Cultural Dissonance in Cross-Cultural Interactions: Issues in the PYP Classroom

1. Cultural dissonance in cross-cultural interactions and issues faced in the Primary Year Programme (PYP) classroom: Cultural dissonance in cross-cultural interactions and issues faced in the Primary Year Programme (PYP) classroom: Namrata Goel 11 th Oct, 2014 Namrata Goel 11 th Oct, 2014

2. Namrata Goel Me Academic Context Cultural Dissonance in cross-cultural interactions Who Am I

3. Namrata Goel Structure What is culture? Concepts Distinctions Cultural dissonance with 2 key features Issues, responsibility & actions Open Discussion

4. Namrata Goel Definitions and concept of Culture the shared way of life of a group of people (Pearce, 1998) individuals from a given cultural group develop behaviour patterns and subjective cultures that are functional for their particular environment (Albert and Triandis, 1994)

5. Namrata Goel Definitions and concept of Culture software of the mind (Hofstede G, 1994) the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category from another (Hofstede G, 1994) .. much of which has been acquired in early childhood

6. Namrata Goel Manifestations of Culture Onion Layered Approach (Hofstede 1991) Symbols Symbols Heroes Rituals Heroes Rituals Values

7. Namrata Goel Iceberg Concept of Culture: (Larcher 1993) Laws Rules Customs Laws Rules Customs Tradition Tradition Routine behaviour Unconscious habits Routine behaviour Unconscious habits CONSCIOUS UNCONSCIOUS

8. Namrata Goel MUMBAI AMBULANCE: 108

9. Namrata Goel What is culture "only a small part of it is visible. A large portion of what constitutes culture is beyond or below our conscious awareness. ...... We know how to act and behave according to it but we are not aware of it and subsequently cannot control it. We take culture as self-evident, like nature, and not as if it were a construction of our society" (Fennes H and Hapgood K: 1997 - Intercultural Learning in the Classroom, Cassell, London)

10. Namrata Goel Primarily out of awareness Fine Arts Literature Drama Classical music Popular music Folk-dancing Games Cooking Dress Notions of modesty Conception of beauty Ideals governing child-raising Rules of descent Cosmology Relationship to animals Patterns of superior/subordinate relations Definition of sin Courtship practices Conception of justice Incentives to work Notions of leadership Tempo of work Patterns of group decision-making Conception of cleanliness Attitudes to the dependent Theory of disease Approaches to problem-solving Conception of status mobility Eye behaviour Roles in relation to status by age, sex, class, occupation, kinship, etc. Definition of insanity Nature of friendship Conception of self Patterns of visual conception Body language Facial expressions Notions about logic and validity Patterns of handling emotions Conversational patterns in various social contexts Conception of past and future Ordering of time Preference for competition or co-operation Social interaction rate Notions of adolescence Arrangement of physical space etc. Primarily in awareness Iceberg Concept of Culture: Fennes and Hapgood, 1997

11. Namrata Goel Possible Cultural Distinctions

12. Namrata Goel What is culture dissonance is a sense of discomfort, confusion and a disconnect experienced by people when for a prolonged time they are in the thick of a changed cultural environment. These changes can be unexpected and are often not understood since they are below the water line. mobility is a continuing feature in todays world, with individuals voluntarily moving across borders for better prospects. For most of their young children, move involves changes in culture and language differences.

13. Namrata Goel Key Features: Culture Shock The psychological events that occur to a person in the initial phases of his encounter with a different cultureculture shock is at the very heart of the cross- cultural learning experience. It is an experience in self understanding and change(Adler, 1986) It can be experienced when we realise that what we consider as natural or normal is not perceived similarly and is rejected by the other culture.

14. Namrata Goel Culture Shock Scissors Scissors

15. Namrata Goel Culture Shock Separation Anxiety Separation Anxiety

16. Namrata Goel Culture Shock Symbolism Symbolism

17. Namrata Goel Key Features: Culture Shock A state of stress and anxiety that results from the disturbing impression we get and the loss of equilibrium we feel when we lose all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse and when we encounter environmental differences in an alien culture [Craig, 1984, p.36] Acute homesickness is just one of the symptoms Comparisons of new environment with the home environment

18. Namrata Goel My experience on Culture Shock Queuing Campus

19. Namrata Goel U curve- Culture Shock (Lysgaard 1955, Sewell and Davidson 1956) Disenchantment Initial Enthusiasm Recovery (Adaptation)

20. Namrata Goel Loss of face, identity, self-esteem We interpret the actions of others, and relate them to ourselves and react accordingly, within our own national cultures (Triandis, 1990). the difference in language alone can be a significant source of anxiety, since language is closely linked to identity (Burr,1995) When confronted with behaviour of people from other cultures, our classification system gives us misleading or confusing interpretations (Hoopes, 1979). This error in interpreting the behaviour of others and their reaction to our behaviour leads to disorientation and lack or loss of face (Allan, 2003)

21. Namrata Goel Loss of face, identity, self esteem I was a very popular boy back home. Here I have no friends, feel isolated. Acute homesickness.

22. Namrata Goel Loss of face, identity, self esteem Sad, low , I am different! I dont speak like they do! I feel uncomfortable especially when I am on the turf . When I go there And see other students play , I feel unwelcomed And feel they dont care face is a positive social value a person effectively Claims for himself by the line the others assume he has taken during a particular contact (Goffman,1967)

23. Namrata Goel Cultural Dissonance can have positive effects: realisation of cultural differences is the first step towards intercultural learning An intercultural learning Cross- culture can only develop once individuals have mastered insights into their own values, which then allows them to possess greater understanding of other cultures. Cultural awareness involves looking inward and reflection. It is the development of the personality of the student , where she learns to see different facets of behaviour in people of other cultures, is able to relate and adapt behaviour accordingly.

24. Namrata Goel One who has learned the personal interaction skills to be able to communicate on various levels with people of other cultures not only with ones he has concrete experience with, but also eliminating confusion when confronted with new cultures attains multiculturalism. An intercultural learning The widening and pluralization of the parameters of social interactions leads to multiculturalism.

25. Namrata Goel (Allan, 2003) Awareness Ethnocentrism Understanding Adaptation Acceptance and Respect Assimilation Appreciation and Valuing Multiculturalism An intercultural learning continuum

26. Namrata Goel The state in which one has mastered the knowledge and developed the skills necessary to feel comfortable and communicate effectively: with people of any culture encountered; and in any situation involving a group of diverse cultural backgrounds..The multicultural person is one who has learned how to learn cultures . (Hoopes, 1979:21) Multiculturalism

27. Namrata Goel Peer support Key Actions towards intercultural learning Teacher support Effective ESL programme Own language teaching Cultural affirmation Induction procedures Social activities Intercultural teacher training Intercultural education in the curriculum

28. Your thoughts

29. Allan, M.J. (2002) Cultural Borderlands: a case study of cultural dissonance in an international school. Journal of Research in International education 1(1): 63-90 Allan, M. J. (2003) Frontier crossings; Cultural Dissonance, Intercultural learning and the Multicultural Personality. Journal of Research in International Education 2 (1): 83-109 Berry J W, Poortinga Y H, Segall M H and Dasen P R (1992) Cross-cultural Psychology: Research and Applications , Cambridge University Press . Burr, V. (1995) An Introduction to social Constructionism. London: Routledge. DeCapua, A and Wintergerst, A. (2010) Crossing cultures in the language Classroom. The university of Michigan Press. Fennes, H. and Hapgood, K. (1997) Intercultural learning in the classroom. London; Casselle. Goffmann, E. (1967) Interaction Rituals: Essays on face-to-face behaviour. New York: Pantheon Books. Hofstede G (1994) Cultures and Organisations , McGraw Hill Pearce R (1998) Developing Cultural Identity in an International School Environment in Hayden and Thompson (eds) International Education: Principles and Practice, pp. 44-64. London: Kogan Page.

30. Thank you! Contact: namrata@namratagoel.com