Unit Six

Cultural

Difference

Culture shock

___1. Misconception a. almost the same

___2. Homesickness b. change

___3. Transition c. very sad

___4. Stage d. feeling of sadness, of missing a place

___5. Expert e. step; period of time

___6. Similar f. mistaken idea

___7. Depressed g. person who knows a lot

Background information questions:

1.What is culture shock, according to the listening passage?

2. What misconception do many people have of culture shock?

3. What happens at each stage of culture shock?

Warm-up activity

Culture shock is a completely natural transition, and everyone goes through in a new culture. It’s a series of changes in the way you see the new culture, the way you see your own culture, and the way you feel about yourself.

Warm-up activity

Word preparation:

exchange student /weird / stuff / homesick / depressed / culture shock in reverse /severe / associate…with /have something in common with /for good / permanently

1.This will sound sort of weird, and I guess maybe it is kind of strange, but it’s true.

2. He put the car in reverse and I slowly backed up.

3. I went into such a very severe culture shock that my parents were worried about me.

4. she associated only with people from her own country. She didn't have any friends from anyplace else.

5. I guess I’m going to live here for good. I’m not happy about it, but my husband and children were all born here, so I guess we’ll be here permanently.

Listening Tasks

Talking about Culture ShockI. Listen for the main ideaPerson 1

In general, did the speaker have a good or bad experience in Canada?

Person 2

In general, did she have a good or bad experience in the United States?

Person 3

In general, did she have a good or bad experience in the United States?

II. Listen for details

Person 1:Where is he from?

How did he feel when he arrived in Canada?

What happened when he went back to his country?

Person 2:Where is she from?

Who did she associate with? Why ?

What happened when she went back to her country?

Person 3:Where does she come from?

What was her initial (first) experience in U.S.A. ?

What were two experiences that influenced her

decision?

What did she decide to do?

Keys:1.He is from Russia. / He was excited. /He got depressed when he went back to his country.

2. She is from Mexico. / She associated only with people from her country. / Because they were all from the same culture.

/When she went back to her country, it wasn’t as great as she remembered. She felt it wasn’t really her home anymore. So after only one month, she turned around and came back to the United States.

3. She is from Japan. / Everything was difficult in the beginning. / She had friends there and she loved Indian art, which influenced her decision.

/She decided to stay in the United States and go to college, with a major in American Indian Studies.

Do you have any friends who have experienced culture shock similar to these people?

If so, what were their experiences?

III. Discussion:

Seoul: 汉城 Korea

Enthusiasm

Amazement

Be confronted with: be faced with

A barrage of: large number of

Appropriate: proper

1. Tamara was an old woman when she taught in Korea. 2. Tamara didn’t know anything about Korea before she a

rrived there. 3. Tamara is from California. 4. Tamara’s students felt comfortable asking her personal

questions. 5. Tamara felt comfortable answering direct questions abo

ut her personal life. 6. Tamara understood later why her students asked her thes

e questions. 7. Tamara continued to allow her students to ask her questi

ons.

Sophisticated:

Ratio: 比率

Nickname

Liberalness

I was amazed by the liberalness of teacher –initiated conversations.

At first, I was afraid to talk about topics that are prone to “label” people here in the U.S.

1. Kirk studied at different schools in Mexico.

2.Kirk’s classes were very large, with many students.

3.TRU 3. Kirk thought his classes in Mexico was more formal than a typical American class.

4.TRUE4. Kirk was surprised at how directly students discussed certain topics in class.

5.TRUE5. Kirk quickly felt comfortable making his own direct statements about difficult topics in class.

 

Passage: Wasted Food, Discovered Souls

Vocabulary

bulk/ toss/ a slight tug/ indignation/agrarian-based ethos /astound/ assimilation /frugality /excursion /stoop /grandeur

Passage: Wasted Food, Discovered Souls

Keys: 1. 1) d, 2) g, 3) j, 4) e, 5) c, 6) a, 7) k, 8) i, 9) b, 10) h, 11) f. 2. His experience with his cousin made him realize

how assimilated he has become and that he has lost his old identity.

3. (1) a , (2) b, (3) a, (4) b, (5) b.  

Passage: Wasted Food, Discovered Souls

Listen and summarize Andrew Lam’s commentary . Discussion: (1). In your native country, how do people get rid of

things? Do they make donations? Do they have garbage or yard sales? Do they sell things at flea markets? Do they recycle?

(2). What do you think this title means: “wasted Food, Discovered Souls”?

(3). Try to explain what culture shock is. What influence can it have on people and how to adapt to it?

Passage: Wasted Food, Discovered Souls

(4). Andrew Lam’s cousin was shocked by the waste he saw as he took one of his first walks around San Francisco. What were some of the cultural shocks you experienced when you first arrived in the United States or some other places? Were you “ stressed out in a strange land” when you first arrived?

Preview

Please read the main idea of the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Thank you