Week 1Aim: Define culture

Culture questions for thought

1. What is culture? Why is it important to understand it?

2. How does culture influence behavior? How does it shape the way we see the world, ourselves, and others?

3. What are some of the central beliefs and values of Korean culture?

4. Compare and contrast the central beliefs and values of Korean culture to that of a different culture that you know (well).

Defining culture Culture has to do with values, beliefs, ideas, practices, norms, attitudes,

and experiences Culture involves customs, traditions, patterns of behavior, worldviews,

systems of social organization, language, and material artifacts Culture is collective Culture is learned Culture guides, influences and shapes behavior Culture is transmitted from generation to generation Culture is dynamic and cultural change is an ongoing and continuous

process Culture is often unconscious (i.e. people are sometimes not aware of

how their behaviors and attitudes have been shaped by their culture) People in all cultures have common needs

Week 2Aim: Explore the features of your culture

(to understand it better for cross-cultural comparison)

Culture as an icebergCulture has been aptly compared to an iceberg. Just as an iceberg has a visible section above the waterline and a larger, invisible section below the water line, so culture has some aspects that are observable and others that can only be suspected, imagined, or intuited. Also like an iceberg, the part of culture that is visible (observable behavior) is only a small part of a much bigger whole.

Style of dress Ways of greeting people Beliefs about hospitality Importance of time Paintings Values Literature Beliefs about child

raising Personal space/privacy Responsibilities of

children Gestures of

understanding

Holiday customs Music Dancing Celebrations Concepts of fairness Nature of friendship Ideas about clothing Foods Greetings Body language Concept of self Work ethic Religious beliefs Religious rituals

Concept of beauty Rules of polite behavior Attitude towards age The role of the family General worldview

Features of culture

Week 3Aim 1: Explore yourself within and outside

of your culture

Aim 2: Explore what research tells us about culture (Chapter 1: Introduction to Culture)

Everyone has a culture/ is different1. Languages you speak2. Music you listen to and dances you know3. Food you eat at home4. Politeness, rudeness, and manners5. What you wear on special occasions6. Extended family and the role they play in your life7. Important holidays and ceremonies for your family8. Something important to you (e.g. value, person, goal, or

hobby)9. Describe the characteristics of the culture you’re a part of

A tough moment abroadWhat was an unpleasant experience you have had abroad – one that caused frustration, embarrassment, confusion, or annoyance?

TermsEnculturation: The process of learning about the customs, conventions, and practices of one’s society through family members, interactions in social environments, and mass media, which shape the attitudes, beliefs, and values people assign to the world around them

Big ‘C’: Objective culture (e.g. art literature, drama, music, dance, food, etc.)

Small ‘c’: Subjective culture (e.g. attitudes, beliefs, values, choice of discourse, style of dress, norms of interaction, etc.)

Emics: Ideas, behaviors, items, and concepts that are culture specific (i.e. within a culture)

Etics: Ideas, behaviors, items, and concepts that are culture universal (i.e. across all cultures)

TermsBeliefs: An individual’s convictions about the world (i.e. what someone consider to be true about the world)

Values: Ideals or standards that are shaped by assumptions or judgments about what is good, right, or important

Norms: Shared notions about what is appropriate behavior

Attitudes: Emotional reactions to objects, ideas, and people

Language and linguistic relativity

Language and culture are strongly interconnected. Culture influences the way speakers perceive the world and how they use language to communicate. Similarly, language influences how speakers view the world and the way in which they communicate.

Linguistic relativity is simply the degree to which language influences human thought (i.e. how it shapes our perception of the world)

Language and cultureLanguage is a symbolic representation of a group of people.

Language encompasses the historical and cultural background of a people.

Language is a means of identification within a culture.

Language is a lens through which reality is filtered (reflecting the world views, thought processes, and lifestyles of its people).

Language is a medium that allows us to gain insights into another culture (acting as both a mirror, reflecting that which a culture deems important, and a window, revealing what values, beliefs, and attitudes a culture considers important and how a culture has chosen to realize these truths through language).

Cross-cultural awarenessEntails:

Being aware of both one’s own cultural and other cultures

Becoming cognizant of cultural patterns and practices

Learning to recognize the impact that subconscious cultural factors have on our interpretation of the world and the action of people around us

Discerning the relationship between language and culture

Teaching and learning connections

Culture is an integral part of language teaching and learning. The goal in education is to translate culture teaching into a culture learning experience for our students. The role of teachers is to help learners become aware of the role of culture in forming people’s interpretation of self in relation to others and the world around them, as well as make learners become more tolerant of different “ways of seeing.”

Weeks 4/5Aim: Explore in more depth what research tells us about culture (Chapter 2: More on Culture)

Individualism Social experiences are structured around autonomous

individuals Personal goals take priority over group goals Self-reliance, individual growth, personal achievement, and

satisfaction are all emphasized Independence is encouraged at a young age Education and career choices are based on personal

needs/desires Roles and social relationships are less hierarchical and more

fluid Rules governing social interactions are less dictated by age

and gender

Collectivism Social experiences are structured around collectives

(e.g. family) Group goals take priority over personal goals Social and familial relationships and networks are

primary, extensive, and interlocking Reciprocal obligation and responsibility are strong Interdependence, respect for authority, hierarchical roles

and relationships, and group consensus are all promoted Family is central Personal goals are aligned with responsibilities to the

group

Nepotism

Preference of any sort given to relatives

Polychronic vs. MonochronicPolychronic time cultures

Scheduling of time is of little importance, and many events occur simultaneously. Emphasis is placed on personal involvement. Spending time with others is valued more than adherence to strict schedules or punctuality. There is a high tolerance of ambiguity.

Monochronic time cultures

Carefully scheduled (structured) time and the compartmentalizing (organization) of one’s day is highly valued. Time determines and coordinates everything. There is little tolerance of ambiguity.

Face

Embodiment of two key Confucian tenets: The essential integration of individuals into groups and the importance of maintaining social harmony. Confucianism emphasizes that individuals exist in interactive relationships with others. Face is related to the social status, influence, and prestige an individual has, and it is realized and sustained through each person’s interaction with other members of that culture. Face is a person’s sense of positive social self-image in a relational and network context. It is closely identified with beliefs regarding group membership and social harmony. Loss of face not only entails personal embarrassment or humiliation, but also threatens disruption of the larger social harmony.

EthnocentrismThe belief in the intrinsic (inborn/natural) superiority of one’s own culture, nationality, language, and/or ethnic group. It is a highly subjective, personal, emotional, and subconscious way of valuing one’s own culture above other cultures.

StereotypesThese are overgeneralized, exaggerated, and oversimplified beliefs that people use to categorize a group of people. It is a psychological process whereby members of one group ascribe characteristics to another group, creating beliefs and expectations about people’s behavior, attitudes, views, and demeanors.

Common national stereotypes Asians are all experts in martial arts and are good at math. English tolerate eccentric people, drink tea, and are football

enthusiasts. They have bad teeth and think they are better than you.

French people never bathe, smoke heavily, always wear a beret, eat frog legs, are rude, and are rather weak and cowardly.

Germans are Nazis who consume huge amounts of beer, sausages, cabbage and behave like machines. They have no sense of humor.

Japanese are workaholics and are of short stature; Japanese tourists spend their entire trip taking pictures of things. They copy and try to fit the western cultures.

Spaniards are people who always have bull races.

Common national stereotypes Russians drink vodka and are communists. Americans are fat, ignorant, war-mongering, don't know about other

countries, and talk with stupid accents. Chinese do not respect laws and talk very loudly. Jews are careful and obsessed with money, usually do commerce or

finance related jobs, and many of them are obsessed with religion. Indians smell like curry, are thrifty, like to show off, and are good

talkers. Italian men are chauvinists, mobsters, hot-blooded and/or over-

emotional, and live an indulgent lifestyle. Often they are fashionable and elegant looking.

Mexicans are dirty, drink too much tequila, work for little money, are illegal immigrants, and take naps often.

Middle Easterners commit or support terrorist acts.

AttributionIt is the process by which people explain another person’s behavior by referring to their own experiences, values, and beliefs. To give meaning to observed behavior, people draw on the personal experiences they have developed throughout a lifetime of living and interacting as a member of their culture. When the experiential backgrounds of people are different, misunderstandings often occur because of differences in perceptions of and interpretations of the actions of the speakers, the social context, and even the physical environment.

Culture shockThis occurs when people interact with members of a different culture and experience the feeling of a loss of control; when a person’s expectations do not coincide with – and indeed conflict with – a different cultural reality. Factors that foster culture shock include the degree of an individual’s sense of ethnocentrism; tendency to stereotype; low levels of similarity in beliefs, values, norms, and attitudes; and misinterpretations of the behaviors and intentions of members from the other cultural group.

High-context communicationOccurs in cultures that emphasize communication through the context of the social interaction (e.g. speaker’s social roles, gender, age, status, etc.). High-context communication makes extensive use of subtle non-verbal behaviors to convey a message. Much of the actual message is left unsaid or implied, and it is up to the speakers to understand the implicit information being imparted. The message itself is dependent on the context within which it is being delivered, and it can only be understood or interpreted within that context. Examples include China and Japan – countries with a long shared history, knowledge, values, and background.

Low-context communicationTakes place in cultures that stress communication via explicit verbal messages. Communication is regarded as an independent act performed between speakers and their listeners. The primary responsibility for ensuring that listeners correctly receive and interpret verbal messages rests on speakers – who try to convey messages as clearly, thoroughly, and logically as possible. Direct verbal modes of communication are preferred.

Cross-cultural communication difficulties

Effective cross-cultural communication depends on speakers’ awareness of the language and culture of each other. For cross-cultural communication to occur with a minimum of misunderstanding and a maximum of information exchange, understanding one’s own culturally influenced behavior and thought processes and those of the speakers of the other culture is essential. This entails both perceiving the similarities and differences in other cultures and also recognizing the constructs of one’s own culture (our “hidden culture”).

Week 8Aim 1: Expand awareness of differences in underlying

cultural values and beliefs via critical incidents

Aim2: Analyze human behavior by linking values to it, exploring three dimensions of it (universal, cultural, and personal), and observing it across the cultural

divide

The visible and the hidden aspects of culture

Visible: Show up in people’s behavior

Hidden: Exist only in the realms of thought, feeling, and belief

The visible and the hidden are related; values and beliefs you cannot see affect behavior. In other words, to understand where behavior comes from – to understand why people behave the way they do – means learning about values and beliefs.

Universal, cultural or personal

Universal: Refers to the 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

In the mind of the beholderWe 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:

1. the meaning given to it by the person who does the action, and

2. the 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.

Week 9Aim: To explore the concept of culture shock via exercises from Chapter 3 of “Crossing Cultures in

the Language Classroom”

Culture shock exercises1. Defining culture shock (p.127)

2. Wearing someone else’s shoes (p.130) *Chorus from Elvis Presley’s “Walk a Mile in My Shoes”: Walk a mile in my shoes, just walk a mile in my shoes, before you abuse, criticize and accuse, then walk a mile in my shoes)

3. Semantic associations (p.132)

Week 10Aim: To further explore the concept of culture

shock via Chapter 3 of “Crossing Cultures in the Language Classroom” and a U.S. Peace Corps

exercise

Culture shock

A four-stage model of culture shock –

Kalervo Oberg (1960)1. Honeymoon or tourist phase2. Culture shock3. Adjustment or acculturation stage4. Recovery or adaptation phase

Culture shock U-curve

The 5 stages of culture shock –

Peace Corps1. Initial enthusiasm 2. Initial country and culture shock3. Initial adjustment4. Further culture shock5. Further adjustment

Causes of culture shock: Cultural distance

Causes of culture shock: Cognitive fatigue

Aspects of culture shock 1

Culture shock has emotional, psychological, physiological, psychosomatic, and cognitive (intellectual) impacts on an individual’s psyche

North Americans in Korea - 1979 (p.117)

1. “Person” status of foreigners2. General staring and rudeness in public3. Passive resistance as a communication strategy4. Extreme poverty and beggars5. Koreans’ reactions to the influence of the U.S> in their country6. Theft, bribery, and dishonesty7. Cleanliness and sanitation8. Health problems9. Strange smells10.Adjusting to the food11.Learning to share12.Lack of privacy

Aspects of culture shock 2Emotional level (range of negative feelings – e.g. anger, anxiety, depression, loneliness, homesickness, frustration, worry, irritation, helplessness, hostility)Rational level (when faced with culture shock you come, at some point, to recognize that familiar cues and signals no longer govern your interactions and social behavior – everything becomes puzzling/confusing)Identity level (human – things we share in common with others; social – an individual’s societal roles; personal – characteristics that individuals believe they possess that differentiate them from others)

Exercises1. Colliding cultures (p.131)2. Evaluating anxiety (p.139)3. Who am I? (p.143)

Week 11Aim: To demonstrate cultural awareness activities you can do in your classrooms

“Cultural Awareness”Barry Tomalin and Susan Stempleski

(Oxford – Resource Books for Teachers)

1. Holiday photographs (3.6, p.69)2. In my country (2.7, p.47)3. Cartoon Categories (2.2, p.41)4. Exploring song lyrics (1.6, p.23)5. (If time) Dating customs (3.2, p.59)

Week 12Aim: To analyze cross-cultural relations

in“30 Days: Straight Man in a Gay World”

Week 13Aim: To explore nonverbal communication

in cross-cultural exchanges via Chapter 4 of “Crossing Cultures in the Language

Classroom”

Questions for thought

1. How would you describe nonverbal communication?

2. How does it manifest itself in our daily interactions?

3. What are some nonverbal behaviors typical of or unique to Koreans?

3 interacting systems of nonverbal communication

1. Visual

2. Auditory

3. Invisible

Nonverbal behavior common across cultures

1. Expressing emotions2. Reinforcing, complimenting, or accenting

messages3. Acting as a substitute for verbal communication4. Contradicting verbal messages5. Regulating and managing communicative

situations6. Conveying messages in ritualized form

Non-verbal cues

65% > (Hall) “what people do is frequently more important than what they say.”

Problems emerge when one interprets others’ behavior based on one’s own frame of reference

Miscommunication and confusion1. The same nonverbal cue can signify different

meanings in different cultures2. In most communicative interactions, more than

one non-verbal cue is sent3. There are significant variations in nonverbal

behaviors among members of any given culture, based on factors as age, gender, personality, intimacy, socioeconomic situation, and context

Miscommunication and confusion

Cite at least three examples in your life where non-verbal behavior has resulted in miscommunication or confusion – if possible, in cross-cultural contexts.

Realm of non-verbal communication

Gestures Facial expressions Eye contact and gaze Posture and movement patterns of touch (haptics) Dress Silence Space (proxemics) Time (Chronemics)

Talk! Talk! Talk!

1. What are your most valuable possessions? 2. When was the last time you were really

disappointed?3. What are the things you want most in life?

*Stand in a circle with your arms hanging

straight at your sides. Do not move your arms

or hands at any time during the discussion!

Getting Together

1. If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?

2. What are you most afraid of?3. If you could star in a love scene with any

living actor or actress, who would you want to act with and where would you want it filmed?

*Stay in your role!

Week 14Aim: To ask questions about how rap music may be shaping cultures, reinforcing racist stereotypes, and promoting harmful ideas about gender and sexuality via “Hip-Hop:

Beyond Beats and Rhymes”

Week 15Aim: To consider societal roles and

expectations cross- culturally via Chapter 4 of “Crossing Cultures in the Language

Classroom”

Gender Roles

What are some gender stereotypes of (Korean) men?

What are some gender stereotypes of (Korean) women?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nIXUjzyMe0