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Mentor Culture Training
- 1. Our Presence and the International Student
- 3. Mentors Thank you for your willingness to widen your social circle and mentor a new international student. This is your chance to discover the satisfaction of helping others and the chance to show your new buddy what it means to be a student a La Sierra University.
- 4. Benefits • Learn and develop good communication skills • Build self-esteem and self-confidence • Meet new people • Experience different cultures • Feel needed and valued • Make a difference in the life of a new international student • Encourage diversity • Gain work experience • Participate in International Buddy
- 5. OISS Benefits Letter of Recommendation Certificate of Participation Incentives
- 6. Responsibilities Be a friend Help your buddy acclimate and transition to La Sierra University’s climate and culture Spend time with your buddy Introduce them to peers and friends Ask them to participate in events and activities Invite them to concerts, athletic games, and off-campus social events Teach them about La Sierra University resources
- 7. 10 Characteristics of a Successful Mentor Wants to help their International Buddy culturally integrate into La Sierra University Has knowledge about La Sierra University and wants to share their knowledge Is familiar with the rules and regulations of LSU Good listening and intercultural communication skills Willing to help their new International Buddy by giving them guidance, feedback, and confidence
- 8. Demonstrates patience and persistence Generosity with time and availability in schedule Open to spending time with diverse individuals who may not share a common background, values, or goals Resourcefulness when finding and sharing information Finds things in common with their International Buddy
- 9. What Can I do? Cook a meal together Have lunch at Eagle’s Nest Introduce them to your friends Take them to an event on campus Bring them home during a long weekend or holiday Attend International Buddy Events, IEW Attend athletic games, SALSU/OSI events and activities, concerts, dramas, etc. with your International Buddy Email them, Friend them on Facebook, Share your phone number Study together Offer to show them around La Sierra University or Riverside
- 10. What SHOULDN’T I feel obligated to do Offer housing, either during the academic year or during vacation Provide transportation to and from the airport Spend any money on, or loan any money to a student for food, clothes, or entertainment Give advice on academic, legal, or employment matters
- 11. Do’s and Dont’s DO Don’t Get help when you need it Date your IB Plan fun activities Drink with your IB Interact with your IB Break the law (rules of LSU) Be friendly Counsel Be non-preferential Ignore messages, phone calls from IB Have an activity planned monthly Be afraid to ask questions Be outgoing Share private information Use other mentors/ OISS as resources Do illegal drugs Attend scheduled events Encourage “party school” reputation
- 12. Get involved with your IB
- 13. Topics of Discuss Getting settled in Riverside How to be involved in Student Life How to Date an American How to stay Healthy Observations on American Culture How to befriend an American Exploring Riverside and Southern California How to stay Safe in Southern California Dealing with Culture Shock Academic Differences
- 14. Mentoring Tips Be patient Be honest Praise is power! Be there! Set boundaries Be positive Understand different viewpoints Believe Celebrate differences Stick with it!
- 15. Conversation Starters Why did you decide to come the the U.S. to study? Why come study at La Sierra University? How long have you been here? Where are you from and what part of the country? What is home like? What is your family like? What do you study in your country? How is education different? What languages do you know? What is your favorite food (sport, holiday, music, etc) in your country?
- 17. Congratulations! You got your student visa! Welcome to the United States and to your NEW academic community! NOW WHAT? Reality Check Coke tastes different? Coffee is too weak? People are frantic and moving all the time? Breakfast is to big and heavy?
- 18. Student is lost. Student is confused. Student cannot tell up from down and left from right. Student cannot tell thief from friend. Student is glassy eyed.
- 19. SHOCK
- 20. 4 Stages of Culture Shock
- 22. Wonder This phase, also known as the “Honeymoon Phase,” is usually the first phase experienced. It is positive. Int’l students are fascinated with the language Int’l students are fascinated with the food Int’l students are fascinated with the people The trip seems like the greatest thing they have ever done. It is an adventure and they enjoy almost everything!
- 23. Frustration hat am I doing here? W
- 24. Frustration This is a difficult stage of culture shock. International students are frustrated that they do not understand the “inside” jokes. They are angry that everything seems so hard and difficult to do. They miss their own country and culture. Their heads hurt from thinking so much! Leads to the question WHY DO THEY DO IT WRONG??
- 25. Int’l students start feeling left out Int’l students begin feeling misunderstood They begin developing negative and simplistic views of Americans Int’l students seek the company of people from their language and country They feel extreme homesickness
- 27. Friendship with Americans FAKE hypocritical Not trustworthy Bad taste in clothes & shoes
- 28. Depression This is the worst stage. Int’l students feel homesick and sad all of the time. It’s hard to be so far away, especially if they are all by themselves. It feels like nothing will ever be OK again until they go home. Leads to the statement I NOW KNOW WHY THEY DO THAT THE DO.
- 29. Acceptance & Assimilation Finally after weeks or months of struggling through a thousand different emotions, acceptance finally arrives. Acceptance does not mean total understanding- it’s almost impossible to ever completely understand another culture- but involves the realization that you don’t have to “get” it all. Students find what makes them happy and content in their new surrounding. Leads to...
- 30. Watch for Symptoms Homesick Boredom Withdraw (spend time ONLY with people of their own nationality) Excessive sleeping Stereotyping others (everyone on my hall is loud/mean/annoying/hate me) Physical illness
- 31. Tips to Deal With Culture Shock Advise your IB to remember their goals. Remind IB that it takes time to make friends. Give suggestions for activities requiring involvement on campus Remind IB to keep an open mind Tell IB they need to be surrounded by others (study in the study room, spend time in common areas, join study groups) Refer IB to counselor, chaplain, International RA
- 32. American Phrasebook How are you? Meaning: Hello. (This is not a question) Let’s have lunch sometime. Meaning: I am just being polite. I’ll have to think about it. Meaning: I thought about it and the answer in NO.
- 33. Professor says, “ you might want to consider doing X. Meaning: I absolutely expect you do to X. You would want to do X. Meaning: Do X now! That’s interesting. Meaning: I have nothing good to say about it.
- 34. Sounds great!! Meaning: It’s fine. It’s not bad. Meaning: It is bad. That’s a great idea, but… Meaning: That’s all but a great idea.
- 35. Defining Culture Culture General- broad characteristics (macro or global in scope) Culture Specific- general characteristics experienced in one place, a narrow more local, complex and microcosmic view of a single setting.
- 36. Conscious Awareness UNDERSTANDING CULTURE Out of Awareness
- 37. Perspective is Everything Decor Souvenir Place of Prayer
- 38. Perspective is Everything The more you look at the world the more you recognize that what one person values may be different to the next.
- 39. Perspective is Everything responsibility responsibility responsibility “The more you look at the world, the more you recognize how people value things differently.”
- 40. Culture is only one category or dimension of human behavior, and it is therefore important to see it in relation to the other two dimensions: the universal and the personal. Universal refers to ways in which all people in all groups are the same Cultural refers to what a particular group of people have in common with each other and how they are different from every other group Personal describes the ways in which each one of us is different from everyone else, including those in our group Remember: Because of universal behavior, not everything about people in a new culture is going to be different, some of what you already know about human behavior is going to apply in your host country. Because of personal behavior, not everything you learn about your host culture is going to apply equally, or at all, to every individual in that culture
- 41. U= Universal C= Cultural P= Personal Being wary of strangers Calling a waiter with a hissing sound Regretting being the cause of an accident Feeling sad at the death of your mother Sleeping with a bedroom window open Wearing white mourning robes for 30 days after the death of your mother Running from a dangerous animal Considering snakes to be “evil” Men opening doors for women Respecting older people Liking spicy food Preferring playing soccer to reading a book Eating regularly Eating with a knife, fork, and spoon Not liking to wear mourning clothes for 30 days after the death of your mother
- 42. Universal behaviors: sound 2. Running from a dangerous animal 14. Wearing white mourning robes for 30 days after the death of your mother 8. Eating regularly 12. Regretting being the cause of an accident Personal behaviors: 13. Feeling sad at the death of your mother 1. Sleeping with a bedroom window open Cultural behaviors: 6. Liking spicy food 3. Considering snakes to be "evil" 7. Preferring playing soccer to reading a book 4. Men opening doors for women 5. Respecting older people 9. Eating with knife, fork, and spoon 10. Being wary of strangers 11. Calling a waiter with a hissing 15. Not liking to wear mourning clothes for 30 days after the death of your mother
- 43. Cultural Distinctions Figuring out “what something means” in another culture, is to acknowledge that what we call “reality” may have more than one meaning or interpretation. Human beings tend to believe that what they see is “real”, and assume anyone observing or experiencing the same situation would “naturally” describe, react to, or characterize the event in the same way they do. “Naïve realism” or belief that everyone sees the world in the same way. However, the world rarely looks the same to everyone, and that the culture you are raised in will strongly influence how you will view even the most simple behavior.
- 44. Phenomenon of Perception We all believe we observe reality, things as they are, but what actually happens is that the mind interprets what the eyes see and gives it meaning. If you consider that the mind of a person from one culture is going to be different in many ways from the mind of a person from another culture, then you have the fundamental of all cross-cultural problems: the fact that two people look upon the same reality, and see two entirely different things. Meaning given to it by the person who does the action Meaning given to it by the person who observes the action Only when these two meanings are the same do we have successful communication, successful in the sense that the meaning that was intended by the doer is the one that was understood by the observer.
- 45. Cultural Perception Ex. A person comes to a meeting half an hour after the stated starting time. (This person is late and should at least apologize or give an explanation.) 1. Someone kicks a dog. 2. At the end of the meal, people belch audibly. 3. Someone makes the OK gesture at you. 4. A woman carries a heavy pile of wood on her back while her husband walks in front of her. 5. A male guest helps a hostess carry dirty dishes to the kitchen. 6. A young man and young woman are kissing each other while seated on a park bench. 7. While taking an exam a student copies from the paper of another student.
- 46. Imagine how these behaviors would be perceived or interpreted by someone from another culture. A person comes to a meeting half an hour after the stated starting time. How would this act be interpreted? A. By someone from a culture where people always arrive half an hour after the stated starting time? B. By someone from a culture where meetings never start until at least an hour after the stated time?
- 47. Someone kicks a dog. How would this act be interpreted? A. By someone from a country where dogs always carry disease? B. By someone from a country where most dogs are wild and vicious?
- 48. At the end of a meal, people belch audibly. How would this be interpreted? A. By someone from a culture where belching is the normal way to compliment the cook?
- 49. Someone makes the OK gesture at you. How would this be interpreted? A. By someone in whose culture this gesture is obscene? B. By someone in whose culture this gesture has romantic connotations?
- 50. A woman carries a heavy pile of wood on her back while her husband walks in front of her carrying nothing. How would this be interpreted? A. By someone from a culture where carrying wood is never done by men?
- 51. A young man and young woman are kissing each other while seated on a park bench. How would this act be interpreted? A. By someone from a culture where men and women touch in public.
- 52. While taking an exam, a student copies from the paper of another student. How would this act be interpreted? A. By someone from a culture where exams are not fair and are designed to eliminate students at various stages of the educational system? B. By someone from a culture where it is shameful not to help your friend if you can do so?
- 53. East vs. West
- 54. Eastern Countries Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China (People’s Republic), Cyprus, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sir Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Yemen (Homeland)
- 56. Differences in Communication Western vs. Eastern Nonverbal Communication Greeting someone of stature or elderly, lower head and bend slightly forward to show respect Hand shaking occurs between socially equal friends or businessman (a light nod or bow is fine as well) Handing and object to a Chinese person, use both hands to show respect Chinese people don’t like to use the word “no” Prolonged eye contact can be considered rude. Lowering eyes is a sign of deference to an authority figure Winking is rude. Asian people may smile when they feel embarrassed, uncomfortable, or sad. Physical contact is uncomfortable early in a relationship. Head touching or patting someone (even a child) on the head is considered offensive to someAsian people. Chinese beckon with their palms downward. Palms up and fingers inward are used only for animals. Chinese point with their entire hands and using a forefinger or two fingers to point can be viewed as rude. Never use your feet to gesture or move objects. Feet are dirty and lowly. Don’t put your feet up on furniture.
- 57. Western vs. Eastern Discourse/ Talking • Linear • Circular
- 58. Western vs. Eastern Thought Process Video Example From movie “Chan is Missing” Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 59. Western vs. Eastern Confronting Problems Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 60. Western vs. Eastern Social Relationships & Roles Informal, egalitarian Formal, hierarchical People most comfortable with their social equals; importance of social ranking minimized. People most comfortable in the presence of a hierarchy in which they know their position and customs/rules for behavior in the situation. Active participants in social roles Independent and individual orientated Passive participants in social roles. Communal and family orientated
- 61. Western vs. Eastern Status of a Leader/Boss Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 62. Western vs. Eastern Social Gathering/Party Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 63. Western vs. Eastern Relationships= Simple vs. Complex Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 64. Western vs. Eastern Individualistic I am special and unique. I am me. I am an individual. Collaborative Learn to depend on others. Read nonverbal cues. Listen to authority. Develop early independence. Be responsible for others. I am responsible for my own action. I am part of my family, community, and country. One’s own goals take priority Tasks more important than relationships. Relationships more important than tasks. The goodness of the whole is more important than the individual. My actions directly impact my family and my community.
- 65. Western vs. Eastern Way of Life Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 66. Western vs. Eastern How to Think of Self Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 68. Western vs. Eastern Day-to-Day Life/ Elders Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 69. Western vs. Eastern Education Person must earn respect Parents teach children to obey Collaborative classrooms, active Learning classrooms, passive Teachers facilitate learning, inductive teaching Children respect parents & teachers Teachers take initiative in class, deductive teaching Teachers are to transfer wisdom Students expect direction Structured, consistence Students direct themselves Unstructured, freedom Time to ask questions, no stupid questions Group assignments Individual assignments Care about HOW they learn Care more about what scores they have
- 70. Western vs. Eastern Expressing yourself Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 71. Western vs. Eastern Self-Expression Artist: Yang Liu Chinese raised in Europe
- 72. Western vs. Eastern What to Expect in Your Students Self-confidence Discipline Independence Obedience Curiosity Good observers Free thinking Patient Clear and direct speech Respectful Impatience Afraid of making mistakes Clear responses (no means no) Not used to indirect messages
- 73. American vs. Hispanic/Latino Cultural Aspects American Culture Hispanic/Latino Culture Personal Space Arm’s length Closer than arm’s length Formality (greet) Informal “you” Formal and informal “you” Eye Contact Direct eye contact (respect, honest) Averting one’s eyes shows respect Communication Direct Indirect (yes can mean maybe or no) Time Time is limited and finite Time is relative, expanding and contracting Family Nuclear family, children independent Extended family, independence can be view as disloyal Orientation Focus on individual, independence, personal fulfillment Focus on core group(s), looking out for others, group harmony Authority All people are equal, authority can be challenged Power is centralized, defer to authority Control Individuals have control, problems can be fixed, change is good Individuals have little control over destiny, adapt to problems Learning Interactive, experiential, draw one’s own conclusions Instructor guides students formally, dependent on written materials
- 74. So… are Americans fake??? No… There are simply cultural difference between a student’s home country and North America.
Editor's Notes
- There are almost 200 national entities in the world, over 5,000 living languages, and countless sub-groups bound together by the primordial loyalties of ethnicity, race, religion, common history, politics, and “"culture." It is nearly impossible to deal exhaustively with the full range of cultural practices found in, say, Bali or Wales or London or Uganda. This is where Culture General ideas and comparisons become so useful. They offer you a set of Cultural General frameworks or perspectives that will give you the tools necessary to understand:the general principals upon which cultures organize themselvesthe general categories of a wide range of behaviors and world viewsthe ways cultures express their ideas and valueshow to improve intercultural communicationhow to learn another culturehow to successfully and effectively cross cultural boundaries and return homeThe sections throughout this site are constructed primarily from a culture general standpoint. However, there will be many references to culture specific examples from a wide range of contemporary societies. You will see those examples in case studies, exercises, critical incidents, cultural contrast sets, and discussions of individual traits and behaviors.
- Culture is only one category or dimension of human behavior, and it is therefore important to see it in relation to the other two dimensions: the universal and the personal. The three can be distinguished as follows:Universal refers to ways in which all people in all groups are the same; Cultural refers to what a particular group of people have in common with each other and how they are different from every other group;Personal describes the ways in which each one of us is different from everyone else, including those in our group. There are two important points for you to remember:Because of universal behavior, not everything about people in a new culture is going to be different; some of what you already know about human behavior is going to apply in your host country. Because of personal behavior, not everything you learn about your host culture is going to apply in equal measure, or at all, to every individual in that culture.
- Universal: All of these are common behaviors found in every human society. While the content may vary (e.g., food choices and meaning of "regularly" for #8) as well as the intensity (how much you "regret" being the cause of an accident for #12) they are widespread enough to constitute examples of universal behaviors.Cultural: These behaviors are not "natural," like sadness at the loss of a relative, but a product of learning attitudes and values from one’s elders. This means that the specific content of the behavior or idea is a product of human perception. It is derived from the specific history and circumstances in that society. For example, take #3: snakes are considered sacred to many Hindus in India and by many others in Asian societies, while in Western traditions the snake is often identified with the devil and, therefore, evil. These are learned behaviors and considered “cultural” because they are shared by large groups of people and supported by the institutions of the society.Personal: These behaviors are largely based on individual personality and preferences. Although ”liking spicy food" might be correlated with the kind of ethnic foods that one is exposed to in childhood, developing such preferences (or not!) is more a matter of idiosyncratic choice than cultural rules. Many people adopt new favorite foods as adults or experiment with new cuisines. Even though jeans and T-shirts are a widely adopted "uniform" by US-American teenagers, there are often highly individualized "fashion touches" which make it recognizably different and unique. While wearing a veil in an Islamic country may be "cultural" in the sense that it is an enforced norm in the society, there are often small variations by which an individual asserts some personal touch
- Another way to understand why making cultural distinctions is useful in figuring out "what something means" in another culture, is to acknowledge that what we call "reality" may have more than one meaning or interpretation, often vastly different. Most human beings have a tendency to believe that what they see is "real," and assume anyone observing or experiencing the same situation would "naturally" describe, react to, or characterize the event in the same way they do.The Mind of the Beholder Exercise that follows will help you see how this works in everyday situations. It will also give you some idea of how seemingly ordinary activities can have very different meanings depending on whether you are the person who does the behavior or the person who observes (and judges) the behavior.In this activity, you are being asked to consider the phenomenon of perception. We all believe that we observe reality, things as they are, but what actually happens is that the mind interprets what the eyes see and gives it meaning. It is only at this point, when meaning is assigned, that we can truly say we have seen something. In other words, what we see is as much in the mind as it is in reality.If you consider that the mind of a person from one culture is going to be different in many ways from the mind of a person from another culture, then you have the explanation for that most fundamental of all cross-cultural problems: the fact that two people look upon the same reality, the same example of behavior, and see two entirely different things.Any behavior observed across the cultural divide, therefore, has to be interpreted in two ways:the meaning given to it by the person who does the actionthe meaning given to it by the person who observes the actionOnly when these two meanings are the same do we have successful communication, successful in the sense that the meaning that was intended by the doer is the one that was understood by the observer.
- In the first part of this exercise, read the description of the eight instances of behavior given below and write down your immediate response to or interpretation of that behavior in terms of your own cultural values, beliefs, or perception. The first one has been done for you.
- In this second part of the activity, you are asked to imagine how these same eight behaviors would be perceived or interpreted by someone from a culture different from your own. (The particular cultural difference is described in each case.) Read each behavior and the description of the culture, and then write in the space provided how you think a person from such a culture would interpret that behavior. DISCUSSION In the first set of answers you were asked to give your immediate reactions to the scenarios. We assume you did so and that they likely reflected your US-American culture to some extent. For example, your response to #4, "Someone makes an OK gesture to you," probably was that they were trying to tell you something like "things were going well" or that they were all right. That gesture works for most US-Americans. However, if you used that gesture in much of Latin America or other places in the world, it would have distinctly different meanings, mostly of a sexual or aggressive nature. The only reason it "works" for us is that it has the same meaning for the person who does the action as it does for the person who observes it. If the meaning being inferred changes then communication breaks down, often badly.When you filled out the second part of the exercise, which specified certain differences as they were perceived or interpreted by someone in another culture, it became clearer why the same action can be construed as having radically different "meanings." This is what makes some aspects of crossing cultural boundaries so tricky. Overseas, an apparently innocent remark or careless gesture on your part can occasionally result in a breakdown of communication, a misperception of your intent, and a negative impression—or possibly all three when you don’t understand the other culture’s norms!For instance, in another culture burping (which adults always told you was gross) might turn out to be a regular part of post-meal etiquette and it might be considered a breech of manners and impolite not to! To avoid making unnecessary mistakes, it is useful to remember, as the second part of the exercise shows, that seemingly simple everyday events may be interpreted quite differently when observed by people from different cultures. So, while you are a guest in another country you should take special care not make snap judgments about people and situations before you know the background and examine the reasons why they might be behaving and reacting differently than you normally would. Once you can see another (or multiple) reason for a specific human cultural behavior, you will be on your way to being able to interact and communicate more effectively with the local population.
- Many Asian cultures
- Brazil- middle finger or ass____Venezuela & Turkey- Homosexual man0 or worthless- many EuropeansHindu- infinity or perfection (sacred gesture) associated with the female genitalia
- Westerner, efficiency and productivity are traits of a “good worker” high quantity workEasterner beliefs are centered on the person:” A “good worker” is someone who has an active personal life, takes care of his family, and produces high quality work
- Westerners judge others by the words that are used to describe themEasterners judge the person by his actions, not his wordsChinese LOTS of teachers and watchers to keep an eye on them