Teachers notes Part 1: Difficulties in culture understanding

Introduction to the task: Talk to your students about the predictable difficulties a person can actually face when either being in a different culture or dealing with members of a different ethnic group outside their culture. Jot down -on the board- ideas that can be generated by the whole-class discussion. (Dont spend over 10 minutes in this discussion.)

Part 2: Defining concepts

Divide the class in pairs for a discussion on what a culture shock is and what a culture bump means. Provide your students with one of the two cards below, so they can take turns explaining what the concepts are to each other. Ask your students to read the definition, but not to their partners. That is, have students explain the concepts to each other. Try to relate these concepts to the students experiences by asking them to share what has happened to them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXT 1A Culture shock, by H. Douglas Brown

Culture shock is a common experience for a person learning a second language in a second culture. Culture shock refers to phenomena ranging from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis. Culture shock is associated with feelings in the learner of estrangement, anger, hostility, indecision, frustration, unhappiness, sadness, loneliness, homesickness, and even physical illness. The person undergoing culture shock views his new world out of resentment, and alternates between being angry at others for not understanding him, and being filled with self-pity.
(Abridged from) Brown, H. Douglas. Principles of Langue Learning and Teaching. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1980: 28 Taken from: Anderson, K. et al. (2004) Study Speaking. Cambridge, CUP

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXT 1B Culture bumps, by Carol M. Archer

Certain situations (e.g., arriving late for class) exist in al but a few cultures, and each culture develops particular responses that are labeled polite for these situations: for example, North American culture teaches university students who are late for class to enter quietly without knocking and sit down, while Chinese culture teaches university students to knock, offer an explanation, and wait for the teachers permission to enter. A culture bump occurs when an individual has expectations of one behavior and gets something completely different. The unexpected behavior can be negative or neutral or positive. Unlike culture shock, which extends over an extended period of time, culture bumps are instantaneous, usually within minutes or even seconds, though the effect may be long-lasting, and can occur any time one is in contact with members of a different culture.
(Abridged from) Archer, Carol M. Culture bump and beyond. Culture Bound. Ed. J. Valdes. London: Cambridge University Press, 1986: 171 Taken from: Anderson, K. et al. (2004) Study Speaking. Cambridge, CUP

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Difficulties in culture understanding: Ron Madisons Case Study Jonathan Acua: jonacuso@gmail.com

Teachers notes Part 3: How do we solve problems?

Part A. Provide each of your students with a card like this, so they can refer themselves back to the terms being introduced, and for them to decide which the best way to solve the problem is. Scaffold their understanding by providing some examples on how to use the heuristic or systematic approach to finding solutions.

How do we solve problems?

A problem consists of a set of information and a question (or questions) to answer. To solve the problems provided (in our case study), we must use the information in a certain way to search for a method of solution. The important thing is to have a strategy that will lead to the solution.

Data Process Solution

There are several ways problems may be approached. A term that is used a lot is heuristic (from Greek meaning to find), and it refers to trial and error methods. Alternative methods depend on being systematic (finding solutions in an organized way). When people are solving problems, they may use the methods given above.
(Taken and abridged from) Butterworth, J. et al. (2005) Thinking Skills. Cambridge: CUP

Sample problem: A traveler in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean is asked how the meal he was served was. Along with his answers he used a hand gesture like the one below. This caused a heated discussion in the restaurant, and the traveler got insulted. What happened? Which problem solving method is the best to solve the problem?

ANSWER: This gesture means a really bad insult in the Cayman Islands.

Part 4: Solving a case study

Instructions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Go online and access http://bin-14.blogspot.com/, and click on CASE STUDY 4. Start with Part 1: Ron Madisons case. Read the information. Decide on how to approach the problem. Discuss the questions provided on the case study with a partner or partners. Download the chart for case analysis available at the end of the exercise.

Difficulties in culture understanding: Ron Madisons Case Study Jonathan Acua: jonacuso@gmail.com