As we've talked about already, communication is a complicated process that takes place between people. It involves sending and receiving messages which must be interpreted and to which the receiver must respond. It may not always be an easy, straightforward process and many times the following may happen
"I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Even when people come from a similar background and share the same language, communication may breakdown. In this module, we'll take a look at some of the particular challenges that come up when people from different backgrounds or cultures begin to communicate with each other.
First of all, what is culture? Take a moment now to write down your perception
of what culture is, identify some of the aspects of what makes up a culture.
You may have written down such things as: language, dress, food, traditions, race, ethnicity, music, religion, history, relationships between and roles of members. These are all expressions of culture. Here's one detailed description of culture ~
"the coherent,
learned, shared view a group of people has |
When we talk about culture, we're talking about a view of life that we hold in common with a group, a value system about what is important which also, consequently, prescribes behavior. Culture is something we learn, depending on the group(s) with whom we associate. As may have occured to you already, we may move between several different cultural groups now, and throughout our lifetime.
Our cultural background influences how we view
Consider
the following scene from the Project
Ideels website and jot down your response:
You are taking part in a meeting with a number of people you don't know, but who appear to be from several different countries. There is a formal agenda, and when someone wants to speak, most of the participants wait for the chairperson to acknowledge them before they begin speaking. A few people simply speak out when they want to say something. Which of the following statements come closest to your interpretation?
- They are being rude.
- The chairperson should make them wait to be given permission to speak.
- They are acting normally.
- The chairperson is being overly authoritarian and should stop trying to control the discussion.
- They don't know the rules.
- The chairperson should explain what constitutes good behavior in meetings s/he chairs.
- They ought to know better.
- The chairperson should ask everyone present what rules they want to follow during the meeting.
What was your reaction? Did you discover that you had/have a specific view or customary way of looking at situations such as this one? Undoubtedly you do, and that reaction may be part of your "culture", how you think things should be, a view that you share with your particular cultural group. Given a large enough group of people, we probably could receive each of the eight responses listed to the scene described above, and each person would consider themselves to be right given their particular background.
Then how do we handle our differences? First of all, we can seek to become aware of our own cultural biases and perceptions. Secondly, we can learn about other cultural views and backgrounds which differ from ours. Finally, with this new level of awareness, we can reach beyond those backgrounds to communicate with others.
As tutors, your own background and the background of the student you are working with will influence your tutoring session. Some students will be reluctant to ask for assistance, others will be very forthright in asking you to help. Some will be uncomfortable disagreeing or expressing confusion if they don't understand what you are trying to explain. Some men may feel more comfortable talking with another man, or conversely, some will feel more comfortable talking with a woman in order to get assistance. If you as the tutor can be alert to these kinds of possiblities, you may be able to counteract or bridge the cultural gap that may exist between you and the student.
Read
through this list of questions
to ask about culture
Pick
three questions about culture, answer the questions for yourself, from your own cultural perspective.
Interview someone from another culture with whom you can discuss the questions. Ask them for their response to the same three questions.
Write a response comparing your answers.
Describe how your cultural difference/similarities might affect a tutoring session.
When you get to the end of this lab, please submit your portfolio (as developed to this point) with your name and email address in a manila envelope to Michele Maxwell in TCB 312.