Culture Shock
Each society has its own beliefs, attitudes, customs, behaviors, and social habits. These give people a sense of who they are, how they are supposed to behave, and what they should or should not do.
People become conscious of such rules when they meet people from different cultures. For example, the rules about when to eat vary from culture to culture. Many North Americans and Europeans organize their timetables around three mealtimes a day. In other countries, on the other hand, it’s not the custom to have strict rules like this – people eat when they want to, and every family has its own timetable.
When people visit or live in a country for the first time, they are often surprised at the differences that exist between their own culture and the culture in the other country. For some people, travelling abroad is the thing they enjoy most in life; for others, though, cultural differences make them feel uncomfortable, frightened, or even insecure. This is known as “culture shock”.
When you are visiting a foreign country, it is important to understand and appreciate cultural differences. This can help people avoid misunderstanding, develop friendship more easily, and feel more comfortable when traveling or living abroad.
Here are several things to do in order to avoid culture shock.
1. Avoid quick judgments; try to understand people in another culture from their own point of view.
2. Become aware of what is going on around you, and why.
3. Don’t think of your cultural habits as “right” and other people’s as “wrong”.
4. Be willing to try new things and have new experiences.
5. Try to appreciate and understand other people’s values.
6. Think about your own culture and how it influences your attitude and actions.
7. Avoid having negative stereotypes about foreigners and cultures.
8. Show interest in as well as respect, sincerity, acceptance, and concern for things that are important to other people.
Exercise 19. Choose two pieces of advice that you think are the most important for avoiding culture shock. Why do you think they are especially important?
Advice |
Why it is important? |
__________________________ |
___________________________ |
__________________________ |
___________________________ |
Exercise 20. Explain the meaning of the following English words or phrases and say how the corresponding notions in Ukrainian differ from the English ones.
Palmistry; societies; cultivation; coding system; bands; tribes; civilizations; scale; a notion; chiefdom; exchange.
Exercise 21. Use your own words to write definitions for these words.
1. Culture _________________________________________________
2. Culture shock ____________________________________________
3. Stereotypes ______________________________________________
Exercise 22. Are you aware of Stereotypes?
Choose two adjectives that you think describe the nationalities listed below. Choose two countries of your own to describe if people are:
American
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__________________ __________________ |
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The British
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__________________ __________________
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The French
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__________________ __________________
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Japanese
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__________________ __________________
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Ukrainians
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__________________ __________________ |
Exercise 23. Read the information about the different customs and find five pairs of countries with contrasting customs.
Country |
Custom |
In Australia |
People don’t leave tips in restaurants. |
In Brazil |
People don’t go to bed till very late. |
In Britain |
People don’t smoke in a friend’s home without asking. |
In Canada |
People go to bed fairly early on weekdays. |
In Egypt |
People allow their hosts to treat them to meals in restaurants. |
In New Zealand |
People usually pay for their own meals in restaurants. |
In Spain |
People are late for most appointments. |
In Sweden |
People arrive on time for most appointments. |
In Turkey |
People smoke almost anywhere they like. |
In the U.S. |
People leave tips of 15% – 20% in most restaurants. |
Exercise 24. Role – play: “Alternative beliefs”
Ask and answer: