TEXT: CULTURE SHOCK: THE ENEMY WITHIN

Transcription

1 Module 4: Language Learning and Culture 4.4 What are some of the issues related to ESL learners? 2. Explain culture shock TEXT: CULTURE SHOCK: THE ENEMY WITHIN Culture shock is an important phenomenon that often occurs during language learning when such learning takes place in a social context that is not the learner's. It is important for you to know about culture shock for four important reasons. First, culture shock has been shown to affect language learning performance. Therefore, as an instructor, knowing the way culture shock affects language learning can help you prevent or try to remedy that problem and favor academic success and retention among your students. In addition, should you end up living abroad (whether for teaching English or not), you may yourself become a victim of the same phenomenon; understanding your situation while knowing how to solve it can be invaluable. Victims who are not aware of this phenomenon are normally the last ones to recognize the signs. Also, if you become a professor, knowing about culture shock makes it a topic you may want to teach, and it is a great asset that will make you useful to your students. Finally, as an individual in your own society, knowledge of culture shock can help spot the behavioral patterns it triggers among people you may be in contact with who are from another country. Dr. K. Oberg, an anthropologist who served with a U.S. mission in Brazil, is credited for being the first to write about culture shock in the 1950s after observing the reactions of Americans working in that South American country. Culture shock is a result of being cut off from: cultural cues language and nonverbal signs and patterns we rely on a lifestyle that was probably comfortable familiar values (and having your values brought into question) friends and family Concrete elements that contribute to culture shock include: social roles, language, climate, dress, food, etc. In short, it is the result of anxiety over losing familiar signs and symbols needed for human interaction and normal social functioning those very things you took for granted. Suddenly without them, as Oberg himself put it, you feel like a fish out of the water, because a fish would never think about water until it is taken out of it. STAGES OF CULTURE SHOCK Despite the number of years that have gone by since the 1950s, Oberg's view of the five stages of culture shock is still shared by most authors. The typical stages of culture shock are as follows: A) The honeymoon phase As the name suggests, this stage is the initial reaction of excitement, fascination, enthusiasm, 1

2 and curiosity when faced with everything that is new and different in the host culture. It is like a prolonged vacation; the person enjoys the situation of being surrounded by new sights, sounds, tastes and smells. There have not been any arguments with his or her hosts and acquaintances, who take the newcomer out to many places, and relationships with people tend to be cordial and superficial. At this stage, the person still feels protected by the close memory of the home culture. Unfortunately, as is the case with real honeymoons, it comes to an end fairly soon. This period can last anywhere from a few days to around three months. It has also been called the euphoric stage. B) The rejection phase After a certain amount of time, people who are 'showing off' the newcomer resume their activities and have less time for the person, and he or she has to actually live and work and/or study in the new environment. This is when problems of all kinds start to be encountered. These problems can be related to the language barrier, cultural differences in punctuality, the school system and classes, food, or shopping, for instance. It may seem that people do not care much about these problems and that they do not like the newcomer, or even that they don't like foreigners in general. This is when one of the most obvious signs of culture shock appears: rejection of the host country. The person may begin to feel aggressive and complain about the host culture/country and feel hostility toward it and its people. Minor inconveniences look like huge obstacles and he or she constantly compares the host country with the country of origin, always to the advantage of the latter. This criticism and the comparisons made are not objective, and the newcomer talks as if the difficulties were more or less created by the people of the host country for his or her special discomfort. At this stage, the newcomer either gets stronger and stays, or if possible, gives up and goes home. This is a bad moment to leave because the person leaves with a bad and incorrect appreciation and perception of the culture and its people, a view that is distorted by the effects of culture shock. Unfortunately, about 15% of international language students return from residence abroad with a more negative view of members of the host culture than they had prior to arriving there (Coleman, 1996). This suggests that culture shock is often not dealt with appropriately, and adjustments and recovery do not take effect. Note that the rejection phase is also called the distress stage. C) The regression phase This phase is that of the person's withdrawal into his or her own shell with a loss of motivation to continue learning the new language and to make friends among the locals. The victim of culture shock tends only to remember the good things about his or her home country and to strongly reconnect with the home culture by: speaking mostly the native language, watching videos and eating food from home, and hanging out with expatriates from the same country with whom he or she can complain about the host country and its people. The newcomer wonders why he or she ever left, never realizing that the problem may lie within the person rather than be caused by the environment. This stage is very important with regard to language acquisition, and is typically reflected in a plateauing effect in learning performance: after several weeks of language learning, the person at or around this stage temporarily shows no obvious signs of progress, which adds to their dismay. Receptive and production skills tend to plateau between 4 and 7 months (Teichler, 1991). Stages 2 and 3 usually occur within the first 3 to 6 months. 2

3 D) The recovery phase This fourth stage is when the person becomes more comfortable with the language and starts accepting the cultural differences and customs of the host country, despite some continuing problems with language. However, he or she can now get around with more confidence, feeling somewhat comfortable and less anxious, and small problems start being seen for what they are: small. The host country starts to seem not that bad after all, not worse than home, just different. Some of the things that caused so much grief earlier can now be laughed at. This stage is also called the autonomy stage, or the adaptation stage. E) The independence phase The culture shock process is a story that normally has a good ending, where the newcomer grasps the customs of the new culture and accepts it as another way of living. He or she even starts preferring many elements of the new culture over those of the home culture. He or she may feel confident to cope with all kinds of situations, thanks in part to much improved language fluency. This is also called the acceptance stage. LIVING ON CAMPUS Living with people likely to be victims of culture shock may lead to the sharing of bad experiences with other students in the same situation, and reinforcement of stereotypes and negative views of the host culture (Archer, 1986). In fact, a survey of international students in almost 100 universities and colleges in Europe and the United Kingdom (Coleman, 1996) showed that stereotypes toward the people of the host culture do not decrease with time spent in their country. On the contrary, Coleman showed that such stereotypical views increase by around 8 to 15% between the first and last year of a bachelor's degree, a result that could find an explanation in the fact that these students lived on campus. However, it can also be argued that living on campus also facilitates a person's adaptation, since he or she is then surrounded by people who have been through the same situations and who can give useful advice and information. In addition, most universities have a vast experience in dealing with international students and accordingly have facilities, programs and resources in place to facilitate the student's experience of living abroad. Members of a host family may not be aware of culture shock, of cultural differences, and may not understand how it feels for the victim. UNIVERSALITY OF CULTURE SHOCK AND THE W CURVE Culture shock is a phenomenon that can affect all humans of all cultures. It tends to follow the same pattern in all cases, even though some people have stronger reactions than others. In fact, in some cases, culture shock is so weak that the person barely notices the stages he or she is going through. It is worth mentioning that, in addition to the fact that the stages are labeled differently among authors, some authors recognize four stages, merging stages 2 and 3 into one they name the crisis stage, among other labels. For this course, it was more convenient to identify five stages, making the regression phase separate in order to emphasize the impact on language acquisition. 3

4 Watch and listen to the following segment to see other labeling of the four stages: Culture shock is a process with clearly discernable steps or stages on a W curve with peaks and valleys. It goes up and down and tends toward stability. The following image shows you a representation of the process with the 5 stages identified: Culture shock is an individual process for which the exact pattern changes from one person to the next. Some people literally skip certain stages, some advance rapidly or slowly, and some seem to fossilize at a certain stage. For some, the process is dramatic, while for others it s mild, and most don t recognize that they are moving through a process at all. THE SYMPTOMS OF CULTURE SHOCK Culture shock is manifested through various actual physical and psychological symptoms: irritability, depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, withdrawal, family tension, marital strife, impotence, physical ailments, weight gain or weight loss, compulsive behavior (e.g., excessive washing of hands, excessive concerns over water, food, dishes, bedding), absent-mindedness, feelings of helplessness, dependence on fellow nationals, anger over minor frustrations, concern over aches, pains, skin eruptions, and, or course, homesickness. A NATURAL PROCESS Despite these symptoms, culture shock is not a disease. It is just a natural and normal process of adaptation called acculturation. When we face the unknown, an evolutionary, instinctual mechanism kicks in where we gather the new information and use it for proper functioning. This process is important, since stability can mean death in an unfamiliar environment, all people and living things have to adapt to their environment. A good example of this phenomenon is the presence of species that normally exist only in salt water who, when ending up in a fresh water environment, manage to adapt and survive instead of dying. Such extreme adaptation is evidenced by the presence of saltwater animal species like swordfish, tuna and sharks in Lake Nicaragua, a fresh water lake located in Nicaragua. We can even say that you do not need to leave your country to experience the effects of this kind of adaptation process that resembles culture shock. It can happen when starting a new job, joining the military, going away to college, etc. 4

5 References Archer, J.R. (1986). Culture bump and beyond. In J.M. Valdes (Ed.), Culture bound: bridging the cultural gap in language teaching (pp ). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Coleman, J.A. (1996). Studying languages. A survey of British and European students. London: Bourne Press. Teichler, U. (1991). Experiences of ERASMUS students. Selected findings of the 1988/89 survey. Kassel, Denmark: Universität Kassel. 5