4 Politeness.ppt

Design and pilot an empirical investigation into some aspect of intercultural issues such as culture bump or culture shock.. This is done by interviewing with a foreigner in Vietnam abo

Ho Chi Minh City Open University

Graduate School

97 Vo Van Tan, Dist.3, HCMC, Vietnam

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET AND REPORT

Diploma in TESOL 6A

Name of candidate: PHAM MINH TRUNG

Student No:

Email address: pminhtrung84@yahoo.com

Name of coursework subject: COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE

Title of this item of work:

Research project (culture shock-Practice interview with a foreigner in Viet Nam) Design and pilot

an empirical investigation into some aspect of intercultural issues such as culture bump or culture shock This is done by interviewing with a foreigner in Vietnam about his/her cultural experience such as intercultural obstacles to living in Vietnam, how expectations met or fail to meet, what was the most outstanding culture shock experience, what are some beliefs and values one should learn from such cultural experiences, etc.

Name of lecturer: Dr BAO DAT

Due date: January 31, 2010

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP:

I certify that the above assignment is my original work, and it is based on my own research All

sources used by me have been documented No other person’s work has been used without due

acknowledgement This piece of work has not previously been submitted for assessment in this or any other subject or course at this University or elsewhere

Student’s Signature Date: January 25, 2010

1 INTRODUCTION

Culture bump or culture shock is a term used to refer to the anxiety or feelings – including surprise, loss of direction, confusion …) – that a person experiences when he or she is in another culture or living environment These problems arise from a foreigner’s efforts to participate in a new culture in which he or she finds some things comfortable or uncomfortable In many cases, culture shock is accompanied by a foreigner’s resentment, for either moral or aesthetic reasons, against certain aspects of the new culture Furthermore, culture shock is usually regarded as a job-related disease of those suddenly living and working overseas In other words, culture shock is sometimes the outcome of over-anxiety in which a foreigner loses his or her habitual or familiar signs as well as daily contact or communication Cultural factors, including hand-shaking, tip-giving, greeting, accepting or refusing of an invitation …, are all gradually developed and accepted

by a community

Especially, culture is an essential variable that must be considered in the communication process for everyone who is living and working abroad It is more obvious that the relationship between culture and language is inextricably linked Both are semiotic systems that rely on signs and symbols to transmit and receive messages However, when those customary signs and symbols are changed or removed completely, as they are for sojourners in a new environment, culture shock can emerge (McLeod, 2008) The “…multiple demands for adjustment that individuals experience

at the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social, and physiological levels, when they relocate to another culture” (Chapdelaine & Alexitch, 2004) are undeniably critical for the adjustment of foreigners and often elicit initial debilitating intrapersonal and interpersonal issues

As a matter of fact, most newly-arrived foreigners in Vietnam are often faced with the simultaneous challenge of not only competing with but also adjusting to the host culture It is up to

an array of factors, including age, gender, previous experience with the language or overseas, as well as the differences between the home and host cultures that foreigners can be overwhelmed by the magnitude and the number of foreign demands placed upon them In particular, the pursuit of social knowledge without recognition of the need for learning about Vietnamese culture is too narrowly defined and short-sighted as it ignores the very real possibility that foreigners will

encounter culture shock Also, it is a comment trend that the term language shock be added to the conceptualization of culture shock because of the central position language problems have in inducing this phenomenon and due to the acute negative reactions that some foreigners have to language study

The primary purpose of this research project is to reveal some aspects of intercultural issues such as culture bump or culture shock in which language barrier is most focused Subjects in research project are foreigners currently living and working in Vietnam for a particular period of time and the research is aimed to deal with their experiences with culture shock and the reasons

they ascribed for this phenomenon The manner in which they responded to the culture shock as well as the influential factors that assisted them in coping is also explored

I anticipated the research project would uncover the participants’ feelings and attitudes about the impact of language learning in helping them cope with culture shock In particular, the selected foreigners’ opinions of Vietnamese culture and various cultural activities were solicited as

it was expected, based on the pilot case study findings, that these individuals and endeavors would also have an influence on their adjustment to the host culture

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Culture itself consists of a variety of definitions In 1978, Prosser defined culture as the traditions, customs, norms, beliefs, values, and thought patterning passed down from generation to generation This term was also further defined as a historically transmitted system of symbols and norms used by any symbol system that was bounded and salient to individuals Especially, in the book of Fred E Jandt (2001), culture refers to:

1 A community or population sufficiently large enough to be self-sustaining; or in other words, large enough to produce new generations of members without relying on outside peoples

2 The totality of that group’s thought, experiences, and patterns of behavior and its

concepts, values, and assumptions about life that guide behavior and how those evolve with contact with other cultures

3 A process of social transmission of these thoughts and behaviors over the course of generations

4 Members who consciously identify themselves with that group or the identification with and perceived acceptance into a group that has a shared system of symbols and meanings

as well as norms for conduct

Within culture, communication is defined as an important element and it has often been said that communication and culture are inseparable The notion was insisted by Alfred G Smith in his

preface to Communication and Culture that culture is a code we learn and share, and learning and

sharing require communication In fact, culture cannot be known without a study of communication, and communication can only be understood with an understanding of the culture it supports

However, there are still barriers to intercultural communication which generally include anxiety, assuming similarity instead of difference, ethnocentrism, stereotypes and prejudice, nonverbal misinterpretations, and language (Barna, 1997)

Furthermore, there have existed numerous definitions of culture shock for centuries;

however, according to the work of McLeod in 2008, some recent definitions of this term would be quoted as follows:

Authors Definition Terminology

Dulebohn

(1989)

“The [normal] psychological reaction caused byan immersion into an unfamiliar culture in whichthe sojourner’s cultural knowledge and behavioral learning is inappropriate” (p ii)

Culture shock

Dodd

(1991) “The transition period and the accompanying

feelings of stress and anxiety a person experiences during the early period upon entering a new culture” (p 305)

Culture shock

Anderson

(1994) A common process of environmental

adaptation that entails learning to live with change and difference

Change shock or cross-cultural adaptation

Weaver

(1994)

A psychological reaction to the new culture which manifests itself in various reactions to stress

Culture shock

Pedersen

(1995)

“An internalized construct or perspective developed in reaction or response to the new

or unfamiliar situation” (p vii)

Culture shock

McKinlay, Pattison &

Gross

(1996)

The array of experiences of international students in the host, foreign culture as they familiarize themselves with new customs oftentimes with the expectation of integration

Culture shock

Chapdelaine

& Alexitch

(2004)

“…the multiple demands for adjustment that individuals experience at the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social, and physiological levels, when they relocate to another culture” (p 168)

Culture shock

Hall (1981) and Althen (1994) also contend that foreigners who are able to effectively communicate with members of the host culture are not as acutely affected by culture shock as compared to those who lack language skill Confidence initiating contact with insight and

proficiency leads to a mutually beneficial exchange in which both parties learn, enjoy, and

ultimately pursue deeper relationships It is also strengthened by the belief in the importance of the length of time in the host country as an important factor in determining how effectively foreigner copes with culture shock Thus, it can be referred to the fact that the longer the residence in

Vietnam, the more positive the attitude, interaction, adjustment, and achievement a foreigner may achieve

3 METHODOLOGY

Participants

Two selected foreigners are my friend and colleague One is currently working as an English Teacher of Bac My International English School and the other is the professor of Raffles College They all have been in Vietnam for a long time and are all teachers of roughly the same age (25-35)

Paul Davidson Nicole Baudisch

Researcher

As an English teacher for two years, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture

to a great extent In particular, I devoted my efforts to learning the language, as I was convinced that this was best way to understand the culture and the people I was able to achieve an advanced proficiency level in English in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills In the research, my motivation is merely to provide background and context to the participants’ interview responses I made every effort to avoid over-generalizations and the creation or perpetuation of stereotypes by remaining aware of my own biases or perspectives

Interview

Two approximately ten-minute interviews were conducted primarily by me in English The individual informal format involved the use of a semi-structured, open-ended set of questions The location of the interviews was in the school’s training room and in a coffee shop and the

environment was comfortable for the participants The interviews were recorded in writing and were designed to conduct just in two personal meetings which require around 15 minutes for each

First interview

Interviewer’s full name: Pham Minh Trung

Interviewee’s full nam: Paul Davison

Nationality: British

Occupation: English Teacher

Place of work: Bac My International English School

1 How long have you been in Vietnam?

- 9 months

2 What are your cultural obstacles when you live in Vietnam?

- Being overcharged because of being unable to speak Vietnamese and negotiable

3 Do you overcome or fail to overcome those obstacles?

- Overcome (usually)

4 What are your method or tips to overcome them?

- Find out the real price of goods by looking in a supermarket or asking friends then refusing

to pay more than 10-15% above these prices.

5 May you tell an example of your most memorable shock experience?

- Paying twice the price for my motorbike because none of the stores would give me a fair

price as I’m foreign.

6 What is your opinion or lesson that you have after such culture experiences?

- If you are going to buy anything expensive, try to take someone Vietnamese with you.

Second interview

Interviewer’s full name: Pham Minh Trung

Interviewee’s full nam: Nicole Baudisch

Nationality: German

Occupation: University Professor

Place of work: Raffles College

1 How long have you been in Vietnam?

- More than one year

2 What are your cultural obstacles when you live in Vietnam?

- Well, I personally think the first obstacle is the language It is quite difficult for me to learn

and speak Traffic jam is something difficult for me in Vietnam since the movements of vehicles are beyond my imagination It’s also language that I have to pay a large sum of money for agency when I ask them to help me look for an apartment to stay They almost charge a higher amount than usual

3 Do you overcome or fail to overcome those obstacles?

- I did overcome

4 What are your method or tips to overcome them?

- Try to make several Vietnamese friends, also keep a good relationship with them and ask

them to give me more assistance when living in Vietnam

5 May you tell an example of your most memorable shock experience?

- I used to buy goods with higher value as I really do not know how to bargain for the true

price.

6 What is your opinion or lesson that you have after such culture experiences?

- When buying something, I will go online to search for the appropriate price in advance or I

can ask for opinions or ideas from my Vietnamese friends.

Findings

After conducting the two interviews, I realize the same perception and experience between the two participants even though they have different nationality and do not know each other Also, I work out some lessons and guidelines for effective communication for foreigners to overcome culture shock – especially in language shock

First of all, foreigners should start by assessing as accurately as possible the intercultural obstacles that exist, such as language and problems of communication in general More seriously, I Vietnam, they should be aware that what is explicitly said is not necessarily what is implicitly meant Thus, they should check, verify, or spend time on checking communication accuracy, especially when stakes are high Second, in many cases, interpreters may serve a crucial purpose as they may be transposers of meaning It is also necessary to make sure that they are truly loyal to the party who has hired them Third, it must be clearly appreciated that there is always a part of the language that cannot be translated

4 LIMITATION

As the research project is focused on the obstacles caused by communication and culture shock, it fails to profoundly analyze the influential factors of culture shock Moreover, the number of

participants in the research is limited; thus, it cannot reflect the whole situation of culture shock

References

Prosser, M H (1978) The Cultural Dialogue: An Introduction to Intercultural Communication

Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Collier, M J & Thomas, M (1988) Cultural Identity: An Interpretive Perspective International

and Intercultural Communication Annual, 12, 99-120

Smith, A G (1966) Communication and Culture: Readings in the Codes of Human Interaction

New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston

Barna, L M (1997) Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication In L.A Samovar & R E

Porter (Eds.), Intercultural Communication: A Reader (8th ed., pp 337-346) Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth

McLeod, K D (2008) A Qualitative Examination of Culture Shock and the Influential Factors Affecting Newly-Arrived Korean Students at Texas A&M University Ph.D Dissertation, Texas A&M University, United States Texas Retrieved January 26, 2010, from Dissertations & Theses: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection.( Publication No AAT 3321970)

Chapdelaine, R F., & Alexitch, L R (2004) Social Skills Difficulty: Model of Culture

Shock for International Graduate Students Journal of College Student Development, 45, 167-184 Hall, E T (1981) Beyond Culture New York: Doubleday.

Althen, G (Ed.) (1994) Learning Across Cultures Washington, DC: NAFSA, Association of

International Educators