跨文化交际上课内容unit9.doc

Unit Nine Intercultural AdaptationI. Warm UpPlease read the story on page 298 . What can we learn from this case about the Japanese culture?II. Culture ShockRead the article “Adapting to a New Culture” (p299-304). What is culture shock? How to adapt to a new culture?Culture shock can be described as the feeling of confusion and disorientation that one experiences when faced with a large number of new and unfamiliar people and situations. (from College English, 2005,14th,10)当人们去到一个与自己原来的文化迥异的地方时，绝大多数人都会经历一种心理上的迷惑，这就是文化冲击。 Robert Kohls（Survival Kit for Overseas Living)1. Culture shock, or the early adaptation phase of transitioning into a new culture, refers to the transition period and the accompanying feelings of stress and anxiety a person experiences during the early period upon entering a new culture.2. Symptoms of culture shock: physiological, emotional, communication. (p299)3. Causes to culture shock: Culture shock is caused by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols or social contact.4. Will culture shock affect everyone who enters a new country? Is there any individual differences? Why? Individuals differ greatly in the degree in which culture shock affects them. The severity of culture shock depends on peoples personalities, language ability, emotional support, and duration of stay停留时间. It is also influenced by the extent of differences between the two cultures.5. Forms of culture shock(1) Language shock (2) Role shock (3) Transition shock (4) Cultural Fatigue (5) Education Shock(6) Adjustment Stress(7) Culture Distance Keep in mind : First, most people experience some degree of culture shock when they go to a new country. Second, culture shock passes with time. 6. Four stages in getting used to life in a new country:1) Euphoria欢快: the first stage when everything seems wonderful with great happiness, a sort of honeymoon period. 2) Depression, or culture shock: the stage despair when people tend to be very critical of the country theyve moved to, blaming it for their problems.3) Adjustment: the stage when people become better at coping with their new situation and feel happier and more confident.4) Acceptance: the stage when people finally get used to the new way of life.Read Case 33 on p317-319 and identify the different stages revealed in each letter.U-curve patternW-curve Pattern7. how to cope with culture shock and adapt to a new culture: (p303-304)When one is experiencing culture shock, the best thing to do is to admit that he/she is experiencing culture shock, try to identify your stage of culture shock, and work toward becoming more familiar with the new culture.(1) Do not become over-reactionary.保守(2) Meet new people.(3) Try new things.(4) Give yourself periods of rest and thought.(5) Work on your self-concept.(6) Write.(7) Observe body language.(8) Learn the verbal language.8. Two views of culture shock (p306-308)1. the disease view:1) The culture-shocked person experiences a breakdown in communication, is unable to cope, and feels isolated and lost, thus develops a number of defensive attitudes and behaviors to protect the mind from the confusion of an entirely new situation.2) In this disease view, the culture-shocked person is a helpless victim; the only things to do are to adjust to the new culture somehow or to leave the culture quickly.3) In this view, people can experience many different emotional and mental difficulties. The culture-shocked person may start to glorify赞美 the home country; people can become physically ill from the stress of culture shock.2. the self-awareness自我意识 view:1) Culture shock can be part of a positive learning experience. Culture shock, if handled well, can lead to profound self-awareness and growth.2) Learn a second language, observe different customs, and encounter new values.3) Enable people to gain insight into their own society; develop a deeper understanding of themselves and of the society that helped to shape their characters; provide a mirror in which ones own culture is reflected. The major difference of these two views is in the attitude of a person towards culture shock.III. Intercultural Adaptation1. Intercultural adaptation refers broadly to the process of increasing our level of fitness to meet the demands of a new cultural environment.2. Read the article “Overcoming Ethnocentrism in Communication” (p309-313).1) In intercultural communication we tend to use the categories of our own culture to judge and interpret the behaviors of the others who are culturally different from us. These ethnocentric impressions predispose us to evaluate others negatively. When communicators engage in mutual互相的 negative evaluation, the communication event may deteriorate恶化 even further. With each turn of this regressive spiral螺旋向下, negative evaluations否定评价 are intensified.2) Examples: American-Japanese; American-Nigerian; American-Thai; American-British;3) How to overcome ethnocentrism:We can overcome ethnocentrism by approaching every cross-cultural situation as a kind of experiment. Using available generalizations 概括about the other culture, we can formulate制定 a hypothesis假设 and then test it for accuracy. As more knowledge of relevant