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M4 - U3 - Culture Shock Copying Strategies

Module 4 focuses on understanding and coping with culture shock, emphasizing its inevitability and providing strategies for support. It covers general coping strategies, Kate Berardo's model of cultural transition, and reflection exercises to help trainees adjust to new cultural environments. The module aims to equip trainers with the knowledge and skills to assist trainees in overcoming culture shock effectively.

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Evgenia Nikulina
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29 views11 pages

M4 - U3 - Culture Shock Copying Strategies

Module 4 focuses on understanding and coping with culture shock, emphasizing its inevitability and providing strategies for support. It covers general coping strategies, Kate Berardo's model of cultural transition, and reflection exercises to help trainees adjust to new cultural environments. The module aims to equip trainers with the knowledge and skills to assist trainees in overcoming culture shock effectively.

Uploaded by

Evgenia Nikulina
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Module 4 – Culture Shock

Unit 3 – Culture shock coping strategies

www.intermobil-project.eu
Module 4: Intended learning outcomes

• Knowledge: Understand the concept of culture shock through the


prism of different theories.
• Skills: Recognize culture shock in trainees. Develop support strategies,
taking trainer responsibilities and boundaries of those responsibilities
into account.
• Competences: Support trainees in overcoming culture shock without
overextending trainer responsibilities.
This module explains the principles of culture shock and provides ways to
apply that knowledge in an everyday training context.

www.intermobil-project.eu
Unit 3: learning outcomes

• Knowledge: Understand general strategies for coping with culture


shock; understand Kate Berardo’s model of cultural transition.
• Skills: Identify the ways of overcoming culture shock; using Berardo’s
model to determine strategies for overcoming culture shock.
• Competences: Reflection on personal experience of overcoming
culture shock; awareness about the ways of adjusting to a new cultural
environment.

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Key aspects to be covered

• Aspect 1 – Short definition of culture shock


• Aspect 2 – General strategies for copying with culture shock
• Aspect 3 – Kate Berardo’s model
• Aspect 4 – Reflection exercise

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Culture shock

Culture shock is a stress reaction which a person experiences when s/he


enters a new culture.
It comes from:
• inability to understand cultural cues in the new environment;
• ambiguity, lack of certainty, and unpredictability.

Research shows stress reaction cannot be avoided in cross-cultural encounters.


Even the most prepared experience some degree of culture shock. (Zapf, 1991)

The question is how to help trainees overcome culture shock


and adjust to a new cultural environment.

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General coping strategies
A company hosting a trainee may use the following suggestions to help
him/her overcome culture shock and adjust to a new environment:
1. Understanding of Culture Shock
Explain that culture shock is inevitable. It happens not because a trainee has
some personal problems, but because s/he interacts with new people in a
new place without familiar clues and resources.
2. Awareness of danger signs
Explain the signs of culture shock:
• Avoiding people • Feeling misunderstood
• Uncontrollable emotions (even by the closest people)
• Complaining about society • Feeling all alone
• Negative attitude to locals • Thinking about things

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General coping strategies
(Continued)
3. Connections with local ethnic community
Encourage connections between the trainee and people of his/her culture
who have already gone through the culture shock in your area.
4. Communication competence
Not being understood is one of the major stress factors in a new culture. Help
the newcomer learn and practice effective communication according to the
rules of the new setting.
5. Analysis of culture bumps
Help the trainee analyze specific situations when s/he experienced difficulty,
misunderstanding, or frustration in the new culture.
M. K. Zapf (1991)

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General coping strategies
(Continued)
Dr. Carol Archer suggests the following scheme for analyzing culture bumps:
• Define the situation when you felt different and uncomfortable
• List the behaviors of other person / people in the situation
• List your own behavior in the situation
• List your feelings in the situation
• List the behaviors you expect from people of your culture in the same
situation
• Reflect on the underlying value in your culture that prompts that behavior
expectation

The host company, in its turn, can explain:


• why people of the host culture behaved this way in the situation
• what values underlie such behavior
M. K. Zapf (1991); www.culturebump.com

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Berardo’s Model

Kate Berardo, a consultant in intercultural issues, proposes the model of


cultural transition, which also helps overcome culture shock.

WHAT: bring to life the experience of


culture shock – what has happened?
WHY: explore “why” it has happened.
HOW: understand the reactions to
what has happened.
WHAT NOW: suggest detailed,
personalized and specific coping
strategies and apply them.
www.culturosity.com

www.intermobil-project.eu
Reflection exercise

Reflection on your experience


• Use Handout 1 to reflect on your experience of
overcoming culture shock
In case you work with a partner or in a group:
– Share your experience with them
– Participate in the discussion

www.intermobil-project.eu
Thank you for your attention
For further reading and resources please visit
http://www.intermobil-project.eu

www.intermobil-project.eu

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