Đề tài nghiên cứu khoa học cấp trường: Compiling teaching supplementary materials for cross – cultural communication course for english major students at vietnam maritime university

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The aims of this study are to: Research and summarize the information from many cross- cultural communication books to compile teaching supplementary materials for English major students at VMU. Collect and arrange some cross- cultural communication exercises to help students deal with the new theory actively.

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Nội dung Text: Đề tài nghiên cứu khoa học cấp trường: Compiling teaching supplementary materials for cross – cultural communication course for english major students at vietnam maritime university

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÀNG HẢI VIỆT NAM KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ THUYẾT MINH ĐỀ TÀI NCKH CẤP TRƯỜNG ĐỀ TÀI COMPILING TEACHING SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR CROSS – CULTURAL COMMUNICATION COURSE FOR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT VIETNAM MARITIME UNIVERSITY (Xây dựng tài liệu giảng dạy bổ trợ môn Giao tiếp giao văn hóa cho sinh viên chuyên ngữ trường Đại học Hàng Hải Việt Nam) Chủ nhiệm đề tài: Ths. Nguyễn Thị Thúy Thu Hải Phòng, tháng 5/2016
CONTENT INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 1. Rationale .................................................................................................. 1 2. Aims of the study .................................................................................... 1 3. Significance of the study ......................................................................... 1 4. Methodology of the study........................................................................ 2 5. Scope of the study ................................................................................... 3 6. Design of the study .................................................................................. 3 DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING CROSS – CULTURAL COMMUNICATION........................................................................................ 4 1.1. Definition of culture ............................................................................... 4 1.1.1. Language .......................................................................................... 4 1.1.2. Culture .............................................................................................. 4 1.1.3. The components of culture ............................................................... 6 1.2. Definition of Communication ................................................................. 7 1.3. Communication competence (CC) ......................................................... 8 1.4. The definition of cross-cultural communication .................................... 9 1.5. Culture shock and how to avoid culture shock? ................................... 10 1.5.1. Culture schock? Why culture shock? ............................................. 10 1.5.2. Main factors creating culture shock ............................................... 12 1.5.3. How culture - shock: From honey moon to Culture shock to integration ................................................................................................. 12 1.5.4. How to cope with culture shock? ................................................... 14 1.6. Practice.................................................................................................. 15 CHAPTER 2: CULTURE IMPACTS ON NON – VERBAL COMMUNICATION...................................................................................... 20
2.1. Understanding non-verbal communication .......................................... 20 2.2. The importance of nonverbal communication ...................................... 21 2.3. Types of nonverbal communication ..................................................... 22 2.3.1. Gestures .......................................................................................... 22 2.3.2. Postures ........................................................................................... 29 2.4. Cross-cultural nonverbal communication and culture shock ............... 31 CHAPTER 3:CULTURE IMPACTS ON VERBAL COMMUNICATION . 33 3.1. Addressing forms in Vietnamese language and culture ....................... 33 3.1.1. Circular Relationship ...................................................................... 34 3.1.2. Horizontal Relationship- Type 1 .................................................... 34 3.1.4. Dynamic Relationships ................................................................... 36 3.1.5. The dynamic relationship-type II ................................................... 38 3.1.6.The variant of circular relationship. ................................................ 39 3.2. Addressing forms in English - American language and culture........... 40 3.2.1. Addressing forms in English - American ....................................... 40 3.2.2. Terms of affection .......................................................................... 42 3.3. Objectiveness and Subjectiveness ........................................................ 43 3.3.1. Definition of objectiveness and subjective..................................... 43 3.3.2. Objectiveness and Subjectiveness in defining the space ................ 43 3.3.3. Subjective and objective in pragmatics .......................................... 44 3.4. Directness and indirectness .................................................................. 45 3.4.1. Directness ....................................................................................... 45 3.4.2. Indirectness ..................................................................................... 46 3.5. Politeness .............................................................................................. 49 3.5.1.What is politeness? .......................................................................... 49 3.5.2.What is FTA?................................................................................... 50 3.5.3. Speech atcs ..................................................................................... 51 3.5.4. Politeness principles ....................................................................... 52 3.5.5. Politeness strategies ........................................................................ 53
3.5.6. Bald on record – without redressive action .................................... 54 3.5.7. Positive politeness strategies .......................................................... 55 3.5.8. Negative politeness strategies ........................................................ 57 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 61 1. Major findings ....................................................................................... 61 2. Implications for English language teaching .......................................... 61 3. Limitations ............................................................................................. 64 4. Further study.......................................................................................... 64 REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 65 In English ..................................................................................................... 65 In Vietnamese .............................................................................................. 66 Website ........................................................................................................ 67
LIST OF FIGURES IN THE STUDY LIST OF FIGURES PAGE Figure 1: Levine and adalman’s iceburg of culture 7 Figure 2: Classification of Communication 8 Figure 3: W-shaped diagram of culture shock 13 Figure 4: Circular Relationship 34 Figure 5: Horizontal Relationship- Type 2. Nguyen 36 Quang (1999:165) Figure 6: Dynamic relationship type-I 37 Figure 7: Dynamic relationship type-II 38 Figure 8: Dynamic relationship type-II cited in Nguyen 39 Quang (1999:175) Figure 9: Variant of circular relationship. 40 Figure 10: Possible strategies for doing FTAs (Brown 53 and Levinson, 1987) Figure 11: Strategies to minimize risk of losing face 54 (Nguyen Quang, 1999:130)
INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale As stated by Nguyen Quang (1998)“ in communication, only language is not enough, behind and deep under it, following many tacit rules, are culture, belief, attitude, norms, values, etc. Each country has its own culture”. Cross- cultural communication (CCC) is not a new subject in most universities nationwide; and it is an interesting and challenging subject. Materials for this subject are various; however, choosing one course book seems to be not enough for students to understand well many differences and similarities between the two cultures and two countries. Therefore, the author decided to do a research on compiling teaching supplementary materials for Cross-cultural communication course for English major students at Vietnam Maritime University (VMU). 2. Aims of the study The aims of this study are to: - Research and summarize the information from many cross- cultural communication books to compile teaching supplementary materials for English major students at VMU. - Collect and arrange some cross- cultural communication exercises to help students deal with the new theory actively. 3. Significance of the study It is impossible to separate language from culture when communicating and teaching a foreign language especially at higher level as well. That is the reason why culture learning should always go hand in hand with language learning. In the world, studying about cross culture communication is varied and abundant. Many books written about cross- cultural studies, each of these supplies huge knowledge about culture 1
definitions, culture shock, cross-culture communication, and many other aspects of this field, can be Politeness of Brown and Levinson; Intercultural communication of R Scollon, SW Scollon, 1; or Languages and Gestures of McNeill, David; Gestures: the do's and taboos of body language around the world of Axtell, Roger E. In Vietnam, cross-cultural studies are recognized well enough with a lot of books such as Intercultural communication and Cross –culture communication for ELT written by Nguyen Quang, Doing business in Vietnam: a cultural guide by Esmond D. Smith Jr. and Cuong Pham. The cross- cultural communication course book for English major students at VMU is Beyond Language Intercultural Communication for English as a Second Language written by Deena R. Levine & Mara B. Adelman, Prentice Hall Regents (1982). This book indicates the main aspects of cross – cultural communication but it does not include the comparing and contrasting analysis between English culture and Vietnamese culture. Moreover, according to the syllabus of Cross-cultural communication subject (see the appendix), students have to do self-study at home to deeply understand what they have learnt in class. Therefore, the author would like to compile teaching supplementary materials to give more information about culture differences and similarities between English and Vietnamese to help students master the language they are learning and be aware of its cultural background. 4. Methodology of the study The method of this study is: - The main method of this study is the contrastive methodology. - Researching relevant materials - Consulting with Professors of cross-cultural studies - Discussing with English and Vietnamese colleagues 2
5. Scope of the study The author will investigate a number of references materials to build teaching supplementary materials for cross cultural communication course for English major students at Vietnam Maritime University. 6. Design of the study The study is divided into 3 parts: Part I - Introduction includes rationale, aims of the study, methodology of the study, the significant and the organization of the study. Part II – Development is the main and covers the following aspects: Chapter 1: Understanding cross-cultural communication; Chapter 2: Non-Verbal communication in the light of cross-cultural communication; Chapter 3: Verbal communication in the light of cross-cultural communication Part III- Conclusion is the summary of the study, and the suggestions for further research. 3
DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING CROSS – CULTURAL COMMUNICATION 1.1. Definition of culture 1.1.1. Language Language is considered to be a mean of human communication formed from such linguistic units as morphemes, words, sentences. Supporting that point of view, Crystal (1992: 212) states, language is “the systematic, conventional use of sounds, signs, or written symbols in a human society for communication and self-expression”. Therefore, people use language to communicate, to pass their achievements from generation to generation, language is a tool by which people are most frequently judged, and through which they may make or lose friends. It is "the vehicle par-excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of business" (M. Bygate, 1987: 3). 1.1.2. Culture Unlike language, culture does not contain fixed rules. It is different from society to society and even from individual to individual. What is right in one culture may not be right in another culture. Culture, in Moore’s words (1985:4), is “the whole of the knowledge, ideas and habits of society that are transmitted from one generation to the next.” It is more powerful than instinct. Apte (1994), writing in the ten volume Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistic, propose the following definition: “Culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioral conventions, and basic assumptions and values that are shared by a group of people, and that influence each member’s behavior and his/her interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of the other people’s behavior.” Moore (1985:4) also claims the following components of culture, which are 4
“beliefs, values, norms, roles, role conflict, and status.” R.A.Hudson (1982:81) regards culture as “the kind of knowledge” involving cultural knowledge, shared-non-cultural knowledge, and non-shared-knowledge “which we learn from other people, either by direct instruction or by watching their behavior.” In other words, culture is the set of values and ways of acting that mark a particular society. Culture, as stated by Nguyen Quang (1998: 3), is “a share background (for example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, custom, beliefs, attitudes, and values. Culture in this text does not refer to art, music, literature, food, clothing styles, and so on. It refers to the informal and often hidden patterns of human interactions, expressions, and viewpoints that people in one culture share. The hidden nature of culture has been compared to an iceberg, most of which is hidden underwater! Like the iceberg most of the influence of culture on an individual cannot be seen. The part of culture that is exposed is not always that which creates cross-cultural difficulties; the hidden aspects of culture have significant effects on behavior and on interactions with others”. No culture is good or bad, cultures are equal but different. There is a famous quote of Mahatma Gandhi that goes “no culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.” Culture does not belong to any single person but to all people. Nguyen Quang in his “Lectures-notes on cross-cultural communication” (2004: 31) also describes culture as “a complex whole of tangible and intangle expressions that are created and adapted by a society or a social group as well as that ways it functions and reacts in given situations.” What can be seen from these points of view is that the language of a community is a part or a manifestation of its culture as Goodenogh’s word “the relationship of language to culture is that of part to whole.” Language and communication modality (verbal, gesture, written) are 5
examples of elements that form and shape a culture. Kramch-Troike (1998:3) clarifies the corelation between language and culture by emphasizing three functions of language related to culture. They are “expressing cultural reality, embodying cultural reality and symbolizing cultural reality”. What we can see that culture and language are closely interrelated and interwoven. R.A.Hudson (1982: 81) argues“As for the relation between language and culture, most of language is contained within culture”. Obviousely, the close relationship between language and culture plays a very important part in communication. It is impossible to separate language from culture when communicating. 1.1.3. The components of culture According to Stephen Moore (1985:4), the components of culture can be defined as the followings: Belief: These are general, vague opinions held about the world and about the nature of society. Values: These are vague beliefs about what is right and correct in the world. Norms: These are socially expected patterns of behavior. Roles: Social roles are patterns of behavior expected of certain people according to the occupation or position they hold in society. Role conflict: These are innumerable social roles: father, mother, child, and shopkeeper. All of us occupy a number of roles, which are generally complementary, but sometimes they may conflict. Status: this refers to the position of a person or social role in society according to the amount of prestige received from others. According to Nguyen Quang (1998:4), the iceburg of culture includes visible part of culture and invisible part of culture: + Visible part of culture: Appearance, food, language, etc. 6
+ Invisible part of culture: values, beliefs, perceptions, communication styles. Figure 1: Levine and adalman’s iceburg of culture(Nguyen Quang, 1998) 1.2. Definitions of Communication According to Nguyen Quang (1998: 3), communication is the process of sharing meaning through verbal and nonverbal behavior. “Communication, then, is vital to our lives. To live is to communicate” (Hybels, 1992:5). Communication is “a symbolic process in which people create shared meanings” (Lustig, 1996:29). “Human communication is a conscious or unconscious, intentional, or unintentional process in which feelings and ideas are expressed in verbal and non verbal messages”.( Berko,1989:4) “Communication is any process in which people share information, ideas, and feelings. That process involves not only the spoken and written word, but also body language, personal mannerism and style” (Hybels, 1992:5). 7
- Classification of Communication can be seen in Nguyen Quang chart as below: COM M UNICATION  Verbal communication Nonverbal communication  Intralanguage  Paralanguage  Extralanguage  - Vocabulary  - Vocal characteristics  - Grammatical rules  + Pitch + Volumn + Rate  - Phonetic & phonological  + Vocal quality rules  - Types of vocal flow  - Rules of language use and  - Vocal interferences interaction skills  - Silence/ pauses  -……  - ….  Body language  Object language  Environmental ( Action of language/Kinesics)  (Artifacts) language  - Eye contact - Facial expression  - Clothing  - Setting - Conversational  - Physical characteristics  - Jewellery distance  - Gestures - Postures  - Make- up  - Time/ Chronemics  - Body movements  - Gifts  - Lighting system  - Touch/ Haptics/ Tactile  - …..  - Colour - Heat Figure 2: Classification of Communication (Nguyen Quang,1998) 1.3. Communication competence (CC) “CC is defined as the ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of a language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but also to know when and where to use these sentences and to whom.” (Longman dictionary of Applied linguistic, 1985:49) Together with these ideas, Wardhaugh (1989:213) suggests: “When we teach a language like English to speakers who already know another language, we must aware that we have to teach more than new sounds, words, and grammatical structures, etc”. 8
CC involves the understanding of cultural, social knowledge and other skills of interaction. CC includes: - “Knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of the language. - Knowledge of rules of speaking (e.g: knowing how to begin and end conversation, knowing what topics may be talked about in different types of speech events, knowing address forms should be used with different people and in different situations). - Knowing how to use and respond to different types of speech acts, such as requests, apologizes, thanks, and invitations. - Knowing how to use English appropriately” (J. Richards et al- 1985:49) In J.Richards’ opinion, he also adds: “When someone wishes to communicate with others, they must recognize the social setting, their relationship to the other person, and the types of language can be used for a particular occasion. They must also be able to interpret written or spoken sentences within the total context in which they are used”(J.Richard, 49). CC is essential in cross-cultural communication. It includes notion of language, culture, and thought. 1.4. Definitions of cross-cultural communication According to Nguyen Quang (1998:3): “Communication (verbal or nonverbal) between people from different cultures; communication that is influenced and cultural values, attitudes and behavior: the influence of culture on people’ reactions and responses to each other.” Cross-cultural communication can be defined as “an awareness that specific cultural and/or social and/or linguistic and/or economic and/or historical and/or gender-based differences matter in cross-cultural interaction, demonstrated through appropriately shaping one’s discourse with individuals of different backgrounds from one’s own” (www.global-workforce.globalization.org). 9
“The phrase cross-cultural communication describes the ability to successfully form, foster, and improve relationships with members of a culture different from one's own. It is based on knowledge of many factors, such as the other culture's values, perceptions, manners, social structure, and decision-making practices, and an understanding of how members of the group communicate--verbally, non-verbally, in person, in writing, and in various business and social contexts, to name but a few. Like speaking a foreign language or riding a bicycle, cross-cultural communication involves a skill component that may best be learned and mastered through instruction and practice: simply reading about it is not enough”(www.ewbs.com). Or cross-cultural communication can be understood in a more simple way: “Cross-cultural communication (also frequently referred to as intercultural communication, which is also used in a different sense, though) is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they endeavour to communicate across cultures” (en.wikipedia.org). 1.5. Culture shock and how to avoid culture shock? 1.5.1. Culture shock? Why culture shock? Culture shock or communication breakdown may happen when a person learns a second language in a second culture or s/he moves to live in another cultural environment. Culture shock in H.Douglas Brown’s opinion, refers “to a phenomena ranging from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis” when entering a new culture. And George M.Foster (1962:87) uses more terms to describe culture shock: “Culture- shock is a mental illness, and as it is true of much mental illness, the victim usually does not know he is affected. He finds that he is 10
irritable, depressed, and probably annoyed by the lack of attention shown him.” Culture shock in H.Douglas Brown’s opinion, refers “to a phenomena ranging from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis” when entering a new culture. Culture shock results from different values, perceptions, norms that lead to the different inference as well as misinterpretation in both verbal and non-verbal communication. However, how about culture shock happening between native and non- native speakers of a language, and of Vietnamese in particular, because of unawareness of cultural differences. “Communication breakdown” between them is unavoidable. Culture shock results from different values, perceptions, norms that lead to the different inference as well as misinterpretation in both verbal and non-verbal communication. For example in the way of using address forms: Vietnamese students often call: “teacher, blah, blah, blah”. But the word “teacher” is just a job, and there is more to that person than just his/her job. So it sounds impolite, and the teacher may tell the student “my name is not Teacher, you can call me Mrs. Mary…” Moreover, in the Vietnamese culture, when asking such questions as “Are you married?”, “how old are you?”, “How much do you earn a month?” people simply want to show their concern to the others, to make the distance between interactants closer and friendlier; thus, to enhance solidarity. In contrast, in English, people do not always do so. Those questions can be considered too acquisitive, since they respect interactant’s privacy. So concerning questions about other’s age, earning, marital status etc are not appropriate in the English initial conversation. Or in the other word, unawareness of different roles the speaker and hearer might play namely age, social distance, work power, and 11
relationship, marital status, education as well. Using wrong language in wrong circumstances can cause culture shock. 1.5.2. Main factors creating culture shock Unawareness of cross-cultural differences, i.e. different cultures may have difference values, perceptions, cultural thought patterns, belief, etc. Unawareness of different roles the speaker and hearer might play namely age, social distance, work power, and relationship, marital status, education as well. Moreover, it should be noted that the length of time knowing each other can determine the language used in communication. Using wrong language in wrong circumstances can cause culture shock. 1.5.3. How culture - shock: From honey moon to Culture shock to integration H.Douglas Brown (1986:33) suggests the term “acculturation” which is defined as the process of becoming adapted to a new culture. It is common knowledge that entering a new culture for a length of time involves a period and in a number of stages. Levin and Adelman in their book Beyond Language: Intercultural Communication for English as a Second Language (1982) present a W-shaped diagram that illustrates periods of adjustment in a second culture: 12
Figure 3: W-shaped diagram of culture shock (Nguyen Quang,1998b) “Honey moon stage: When you first arrive in a new culture, differences are intriguing and you may feel excited, stimulated and curious. At this stage you are still protected by the close memory of your home culture. This is a period of excitement, fascination, bewilderment, of discovery and inquisitiveness, curiosity and amazement. Culture-shock: A little later, differences create an impact and you may feel confused, isolated or inadequate as cultural differences intrude and familiar supports (eg family or friends) are not immediately available. Those initially exciting cultural differences may now cause you to feel insecure or confused, as you struggle to understand the rules of the new culture you find yourself in. At this stage, the reality of day-to-day living begins to sink-in. The individual is totally immersed in new sets of problems. You are confronted by the daily problems of living in a different culture and trying to communicate in a foreign language. You became mentally tired from all the effort involved in understanding and copying. 13
Initial adjustment: You may consciously or unconsciously also be assessing your own cultural values and trying to make sense of them in your new cultural context. You are reconnecting with what you value about yourself and your own culture. You are starting to feel less alien and more at home. Mental isolation: After being away from your family, friends, and familiar environment, you begin to feel lonely. You miss the music, the native places of attraction, or even your spouse, and you long for news from home. You begin to suffer from nostalgia, especially if the social status you had in your original culture is not realized in the new country. Even though you are able to live in the new culture without any problem, you still feel inadequate and have lost self-confidence. Acceptance and integration or abandonment: You have accepted the habits, customs, foods and behaviors of the people in this new culture” (Levine, D.et al – cited from Nguyen Quang – 1998b) 1.5.4. How to cope with culture shock? B.Tomalin and Stempleski suggested on the following encompassed qualities, which would be useful in cross-cultural interaction: + Awareness of one’s own culturally induced behavior. + Awareness of the culturally induced behavior of others. + Ablity to explain one’s cultural standpoint. In order to avoid culture shock or communication breakdown, awareness of cross-culture differences as well as of our own culture should be promoted and enhanced. This does not mean our culture identities are lost but more cultural influences are regconized within ourselves and others. 14
1.6. Practice Practice 1: In My Culture It’s Normal In my country it is normal/polite/impolite/rude/strange: 1. To shake hands when we meet someone for the first time. 2. To kiss on both cheeks when we greet or say goodbye to a friend 3. To take someone out to dinner (pay for dinner) for his birthday or when he gets a promotion 4. To be a little late to meet friends 5. To be a little minutes late to work or to business meetings 6. To spit in public 7. To call most people by their first names 8. To ask people their ethnicity or nationality when you meet them for the first time 9. To sing in public 10. For women in the family to make important decisions like which school to send children to, how to spend money, etc… 11. For men to cook, clean or do other household work 12. To interrupt people when talking 13. To give gifts to teachers, doctors, government officials, bosses for students to wear suits or dresses or formal clothing 14. To invite people to your home 15. To ask guests to leave when it gets late or if you are busy 16. To serve guests only drinks and chips or small snacks 17. To disagree with older people or people who are more powerful than you 18. To give up your seat for older people or women 19. To get promoted to a much higher position than your family or friends. 15