APPLIED LINGUISTIC ASSIGNMENT

GROUP 7 PAPER
CROSS-CULTURAL SKILLS FOR TEACHING STUDENTS

The lecturer: Prof Dr Her!"#"t$ S%"r$f& M Hu! 'r$tte( )%: L$(ce Aul$"*+,-.-/.0 1e"2% A3u2t$(" S"r$ *+,-.-450 Sh"ul" Fe)r$ol6$($ El#"( *+,-.++70

GRADUATE PROGRAM STATE UNI7ERSIT1 OF PADANG 8-+,

CROSS-CULTURAL SKILLS FOR ENGLISH FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDENTS

9"c:3rou(6 Many students now wants to study abroad. Many univesities have different students from different countries and of course they have different cultures. Hofstede, G. (198 ! defines "#ulture is the collective $ro%rammin% of the mind which distin%uishes the members of one cate%ory of $eo$le from another." &n addition, 'inton, (. (19 )! states that "A culture is a confi%uration of learned behaviors and results of behavior whose com$onent elements are shared and transmitted by the members of a $articular society". &n teachin% *+', of course in the classroom there are many students who comes to America or *n%land from many country, li,e -rance, .a$an, Malaysia, #hina, &ndonesia, &ndia,and others. /f course in teachin% classroom, the teacher or the lecturer use the first lan%ua%ae and for the students that come from these countries learn *n%lish as their second lan%ua%e. 0ecause of come from different countries and and diffferent culture, so that cross cultural is ha$$ened.

0 Re"2o( for Choo2$(3 the To;$c

0ecause of the cross cultural is ha$$ened in the classroom activities. 1here are 2uestions occur here. 1here is s,ill in cross cultural3 And do we need the cross cultural s,ills in teachin% activities3. 0ecause of these 2uestions, the writers wants to discuss about the cross cultral s,ills for teachin% students.

# Theor% #ulture is the characteristics of a $articular %rou$ of $eo$le, defined by everythin% from lan%ua%e, reli%ion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. 1oday, in the 4nited +tates as in other countries $o$ulated lar%ely by immi%rants, the culture is influenced by the many %rou$s of $eo$le that now ma,e u$ the country (5immermann, 6716!. &f we see the meanin% of cross cultural itself, #ross8cultural ( -ries, in 1*+/' -rance ! is somethin% which covers more than one culture. #ross culture in a country means that, there are many cultures that stay in one area and comunicate each other. At school, cross culture is ha$$ened if the students who study the lan%ua%e there come from other countries. (9i,i$edia! also define the meanin% of cross cultural as dealin% with or offerin% com$arison between two or more different cultures or cultural areas.

Pro)le!2 1he $roblems in this $a$er; 1 6 :o we need cross cultural s,ills in classroom activities3 :o teachers need #ross8#ultural s,ills3

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How #ross #ultural s,ills hel$s the teacher33

CHAPTER II DISCUSSION

Cro22-Cultur"l #ross cultural is a vital issue in international business, as the success of international trade de$ends u$on the smooth interaction of em$loyees from different cultures and re%ions. A %rowin% number of com$anies are conse2uently devotin% substantial resources toward trainin% their em$loyees to interact effectively with those of com$anies in other cultures in an effort to foment a $ositive cross8cultural e=$erience. +chools in western countries aim to %ive every student the best $ossible
education re%ardless of race, culture or lan%ua%e. 'ivin% in an a%e in which most communities include $eo$le from a variety of cultures, schools have had to ada$t to multicultural classrooms. &t has lon% been reco%ni>ed that children seldom thrive educationally or socially when their culture and lan%ua%e are i%nored or deni%rated or are when they stru%%lin% to absorb information tau%ht in unfamiliar ways. 1he schools they attend have therefore had to ada$t $olicies and methodolo%y. ?rovidin% e2ual educational o$$ortunities is an admirable %oal but difficult to im$lement. *very culture has dee$ly held convictions about society, child develo$ment and education. *ducation systems reflect these as well as many other as$ects of a culture 88 verbal and non8verbal communication, $ower distance, male8female interactions, for e=am$le. &n addition, each educational structure has its own curriculum, structure and schedules.

#onfrontation with other norms or beliefs can cause discomfort both for ma@ority and minority cultures.

0 The S:$ll2 Stu6e(t2 Nee6 "(6 Culture $( School +tudents need a variety of cross8cultural s,ills. 1hese include; #ross8 cultural awareness 88 an awareness of cultural differences and their effect on relationshi$s and communication. ?eo$le watchin% s,ills 88 an ability to notice differences in behavior. 1olerance; an acce$tance of differences and ability to form com$le= conce$ts. 1olerance for ambi%uity 88 Aoun% $eo$le can find it difficult to deal with a lac, of certainty in relationshi$s. #ross8cultural awareness. +tudents need to become aware of differences and their res$onses to them. ?eo$le often interact and react to differences without bein% aware of why theyBre res$ondin%. Corean students may come to disli,e Arab students who donBt find modesty im$ortant while the Arab students find Coreans lac,in% in emotional res$onse. Deither reco%ni>es the cultural as$ect of their disli,e. +tudents often notice differences in each otherBs behavior when it annoys them. 1his bias towards ne%ative Enoticin%B and inter$retation means that when hi%hli%htin% cultural differences in the classroom we should ensure that differences are $erceived in a $ositive li%ht. 1hen, ?eo$le 9atchin%. 9atchin% $eo$le from other cultures %ives us information about these cultures. ?eo$le who observe the body lan%ua%e and social interactions in a new situation are more li,ely to behave in an a$$ro$riate way. Doticin% that students 2ueue u$ in the cafeteria and how close they stand, for e=am$le, hel$s new students fit in.

1here are many ways for students to $ractice observation s,ills. Aoun% children already learn by observin% and co$yin% and older students can be animated throu%h the use of media. 1he first ste$ is for them to become aware of their own body lan%ua%e. 1he second is to raise awareness of the cultural differences in body lan%ua%e. 1o foster tolerance in the classroom, we have to be o$en and tolerant ourselves. 1eachers set the tone in the classroom and itBs im$ortant to be able to acce$t the differences we hi%hli%ht. +tudents arrive in the classroom with different levels of tolerance but we canBt afford to hi%hli%ht cultural differences unless we can deal with them in an understandin% and com$assionate way. Multicultural classrooms can challen%e even the most tolerant students. 9or,in% with classmates who a$$roaches wor, in a com$letely different way or who e=$ect you to share your test $a$er, for e=am$le, is difficult. +tudents need hel$ to find the best in each other 88 models of tolerant behaviour, clear classroom e=$ectations, materials to hel$ understand differences and mediation in difficult situations

# 'h% Stu6e(t2 (ee6 Cro22-Cultur"l 2:$ll2 +tudents need cultural s,ills as well as *n%lish. &mmi%rants and refu%ees need the s,ills to ne%otiate their new culture. &nternational students must mana%e new educational systems. +tudents $lannin% to use *n%lish for business or travel will have to communicate with $eo$le from many cultures because *n%lish is a national lan%ua%e in more than F7 countries and the lin%ua franca in many multilin%ual situations.

+tudents have to cross cultural barriers as well as lan%ua%e barriers. 1hey need to ,now how culture affects $eo$leBs behavior, the differences theyBre li,ely to encounter and how they can avoid and counter miscommunications. &ronically, the better their lan%ua%e s,ills, the more theyBre @ud%ed for cultural misste$s. 9hen they s$ea, a lan%ua%e badly, others are acutely aware that theyBre forei%ners and ma,e allowances, but as soon as they s$ea, fluently, $eo$le for%et they didnBt %row u$ in the same culture. 9e thin, students will naturally learn cross8cultural s,ills. &f theyBre to%ether with $eo$le from other cultures theyBll automatically learn s,ills, wonBt they3 MaybeG 1hey may learn some s,ills, es$ecially if theyBre youn%, but they can also develo$ ne%ative conce$ts about the culture $eo$le they donBt li,e, reinforce $reconce$tions they already have or develo$ ne%ative conce$ts because of misunderstandin%s or encounterin% new behaviors.

Do Te"cher2 Nee6 Cro22-Cultur"l 2:$ll2 "(6 Ho# Cro22 Cultur"l S:$ll2 Hel;2 the Te"cher &n other countries that country is it teachersB @ob to reach out to $eo$le from other cultures3 +houldnBt they be learnin% about ours3 &n our own educational systems do we have to ada$t the teachin% methods to accommodate differences3 1he answer to these 2uestions is A*+, not only for the studentsB sa,e but for our own. Most teachers want to teach as effectively as $ossible and to have a classroom that runs well and cross8cultural s,ills hel$ us do both of these. (eachin% out to $eo$le from other cultures brin%s a multitude of $ersonal benefits. &t hel$s us understand both our own culture and the nature of culture. 9hat

are our values for e=am$le, and why do we hold them3 9hich ones can we com$romise and which are non8ne%otiable3 'earnin% about other cultures offers a multitude of new ideas, $ossibilities and solutions to $roblems. Acce$tin% differences are lessons in $ersonal stren%ths such as tolerance and $atience. As the world becomes smaller, we have to become bi%%er in terms of our willin%ness to acce$t others and find brid%es between different $eo$les. And teachers are on the cuttin% ed%e between the cultures of the world. 1hen, how do cross8cultural s,ills hel$ us as a teacher3 9e need cross8 cultural ,nowled%e and s,ills to teach effectively. 1he more we understand where our students are comin% from culturally and lin%uistically the more we can hel$ them learn. At the very least we should reco%ni>e the cultural and lin%uistic lea$s theyBre ma,in%. &f we do not reco%nise the e=tent of these lea$s, itBs easy to thin, theyBre bein% difficult or not too bri%ht. &f we donBt understand the differences we canBt build brid%es between the cultures and ours. Cnowin% about cultural differences hel$ us mana%e our classrooms effectively. &t enables us to communicate with our students and mana%e interactions between students. +tudentsB cultures affect the classroom in every conceivable way 88 from attitudes to learnin%, to lin%uistic and $aralin%uistic issues. 1he ultimate res$onsibility for mana%in% these issues is ours. 4nderstandin% studentsB needs enables us to create a %ood learnin% environment. 4nderstandin% studentsB needs enables us to create a classroom atmos$here in which all students are comfortable and learn o$timally and that also enables students to interact with each other in a way that enhances their cross8cultural communication s,ills.

9e can teach our students to thrive in a %lobal world. /ur students live in a multicultural world and will need cross8cultural s,ills to survive and thrive. 'eft alone, they wonBt necessarily develo$ cross8cultural behaviour. A lar%e $art of communication is also non8verbal and there are cultural elements to every $art of communication. CHAPTER III CONCLUSSION

#ross cultural is is somethin% which covers more than one culture. #ross culture in a country means that, there are many cultures that stay in one area and comunicate each other. &n *n%land and also America, the cross cultural is ha$$ened, because many students from different countries in the world %o abroad to study. 1his situations ma,e the educators have to use the s,ills to teach the students who come from different lan%ua%es. 1here are some s,ills that needed by students. 1hey are cross cultural awareness, $eo$le watchin% s,ills, the tolerance for acce$tance and tolerance for ambi%uity. 1hen, for the teachers, we need cross8cultural ,nowled%e and s,ills to teach effectively. 1he more we understand where our students are comin% from culturally and lin%uistically the more we can hel$ them learn.

REFERENCES ?ratt, Avonne H .ohnson. #ommunicatin% #ross8#ulturally; 9hat 1eachers +hould Cnow. htt$;[email protected]%IArticlesI?ratt8.ohnson8#ross#ultural.html Hofstede, G. (198 !. Dational cultures and cor$orate cultures. &n '.A. +amovar H (.*. ?orter (*ds.!, #ommunication 0etween #ultures. 0elmont, #A; 9adsworth. 'inton, (. (19 )!. 1he #ultural 0ac,%round of ?ersonality. Dew Aor,. 5immermann, Cim Ann . 6716. 'ive+cience #ontributor. htt$;IIwww.livescience.comI61 F88 what8is8culture8definition8of8culture.html 888888888888888888888htt$;IIwww.tesol8france.or%IarticlesIfries.$df 88888888888888888888#ross #ultural.htt$;IIen.wi,i$edia.or%Iwi,iI#ross8cultural