How Different are We?: Spoken Discourse in Intercultural Communication: 4 (Languages for Intercultural Communication and Education) - Softcover

FitzGerald, Helen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853596191 ISBN 13: 9781853596193

Publisher: Multilingual Matters, 2002

Synopsis

This book examines the influence of cultural values and communication styles on intercultural communication and demonstrates how training can develop intercultural communication competencies. A large number of interactions between well-educated immigrants from all continents and from more than a hundred countries, together with some including native speakers, are examined and participants’ answers to questionnaires compared with their actual communicative behaviour. The author raises questions of interest to many groups: linguists, educators, business people and sociologists. Which values are most salient and enduring, and which cause clashes between cultural groups? To what extent do people retain the communication style identified with their first language and how do these different styles impact on others?

About this title

About the Author

Dr Helen FitzGerald has had extensive experience teaching English to immigrants and international students in both Australia and Asia. At present she is an advanced skills teacher at the Canberra Institute of Technology teaching immigrants in the Adult Migrant Education Program. For the last ten years, she has also had an overlapping career as an intercultural communication consultant and trainer, designing and delivering customised courses and briefings for a wide range of Australian organisations in both the private and public sectors. During this time, she has written a textbook, Cross-Cultural Communication for the Tourism and Hospitality Industry, and written and co-authored a number of articles, training courses and online courses on intercultual communication, on English writing and grammar, and on equity and diversity issues.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

How Different Are We?

Spoken Discourse in Intercultural Communication: The Significance of the Situational Context

By Helen Gay FitzGerald

Multilingual Matters

Copyright © 2003 Helen Gay FitzGerald
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-85359-619-3

Contents

Foreword, vii, 
Acknowledgements, ix, 
Transcribing Symbols, x, 
1 Introduction, 1, 
2 The Data, 11, 
3 Cultural Value Systems: An Overview of the Literature, 21, 
4 Data Analysis: Cultural Values Reflected in the Discourse, 31, 
5 Communication Styles: An Overview of the Literature, 79, 
6 Data Analysis: Discourse Organisation and Rhetorical Strategies, 86, 
7 Data Analysis: Turn-Taking Patterns & the Distribution of Talk, 111, 
8 Data Analysis: Assertiveness, Disagreement and Conflict, 136, 
9 Developing Communicative Competencies, 170, 
10 Conclusion, 205, 
Appendix 1: The Participants, 214, 
Appendix 2: Problems, 218, 
Appendix 3: Training: Methods and Materials, 220, 
Appendix 4: Explanations for Exercise 2, 245, 
Appendix 5: Explanations of Case Studies: Exercise 5, 246, 
Appendix 6: Explanations of Non-Verbal Behaviour: Exercise 6, 247, 
References, 248, 
Index, 258, 

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Purpose and Scope of This Book

Intercultural communication is inherently problematic. Different cultural values and communication styles constitute the underlying causes of the difficulties common in this type of communicative interaction. Many of these cultural differences have been identified through observation, surveys and questionnaires. One specific aim of this study is to identify such differences in an examination of spoken discourse, to see which values and which style features are most salient in the data, and to establish the extent to which they impede understanding and contribute to strains in interpersonal relations. A second aim is to establish what contributes to successful interactions, to identify key intercultural and linguacultural-specific communicative competencies and to provide evidence that training can develop these competencies. The implications for language teaching and workplace training suggested by this study are discussed, and some methods and materials designed to achieve the desired outcomes are included as an appendix.

The source of data for this study is a corpus of video and tape recordings of immigrant professionals and native speakers interacting in discussion and problem-solving groups and dyads. There are a large number of interactions, 76 in all, comprising approximately 40 hours of talk, involving 155 non-native speakers and 6 native speakers. The participants come from all continents, from 104 different countries. Many of them completed questionnaires related to the values they identify with and the communication styles they prefer. This has enabled a comparison of these self-reports with the views expressed, and the communicative behaviour exhibited, in the interactions.

A central assumption of this book is that the situational context in which communication occurs plays a significant role in determining the nature of that communication, and findings from one situational context cannot always be extrapolated to other dissimilar contexts. However, a study that identifies differences and problems as well as successes in this type of communication can provide insights useful for teaching and training.

Outline of Content

In this chapter, the form of the book is briefly outlined and the broader purposes of the study discussed. Some background information about Australia's immigration and language programmes is provided in this context. Then, the main discipline areas that have informed this study and current views about the nature of the communication process are briefly outlined. In Chapter 2, the procedure for the data collection and analysis is outlined, and the nature of the situational context in which these interactions took place described. Some comments of a general nature are made about the interactions.

Chapters 3 and 4 are concerned with cultural values. Chapter 3 comprises a brief overview of the literature related to different cultural value systems. This overview provides a frame of reference for the examination of the data. The aim is to see which values are most evident in this data and what influence value clashes have on the interactions. The way in which cultural diversity can play a positive role in problem-solving discussions is also examined. In Chapter 4, examples from the data are analysed for these purposes.

Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8 are concerned with communication styles. Chapter 5 comprises an outline of the literature on communication styles. This outline, which aims to integrate various frameworks and findings into a coherent overview, again serves as a frame of reference for the analysis of the data in the following three chapters. The objective is to demonstrate where participants exhibit the communication style said to be typical of their culture and where they deviate. The reasons for any deviation are suggested. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 examine the data in relation to the three aspects of communication style that this study has identified as most significant: discourse organisation and rhetorical styles, turn-taking patterns and the distribution of talk, and attitudes towards the expression of opinion and disagreement. A more fully developed and refined framework based on the findings in the data is proposed.

Chapter 9 discusses both intercultural and linguacultural-specific communicative competencies, illustrating how training can develop some of these competencies. Chapter 10 outlines the key findings and conclusions and discusses the implications for teaching and training. Some methods and materials used in practical applications indicated by the findings are included in Appendix 3.

Broader Purposes and Issues Relevant to This Study

What is the purpose of examining the particular type of intercultural communication involved in this study? The data represents an extensive sample of participants who were similar in terms of variables such as age and level of education, in ostensibly non-hierarchical relationship with one another, engaged in very restricted types of speech activities in relatively relaxed settings. Conclusions drawn from it can be compared with those reached about different types of intercultural interactions involving other kinds of participants, activities and settings. The extensive nature of the sample also enables more comprehensive conclusions than could be reached from much smaller samples (Byrne & FitzGerald, 1994; FitzGerald, 1996).

In order to establish which values are the most entrenched and enduring in intercultural encounters taking place in the last decade of the twentieth century, it is useful to get some evidence about the extent to which young, well-educated immigrants with reasonably proficient English subscribe to the values and beliefs of the society they grew up in. This may contribute in a small way to the 'convergence debate': whether with increasing contact and modernisation all groups are converging towards one common endpoint. The answers in the questionnaires completed by the participants provide a means of comparing self-reported attitudes with views expressed in the interactions.

The interactions involving native speakers made it possible to examine some of the claims made about the disadvantages of non-native speakers in such situations. It has been claimed that the widespread use of English in international and multicultural settings is a form of cultural imperialism. For example, it is claimed that greater language proficiency results in an asymmetrical power relationship, in which native speakers can impose their views and values, while non-native speakers can be intimidated, and their intelligence negatively evaluated (Tsuda, 1986). Other researchers describe the fine line between native speakers who modify aspects of their language in intercultural encounters being seen as patronising and rude rather than helpful (Trifonovitch, 1981; Kasper, 1997).

Any study of what contributes to successful intercultural communication can also be of use if it helps promote greater understanding of what constitutes intercultural communication competence. Some excellent studies have been carried out identifying the requirements for communicative competence in English (e.g. Canale & Swain, 1980; Bachman, 1990), but this is not exactly the same thing. To what extent can non-native speakers be expected to become competent in linguacultural-specific terms and to what extent in terms of intercultural competence? For instance, it is necessary to keep in mind the fact that English is not a culture-free language and it can appear like cultural imperialism if teachers aim only to teach native-like communicative competence to learners. Moreover, this is not appropriate in multicultural societies. It incorrectly presupposes, first, that it is not necessary for native English speakers to learn about the way other cultural groups communicate and, second, that the only people with whom learners will have problems communicating are native speakers: that communication is trouble-free when non-native speakers from different cultural backgrounds interact.

In this book, it will be argued that English language courses need to make explicit the different cultural values underlying languages and the way in which they shape a language and its meanings, as well as influence communication style and other behaviours. Contact alone does not lead to understanding. If teachers do not clarify underlying assumptions, it may even lead to contempt and hostility on the part of learners who make judgements from their own cultural perspective. Above all, learners must be sufficient cultural awareness to be able to make informed choices, to decide how far they wish to go in any process of cultural adaptation – for example, to what extent they wish to adopt a new communication style. Analysing actual interactions using English as a lingua franca may identify particular differences and problems, which can then be addressed in English language courses.

Another reason for such studies of intercultural interactions is their practical application in relation to intercultural communication awareness, knowledge and skills training. Real examples are useful to illustrate general points, and the analysis of short transcripts of problematic communication can bring the difficulties to life and help generate strategies for overcoming them. The need for such training is becoming increasingly accepted, for both native and non-native speakers. For example, it is widely accepted that multicultural teams are more innovative and productive than homogeneous teams because they avoid the limitations of 'group think', which is the tendency of people from similar backgrounds to think along the same, rather limited, lines. However, they are only really effective if the group members have had training that alerts them to possible difficulties. Otherwise diversity is believed to cause process problems involving stress, mistrust, misunderstanding and lack of cohesion, all of which reduce productivity (e.g. Adler, 1991; Cox & Blake, 1991; Gudykunst, 1991; Watson et al., 1998). Indeed, researchers take the view that the only ways in which interpersonal communication across cultures can be improved is for people to know as much as possible about those with whom they are communicating and to be aware that misunderstandings are the only thing certain about this type of communication (e.g. Sarbaugh, 1979; Scollon & Scollon, 1995; Smith, 1987; Tannen, 1981). Tannen notes the need for such knowledge when she points to the difficulty of evaluating personality characteristics in such communication. Unless one knows the standards being applied, one cannot assess the divergence from them.

For practical purposes as a basis for interpretation and skills development, it is necessary to work with broad generalisations about cultural groups and to identify and stress group membership. Indeed, research in social psychology supports this approach, arguing that it can make us aware of, and keep readily available, information that it is important to have handy in day-to-day multicultural interactions (Byrne & FitzGerald, 1998a). To refuse to do so for fear of creating or maintaining stereotypes reduces intercultural communication training to vague, well-meaning injunctions with no basis in fact. Such an approach can indicate a form of ethnocentrism in that it assumes that difference is synonymous with inferiority, and, therefore, knowledge about differences will result in the negative stereotyping of minority groups. However, this tendency can be overcome by training that emphasises the positive aspects of all these value orientations, and the strengths of all communication styles in particular contexts, as well as the fact that everyone has an ethnic background. In my experience, in training sessions both in language classrooms and in various types of workplaces, the different patterns identified by the research and outlined in later chapters have been validated again and again by the responses of members of different cultural groups (often delighted recognition and a new appreciation of the underlying causes of familiar behaviours), and by the responses of individuals who have lived in other cultures for extended periods of time and who find that these frameworks enable them to reinterpret and make sense of much of their experience. With regard to stereotyping, it can be argued that remaining silent about stereotypes does not reduce their power and influence, rather it means we do not develop the understanding to use them intelligently as guides and to modify them as necessary.

Finally, an approach that stresses cross-cultural literacy (Luce & Smith, 1987) avoids the dangers implicit in an assimilationist approach. Such literacy or learning requires that all citizens, native-born and immigrant, learn how culture influences all behaviours. Such training enables individuals to become aware of the salient points of their own cultural identity and, at the same time, to realise that their way of doing things is just one among many possibilities. It also facilitates and enhances communication if, as well as knowledge, it practises the skills required for effective communication with people from different backgrounds. For a country like Australia, which is among the most multicultural in the world and which is dependent in economic terms on countries with very different cultures, such literacy or learning is of value for all the community. To mention just two areas where this literacy is especially important, there is the dependence on international students in educational institutions (Byrne & FitzGerald, 1998b) and the fact that the great majority of our tourists now come from very diverse cultures, and we can provide them with excellent service only if we are aware of their different preferences and needs (FitzGerald, 1998). While the need for this type of training is beginning to be more widely accepted in Australia, there are still considerable gaps in the knowledge that is required to make the training really effective. Any research that can contribute even in a small way to the knowledge needed for cross-cultural literacy is of value.

Australia's Immigration Program and English Language Provision

Why are there unique opportunities for research of this type in Australia, and why is there a particular need for it at a practical level? One reason is that Australia provides an opportunity to study the interactions of cultural groups who have no previous history of interaction and who have communication styles that they do not share with one another or with native speakers. This is a result of the radical change in the composition of the population that has occurred since 1945, making Australia today one of the most diverse countries in the world. This change has occurred in the space of only one and a half generations. The comparable transformation in the United States took six generations, and in Canada it took three. Up to 1945, Australia was 98% British: since then, new settlers have come from more than 200 countries (Zubrzycki, 1995). According to Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) figures, since 1945, almost 5.6 million people have come to Australia as new settlers or refugees. In this more than 50 years of planned post-war migration there has been a population rise from about 7 million to more than 18.5 million. At 30 June 1997, 23.3% of the population were born overseas: 6.2% in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 6.8% in Europe, 5.3% in Asia, 2.3% in Oceania, 1.2% in the Middle East and North Africa, and less than 2% in other regions (DIMA, 1998).

The Australian workforce is one of the most culturally diverse in the world. More than 85% of workplaces in Australia now have four different nationalities represented, and 28% have more than eleven (Byrne, 1999). Moreover, while in earlier periods immigrants were found mainly in low skilled, less attractive areas of employment, today they comprise nearly a quarter of the workforce and are represented in almost every area of employment (Gunn, 1997).

(Continues...)

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Edition details

• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1853596191
• ISBN 13: 9781853596193
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272