Межкультурная коммуникация. Практикум для магистрантов

5. To decipher the text of any national culture, it is necessary to know:

a)the national world view of this culture;

b)non-verbal means of communication;

c)rituals and traditions;

d)language.

WRITING

Задание 23. Сделайте письменный анализ данной ситуации, опираясь

на вопросы.

It is 9 p.m. The train “Moscow — Tomsk” is about to pull out of the station. Four passengers are settling in a compartment: a young mother with a baby, an

elderly military man, a male student and an elderly woman. The young woman is trying to comfort her crying baby, but in vain. That obviously makes other fellowpassengers feel rather uncomfortable. The elderly military man is making an effort to focus on reading a newspaper. The young boy, a student, immediately made his bed on the upper berth. The middle-aged woman sitting next to the man looks irritated, but keeps silent watching the young mother. It is stuffy in the room. Besides, the wet baby smells terrible.

Now the train starts moving. Soon the baby gets even more restless.

Whatever the mother does (rocks the baby, breastfeeds it) her efforts are futile yet. She looks worn out.

The tension in the room is growing. The middle-aged woman sighs, rolls up her eyes and touches her head as if in pain, the military man frowns, the seemingly sleeping boy shelters his head under the pillow.

Those signs are noticed by the young mother and that makes her even more nervous and helpless. There follow some advice remarks from the passengers offering how to comfort the baby. The young mother follows the instructions but that does not help.

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Questions:

1.What is the setting: place, time, participants?

2.What is the event? Name the facts (participants’ verbal and nonverbal behavior).

3.What may be the feeling of the participants?

4.What is the problem?

5.Is the problem being solved? How?

6.What can be the goal of all the participants?

7.What type of behavior and communicative style do the participants demonstrate?

8.Are their actions effective?

9.What cultural norms can be traced?

10.What ethical norms are violated?

11.What can be the alternative course of actions in this case?

12.How can the verbal communication be constructed to make the situation more successful?

ROLE PLAY

Задание 24. Разбейтесь на группы по три человека. Играйте роли поочередно.

Participants:

–person from Blueland;

–person from Whiteland;

–person from Redland.

Procedure:

1. Explain that students will arrive from three different countries according to their roles to participate at a reception (or a party for first-year undergraduates, a business meeting or a ball depending on your students’ interests).

2. All they have to do is get to know one another a little by talking briefly to as many people as possible.

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3.Distribute role-cards and let students stand up, walk around and get to know one other.

4.After about eight to twelve minutes of partying (less if you have a small number of students), they should be asked to sit down in groups of four or five, preferably so that there are people from Blueland, Whiteland and Redland in each group as well as one or two observers.

6.Distribute the set of questions (see below) for the discussion and let them answer the questions and discuss the issues in their groups.

7.Bring the whole class together and elicit some of their answers and final conclusions so you can evaluate the experience of cultural encounters together. This is probably a good time to ask your students if they have ever had intercultural misunderstandings with people from other cultures or tell them about your own similar experiences. You could also ask them whether they have ever been excluded from anywhere and how that felt. Another, perhaps more difficult, issue that can be discussed here is whether your students avoid or exclude any group of people on any basis.

Sample role-cards

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Follow-up questions:

1.What did we learn about the three different cultures?

2.What is the role of physical contact?

3.What caused (or could have caused) conflicts?

4.How did participants avoid/solve conflicts?

5.Are there any similarities between your culture and any of these three cultures?

6.What are some of the differences?

7.Which culture did you find the strangest of all?

8.What else would you like to learn about these cultures?

9.How did you feel while you were participating in the game?

10.What did you notice when you were observing the role-play?

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МОДУЛЬ 2. КУЛЬТУРНО ОБУСЛОВЛЕННЫЕ РИТУАЛЫ ОБЩЕНИЯ

LEAD-IN

Выполните задание на стереотипы и предрассудки (Приложение 2).

Задание 1. Предлагается тест, позволяющий понять, насколько ваш образ мыслей и манера поведения приближена к британскому стандарту. Ка-

кие источники, с вашей точки зрения, предлагают наиболее четкое представление о ментальности британцев?

1.You're about to go on holiday, it's 7 a.m., and you're sat in the departure lounge. What do you drink?

a) a cup of Earl Grey;

b) a cup of Builder's Breakfast; c) a coffee;

d) a pint (you're on holiday, after all); e) a glass of OJ.

2.The hairdresser holds up their mirror, you hate your new haircut. What do

you do?

a) politely ask them if they could maybe make it more like what you had in mind; b) call in sick at work for a few days to ensure minimum embarrassment;

c) tell them it's "great", then go and get it fixed at a place round the corner; d) tell them exactly what you think, and refuse to pay;

e) smile and nod, before tipping them.

3.You're introduced to a new colleague but don't quite catch their name. How do you react?

a) ask them to repeat their name;

b) avoid using their name at all costs by calling them “mate” and “hey you”;

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c)guess their name;

d)ignore them forever;

e)make up false stories about them so that they lose their job.

4.When did you last have a cup of tea? a) you don't drink tea;

b) in the last month; c) in the last week; d) earlier today;

e) you're drinking one right now.

5.You wave at a friend in the street but then realise it wasn't them. Do you...

a) laugh it off, it's happened to everyone;

b) chase them down to explain what happened; c) cry;

d) replay the moment over and over again in your mind until something even

more embarrassing happens;

e) have a drink.

6.You and your partner are both adamant that each other eats the last Hob Nob. How do you resolve the situation.

a) split it into two;

b) do what they say and eat it;

c) open another packet so you can both have one; d) argue about it and break up;

e) what's a Hob Nob?

7.Someone knocks into you at the bar and spills their beer on you. You...

a)get angry;

b)offer to buy them a replacement;

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c)say sorry (it was probably your fault anyway);

d)pretend that nothing happened;

e)try to make a joke out of it and become their friend.

8.Your flat is freezing cold, but it's too early in the year to put your heating on. What do you do?

a) put on a record-equalling sixth jumper;

b) put the heating on, who cares if it's August;

c) sit there stubbornly whilst moaning about how cold it is; d) make a cup of tea;

e) go to the pub.

9.Are England going to win the World Cup?

a)yes;

b)with a bit of a luck and a fair wind they COULD make the final, then it's anyone's;

c)they'll lose the quarter finals on penalties;

d)probably not, but let's give the boys our full support;

e)they've got about as much chance of winning in Brazil as Scotland do.

10.You're sat in the window seat of a plane and need the loo, but the person in the aisle seat is asleep. What do you do?

a) gently wake them up to ask if they can let you out;

b) risk lasting internal damage by refusing to say anything; c) cough louder and louder until they wake up;

d) try to squeeze past them without waking them up, but they do, just as it looks like you're trying to sit on their lap;

e) loo?!

11.You've started to bump into a new colleague on the train to work every morning. So you...

a) Change your commute;

b) Arrive at work half an hour early so as to avoid forced nicities;

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c)Talk to them, it's nice to be nice;

d)Ignore them forever;

e)Pretend to be asleep.

Задание 2. Предлагается тест, позволяющий понять, насколько ваш образ мыслей и манера поведения приближена к американскому стандар-

ту. Какие источники, с вашей точки зрения, предлагают наиболее четкое представление о ментальности американцев?

1. Lagniappe is a term used in southern Louisiana for:

a)hurricanes;

b)something free or sometimes a small gift given by a store owner to a customer after a purchase;

c)inviting someone over for a meal;

d)helping a friend with home remodeling or yard work.

2. What is the name of the dish that features black-eyed peas and rice (although sometimes collards, ham hocks, stewed tomatoes, or other items) and is served in the

South, especially on New Year’s Day?

a)chitlings;

b)jowls;

c)hoppin’ John;

d)red rice.

3. A very sweet pie made from molasses that originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch:

a)mincemeat pie;

b)sugar pie;

c)shoofly pie;

d)lancaster pie.

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4.Which of the following is not the name of a Native American tribe? a) Seminole;

b) Apache; c) Arapaho; d) Illini.

5.The month of Ramadan, a month of fasting for Muslims, ends with which

holiday?

a) Eid ul-Fitr;

b) Allahu Akbar; c) Takbir;

d) Abu Bakr.

6.On June 12 every year, some U.S. Americans celebrate “Loving Day” to

commemorate:

a)your legal right to love someone of another race;

b)your legal right to love someone of the same sex;

c)your legal right to be a single parent;

d)your legal right to get a divorce.

7. The celebration of Buddha’s birthday is not held on Christmas, but instead on:

a)fourth of July;

b)July 14;

c)Asian Lunar New Year’s Day;

d)Hanamatsuri.

8. Sometimes viewed as a Scandinavian tortilla, these potato flatcakes are often sold in areas with high Scandinavian American populations:

a)Lefse;

b)Lutefisk;

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c)Aquavit;

d)Fiskepudding.

9.This traditional Mexican soup is made mostly from tripe, hominy, and chili: a) tortilla soup;

b) tomatillo;

c) chorizo soup; d) menudo.

10.Like a coconut pudding, this food comes from Hawaii:

a)lomi lomi;

b)poke;

c)haupia;

d)kalua.

Задание 3. Символы культуры. Каждое из предложений содержит

“colourful expression”. Что означают идиомы? Есть ли подобные идиомы

врусском языке?

1.Everyone in class passed the exam with flying colours.

2.She did not go to work because she was feeling a little off colour.

3.The detailed descriptions in the story gave local colour to the book.

4.Far more men are colour-blind than women.

5.All the documents in this office are colour-coded.

6.What do you think of the colour scheme in this room?

7.Do not allow your personal interest to colour your judgement.

8.It was only when he had won the match and started jeering at his opponent that he saw him in his true colours.

Задание 4. Определите, что в следующих идиомах с компонентом

цветообозначения отражено в английской и русской лингвокультурах?

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