Unit 9the power of dream Intercultural Adaptation
Some Ideas Related to Culture Shock and Adaptation Strategies
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challenge1. Culture Shock
What is culture shock? Culture shock is a common experience of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. It refers to phenomena ranging from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis. It is associated with feelings in the person of estrangement (being unfriendly or hostile to others; alienation), anger, hostility, indecision, frustration, unhappiness, sadness, loneliness, homesickness, and even physical illness. The person undergoing culture shock views his new world out of rentment, and alternates between being angry at others for not understanding him and being filled with lf-pity. vitality
Culture shock is caud by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols or social contact. Tho cues or sighs include various ways in which we adapt ourlves to the situation of daily life: When to shake hands and what to say when we meet
2012年江苏高考语文试卷people, when and how to give tips, how to buy things, when to accept and when to refu invitations, when to take statements riously and when not. The cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, or customs, are acquired by all of us in the cour of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of the cues, most of which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness.
Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of the familiar cues are removed. He or she is like fish out of water. Edward Hall describes a hypothetical example of an American living abroad for the first time — at first, things in the cities look pretty much alike. There are taxis, hotels with hot and cold running water, theatres, neon lights, even tall buildings with elevators and a few people who can speak English. But pretty soon the American discovers that underneath the familiar exterior there are vast differences. When someone says “yes” it often doesn’t mean yes at all, and when people smile it doesn’t always mean they are plead.
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When the American visitor makes a helpful gesture he may be rebuffed; when he tries to be friendly nothing happens. People tell him that they will do things and don’t. The longer he stays, the more enigmatic (puzzling) the new country looks.
2. Possible signs of culture shock
The following ntences describe different stages of culture shock.
a. The person holds a hostile and aggressive attitude toward the host country.
b. The person begins to open the way into the new cultural environment. man in the mirror 歌词
c. The person now accepts the customs of the country as just another way of living.
d. The person is fascinated by the new environment.
3. Suggestions found to be helpful in fighting culture shock
1) Recognize that you are experiencing culture shock, and your reactions are not from so
me other source. Remember that many others have had the same experience, and that it is normal. Understand that your feelings are part of a respon to learning about the other culture and consider it a positive sign.
2) Give yourlf permission to temporarily indulge the symptom: if you are sleepy, sleep.
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3) Find other from your culture and spend time together talking about home, eating, sharing experiences.
4) Help someone from your home culture who has recently arrived. You will be surprid at how much you’ve learned.
5) Communicate with family and friends. Write letters or call. Remember that tho at home might not realize that culture shock is a normal experience. Let them know it is a temporary pha of adjusting to life in a different culture.
6) Become an expert on some aspect of the other culture. Choo something you like, and learn more about people in the host culture.
7) Maintain your n of humor. Laugh at the mistakes you make; they are usually not rious.
8) Keep busy. Get to know the area where you live by walking around and obrving. Say hello to a neighbor in the place you live, and perhaps start a friendship.
institute是什么意思9) Become friendly with classmates. Spend some out-of-school time together.
10) Do something you enjoy. Contact a relative or acquaintance who address you may have. Brow through department stores. Visit a muum. Walk through a new area of town. See a play or go to a movie.
11) Forget that your English is less than perfect, and feel free “to ask” people for information, guidance, or directions. Many people are friendly, and helpful. It is important not to dwell on negative incidents. Disappointments are simply a fact of life.
12) Be flexible. Make up your mind that you are going to enjoy your new adventure.
4. Two views of culture shock
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Two views of culture shock
1) The dia view
The culture-shocked person experiences a breakdown in communication, is unable to cope, and feels isolated and lost. He develops a number of defensive attitudes and behaviors to protect the mind from the confusion of an entirely new situation. He is a helpless victim.
