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

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
(Nguyen Quang, 1999:130)

54


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 crosscultural 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
 Intralanguage

Nonverbal communication

 Paralanguage



- Vocabulary



- Vocal characteristics



- Grammatical rules



+ Pitch



- Phonetic & phonological
rules



+ Vocal quality



- Types of vocal flow



- Rules of language use and
interaction skills



- Vocal interferences



- Silence/ pauses



-……



- ….

 Extralanguage

+ Volumn + Rate

 Body language

 Object language

( Action of language/Kinesics)



 Environmental

language

(Artifacts)



- Eye contact - Facial expression



- Clothing



- Physical characteristics



- Jewellery



- Gestures - Postures





- Body movements



- Touch/ Haptics/ Tactile



- Setting - Conversational
distance

- Make- up



- Time/ Chronemics



- Gifts



- Lighting system



- …..



- 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 nonnative 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


Practice 2. Culture Shock: Timed Skimming Exercise
( />1. When does culture shock

Part 5: Culture Shock
You have read about Romulus and Remus
whose culture shock came when they went
back to the world of human beings after
being raised by a wolf. Tarzan's culture

shock came when he discovered that he
was not a "white ape" but a human being.

happen?
A. when you reach
your teens
B. when you move to a
big city
C. when you meet
foreign people for

Emily Carr preferred the culture of the First
Nations people and the life she led on her
explorations to the dresses and polite
conversations of her own culture. You now
know that First Nations culture did not
include school or even business activity,
people spent most of their time in nature or
around the fire of their home talking, telling
stories and making the things they needed
to

survive.

Psychologists tell us that there are four
basic stages that human beings pass
through when they enter and live in a new
culture. This process, which helps us to
deal with culture shock, is the way our
brain and our personality reacts to the

strange new things we encounter when we
move from one culture to another. If our

16

the first time
D. when you go to live
in a foreign culture
2. How do you feel during
the first stage of culture
shock?
A.

lonely and
depressed

B.

bored and
homesick

C.

happy and excited

D.

angry and
frustrated

3. How do you feel during
the second stage?
A.

homesick and
afraid

B.

interested and


culture involves bowing when we greet
someone, we may feel very uncomfortable

amused
C.

in a culture that does not involve bowing. If
the language we use when talking to

positive
D.

someone in our own culture is influenced
by levels of formality based on the other
person's age and status, it may be difficult

stressed, but

you have no
particular feelings

4. How could the third stage
be described?

for us to feel comfortable communicating

A.

adjustment

with

culture.

B.

rejection

Culture begins with the "honeymoon

C.

enthusiasm

stage". This is the period of time when we

D.

anger

people

in

the

new

first arrive in which everything about the

5. How do you feel during

new culture is strange and exciting. We

the fourth stage of culture

may be suffering from "jet lag" but we are

shock?

thrilled to be in the new environment,

A.

tense, but positive

seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and

B.

relaxed

language, eating new kinds of food. This

C.

negative and

honeymoon stage can last for quite a long
time because we feel we are involved in
some

kind

of

great

adventure.

stressed
D.

afraid

6. Why might reverse culture

Unfortunately, the second stage of culture

shock be a problem?

shock can be more difficult. After we have

A. It hardly ever

settled down into our new life, working or
studying, buying groceries, doing laundry,
or living with a home-stay family, we can
become very tired and begin to miss our
homeland

and

our

family,

girlfriend/boyfriend, pets. All the little

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happens.
B. It is extremely
stressful.
C. Most people do not
expect it.
D. It only happens to

problems that everybody in life has seem to

young people.

be much bigger and more disturbing when
you face them in a foreign culture. This
period of cultural adjustment can be very
difficult and lead to the new arrival
rejecting or pulling away from the new
culture. This "rejection stage" can be quite
dangerous because the visitor may develop
unhealthy habits (smoking and drinking too
much, being too concerned over food or
contact with people from the new culture).
This can, unfortunately lead to the person
getting sick or developing skin infections or
rashes which then makes the person feel
even more scared and confused and
helpless. This stage is considered a crisis in
the process of cultural adjustment and
many people choose to go back to their
homeland or spend all their time with
people from their own culture speaking
their

native

language.

The third stage of culture shock is called
the "adjustment stage". This is when you
begin to realize that things are not so bad in
the host culture. Your sense of humour
usually becomes stronger and you realize
that you are becoming stronger by learning
to take care of yourself in the new place.

4. The four basic stages of
culture shock are:
a. honeymoon,
rehearsal,
memorization,
return
b. honeymoon,
rejection,
adjustment, at ease
at last
c. honeymoon,
rejection, reverse, at
ease at last
d. honeymoon,
rehearsal, rejection,
at ease at last
5. Why would people in the
second stage of culture
shock choose to spend all
their time with people
from their homeland?
a. They are afraid to

risk being
uncomfortable with
strangers and it is
easier to stay with
people from their

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Things are still difficult, but you are now a
survivor!

own culture.
b. They are afraid of

The fourth stage can be called "at ease at

skin diseases and

last". Now you feel quite comfortable in

want to hide from

your new surroundings. You can cope with

contact with

most problems that occur. You may still

foreigners.

have problems with the language, but you

c. They feel that they

know you are strong enough to deal with

can learn the new

them. If you meet someone from your

language by

country who has just arrived, you can be

themselves and

the expert on life in the new culture and

don't need contact

help them to deal with their culture shock.

with people from

There is a fifth stage of culture shock which

the new culture.

many people don't know about. This is

called

"reverse

culture

shock".

Surprisingly, this occurs when you go back
to your native culture and find that you
have changed and that things there have
changed while you have been away. Now
you feel a little uncomfortable back home.
Life is a struggle!

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d. They are only
interested in going
home.


CHAPTER 2: CULTURE IMPACTS ON NON – VERBAL
COMMUNICATION
2.1. Understanding non-verbal communication
Lustig

(1996:187-188)

defines

“nonverbal

communication

is

a

multichanneled process that is usually performed simultaneously; it
typically involves a subtle set of nonlinguistic behaviors that are often
enacted subconsciously. Nonverbal behaviors can become part of the
communication process when someone intentionally tries to convey a
message or when someone attributes meaning to the nonverbal behavior
of another, whether or not the person intend to communicate a particular
meaning”.
Hybel (1992, 104) states “without saying a word you could be
communicating by your clothing, your facial expressions, your posture, or
any other number of nonverbal signals”.
According to Nguyen Quang (2004, 226), nonverbal communication
refers to “all the components of the message that, when taken together,
constitute the communication which is not verbally coded but both
vocally and nonvocally channeled. Nonverbal communication is
composed of paralinguistic factors (nonverbal-vocal channel), such as
rate, volume, etc., and extralinguistic factors (nonverbal-nonvocal
channel), such as body language (gestures, postures, facial expression,
etc), object language, environment language”.

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