Cultural adaptionWord下载.docx

Cultural adaptionWord下载.docx

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NevinBlumer

InthecourseofmyextendedstayinBeijing,Ihavecomeacrossmanystudentswho,outoffright,askmetogivethemadviceonhowtoadaptoverseas,particularlyinCanada,sinceIamaCanadian.Thetypical

concernsrangefromsocialones,likemakingfriends,tomoreprofessionalconcerns,likeculturalissuesatwork.

Manyofthestudentsthatexpresstheseconcernsassumethatculturaladaptationinvolvesatypeofbehaviormodification,andrequiresasystemofcommunicationtofacilitatethisadaptivebehaviour.Manywould-beoverseasstudentsandimmigrantsfearthattheirowncultureorlackofEnglishskillsmayinhibitthisprocessofadaptation.Whiletherearelegitimatewaysofpreparingforlivingoverseasthatinvolvecultureandlanguage,itisneitheryourculture,noryourEnglishthatwillinhibityourprocessofadaptation.Culturaladaptationdoesnotinvolvethrowingawayyourculturaltraditions,nordoesitinvolveanywholesalebehaviouralchange.AndwhiledevelopingyourskillsinEnglishcertainlyhelpsyoutounderstandmore,itdoesnotnecessarilyensurethatyouwillavoidproblemsduetoculturaldifferences.

Culturaladaptationismoreaboutsensitivity,understanding,reactionandanticipation.

Sensitivitymeansbeingobservantofthereactionsofothersandlookingforsignsandmessagesthatcommunicatepeople’sfeelings.Muchofthisinvolvesnotonlyconcentratingonwhatisbeingsaid,butalsowhatisunsaidbutstillcommunicated.Nonverbalsignscancommunicatemuchmorethanmerewords.

Understandingmeansthatyouarepersistentlytryingtodiscoverrealitiesbeyondthesurface.Thismeansthatyouareconstantlytryingtoclarifymeaningsandsearchingforarangeofopinionsandinterpretations,notjustaselectfew.

Reactionisyourresponsetoevents.Adaptationofteninvolvesreactinginthemostconstructiveandeffectiveways,sothatthoseyouinteractwithlearnandgrowfromtheexperience,justasyoudo.Thiscontrastswithreactionsthatseemtoresultinstressandanxiety,liketempertantrumsandviolence.

Anticipationisyourabilitytopredicteventsbasedonyourknowledgeofculture.Forexample,ifyouknowthatcertainwordswillbereceivedbetterthanothersyoumaychoosetousetheminstead.Anticipationallowsyoutochoosemoreeffectivewaystointeractandgetalongwithotherssocially.

Culturaladaptationisaprocessofchangingperspectivesandreconcilingyourvaluesandbeliefssystem.Itisaprocessofbeingabletorefineyourreactionsandresponsesinawaythatallowsyouameasureofsatisfactionandsuccess.Itisnotaboutjumpingtoconclusionsandfindingneatlittleclassificationstolabeleachandeveryexperienceyoufindyourselfinoverseas.Inshort,adaptationdoesnotmeanbecominga“culturalexpert”.

Ihavelivedin3countries,Chinabeingthelastone.Myownexperiencehastaughtmethatlivingoverseasinvolveschanginginterpretations.ThemostcommonproblemIhavefoundwithexpatriateslivinghereinChinaisthattheyquicklyinterprettheirnewenvironmentandseemunabletoofferthemselvesnewinterpretationsinresponsetonewevents.Theymayquicklysay,forexample,thattheythinkmakingfriendsisdifficult,thatthelocalsseemcoldorunfriendly,withouttryingtoconsiderwhatitisaboutthemselvesthatisisolatingthemfromtherestofthehostsociety.Theyfindthatafterlivinginacountryfor2yearseventsarenotsoeasilycategorizedandlabelled,andsotheyarebacktosquareoneintheirunderstanding,eventhoughtheythoughttheyhadfiguredouteverything.Thuswhenwetalkoftheprinciplesordo’sanddon’tsoflivingoverseaswemustbecareful.Theall-embracingprinciplesofculturaladaptationjustdon’texist.

Don’tweneedsomefixedsetofprinciplesforadaptationoverseas?

ManystudentsofminestillaskmeforthehardandfastrulesoflivinginCanada.Forexample,theyaskmewhatthebestwaytostartaconversationis.Someaskmehowtheycanpolitelysaygoodbye,othersaskmewhatkindofgifttheyshouldgivewhenarrivingatsomeone’shome.

WhenIaskthemhowtheywouldfeeliftheyreceivedthesesameresponsesandgestures,theanswertheygiveisusuallythesameonethatIwouldgive.Howwouldyouyourselfreacttosomeonedoingthesamethingtoyou?

Therealitythatwillhitmostvisitorstoacountrywhostayforanextendedlengthoftimeisthatpeoplearoundtheworldareremarkablysimilar.Andnomatterhowbanalthistruismmayseematfirst,itmaytakeavisitoragoodfewyearsbeforeitreallybeginstosinkin.

Whywouldittakesolong?

Typicallywegothroughstagesofdevelopmentwhiletryingtoadaptoverseas.JeanPiaget（afamousSwisschildpsychologist）notedthatyoungchildrengothroughstagesofaccommodation,anxietyandadaptationwhenexposedtonewexperiences.Eachnewexperiencethatcannotbeaccommodatedmaychallengetheirpre-existingconceptions.Adultsaremuchthesame.Adultswholiveoverseaswillhavetheirpre-existingconceptionschallengedconstantlyandaccommodationwillnotcomeatonce.Typicallythereare3distinctstagesinaforeignvisitor’sculturaladaptationdevelopment:

thehoneymoonstage,thehostilitystageandtheadaptationstage.

HoneymoonStage（normally1–6months）

Thefirststageiscalledthehoneymoonstage.Researchershaveobservedacrosssectionofsubjectsfromavarietyofcountriesandnotedthatthereactionsforthefirst6monthsareremarkablysimilar.Webeginourlifeoverseaswithahoneymoonperspectiveoftheplace.

Thehoneymoonmeanseverythingissofreshandnewthatwetendtorespondinanaivelypositivewaytoeachnewthingwesee.Wearelookingfordifferencesandrelishitwhenwefirstseeit.PerhapsinBeijing,forexample,thebustleofpeoplecrowdingintoabusisasightthatdelightsandamusestheforeignvisitor,althoughitmayannoythatsamevisitor7or8monthsafterhefirstarrives.Ahoneymoonstagemeansthatavisitoristryingtoabsorbdifferencesintotheirconceptualframeworkfuriously,somuchsothatheorsheseesdifferencesinthingsthatmaynotbedifferentatall.

Itisatimewhenwearefuriouslytryingtocategorizethingsandthuswetendtomakeovergeneralizations.Wedothisbecausewewanttofeelasifweareincommandofourlivesandwewanttocreateorderfromchaos.Sowebegintosaysuchstatementsas“Chineseare…”or“Canadiansare…”,eventhoughwehavehadtoofewinteractionstomakesuchstatements.Inotherwords,wearenotinapositiontomakesuchjudgementsbutwedosoanywaybecauseofoureagernessto“knowtheunknown.”

Wearestillinatouristmindseteagerlytryingtofindoutwhereallthevariouslandmarksare,tryingoutandlearningthenamesofeverydishwecan.Westartconversationsandseemgenuinelyinterestedinpeoplewhoapproachus.Wearealsointerestedinthecultureandfuriouslystudythelanguage.

Thisstageusuallylastsforupto6monthsbutitcertainlycanbeshorterorlonger.Itisapleasantstage,asallhoneymoonsoughttobe,wheneveryoneseemssofriendlyandhospitable,andmostsociologistsadviseyoutoletitlastforaslongasyoucan.

HostilityStage（normally6months–2years）

Asweallknow,honeymoonscan’tlastforever,andsothebusinessofsettlingintoaroutinebecomesimportant.Instabilityandchaosarefunforawhilebutwedonotwantittounsettleourlivesforanyextendedperiod,sowebegintocreateorder.Creatingorderinaforeigncountryisdifficultbecausewelackthecapacitytodothingsaseffectivelyaslocals.Oftenourreactionsturntohostility.Webegintodeeplydistrusteveryoneandsuspecttheworstintentions.WearetrulyintoourhostilityPhase.Whereaswelookedatdifferenceswithsuchdelightandcuriosity,nowitbecomesaburden.

Thisstageisthemanifestationofakindofhiddenhomesickness.Itisatthispointthatwebegintomakecriticalcomparisons,andwhenwedoourhomecountryalwaysseemstowinout.Wewonderwhythehostcountrycannotdothingsthesamewayasourhomecountry.IcanrecallspeakingtoagroupofstudentsfromHongKongwhocomplainedoftherudenessofCanadiandoctors,theinefficiencyofthetrafficsystem,andthelazinessoftheprofessors.Themoretheyventedthebettertheyseemedtofeel.

Interactionsnaturallysufferduringthisperiodandyourtemperwillbemuchshorter.Youwillfindyourselfgettingupsetmoreeasilyandinargumentsmoreandmore.Youbegintolabelthepeopleinmorenegativeways.Youbegintosuspectthattheyareallracistandagainstyourcountry.

Youfindyourselfvotingforanysportsteamexceptthehostcountryanddisagreeingwiththehostcountry’spoliticalpositions.Youparticularlyfinditannoyingwhenpeopleofthehostcountryshowanykindofpatriotism.Eventhedishesyouusedtoloveorderingseemboringnow.Mostannoyingtoyounowarethemanypeoplewhoaskyouthesamequestionsthatseemtoinvadeyourprivacy.

Atthesametimeyoubecomemoreromanticaboutyourhomecountry,forgettingthatitmighthaveeverhadthesameproblems.Manythings,asfarasyouareconcerned,justwouldnothappeninyourhomecountry.Yourhostcountrynowseemsslightlyuncivilisedandyounolongertakeanyinterestintheculturalevents.

Thisstagecanlastaverylongtimeorveryshorttime.Nobodycansaywhatmovesyououtofit,butmanysociologistssuspectthattheevolutionofroutinesandordertendstohelpyoumovepastit.Also,awidecircleoffriendsfromthehostcountrytendstohelp,sinceyouareabletogetawidevarietyofinterpretationsandexplanations.Onethingforsure,how