TESOL 103

  02/19/2022 Week 7 Response: “Culture and Psychology” Psychology is so much more than synapses and nerve endings. Psychological health can be affected by many, many factors like genetics, environment, injury, abnormalities, and culture. Because different cultures have different paradigms, the extent to which one fits into or follows these paradigms can impact their psychological well-being. As we have learned, cultural rules define what it means to be “normal” or “not normal”. Whether these rules are rational or irrational, it doesn’t matter, they can be a driving force behind how members of that culture feel about themselves. Brother Ivers mentioned the problem of anorexia. In some cultures, thinness is highly valued. This cultural rule could cause someone who isn’t thin to have low self-esteem and may lead to anorexia. This same person, raised in a different culture, might not develop any psychological issues at all. Brother Ivers explains this as the conflict between the cu...

  02/19/2022 Week 7 Response: “Differences in Manners” What exactly are manners? The OED definition is “A person's social behaviour or habits, judged according to the degree of politeness or the degree of conformity to accepted standards of behaviour or propriety.” Something I find interesting about this definition is that we are judged according to our manners. That means that people will make decisions about a person’s character depending on how well their behavior “conforms to accepted standards of behavior”. It seems like the accepted manners of a culture could be very important to know! Manners, and what is considered polite or impolite, can vary greatly across different cultures. My daughter is interested in learning about Korean culture, and she shared a great example with me. In Korea when offered a drink, it is considered polite to accept the glass with two hands, and to turn your head when drinking. As an American, I found this interesting because these are actions th...

  02/15/2022 Week 7 Response: “Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom” ESL teachers will almost certainly be in a situation where they have cross-cultural students in their classroom. This could mean that the students come from a different culture than the teacher, or different cultures than each other. Whatever the combination, these differences will also, almost definitely, cause misunderstandings. One example that stood out to me was about asking questions in class. In the US this is seen as a good thing. Students who ask questions are interested in learning, they are engaged in the lesson and seeking to improve. Brother Ivers pointed out that in many Asian cultures, asking questions would be seen as a sign of disrespect to the teacher. They would see asking questions as a sign that the teacher isn’t doing their job well enough. This one difference could cause a lot of problems in an American/Asian cross-cultural classroom. Maybe because I grew up with an American paradigm...

  02/12/2022 Week 6 Response: “Attributional Tendencies” Of the cultural paradigms we have learned so far, attributional tendencies seems like the one with the strongest hold on our world/life view. For example, if one attributes their life failures internally like bad judgment or lack of intelligence, or externally like mean parents or bad luck, that way of thinking can be very difficult to break out of. Some people may spend lots of time and money in therapy trying to find a correct attribution or break away from an incorrect attribution. This topic also seems like the most difficult to resolve or find a comfortable place with because how do we ever know what is the correct attribution? Did I get that great job because I was smart and qualified, or because I put together a great resume, or because I happened to interview when the boss was in a good mood? One of those may be the reason, or it may be a mix of all. Like Brother Ivers mentioned in the video, when you factor in re...

  02/12/2022 Week 6 Response: “Personal Space Differences” Personal space and all of its implications is a really fascinating topic to me. As an American raised in the western state of Oregon, I probably have a relatively large personal space bubble. I didn’t grow up in a large crowded city, but a smaller town with quite a bit of space. So, my cultural paradigm dictates a large personal space. I also think that while most of our spatial paradigms are determined by our culture at large, some are also determined by our smaller family culture. Some people are comfortable being more familiar at lower levels of relationships. For example, I have a co-worker who is what I call a “hugger”; he likes to greet with a hug. Once I realized that’s how he is, I was ok with it and I will hug him, but it’s not something I would be comfortable with initiating. Here is a funny example of personal space and ownership. My mom has a certain spot on a certain bench at church that she has staked out ...

  02/10/2022 Week 6 Response: “Individualism vs. collectivism” Next up in our discussion of cultural differences is the dynamic of individualism vs. collectivism. Some cultures are more oriented to the individual. Individual accomplishments are valued highly, and individuals are responsible for the consequences of their own mistakes. The United States is highly individualistic. People place a high value on how well an individual does for themselves in life, like their job or education. Some cultures, on the other hand, are more group oriented. Individual accomplishments have value based on how they benefit the group. If an individual makes bad choices, a whole group could be held responsible. Brother Ivers gave the example of the Japanese students who all faced the consequences of one individual driving drunk. Only one person did the drinking and driving, but because they were part of a group, they all were held responsible. Brother Ivers raised an interesting question at the...

  Week 6 Response: “Differences in Emotional Expressivity” Emotional expressivity is the extent to which a person outwardly shows their emotions. It could include obvious things like laughing, crying, or screaming. People also express emotions with things like hand gestures, eye contact, or facial expressions. Or, emotional expressivity could be as straightforward as telling someone right out what you are feeling. I think it’s interesting that one doesn’t have to be consciously aware of the emotions they are experiencing in order to express it. While we do have some conscious control over our emotional expressions, sometimes they come out without our control. Another factor of emotional expressivity is the cultural paradigms we learn. Brother Ivers talked about how different cultures will fall along a scale of emotional expressivity. On the low end, people will hold emotions in and not show them. On the high end of the scale, people will very outwardly show their emotions. He gav...

  02/05/2022 Week 5: Response to "Culture Miscommunication" Communication happens any time we send a message conveying meaning to another person. It can happen verbally or non-verbally. Communication is also a two-way interaction. The sender has a certain message they want to convey, and the receiver will interpret it in their own way. Each person involved has their own personal and cultural paradigms that affect how they both send and receive the message. All of this back and forth leaves a lot of room for confusion and misunderstandings! In the realm of cultural miscommunication, it could cause hard feelings toward a whole group of people which is very damaging. I think keeping an open mind is so important. We can never know all of the cultural differences that we may encounter. The best we can do is be open to being misunderstood as well as realizing we are wrong when we misunderstand. Not taking offence in these situations is very important. I absolutely loved the c...

  2/3/22 Week 5: Response to "Culture Differences Concerning Time" Monochronic societies place high value on schedule and procedure. The US is definitely a monochronic society. One simple evidence is all the clocks everywhere, and people are always concerned with what time it is. Appointments are also huge here. People make appointments for everything from haircuts and manicures to “playdates” parents make for their kids. Polychronic societies, however, value relationships over schedules. I don’t have any personal experience with a polychronic paradigm, but from what brother Ivers described, it sounds like a scheduled appointment can be set aside in favor of a personal situation that might arise. I think there may be some overlap in the two paradigms with regard to the importance of connections. Connections can also be very important in the monochronic United States. Especially in the world of business, connections can often be the key to getting an inside track to a good...

  2/1/22 Week 5: Response to "Cultural Paradigms"   Cultural paradigms are the ways that the culture we live in shapes our perceptions of reality. Our paradigms include our ideas of what is right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable. It seems like cultural paradigms are one of the biggest influences on our behavior and also how we feel about others’ behaviors. This is important in the context of ESL teaching because ignorance of students’ cultural paradigms could cause damaging misunderstandings. As a teacher, I could misinterpret a student’s actions as disrespectful when it could just be a cultural misunderstanding. Brother Ivers pointed out that “sometimes it doesn’t hurt to challenge our thinking a little bit.” I agree, and I think that it is especially important to do as a teacher so that we can understand our students better. Consequently, they will be more comfortable in the classroom and that affective filter will be reduced. The videos we watched were very i...