Culture Shock

Culture-shock in Cross-Cultural Communication

How culture shock? If you are going abroad, you may find… The climate: grey and wet, especially during the winter months and difficult to get used to.  The food: strange, may taste different, or be cooked differently, or it may seem bland or heavy compared to what you are used to.  The language: you miss your familiar language which at home would have been part of your everyday environment.  Social behaviors: people appear cold and distant or always in a hurry… ……. 

You are getting culture shock!!!

What culture shock? #… Culture shock is thought to be a form of anxiety that results from the loss of commonly perceived and understood signs and symbols of social intercourse. The individual undergoing culture shock reflects his anxiety and nervousness with cultural differences through any number of defense mechanism: repression, regression, isolation and reflection… (Peter Adler, 1972:8)

# George,M. Foster (1962):  “Culture shock is a mental illness… …” # “ Strong feelings of discomfort, fear, or insecurity which a person may have when they enter another culture” Longman dictionary of Applied Linguistics

# Yule, G. (1996:195): “ Culture shock occurs as a result of total immersion in a new culture. It happens to people who have been transplanted abroad. Newcomers may be anxious because they don’t speak the language, know the customs, or understand people’s behavior in daily life”

Barriers caused by cultural differences 

Sociolinguistics inappropriateness

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Stereotyping or overgeneralisation

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Conflict of different value systems

Two main factors creating culture shock 

Unawareness of cross-cultural differences different values, perceptions, cultural thought patterns, beliefs etc.

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Unawareness of different roles of the S and H: age, social distance, work power and relationship, marital status, education, etc.

Symptoms 

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1. Feeling very angry over minor inconveniences 2. Irritability 3. Withdrawal from people who are different from you 4. Extreme homesickness 5. Sudden intense feeling of loyalty to own culture 6. Overeating or loss of appetite 7. Boredom 8. A need for excessive sleep

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9. Headaches 10. Upset stomach 11. Small pains really hurt 12. Depression 13. Loss of ability to work or study effectively 14. Unexplainable crying 15. Marital or relationship stress 16. Exaggerated cleanliness 17. Feeling sick much of the time

How does it happen? Honeymoon

Acceptance and Integration

Initial Adjustment Culture shock (Levine and Adelman. 1993)

Mental Isolation (or Depression)

Situation 1 Bob returns from a meeting and his secretary, Trinh, bursts into tears. Her voice is hoarse and he can not understand what she is saying. Something has happened in her family. He reaches for a box of tissues and hands it to her, putting his arm around her in a comforting manner. Trinh freezes and races for the door. She brushes past Huong, whose face resembles a wooden mask. Bob races out to Huong and asks her to go and comfort Trinh because she is crying and he does not know what is wrong.They are gone for some time and he returns to his work. When Huong returns, Bob goes to check. She will not look him in the eyes but mumbles that it has something to do with Trinh’s brother. Bob explains his concern and his actions – why he put his arm around her. Huong relaxes and says “yes”, she understands. Trinh returns the next day. Bob does not make a fuss about her absence and work continues as usual. Three days later, an official from the Ministry of Labour visits and tells Bob that he has been accused of seriously mistreating his employees, taking advantage of his position as supervisor and making sexual advances towards his staff. Bob is horrified. What does he do?

Possible solutions to Situation 1 •

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Talk to the official in the presence of Trinh and Huong and tell what really happened. Pull a bottle of whisky out of his bottom drawer and explain what had happened, hoping that the official will realise the mistake. Tell the official he has a wife and two lovely sons at home and how dare he come into the office and make accusations about Bob’s fidelity – as if he would try it on a Vietnamese secretary. Send out a memo explaining his actions, apologising for his behaviour and for any misunderstanding that has occurred.

Comments on the solutions 

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Option A would be good but is highly unlikely to work. Option B will be seen for the direct bribe that it is. Option C will not work and will make the official even more suspicious. Option D may be the best bet

Managing cross-cultural conflicts 

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Building relationships of trust takes top priority Observing, asking nonjudgmental questions, learning, and seeking understanding when entering another cultural context Being particularly careful about making evaluative statements, blame statements when with people different from another culture Being gracious, courteous, calm, and

First-hand experience in culture shock 

Situation 1: Culture shock related to

belief. Causes: - Ignorance of the interlocutor’s culture. - Lack of concern with the interlocutor’s belief. Solutions: - Often exchange information to get to know the interlocutors’ culture. - Respect people’s interests and choices when inviting them to eat out.

How to cope with culture shock? 

Implication for CCC

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Implication for ELT

Implications for CCC 

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Be aware of one’s own cultural behavior Be aware of the cultural behavior of others Be able to explain one’s cultural standpoint Avoid negative attitudes: Misinterpretations; Ethnocentrism; Stereotypes/overgeneralization;

Implications for ELT 

Teachers should notice the importance of incorporating cultural factors in ELT lessons

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Provide students with both linguistic as well as culture awareness. Attach importance to both target language and culture teaching equally.

Implications for ELT 

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Develop students’ communicative competence Provide students with knowledge of different target cultures Sensitise learners to expect crosscultural differences in the linguistics realisations of politeness and truthfulness Take the teaching of language beyond the realms of mere training and make it truly educational

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Teach students to be more aware of conventional behaviour in common situations in the target culture Integrate cultural awareness with language materials and methodology Syllabus design should focus on culture- related topics

Thank you for listening!