Phases of culture shock

found this on wikipedia it was pretty interesting and i think it has a really good explanation on the Phases, stages and symptomsof culture shock:

Enthusiastic welcome offered to the first Indian student to arrive in Dresden, Germany (1951)

The shock (of moving to a foreign country) often consists of distinct phases, though not everyone passes through these phases and not everyone is in the new culture long enough to pass through all three^[1]:

• Honeymoon Phase - During this period the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light, wonderful and new. For example, in moving to a new country, an individual might love the new foods, the pace of the life, the people's habits, the buildings and so on. During the first few weeks most people are fascinated by the new culture. They associate with the nationals that speak their language and are polite to the foreigners. This period is full of observations and new discoveries. Like many honeymoons this stage eventually ends.^[2]
• Negotiation Phase - After some time (usually weeks), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety. One may long for food the way it is prepared in one's native country, may find the pace of life too fast or slow, may find the people's habits annoying, disgusting, and irritating etc. This phase is often marked by mood swings caused by minor issues or without apparent reason. This is where excitement turns to disappointment and more and more differences start to occur.^[3] Depression is not uncommon.
• Adjustment Phase - Again, after some time (usually 6 – 12 months), one grows accustomed to the new culture and develops routines. One knows what to expect in most situations and the host country no longer feels all that new. One becomes concerned with basic living again, and things become more "normal".One starts to develop problem-solving skills for dealing with the culture, and begins to accept the culture ways with a positive attitude. The culture begins to make sense, and negative reactions and responses to the culture are reduced. Reaching this stage requires a constructive response to culture shock with effective means of adaption.^[4]

Also, Reverse Culture Shock (a.k.a. Re-entry Shock) may take place — returning to one's home culture after growing accustomed to a new one can produce the same effects as described above. This results from the psychosomatic and psychological consequences of the readjustment process to the primary culture.^[5] The affected person often finds this more surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock.

There are three basic outcomes of the Adjustment Phase:

• Some people find it impossible to accept the foreign culture and integrate. They isolate themselves from the host country's environment, which they come to perceive as hostile, withdraw into a ghetto and see return to their own culture as the only way out. These Rejectors also have the greatest problems re-integrating back home after return. Approximately 60% of expatriates behave in this way.
• Some people integrate fully and take on all parts of the host culture while losing their original identity. They normally remain in the host country forever. Approximately 10% of expatriates belong to this group of Adopters.
• Some people manage to adapt the aspects of the host culture they see as positive, while keeping some of their own and creating their unique blend. They have no major problems returning home or relocating elsewhere. Approximately 30% of expatriates are these so-called Cosmopolitans.

The process of cultural adjustment, which is also known as the U-shaped curve of cultural adjustment, encompasses five distinct stages:

• Stage 1: The feeling of excitement and eagerness. This stage occurs before leaving to go to the new culture.
• Stage 2: The feeling that everything in the new culture is great. This stage occurs upon arrival to the new culture.
• Stage 3: The feeling of everything in the new culture is terrible.
• Stage 4: The feeling of adjustment. The stage where the visitor begins to feel comfortable and takes steps to become more familiar with the culture.
• Stage 5: The feeling that everything is fine. The stage where the visitor has adapted to the culture and in some ways is embracing it as their own.

Culture shock is a state of dis-ease, just like a disease. It has many different effects, time spans, and degrees of severity^[6]. Many people are handicapped by its presence and don't recognize what is bothering them. Culture shock symptoms are really hard to seclude.

Culture shock is a subcategory of a more universal construct called transition shock. Transition shock is a state of loss and disorientation predicated by a change in one's familiar environment which requires adjustment. There are many symptoms of transition shock, some which include:

• excessive concern over cleanliness and health
• feelings of helplessness and withdrawal
• irritability
• glazed stare
• desire for home and old friends
• physiological stress reactions

There are no fixed symptoms ascribed to culture shock as each person is affected differently.

Sociocultural Influences on Learning and Teaching

Speaking of culture, as we are studying to become teachers this might be interesting for us future teachers to know.
The child’s earlier experiences and what he had already learned is very important, as the child had picked up his community’s rules and family’s cultural beliefs. He has learned what is considered appropriate and what isn’t in his community.
Teaching styles also differ accordingly to cultural differences. There is no proof that teachers of a similar cultural background to the students’ will perform better at their job than a teacher of a different cultural background. Although it is for certain, that all teachers benefit from greater tolerance to differences and an open mind towards other cultures.
So look at the bright side girls, differences aren't always a bad thing as we can learn new things from them!

Culture shock is temporary.

How to describe a culture shock? It's simply a common term to describe the misunderstanding and nervous feelings a person may have after leaving his own culture to live in a new and different one. When you move to a new place, you're forced to face a lot of changes and sometimes difficulties. That can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. You may feel sad, anxious, frustrated, and want to go home.

It's natural to have difficulty to get used to a new culture. People from other cultures (whom you'll be hanging out with and going to school with) may have grown up with values and beliefs that differ from yours. Because of these differences, the things they talk about, the ways they express themselves, and the importance of various ideas may be very different from what you are used to. But the good news is that culture shock is temporary.

Culture Shock.. what is it exactly?

I've collected some points concerning culture shock, please feel free to comment:

• Culture shock exactly means the impact you may feel when you enter a culture very different from one to which you are accustomed.
• Culture shock is common among immigrants and foreign students. No matter how well you are prepared, there are many things in a culture that you cannot find in books. This is not simply about meeting new and unexpected things, but also failing to meet what you would never have believed would be missing from any culture. Differences in nonverbal communication and unwritten rules play a large part.

If one has been living in another country for a long time - noted the obvious differences, felt comfortable, then begun to realize there are other more fundamental, but subtle differences - finally they will learn that people have different ways of solving the same challenges.

Culture shock can also happen when you take a culture for granted, and can occur when you return from someplace quite foreign, to what should be home, but isn't. You have changed over the course of your stay in the other culture, and now your home culture seems out of place. It is much harder to adjust to, and can have greater impact on relationships and life outlook.

The result of culture shock is an impaired ability to adapt or function in the target culture. Culture shock is a barrier to socializing, learning, and generally functioning in the target culture.

There is no solution to culture shock except to try to learn the culture, and the way to do that is to watch and listen while withholding judgment for a while. Be careful of what you say and do, because it is easy for others, not knowing your culture, to misunderstand you. In time, you will learn the other culture and then you can participate at ease, so what do you think ?

Culture Shock .. ( week's discussion )

What is culture shock ? how does it affects a person ? have you ever been in a situation that involves culture shock ?

Spanish culture

In Spain we are known for our diversity and our joyful outlook on life, although it is not so well-known that we like to enjoy life in many different ways. This is reflected in such customs as the running of the bulls (one week of the year in the northern central town of Pamplona), and bullfighting (mostly celebrated in southern Spain).This also has a lot to do with the way we express ourselves. As a result we have several languages, all of them official, which demonstrate our diversity and our rich heritage (in case that you were not aware of this, Spanish's real name is Castilian, and therefore, when referring to the other languages you will read about Castilian). Learning a language is more than just knowing the grammar and its vocabulary. It is knowing the people and their way of life: their customs, traditions, celebrations and other aspects that may be typical, and sometimes particular, to the culture. The relaxed pace of life in Spain and the hospitability Latin America is known for, are qualities visitors and students find charming.

As you speak therefore you are

Language is a double edge weapon; they can bring masses of people together or tear them apart. The moment in which we start speaking we are judged and stereotyped based on the language we speak and how we speak it.

Furthermore language is the most noticeable thing about us right after our appearance, it allows our culture for generation to come, and it identifies us and shapes us into whom we are. Many people use languages as a divider to show their prestige, place in society, relationships with others or the power they may have. Also the best way to describe this is the form of politeness that people may use when speaking to each other.

These cultural values system exist in the world between different cultures. The best example for this is how some of the Japanese people may speak their language. They use a honorifics - suffix to determine the type of relationship they may have with each other while maintaining a respectful polite approach. Moreover, it may change based on location, need, and the culture of the people who use the language.

There are many studies based on this and the people who study it are known as sociolinguists , whom are more concerned with the assertion of belonging and identity rather than with a transactional content of the language it self.

As you speak therefore you are ( Hanan Ibraheem )

* In what way the circumstances described may be reflected in the cognitive, affective and behavioral domains of individuals?

As we go on the process of speaking, there is a kind of arrangement goes inside and out each one of us.

Like or example:
When I feel happy or want to thank you for instant (the cognitive = what happened inside my mind) I might thank you physically by clapping (the behavior). After that both of us will feel glad, because I did what I though was the right thing to do. At the same time you accept my behavior too (the affect).

All of the previous progress depends on the environment of each society. And each group of society will have a culture which differs from place to place. So the progress will go on wherever we are. And the way we follow to speak will certainly tell our identity.

This week's discussion 8th-Nov.

We will be having a weekly discussion concerning any of the culture-language related topics , and we hope they'll be some participation .

* This week's discussion topic :

- what do you think the effect of the Enculturation and Acculturation processes in our society ?

Cultural assimilation

Cultural assimilation is a political response to the demographic fact of multi-ethnicity which encourages absorption of the minority into the dominant culture. It is opposed to affirmative philosophy (for example, multiculturalism) which recognizes and manages difference.

The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants to a new land, such as the various ethnic groups who have settled in the United States. New customs and attitudes are acquired through contact and communication. The transfer of customs is not simply a one-way process. Each group of immigrants contributes some of its own cultural traits to its new society. Assimilation usually involves a gradual change and takes place in varying degrees; full assimilation occurs when new members of a society become indistinguishable from older members.

Forced assimilation

it is a process of forced cultural assimilation of religious or ethnic minority groups, into an established and generally larger community. This presumes a loss of many characteristics which make the minority different.

Social consequences for Language shift

Language shift can be detrimental to at least parts of the community associated with the language which is being lost. Sociolinguists report that language shift (when it involves loss of the first language) can lead to cultural disintegration and a variety of social problems including increased alcoholism, dysfunctional families and increased incidence of premature death.

For example, Ohiri-Aniche (1997) observes a tendency among many Nigerians to bring up their children as monolingual speakers of English and reports that this can lead to their children holding their heritage language in disdain and feeling ashamed of being associated with the language of their parents and grandparents. As a result of this some Nigerians are said to feel neither fully European nor fully Nigerian. (from Wikipedia)

another explanation on Enculturation

Enculturation is the process by which a person learns the requirements of the culture by which he or she is surrounded, and acquires values and behaviours that are appropriate or necessary in that culture.[1] As part of this process, the influences which limit, direct, or shape the individual (whether deliberately or not) include parents, other adults, and peers.[1] If successful, enculturation results in competence in the language, values and rituals of the culture.[1]

The process of enculturation is related to socialization. In some academic fields, socialization refers to the deliberate shaping of the individual, in others, the word may be used to cover both deliberate and informal enculturation.[1]

Conrad Phillip Kottak (in Window on Humanity ) writes:

Enculturation is the process where the culture that is currently established teaches an individual the accepted norms and values of the culture or society in which the individual lives. The individual can become an accepted member and fulfill the needed functions and roles of the group. Most importantly the individual knows and establishes a context of boundaries and accepted behavior that dictates what is acceptable and not acceptable within the framework of that society. It teaches the individual their role within society as well as what is accepted behavior within that society and lifestyle"

Enculturation can be conscious or unconscious, therefore can support both the Marxist and the hegemonic arguments. There are three ways a person learns a culture. Direct teaching of a culture is done, this is what happens when you don't pay attention, mostly by the parents , when a person is told to do something because it is right and to not do something because it is bad. For example, when children ask for something, they are constantly asked "What do you say?" and the child is expected to remember to say "please." The second conscious way a person learns a culture is to watch others around them and to emulate their behavior. An example would be using different slang with different cliques in school. Enculturation also happens unconsciously, through events and behaviors that prevail in their culture. All three kinds of culturation happen simultaneously and all the time.

Enculturation helps mold a person into an acceptable member of society. Culture influences everything that a person does, whether they are aware of it or not. Enculturation is a lifelong process that helps unify people. Even as a culture changes, core beliefs, values, worldviews, and child-rearing practices stay the same. How many times has a parent said "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" when their child wanted to fit in with the crowd? Both are playing roles in the enculturation. The child wants to be included in the subculture of their peers, and the parent wants to instill individualism in the child, through direct teaching. Not only does one become encultured, but also makes someone else encultured. (from wikipedia)

Enculturation ( Hanan )

Enculturation ( Hanan )

Since culture appropriately is being learned naturally. Children especially new born babies are consider barbarian creatures. However, they are new to this world with no language, culture or identity yet. As long as they grow up to maintain the society communication, they will grasp their culture consciously or unconsciously and can express them selves to the world easily. Thus, enculturation is the process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that enable them to become functioning members of their societies.

For example: the child of five year in Japan differs from the one who's in another country. The first can for example understand his mother gestures and may reply back. But in condition of switching the two kids there won't be communication signs. Enculturation is learned informally in society, home with family or formally like at school.

As we can see without culture there is no language which leads to what we call no communication at the end. Enculturation apparently affects the human all over the world. We need it to deal with so many things to maintain a living.

For example: at business while dealing with foreigners, with a huge number of different students if you were a teacher or even while traveling. Wherever we go there must be a special way of dealing together.
The boy for example will learn when to be violent ( a wrestling competitor ) and when not to be ( the little girl down the street ). He will become aware of the right of others to keep and respect it.

In order to succeed the process of enculturation it's important to wide open the doors of communication. Search and find out what other culture do in order to understand each other perfectly.

What does a banana mean in other cultures ? ( Hanan )

Cultural Differences?
Or, are we really that different?

Gregorio Billikopf
University of California

In 1993, I had my first opportunity to visit Russia as a representative of the University of California. I was there to provide some technical assistance in the area of agricultural labor management. "Russians are a very polite people," I had been tutored before my arrival. One of my interpreters, once I was there, explained that a gentleman will pour the limonad (type of juice) for the ladies and show other courtesies.

Toward the end of my three week trip I was invited by my young Russian host and friend Nicolai Vasilevich and his lovely wife Yulya out to dinner. At the end of a wonderful meal Yulya asked if I would like a banana. I politely declined and thanked her, and explained I was most satisfied with the meal. But the whole while my mind was racing: "What do I do? Do I offer her a banana even though they are as close to her as they are to me? What is the polite thing to do?"

"Would you like a banana?" I asked Yulya.

"Yes," she smiled, but made no attempt to take any of the three bananas in the fruit basket. "What now?" I thought.

"Which one would you like?" I fumbled.

"That one," she pointed at one of the bananas. So all the while thinking about Russian politeness I picked the banana Yulya had pointed at and peeled it half way and handed it to her. Smiles in Yulya and Nicolai's faces told me I had done the right thing. After this experience I spent much time letting the world know that in Russia, the polite thing is to peel the bananas for the ladies. Sometime during my third trip I was politely disabused of my notion.

"Oh no, Grigorii Davidovich," a Russian graciously corrected me. "In Russia, when a man peels a banana for a lady it means he has a romantic interest in her." How embarrassed I felt. And here I had been proudly telling everyone about this tidbit of cultural understanding.

Certain lessons have to be learned the hard way. Some well meaning articles and presentations on cultural differences have a potential to do more harm than good and may not be as amusing. They present, like my bananas, too many generalizations or quite a distorted view.

Some often-heard generalizations about the Hispanic culture include: Hispanics need less personal space, make less eye contact, touch each other more in normal conversation, and are less likely to participate in a meeting. Generalizations are often dangerous, and especially when accompanied by recommendations such as: move closer when talking to Hispanics, make more physical contact, don't expect participation, and so on.

Here is an attempt to sort out a couple of thoughts on cultural differences. My perspective is that of a foreign born-and-raised Hispanic who has now lived over two decades in the United States and has had much opportunity for international travel and exchange.

accents

check out on youtube (21 accents ) before reading

Do you think there is a relationship between someone’s accent and to our course of language and culture?

The reason why I am thinking this is that by listening to someone's accent, it may give us a chance to see in to their culture and character of the person that is speaking it, even if they speak the same language it could still sound different.

What do you think?

Cultural literacy difinition ..

Cultural literacy : is the ability to converse fluently in the idioms, allusions and informal content which creates and constitutes a dominant culture. From being familiar with street signs to knowing historical references to understanding the most recent slang, literacy demands interaction with the culture and reflection of it. Knowledge of a canonical set of literature is not sufficient in and of itself when engaging with others in a society, as life is interwoven with art, expression, history and experience. Cultural literacy requires familiarity with a broad range of trivia and implies the use of that trivia in the creation of a communal language and collective knowledge. Cultural literacy stresses the knowledge of those pieces of information which content creators will assume the audience already possesses.

Source : Wikipedia ..~

Cultural imperialism (Muneera)

Cultural imperialism : is the practice of promoting, distinguishing, separating, or artificially injecting the culture of one society into another. It is usually the case that the former belongs to a large, economically or militarily powerful nation and the latter belongs to a smaller, less important one. Cultural imperialism can take the form of an active, formal policy or a general attitude. A metaphor of colonialism is employed: the cultural products of the first world "invade" the third-world and "conquer" local culture. In the stronger variants of the term, world domination (in a cultural sense) is the explicit goal of the nation-states or corporations that export the culture. The term is usually used in a pejorative sense, usually in conjunction with a call to reject foreign influence.

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