Crossing Bridges,Touching Bases

8/7/2019 Crossing Bridges,Touching Bases

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Crossing Bridges,Touching Bases

Sam Berner (B.Ed & Sc., M. Inf. Mgmt.)President, Australian Institute of Interpreters and

Translators (AUSIT)



A Guessing Game

Sam Berner

Where do you think I am from?

What language do I speak? What did we just learn?

The world is a small place

People are complex stories

Globalisation is bringing us together

Most of us do eat McDonalds

It takes two to tango



Culture

Abstract - the underlying values and

assumptions of a society

In reality - the specific behaviors thatderive from those values

What are our Aussie values?

Is that what the non-Aussies believe? What do we know about their values?



Why try?

1. As citizens of the world, we have

obligations to others

2. We take seriously the value not justof human life, but of particular human

lives

3. This means we take interest in what

makes them click

4. and we learn a lot from our

differences



Three that make us click

Our belief system religion or lack

thereof, ethical and value systems

Our culture politics, media,education, etc.

Our upbringing social influences

All three feed into each other. You cant

separate them



Communication (1)

Communication is a two-way activity

between two or more people.

Communication is the method by whichpeople share their ideas, information,

opinions and feelings.

There are various ways of

communicating

Communication is culture-dependent



Communication (2)

Purpose of communication: to get your messageacross.

Process that involves both the sender of the

message and the receiver. It leaves room for error, with messages often

misinterpreted by one or more of the partiesinvolved.

Message can only be successful if both the senderand the receiver perceive it in the same way.

Successful communication = conveying thoughtsand ideas effectively.



Sender Sender Receiver Receiver MessageMessageChannelChannel

ContextContext

FeedbackFeedback



Crossing..

Cross-cultural communication

how people from differing cultural

backgrounds communicate, in similar and

different ways among themselves, and

how they attempt to communicate with

people from different cultures



Barriers to cross-cultural

communication Prejudice

Generalisations and stereotyping

Ethnocentrism Discrimination



Stages of Discrimination

Antilocution speaking against among

your friends

Avoidance not making friends withthe other

Discrimination treating the other

worse than mine own

Physical attacks

Extermination Bosnia, Rwanda



Crossing..

Cross-cultural competence:

ability to interact effectively with people of

different cultures.

Is an art, not a science

Four components:

Awareness of one's own cultural worldview

Attitude towards cultural differences Knowledge of different cultural practices and

worldviews

cross-cultural skills



Perception

How are you perceived by others?

Why does it matter?

What do others think of Australia?Ugg boots, vegemite and Akubra hats?

Roos in Sydney

What do others think of Australians? Lazy

You dont need to work hard here

No respect for knowledge, age, status



Now how do you perceive

them? Incomprehensible

Backwards

Difficult to teach Religious fanatics

Wont cooperate

Wont listen Continue doing their own things



Aliens?

Xenophobia = Lack of cultural

knowledge + resulting fear

Conditioned by the media on both sides(Terrorists vs Sex In the City)

Assumptions based on half-truths



Two Attitudes

Optimistic: Well, tomorrows another

day, and Im sure shell see reason then

Pessimistic: Well, theyre all like that.What can you expect from people from

XYZ country? Well never be able to

work together.



..based on

The incorrect assumption that our own

views are automatically the right ones

Therefore, no reasonable person canhold a different view

That ALL people from XYZ are the same

Revealing a lack of self-awareness thatis likely to give us problems in future

intercultural contacts



Meeting half-way

An interest in learning about theculture you are going to meet, in whatmotivates and influences its members,

makes an excellent start to a goodrelationship between people of different cultures

Possession of even basic pieces of information can help remove some of the stumbling blocks that act asbarriers in intercultural relations.



Takes time«

Getting acquainted with whole new

culture takes considerable time,

so dont trust your first impressions.



Avoiding Pitfalls

Names

Space

Gender

Class

Religion

Food

Politeness

Humour

Racism (real and perceived)



Names

Titles

Patronymics

Compound names Religious affiliation

Learn to pronounce

Be patient



Impressions

W e dont always create the impression

we are striving for

being conscious of some of theunwritten rules of behavior of another

culture can help us do just that.



Dress

Err on the side of formality

Err on the side of dullness but not a

single colour Err on the side of modesty

Err on the side of elegance



Etiquette = Knowledge

Being well-mannered implies having at

least a basic knowledge of the country

and people you are doing dealing with.

Have good knowledge of your own

country! Remember, you are our

ambassador to the world.



Etiquette (1)

Manners are cultural

Arrogance and ignorance is global

Dont criticize Dont display a complete lack of

knowledge of, or interest in, your

students country or culture Do not get atop your high horse

Dont speak LOUDLY. They have

language, not audio, problems.



Etiquette (2)

Give people from other cultures the

benefit of the doubt if they break your

rules.

Stay open-minded.

Be prepared to modify your behavior

and your preconceptions.

Be prepared to explain and/or

apologize if you break their rules.



Etiquette (3)

Listen to people; pay close attention to

what they say and do not say.

Thank people when they are helpful.

Try to learn at least a little of the

language.

Reciprocate as far as you can

(hospitality, favors, gifts, and

compliments).



Food

One mans meat is another mans poison

When No means Yes (and No means No)

Utensils

Noise

Religion plays a big role

Vegetarian

Pork, shellfish, beef, rabbit, Kosher/halal

Fasting

Alcohol



Language

A vehicle for expressing needs, desires,

beliefs and emotions.

That means: a vehicle forcommunication.

No language = no communication =

disadvantage



Language (verbal and not

so)

T he way we communicate, and what

we do or do not say, may be entirely

mystifying to people from other

cultures, even though we believe we

have made ourselves perfectly clear.

Fair enough; mate; shell be right;

gone down the creek; reckon; Areyou right, there? is this English??



What we say, how we say

Depends on class, education, context

Depends on mastery of language

Q uestions can mean I am interested in you as a person

I am nosey and rude

Q uestions can mean I dont understand

I am dumb




Answers can be straight forward,

ambiguous, or non existent

It might be impolite to say N

O.

It might be impolite to say anything at

all.

It might be impolite to speak in first

person

White lies = face savers

Sarcasm may = high IQ




Debate = quarrel/Debate = discussion

Not having an opinion as a communitybuilding exercise

Rudeness may be what the listenerhears, rather than what the speakerintends

Humour is in the eyes of the teller Communal talking versus interruptions

Silence as sign of attention and respect

Emotions



Terms to Cringe At

Ethnic

Non-English Speaking Background

Person of colour Asian

Arabian (horse, maybe?)

Do not put labels do not put people inboxes do not assume anything

LISTEN WATCH - ASK.



Stereotyping

Do not trust your first impressions of people

from other cultures.

Public and private roles affect how people

act, and if you are unaware of what theirroles entail, you may come to faulty

conclusions

W hile stereotypes about nationality or

ethnic groups are dangerous, there may be

broad similarities in the way members of the

same cultures act in certain situations.



Body Language

Eye contact

Hand gestures

Personal Space Voice levels

Posture

Shrugs Smiles



Body Language

The closer the relationship, the closer

people get physically (within their

cultural parameters).

Dont touch any part of the body of the

opposite sex (apart from a handshake,

with the right hand, which is acceptable

in most non-Muslim countries).



Time

Clock obsessed (minority) - Nordic

countries, Germany, Switzerland, and

Austria, and followed by among others

the U.K., the U.S., Australia, New

Zealand, and Singapore

Elastic (majority) - time is elastic and

will always stretch sufficiently to allowthem to do what is important



Time

Different calendars/ Different holidays

Different functioning time (siestas and

fiestas)

Different weekends

Whats early for the worm might be late for

the birdie

Sacred time Different priorities (how time is spent)

In time through time

Time value



Educational Systems

From top-to-bottom

Discourages Q uestioning

Based on Rote Learning Poor Study Skills

Lack of technology

Focused on religion and history No respect for humanities

Nationalistic and ethnocentric



Challenges Faced

Cultural acclimatization: (food,transportation, student diversity, reaction toAsian students)

Language and non-verbal communication

New laws and regulations: (non-discrimination, noise levels, public behaviour,gender equality, etc.)

Adapting to a new educational philosophy:

(punctuality, learning style, note-taking,preparing for classes, doing independentresearch, active participation)

Perceived disadvantage (racism, anti-Islamism, etc)



Solutions?

Embracing multiculturalism and

tolerance is not enough

Become cosmopolitan

Do not exaggerate the differences

some values are universal

Build conversations in particular,

conversations with people from

different walks of life.



Possible Approaches

Encourage cross-cultural engagement

Teach learning skills and provide

support

Provide support for cultural adjustment

Be sensitive to issues facing NESB

students

Promote Australian culture and

Australian institutions as open, tolerant

and non-discriminatory.



Show respect

willing to be awkward or clumsy in

dialogue with them

willing to use body language and voice

intonation in conveying meaning,

willing to investigate the cultural

heritage of a student from another

country, and

sensitive to the difficulties faced by

your overseas students.



DIS

CUSSION

TIME

and time to make some resolutions,

perhaps?



THANK YOU

FOR YOUR TIME

Email:[email protected]

Web: www.2m.com.au

Phone: 1800 462 742

Crossing Bridges,Touching Bases

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