UNDERSTANDING CULTURE

ENE TULIP 2013

Pouneh EftekhariInternational Undergraduate Student Experience Advisor

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FIRST-YEAR CLASSROOM

OUR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ENROLLMENT

2013 Total Enrollment UG EnrollmentPurdue 8702 3366CoE 4981 1749 (304 New UG)FYE -- 516

% OF POPULATION THAT IS INTERNATIONAL2013 Total Enrollment UG EnrollmentPurdue 22.4% 16.9% (4,981)

CoE 38.7% 23.8% (1,843)

2nd among U.S. public institutions | 2nd in the Big Ten | 2nd in the nation (estimated)

TOP 10 RANKING

2013 Purdue CoE1. China (4323)2. India (13553. South Korea (733)4. Taiwan (232)5. Malaysia (176)6. Indonesia (95)7. Turkey (82)8. Columbia (74)9. Japan (72)

1. China (760)2. India (434)3. South Korea (117)4. Malaysia (62)5. Indonesia (35)6. Kazakhstan (25)7. Saudi Arabia (24)8. Taiwan (23)9. Thailand (21)

CULTURE

TWO COMMON MODELS

The Onion Model The Iceberg Model

WHERE DOES CULTURE HAPPEN?

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological theory

EDWARD T. HALL

HOW TO COMPARE CULTURES?

HIGH AND LOW CONTEXT CULTURES

Lower context culture Australian Dutch English Canadian English Finnish German Hebrews/Jews Irish New Zealand Scandinavia Switzerland United States (excluding the Southern United States)

Higher context cultureAfrican Arab Brazilian Chinese Filipinos French Canadian French Greek Hawaiian Hungarian Indian Indonesian Italian Japanese

US = LOW , SEVERAL OF OUR TOP 10 = HIGH

Korean Latin Americans Nepali Persian Portuguese Russian Southern United States Spanish Thai Turkish Vietnamese South Slavic

EDWARD T. HALL: CONTEXT + METRICSHigh Context Cultures Low Context Cultures

Diversity

• more common in the Asian cultures (countries with low racial diversity)

• group/community is valued over the individual

• tends to explain things further• need to accommodate individuals with a

wide variety of backgrounds

Tradition & History (time-

orientation)

• strong sense of tradition and history• change little over time

• shared experiences upon which communication is built can change drastically from one generation to the next, creating communication gaps between parents and children

Humorhigh-context joke from a high context culture will not translate well to someone of a different culture, even another high context culture

----

Adaptation

• high context individual is more likely to ask for assistance rather than attempt to work out a solution independently, and assistance is likely to be asked from the same few people

• high context person may be frustrated by people appearing to not want to develop a relationship or continue to help them on an ongoing basis

• "hand-holding" might be used to describe high context individuals in an unintentionally derogatory sense

• expect small, close-knit groups, and reliance on that group

• Groups can actually be relied upon to support each other, and it may be difficult to get support outside of your group

• expects many relationships, but fewer intimate ones

• may be more likely to try to work things out on their own and feel there is a lack of self-service support or information, rather than ask questions

• take time to develop the relationships needed to accomplish the things that need to be done

CULTURAL TYPES: THE LEWIS MODEL

CULTURAL TYPES: THE LEWIS MODEL USA Our Top 10

HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONSDIMENSION DEFINITION SPECTRUMPower Distance (PDI)

How a society handles inequalities among people (power distribution)

Low = strive to equalize the distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of power

High = accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification

Individualism vs. collectivism (IDV)

A society's position on this dimension is reflected in whether people’s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we.”

Collectivism = a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their relatives or members of a particular in-group to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty

Individualism = a preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate families only

Masculinity vs. femininity (MAS)

Masculinity = a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material reward for success (Society at large is more competitive)

Femininity = a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life (Society at large is more consensus-oriented)

Uncertainty avoidance (UAI)

How a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? (comfort level with ambiguity)

Strong = maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas

Weak = maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles

Long-term vs. short-term orientation (LTO)

short-term orientation = a strong concern with establishing the absolute Truth. They are normative in their thinking. They exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for the future, and a focus on achieving quick results.

long-term orientation = people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. They show an ability to adapt traditions to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results

HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONSUSA China India South

KoreaMalaysia Indonesia

Power Distance

(PDI)40 80 77 60 104 78

Individualism versus

Collectivism (IDV)

91 20 48 18 26 14

Masculinity versus

Femininity (MAS)

62 66 56 39 50 46

Uncertainty Avoidance

(UAI)46 30 40 85 36 48

Long-Term Orientation

(LTO) 29 118 61 75 -- --

Power Distance Index

HIGH LOW

Individualism vs. CollectivismIND COL

Masculinity vs. FemininityMAS FEM

Uncertainty Avoidance IndexHIGH LOW

Short-term vs. Long-term Orientation

LONG SHORT

IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR CLASSES

U.S. EDUCATION SYSTEMDIFFERENCES IN EDUCATION SYSTEMS

U.S. EDUCATION SYSTEM

(SOME) OTHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS

Student flexibility Student inflexibilityStudent-centered Teacher-centered

Focus on critical thinking and application

of knowledge

Focus on rote memorization and accumulation of

knowledge

COMMON CHALLENGES

Unfamiliarity with U.S. Teaching Methods

English Language Difficulties

Allowing Culture Shock to Affect Academics

Academic Dishonesty

Attendance Issues

Unintentional disrespectful communication with Faculty / Staff

Not Communicating in a Timely Manner

Failing to Ask for Help When Needed

Inability / Unwillingness to Participate in Class

Difficulty Articulating and Supporting Opinions

CHALLENGES STUDENTS MAY ENCOUNTER

TOEFL & CEFRCOMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES (CEFR) CoE requires a score of 88 on TOFEL IBT | 87-109 TOEFL = B2 on the CEFR

• Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation.

• Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.

• Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

OEPP Interpretation of TOEFL scores (for university admissions)A

• B2 low/B2 high = was designed as the level required to participate independently in higher level language interaction. It is typically the level required to be able to follow academic level instruction and to participate in academic education, including both coursework and student life

• B1 high (57-86): B1 is insufficient for full academic level participation in language activities. A student at this level could ‘get by’ in everyday situations independently. However, to be successful in communication in university settings, additional English language courses are required.