Mercan English American Culture Course Written/Composed by: Brandon Folse and Fred Poole Table of Contents Lesson 1: Cultural Differences 文化差异 Lesson 2: Manners and Etiquette 礼貌和礼仪 Lesson 3: Relationships in the U.S. 在美国人与人之间的关系 Lesson 4: High school Life 高中生活 Lesson 5: University Life 大学生活 Lesson 6: Americas Five Regions 美国地理 Lesson 7: Ten Events that Shaped America 十大影响美国的事件 Lesson 8: American Government 美国政府 Lesson 9: Religion in America 美国的宗教 Lesson 10: Controversial Issues 有争议的事件 Lesson 11: Immigration 移民 Lesson 12: Race Issues 种族问题 Lesson 13: Class and Gender 阶级和性别 Lesson 14: American Slang 美国的俚语 Lesson 15: America Inventions 美国的发明 Lesson 16 Influential Americans 有影响的美国人 Lesson 17: Saturday Morning Cartoons 美国的卡通 Lesson 18: Sitcoms 电视剧 Lesson 19: Current Fads and Pop Culture 现在的时尚和流行文化 Lesson 20: Chinese in America 在美国的中国人 Lesson 1: Cultural Differences Vocabulary 1. handshake 握手 13. insult 侮辱 2. masculinity 男性气概 14. interruptions 中断 可中断 3. wimpiness 懦弱的 15. interruptible 16. disturbed 扰动 4. familiarity 熟悉 17. traditional 传统的 5. attraction 吸引力 18. tend to be 往往是 6. spelled out 讲出来 19. tied to 系住的 7. dependence 依赖 20. limited 有限 8. networks 脉络 21. agricultural 农业 9. Interactions 互相作用 22. circular 循环 10. Blunt 直说 23. punctuality 守时 11. Secretive 隐秘 24. virtue 美德 12. devious 狡猾奸诈的 25. indication 指示 Reading A Cultural differences can cause many problems, below are a few examples of these problems. Hand Shakes In the US, a strong, short handshake shows self-confidence and (heterosexual) masculinity. A weak handshake by a man can be seen as a sign of homosexuality or wimpiness. But in most parts of Africa, a weak handshake is the correct way to do it. Furthermore, it is common in Africa for the handshake to last several minutes, while in the US a handshake that is even a few seconds too long is seen as familiarity, warmth and possibly sexual attraction. High Context vs Low Context • A low context culture is one in which things are fully spelled out. Things are made clear, and there is a lot of dependence on what is actually said or written. A high context culture is one where people think others share the same knowledge as themselves. In a high context culture, more responsibility is placed on the listener to keep up their knowledge base and remain in contact with informal networks. Problems • Interactions between high and low context peoples can cause problems. Lesson 1: Cultural Differences o Japanese can find Westerners to be too blunt. Westerners can find Japanese to be secretive, devious and not willing to give too much information. o French can feel that Germans insult their intelligence by explaining the obvious, while Germans can feel that French managers provide no direction. Monochronic vs Polychronic • Monochronic cultures like to do just one thing at a time. They like everything to be in order. They do not like interruptions. Polychronic cultures like to do multiple things at the same time. A manager's office in a polychronic culture typically has an open door, a ringing phone and a meeting all going on at the same time. Problems • German businessman cannot understand why the person he is meeting is so interruptible by phone calls and people stopping by. Is it meant to insult him? When do they get down to business? • Similarly, the American employee of a German company is disturbed by all the closed doors -- it seems cold and unfriendly. Future vs Present vs Past Orientation Past-oriented societies are concerned with traditional values and ways of doing things. They tend to be conservative in management and slow to change those things that are tied to the past. Past-oriented societies include China, Britain, Japan and most Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. Present-oriented societies include the rest of the Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. They see the past as passed and the future as uncertain. They prefer short-term benefits. Future-oriented societies have a great deal of optimism about the future. They think they understand it and can shape it through their actions. They view management as a matter of planning, doing and controlling (as opposed to going with the flow, letting things happen). The United States and, increasingly, Brazil, are examples of future-oriented societies. Quantity of Time In some cultures, time is seen as being a limited thing that is constantly being used up. It's like having a bathtub full of water which can never be replaced, and which is running down the drain. You have to use it as it runs down the drain or it's wasted. In other cultures, time is more plentiful, if not infinite. In old agricultural societies, time was often seen as circular, renewing itself each year. Problems Lesson 1: Cultural Differences • In societies where time is limited, punctuality becomes a virtue. It is insulting to waste someone's time, and the ability to do that and get away with it is an indication of superiority/status. Time is money. In cultures where time is plentiful, like India or Latin American, there is no problem with making people wait all day, and then tell them to come back the next day. • Time-plentiful cultures tend to rely on trust to do business. Time-limited cultures don't have time to develop trust and so create other ways to replace trust (such as strong rule-by-law). Comprehension Questions 1. Which of the following countries would be considered high context? a. Germany b. France c. America d. England 2. In Chile my friend’s use to tell me to meet 8:00, I knew that this really meant 9:00 because they were never on time. This is an example of what type of culture difference? a. Monochronic vs. polychronic b. Future Vs. Present Vs. Past Orientation c. Quantity of Time d. High Context Vs. Low Context 3. My boss became frustrated with me because I answered my cell phone during our meeting as well as took notes about the days to come. This is an example of what type of culture difference? a. High context vs. Low context b. Future Vs. Present Vs. Past Orientation c. Quantity of Time d. Monochronic vs. Polychronic 4. What would happen if you shook an American’s hand for too long? a. He/she will think you are very respectful. b. He/she will think you are wimpy. c. You are attracted to him/her. d. You are trying to hurt him/her. 5. Which country is NOT a past-oriented country? a. Brazil b. England c. China d. Japan Lesson 1: Cultural Differences A. What does this say about the differences between E and W when telling the “truth”? B. Do you agree or disagree? C. Have you ever encountered this in your life? D. If so, explain. 1. Telling the truth A. What does this image say about the differences between E and W way of life? B. Do you agree or disagree? C. Have you ever encountered this in your life? D. If so, explain. 2. Way of life A. What does this image depict? B. Do you agree or disagree? C. Have you ever encountered this in your life? D. If so, explain. 3. Punctuality Lesson 1: Cultural Differences A. How do the contacts in W differ from the contacts in E? B. Which do you think is better? Why? C. Why do you think this difference exists? D. Have you encountered this in your own life? 4. Connections and contacts A. What does this image say about emotional expression? B. Do you agree or disagree? C. Have you ever encountered this in your life? D. If so, explain. 5. Expression of anger A. What does this image say about people standing in line? B. Why do you think this difference exists? C. Have you ever encountered this in your life? D. What are the advantages of standing in line? Disadvantages? 6. Standing in line Lesson 1: Cultural Differences A. What does this image say about the differences between E and W’s view of self? B. Do you think it is true for all Asians? Westerners? Explain. C. What are the advantages of having a small ego? Large ego? D. 7. View of self (individual’s ego) A. What does this image say about Sundays on the street? B. Is this true in your experience? C. Why do you think many W countries have fewer people on the streets on Sunday? 8. Weekend street scene A. What does this image say about social interactions at parties? B. Do you agree or disagree? C. Have you ever encountered this in your life? D. If so, explain. 9. At a party Lesson 1: Cultural Differences A. What does this image say about noise level in a restaurant? B. Have you ever encountered this in your life? C. If so, explain D. Why do you think the noise level is different in E and W restaurants? 10. Noise level in restaurant A. What does this image say about the differences between E and W when travelling? B. Do you agree or disagree? C. Have you ever encountered this in your life? D. If so, explain. 11. Traveling and recording memories A. What does this image say about E and W’s approach to solving problems? B. Do you agree or disagree? C. Have you ever encountered this in your life? D. If so, explain. 12. Problem solving approach Lesson 1: Cultural Differences A. What does this image say about the differences between the life of the elderly in E and W? B.