HKU SPACE Community College Lecture 14: Comparison and Contrast/ DO

English for Academic Purposes II

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Studying Abroad – is it worth it?

Discussion
Do you know anyone who has studied abroad?

What have they told you about their experiences,

both positive and negative?

In groups, make notes in the table (below):

Advantages of Studying Abroad Disadvantages of Studying Abroad

language barrier
learning a new language
culture shock
more independent
high cost
more friendly learning environment
homesick
meet new friends from different countries
safety concern
more career opportunities

Reading
The following excerpt comes from Robert Kohls’ book Survival Kit for Overseas Living. Read the text and answer
the questions that follow.

What is Culture Shock?

1 “Culture Shock” is the term used to describe the more pronounced reactions to the psychological
disorientation most people experience when they move for an extended period of time into a culture
markedly different from their own.

For some people the bout with culture shock is brief and hardly noticeable. These are usually people
5 whose personalities provide them with a kind of natural immunity. For most of us, however, culture
shock is something we’ll have to deal with over a period of at least several months. “Culture shock” is
often mixed with “frustration”, and although both are related and similar in emotional content, they do
differ. Frustration is always traceable to a specific action or cause and goes away when the situation is
remedied or the cause is removed. Frustration may be uncomfortable, but it is generally short-lived as
10 compared to culture shock.

1
 Symptoms of Culture Shock
Culture shock does not result from a specific event or series of events. It comes instead from the
experience of encountering ways of doing, organizing, perceiving or valuing things which are different
from yours and which threaten your basic, unconscious belief that your culture’s customs, assumptions,
15 values and behaviors are “right.”
Additionally, it does not strike suddenly or have a single principal cause. It builds up slowly, from a
series of small events which are often difficult to identify.

The Stages of Culture Shock

1. Initial euphoria
20 Most people begin their new adventure with great expectations and a positive mind-set. If anything,
they come with expectations which are too high and attitudes that are too positive toward the host
country and toward their own prospective experiences in it. At this point, anything new is intriguing
and exciting, and the over-riding experience is one of enjoyment. This period of euphoria may last from
a week or two to a month, but the let-down is inevitable.
25 2. Irritation and Hostility
Gradually, focus turns to an awareness of cultural differences, and these differences, which suddenly
seem to be everywhere, are troubling. Little, insignificant problems are blown way out of proportion.
This is the stage generally identified as “culture shock,” and you may experience any of the associated
symptoms.
30 3. Gradual Adjustment
The crisis is over and you are on your way to recovery. This step may come so gradually that, at first,
you will be unaware it is happening. Once you begin to orient yourself and are able to interpret some of
the subtle cultural clues and cues which passed by unnoticed earlier, the culture seems more familiar.
Gradually, too, your sense of humor returns and you realize the situation is not hopeless after all.

Answer True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG) for each of the following statements:
F
1. “Frustration” and “culture shock” are both generally attributed to a particular situation or occurrence. _____
T
2. In the second stage of culture shock, small difficulties seem far worse than they really are. _____
T
3. Once you start to adjust to the more noticeable features of the host culture, you will feel more at ease. _____

2
Writing

The figures below show the cost of studying in five major educational destinations.

Table 1. Bachelor Degrees – Tuition and Living Expenses (in HK$)

Australia US (private) US (public) The UK Canada New Zealand

Arts 288,502 1.07 million 625,179 446,922 315,317 267,529

Business 288,634 1.07 million 630,771 444,275 429,658 261,217

Science 326,726 801,473 630,771 519,922 324,760 280,879

Engineering 456,456 1.07 million 631,207 514,969 446,278 395,120

Source: IDP Education Australia

The following sample illustrates how a comparison could be drawn between two of the destinations listed:

A comparison of tuition and living expenses: Canada and the UK

According to the table, Bachelor Degree courses in the UK are considerably more expensive than those offered
in Canada. In the UK, the most expensive is the Bachelor of Science degree, costing HK$519,922. This is
followed by HK$514,969 for a Bachelor Degree in Engineering, and HK$446,922 for a Bachelor of Arts degree.
The cheapest UK degree listed is a Bachelor of Business degree, which would cost slightly less than an Arts
degree, at HK$444,275.

In Canada, however, the most expensive is a Bachelor of Engineering degree. The cost of a degree in this
discipline is C$446,278, a great deal cheaper than a presumably similar degree offered in the UK. Ranked
second in terms of tuition and living expenses are Business degrees. At C$429,658, this is almost $HK15,000
cheaper than a degree in Business in the UK. As regards Science degrees, there is a massive $HK195,162
difference in the cost when comparing the two destinations. Of the four degree types listed in the figures for
Canada, Arts degrees are the cheapest at C$315,317. Once again, there is a great deal of disparity when
comparing the cost of a similar degree offered in the UK. A student would save HK$131,605 if they were to
study a degree in Arts in Canada rather than in Great Britain.

1. Read the text and underline all the expressions of comparison and contrast.

2. Outside the classroom, write a comparison of two other educational destinations.

3
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPfB6GIjM9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H82IFq0HbTQ&feature=related
Listening

The presentation you are about to watch was designed to help international students at Columbia University
Business School deal with cultural adjustment in the US.

As you listen to Dan Fishel, a member of the Peer Advisor Team, answer the following questions:

Part 1. Personal (8:03)

1. What symptoms are common among those who experience culture shock? (name at least three)

sadness
________________________ longliness
________________________ frustration
________________________
anxiety trouble
concentrating
2. Are the following statements True (T) or False (F)?

T
38% of foreign second year students said they were greatly troubled by culture shock. ______

F
The hardest part for Fishel was that he "couldn't make a living out of words" in the US. ______

3. What small things were irritating to the presenter when he first arrived in the US? (name all four)

________________________ ________________________

________________________ ________________________

4. What bothered the presenter most about the Americans?

______________________________________________________

Part 2. Social (5:21)

1. What eventually helped the presenter adjust?

Understanding the _______________________________________.

2. When international students were asked how long culture shock lasted, the largest proportion of respondents said

6
__________ months.

3. Fishel presents a graph showing the time it takes to adjust to cultural difference. Around when in Phase 2 does
the curve start to dip?
school is going to start
___________________________________.

4. Which two tips does the presenter believe are "key" to adjusting more quickly to life in the US?

___________________________________ ___________________________________

Post-viewing Discussion

Which aspects of Hong Kong life do you feel international students would have difficulty adjusting to?
4
 Language Summary

considerably
a great deal
(very) much smaller
(quite) a lot bigger
rather cheaper
X is somewhat better than…
a little more expensive
slightly less beneficial
scarcely etc.
hardly
only just

exactly
precisely
just
virtually
practically
X is more or less the same as…
almost
nearly
approximately
about

exactly
X is not entirely the same as…
quite

totally expensive
X is completely different from Y. X is not quite as useful as…
entirely rewarding
quite etc.

different in every way.

dissimilar respect.

X and Y are
totally
completely different.
entirely
quite