Transcript Scenario 1

Cross-Cultural Awareness for English Teachers
and English Teaching
英語教師的跨文化覺知與英語教學
Cheng-Ji (Paul) Lai, Ph.D.
Agenda
Communication
 Cultural Values
 Taiwanese Communication Styles V.S.
Western Communication Styles
 Other Communication Styles

Core Cultural Values

1.What are some examples of our/your
culture’s value patterns/virtues? That is,
what is generally thought to be a good or
important thing to do, to be, or to have? A
bad thing to do, to be, or to have?
Debriefing
Where did you learn your cultural and/or
personal values? Identify some influential
sources.
 Gender? Family? Cultural? Ethnic?

Core Cultural Values

“Values are shared ideas about what is
right or wrong, fair or unfair, and important
or not important.” (Ting-Toomey & Chung,
2005, p.54)
Core Cultural Values

Cultural values are cultivated through our
socialization (社會化).
Core Cultural Values
1. Cultural values are implicitly understood
by members in the same cultural
communities during communication.
 So, very often, we don’t have to explain our
actions to ingroups.

Core Cultural Values

2. Cultural values create a comfort zone for
ingroup members since we share similar
verbal and nonverbal ways of
communication, ways of doing things, and
all other beliefs.
Core Cultural Values

3. Cultural value patterns also serve as
guidelines when we evaluate our own
behaviors and the behaviors of
others .
Communication/Negotiation
Sender
Meaning
Receiver
Interpretation
Encoding
Decoding
Communication Styles

Communication styles are deeply
influenced the communication styles which
are also directly influenced by one’s
cultural values.
Agenda




Simulated Communication Case # 1: The
Parable
Core Values
Typical Eastern Communication Styles & Core
Value of Face/Guan-Xi
Typical Western Communication Styles &
Confrontation
Debriefing
While you’re negotiating with Easterners
(e.g., Taiwanese, Korean) in this class,
what communication/negotiation patterns
did you observe?
 While you’re negotiating with Westerners
(e.g., European, Northern and Southern
American) in this class, what
communication/negotiation patterns did
you observe?

Oriental Communication Styles
Many Easterners don't like to say 'no'
straightforward.
 Sometimes the lack of an answer is equal
to a ‘no,’ or, in some cases, a ‘yes’ without
a follow-up could mean “no.”

Scenario 1
In Taiwan, someone invites you to his/her
home for dinner as a courtesy, you might
say “okay.”
 But a 'yes‘ or “okay” without a follow-up
could mean “no.”

Scenario 2
When you are giving someone a ride with
the air condition on, your passenger says,
“it’s cold in here," What do you think this
means?
 The passenger might be asking the driver
to turn up the temperature but he or she
feels embarrassed to order/impose the
driver.

Face

“Saving face,” to me, means …
Face

Face is a sense of social self-worth (評定
價值), self-image (個人形象), reputation
(名聲) that a person wants others to
have of her or him.
Face

If one’s face is threatened or is lost,
both internal pressure (e.g., self-worth,
self-image) and external pressure (e.g.,
family reputation, societal expectation)
increase.
Example

In a collectivist culture, if one member of
a family commits a crime and is
imprisoned, the whole family would lose
face (e.g., ashamed) in the
neighborhood because they would not
dare or would feel vulnerable to face
neighbors’/others’ judgment.
Question
1. I would experience “uncomfortable
face loss” or “face-threatened” when
someone attacks/challenges my..
 Ability (e.g., profession, economic ability,
worth)
 Personality
 Integrity
 Faith/belief/value
 Habits /living style

Question
2. When someone threatens my “face” in
a communication situation (e.g., being
criticized, corrected, laughed, caught
cheating/corrupting), I would tend to…
 Laugh over it
 Keep silent
 Attack back
 Escape/hide

Question

3. “Saving face,” to me, means …
Two Types of Face Concerns
in Negotiations

1. Self-face concern means that we are
much more interested in maintaining our
identities and favorable self-images in
our interaction with others.
Two Types of Face Concerns
in Negotiations

2. Other-face concern means that we
are much more interested in upholding
others’ self-image by providing respect
and support while interacting with
others.
Question

4. To help the other person to “save
face” in a conflict situation, you usually
tend to …
Face-Saving
Thus, in typical Eastern-style
negotiations, people tend to use positive
 statements (e.g., compliment)
 behaviors (e.g., silence),
 actions (e.g., forgive, comfort)
 to prevent losing face of self and others,
in order not to destroy their relationship
(Guan xi).

Face
In a collectivist culture, if one member of
a family commits a crime and is
imprisoned, the whole family would lose
face (e.g., ashamed).
 Neighbors would avoid speak to the
family or mention about the incident to
preserve their families’ faces.

Question
4. In most conflict/embarrassing
situations, I am usually concerned with:
(check one)
 A. saving my own face
 B. saving the other conflict party’s face
 C. saving both faces

Scenario 1

Mrs. Lin (knock the door): Hello, Mrs.
Lai…..huh! Oh! Your son Paul is entering
high school Karaoke contest, isn’t he? I
envy you because you must be so proud
of his talent….I am really impressed by
his enthusiasm because, every day, he
practices so hard, for hours and hours,
until late at night…
Scenario 1
Can you tell the real meanings/message
sent by Mrs. Lin and why?
 Orientals sometimes use “roundabout”
way like 先褒後貶 (praise the counterpart
first before getting into the
criticism/comments) to negotiate over
issues that would possible damage one’s
guan-xi or face!

Scenario 1

Mrs. Lai: Oh! I’m so sorry..Paul is just a
beginner and he isn’t very good. Also
what’s the future of being a singer? Sorry
he is practicing singing so late. We didn’t
realize you could hear all the noise next
door. I’ll tell him to stop right away. I am
so sorry about the trouble we have
caused to you.
Scenario 1
Can you tell the real meanings/message
sent by Mrs. Lai?
 In response to one’s criticism, many
Orientals use also use “roundabout” way
like 先貶後道歉 (depreciate
themselves/lower themselves down
before apologizing/speak in a humble
way ) in order not to sound arrogant and
cause another conflict.

Scenario 1

Mrs. Lin: Oh! It’s okay! Don’t blame him!
(Other-face concern: to preserve the face
of others and guan xi between the two
families)…
Agenda




Simulated Communication Case # 1: The
Parable
Core Values
Typical Eastern Communication Styles & Core
Value of Face/Guan-Xi
Typical Western Negotiation Styles &
Confrontation
Reflection Question

What are some features you observe from
negotiating with Americans/Canadian/
some Europeans?
Scenario 2

Bella (knock at her neighbor’s door):
Excuse me, it’s past 12 o’clock already,
and your loud music and dancing around
are really disturbing my sleep. Please stop
your jumping and banging around
immediately! I have an important job
interview tomorrow morning, and I want
to get a good night sleep. I need to pay
my rent!
Scenario 2

Sean (resentfully): Well, this is the only
time I can rehearse! I have an important
audition coming up tomorrow. You’re not
the only one that is starving, you know. I
also need to pay my rent. Stop being so
petty.
Questions
1. What would you do if you were Bella?
 2. What would you do if you were Sean?
 3. What would you do if Sean continue to
make loud noise after you’ve confronted
him?

Scenario 2

Bella (frustrated): I really think YOU”RE
being VERY ANNOYING and INTRUSIVE.
There is an apartment noise ordinance,
you know. And if you don’t stop banging
around immediately, I’m going to file a
noise complaint with the apartment
manager and he could evict you.
Scenario 2

Sean (sarcastically and turning up the
music even louder): Whatever! Do what
you want. I’m going to practice as I
please.
Questions
1. Are you comfortable confronting people
like this? Why or why not?
 2. When would you tend to confront
people?
 -your boss/classmate went behind your
back and criticized you?
 -someone misunderstood you?
 -received lower grade than you expected?

Eastern/Western Negotiation
Easterners
 1. Relying upon
physical,
interpersonal context
 2. Expected to infer
part of the message
 3. Be sensitive to
nonverbal cues
 4. Less verbalized
Westerners




1. Verbalized & explicit
2. Don’t assume
listeners understand
from the context
3. Rely on detailed
instructions and
procedures
4. Less sensitive to
nonverbal cues
Eastern/Western Negotiation
When Direct Meets Indirect
and Vice Versa

Do you have any examples about
negotiating with people using different
negotiation styles (i.e., direct & indirect) ?
Example





Taiwanese: We’re going to COSTCO this weekend
for grocery shopping.
American: Great! Big and cheap hypermarket.
How are you guys going there?
Taiwanese: We probably will take bus.「I hope he
can give us a ride」
American:「If they need a ride, they will ask me」
Nice! Well, have a nice shopping there.
Taiwanese: 「If he wants to give us a ride, he will
offer it, forget it! I will ask someone else!!!」Sure!
Agenda





Simulated Communication Case # 1: The
Parable
Core Values
Typical Eastern Communication Styles & Core
Value of Face/Guan-Xi
Simulated Communication/Negotiation # 2: The
Marriage
Typical Western Communication Styles &
Confrontation
Other Communication/Negotiation
Styles
(i) High involvement vs. High considerateness
 (ii) Ping-pong style vs. Bowling style

High Involvement
Talk more
 Interrupt more
 Expect to be interrupted
 Talk more loudly at time
 Talk more quickly than those from culture
favoring “high considerateness”
 (e.g., Italian, Greek, Spanish, South
American)

High Considerateness
Speak one at a time
 Use polite listening sounds
 Refrain from interrupting
 Give plenty of positive and respectful
responses
 (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, American)

Other Communication/Negotiation
Styles
(i) High involvement vs. High considerateness
 (ii) Ping-pong style vs. Bowling style

“Ping-Pong”
Conversation Style
 One
has to return the ball, or the
conversation stops.
 One person does not talk too much. The
others say something or ask questions.
“Bowling”
Conversation Style
 Wait
politely for a return and know
exactly when the time is right to speak.
 One person bowls carefully while the
others watch politely.