture.
- Abrupt change: With the current advances in transportation we can easily travel from home
environment to distant lands in a matter of hours. During we may cross several time zones
and arrive in a place with a different climate as well as many unfamiliar practices.
- Lack of familiarity with signs and symbols. - Loss. - Sensory overload.
- Unfamiliar "way of being": One may be confronted with different ideas about what is
appropriate behavior for females and males. Also the religious practices may be very
different from what you are used to. Cultures of learning may also be countered especially
the norms, values, and expectations of teachers and learners relative to classroom activity.
(Cortazzi & Jin 1997)
- Feeling trapped: (Micro, Short and long term) Sojourners need to be able to function in the host
culture. One cannot turn off the new country or culture. (Nolan 1999)
- Ambiguity and uncertainty: 1- Culture script (local conventions for apologies, requests,
refusals…etc.) 2- Tolerance of Ambiguity (coping with situations that are not clear).
- Lack of socio-emotional support, Standing out, Discrimination or perceptions of
discrimination, Language shock, Language fatigue, Miscommunication, Conflict in values,
Change in status or positioning. And more…
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

15. DEGREE OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE SHOCK:
• Quality of information: individuals who enter a new environment armed with current
information about the host country and the process of adjustment are better equipped to
deal with culture shock than those who arrive without having done any ground work.
• Cultural similarity: the degree of similarity between one's home culture and the host culture
in terms of values, beliefs, nonverbal behaviors, customs, culture of learning…etc. (Culture
Distance Gap).
• Linguistic similarity: the degree of similarity between one's 1st language and the host
language.
• Communication style similarity: the degree of similarity between one's communication style
and the common communication styles in the host culture.
• Interpersonal dimensions: (age, fortitude, independence, previous travel, proficiency in the
host language, resourcefulness, tolerance of ambiguity) all of these traits or personal
characteristics can impact on one's ability to deal with difficulties that arise.
• Psychological factors.
• Socio-emotional support.
• Degree of control.
• Geopolitical factors.
• Agency.
• Duration and spatial factors.
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

16. POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE SHOCK
• Negative:
Early conception of culture shock were largely negative . Oberg (1960) referred to
it as an occupational disease of people who have been transplanted abroad. For
many decades the "disease" oriented perception persisted and pre-sojourns
orientation usually emphasized practical ways to avoid culture shock.
• Positive:
- There is growing in the recognition of the positive dimensions of this
phenomenon.
- The focus shifted to productive ways to manage the stress that naturally occurs
as one enters and adjusts to new environment.
- Studying the potential language and culture stress, lead to deeper levels of
Whole Person Development. (e.g. emotional intelligence, resourcefulness,
interpersonal communication skills…etc.) and Identity Expansion (e.g. a
broadened, more inclusive sense of self, the development of a global outlook).
(Jackson 2012; Kinginger 2009)
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

17. STAGES OF CULTURE SHOCK AND ADJUSTMENT
1-The U-curve theory
- The four stages of u-curve theory:
• Honeymoon stage
• Culture stress and shock (crisis and frustration)
• Adjustment(integration or recovery)
• Mastery(adaptation and acceptance, biculturalism)
2- Reentry and the w-curve adjustment model.
• Gullahorn and Gullahorn(1963) maintain that returnees often experience a similar
period of adjustment when they return home , so they extended the u-curve
model by adding two stages :
• A-Reentry or reverse culture shock
• B-Resocialization: the process of
readjusting ones attitudes and behaviors
to feel at ease in one’s home environment
after a period way.
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

18. © Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication
THE PROPOSED STAGES FOR STUDENT SOJOURNERS
• Honeymoon Phase (initial euphoria) when sojourners first arrive in the host culture, the curve
model suggests that most sojourners are excited and looking forward to what lies ahead.
• Hostility Phase: referred to as culture shock, crisis stage or disintegration, the sojourners may
feel uncomfortable in the new environment (e.g. speak with a different accent, wear different
clothing…….etc)
• Humorous Stage: means the orientation and re-integration phase or adjustment and recovery.
in this phase have regained their sense of humor, they have begun to realize that many of the
problems they have experienced in the new environment are due to cultural difference, in this
stage the sojourners are more balanced in their view, they are more aware of linguistic or
cultural differences that may have led to misunderstandings.
• The at Home Stage: referred to as adaptation or resolution, the sojourners in this stage feel
more at home and happy in the host environment. Sojourners are able to communicate their
ideas and feelings in ways that are context- appropriate as their socio-pragmatic awareness has
increased. They have become more receptive to new cultures of learning as they better
understand what lies behind different practices.
• Resocialization Stage: referred to as reintegration the independence stage or acceptance and
understanding. The returnees are beginning to feel more at home and are better able to
communicate effectively and appropriately with their family members , friends and colleagues.
Now they are (returnees) better able to find a sense of balance between their new old home
and the culture they have just left.

19. INTEGRATION COMMUNICATION THEORY OF CROSS-CULTURAL ADAPTATION
A theory proposed by Kim (2001, 2005, 2012) to depict an individual’s gradual
adaptation to a new environment. It highlights the individual and contextual
factors that can influence the developmental trajectories.
 Two questions are raised:
1. Why are some settlers more successful than others ?
Cognitive competence - affective competence - operational competence
2. What is the essential nature of the adaptation process individual settlers undergo
over time?
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication
Stress adaptation growth dynamic

20. Optimizing Intercultural Transitions
If you decide to study, live or work in unfamiliar linguistic and cultural environment,
there are steps you can take to ease your transition.
A. Prior to Sojourn: Research your destination, set realistic goals and expectations,
take a course in intercultural communication, practice your L2, attend pre-
sojourners orientations.
B. In the new environment: Familiarize your self with the local context, be patient!
(it’s natural and takes time), keep touch with family and friends back home,
develop e routine and take care of your heath, be open to new experiences, be
advent ours, find a cultural mentor and seek help when needed, enhance you L2.
C. Prior to returning home: Set goals for your return home.
D. Back on home soil: Share your international stories in small doses and
demonstrate interest with others, serve as a buddy to newcomers, talk to people
who understand your transition, stay in touch with friends abroad, continue to
practice your L2.
© Jane Jackson - Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication

21. Thanks