Language, Gender, and Culture

1. Language, Gender, and Culture Directions: Set up your new Table of Contents with the above title. Your 1st assignment is: Pre-reading: Anticipatory Set

2. Pre-reading: Anticipatory SetDirections: mark “Y” or “N” for each • I prefer it when people speak quietly around me. • I prefer it when people look me in the eye when we talk. • I like it most when I am taller than the person with whom I am speaking. • I like to talk loudly at parties. • I appreciate when someone is at least a foot from me when we are in conversation.

3. I whisper more than I yell. • I like to be the center of attention • I often wished I was more out spoken. • I consider myself to be a good communicator. • I always know when someone is angry with me – even if they don’t say it. • I can tell when someone is being dishonest. • 12. My facial expressions come across loud and clear to people. • 13. I find myself telling secrets with my friends a lot. • 14. I do not like to be in a crowd of people.

4. 15. I speak to people, but I do not look at their faces when I talk. • 16. I stand close to people when I talk. • 17. I am more comfortable talking to one gender than the other. • 18. I have more friends of one gender than the other. • 19. I spend a lot of time on the phone talking with my friends. • 20. My mom or dad say I am too loud. • 21. My parents are affectionate with each other. • 22. I find myself with my arms crossed or my hand on my hip when I talk to someone.

5. Jump the Line • Let’s go OUTSIDE! (bring your answers). • Significance of “The Line” • Chalk “Yes” or “No” • Jump every time • Either straight up… OR • Over the Line • Be prepared to “defend your answer”

6. Debrief “Jump the Line” • Introduce: • Language • Culture • Gender

7. Quick write (4 different ones) • Divide paper in half (horizontally). • Label #1 on the top front. • Label #2 on the top back. • Label #3 on the bottom back. • Label #4 on the top back. • You will be responding to your quick write in the space labeled. (7 minutes for 1 paragraph).

8. One or two generations ago, men and women seemed to have firmer codes for how to behave: men could be loud and assertive, but women were expected to dress modestly and use feminine voices. Do you think these “rules” for males and females behavior still hold true today? From your own experiences and observations, what can you point to as support for your position? • 2. Families have their own rules for how males and females members should talk and behave. Think back to the advice you have heard in your family or to the rules you have noticed in your family members following. Describe the communication styles of talking and behaving for men and women in your family. • Although tennis fans seem to find it normal that male tennis players grunt when they swing the racket forcefully, many sports journalist have complained that when females tennis players grunt during a hard swing, it is distracting from the game. What do you suspect is behind their object? Explain your reasoning. • 4. How do American women typically speak in their own conversations? Consider volume and pitch of voice, choice of words, body posture, closeness of speakers, eye contact, use of hands while speaking, and so on. Now consider the way American men typically speak.

9. Share Quickwrite Ideas • Print your name on your partner’s paper (on your Quickwrite #). • (Paper behind your back) Summarize your thoughts. Partner listens and then jots down notes. • When all 4 sides are finished, have a seat.

10. Video Clips on Language and Gender

11. Vocabulary: Bubble Map • What does communication mean? • T-chart: title= MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

12. Making Predictions and Asking Qs • (30 seconds) Tannen’s article “His Politeness is Her Powerlessness”. What will her writing be about? • (30 seconds) Share with partner • Read first paragraph, look closely at last sentence: “Often, the labeling of ‘women’s language’ as ‘powerless language’ reflects the view of women’s behavior through the lens of men’s.” 2. (1 minute) What do you think Tannen means? • (30 seconds) Share with partner; then whole class.

13. First Reading • Look for the thesis (it’s not readily apparent in 1st paragraph). • LANGUAGE POINT: “Indirectness itself does not reflect powerlessness” but that women are “seeking connection” when they speak. • POLITICAL POINT: “Evidence from other cultures also makes it clear that indirectness does not in itself reflect low status. Rather, our assumptions about the status of women compel us to interpret anything they do as low status.”

14. Debriefing the Thesis…continued • Suggests: Our tendency to characterize women’s behavior as low status is what makes it difficult to see their conversational styles as legitimate, powerful, or effective. • Is Tannen assuming that only women are seeking to build rapport? (Can this be paret of men’s intentions as well?)

15. Debriefing the Thesis…continued • Is Tannen subtly valuing women’s speech as superior to that of men’s? • Has she merely exchanged one value hierarchy for another? • What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of characterizing linguistic styles?

16. TREE TRUNK: “Indirect Communication” • Find some of Tannen’s vocab expressing this concept. (ex: “polite, sensitivity, covert, sneaky, underhanded, delicate”) • Add each of these to a different branch. (1 word per branch). • Add your own words related to this concept. • (ex: subtle, suave, polished, refined, elegant, euphemistic). • Connotations? (underhanded vs. sneaky; sensitive/indirect).

17. 2nd TREE TRUNK: “Direct Communication” • Find some of Tannen’s vocab expressing this concept. (ex: “natural, logical, demand, clumsy, crude”) • Add each of these to a branch. • Add your own branches/words related to this concept. • (ex: overt, straightforward). • Connotations? • Think of film characters that embody these characteristics.

18. Re-reading the Text (Directed Annotations- I DO: prgh 1) • Paragraphs 3+4: How does Tannen explain women’s tendencies to use “covert” communication strategies? Write down at least 2 reasons that the author provides. • Sometimes an author will debunk a myth (examine an assumption that many people have about an issue). Mark the margins where you see Tannen doing this.

19. 3. Annotate in the left-hand margin: • The issue or problem Tannen is writing about • Tannen’s main arguments • Examples Tannen gives • Her conclusion

20. PARTNERS: Consider the Structure of the Text • Discuss your ideas of why Tannen devotes the majority of her article to analyzing women’s speech. • Does this rhetorical choice strengthen or undermine the persuasiveness of her argument? • Have your ideas changed about the ways in which men and women talk?

21. Introducing Key Concepts • Draw a line down the middle of your paper. • Label left side: GIVE ONE • Label right side: GET ONE • Left side: info you already know • Right side: info you gain from classmates + name of students. • Hand out Fact Cards (Asian American history, WWII, Korean War; Communist China + Mainland China).

22. Vocabulary from Text Underline each word in the text and list them in your notes (skip 3 spaces between words). Read the sentences and figure out their meanings. For each, write the part of speech and definition in your notes. • sullen (21) • guttural (40) • talk-story (40) • faltering (40) • arrogant (45) • sarcastic (52)

23. FIRST READING: (look for and mark) • According to Kingston, what characterizes traditional Chinese speech, and what kind of talking is valued? • In the first 3 pages, the narrator describes the differences between American and Chinese schools. How were rules different in the two schools? Why do you think it was easier for the narrator at a Chinese school than at an American school? • What did the narrator learn regarding the American idea of feminine speech? How did she alter her speech in order to be accepted in the classroom and by her peers?

24. Poker Chips: 2 paragraphs (14 minutes) • Linguistic researchers, such as Tannen, have shown that male and female communication styles are different. Some have gone so far as to suggest that women could benefit themselves by learning a “male” style of communication, including, for example, giving direct orders, … (p.9) • Tannen • People

25. Summary Sentences • 3 posters (A, B, C) • Write summary sentences. • Walk around and “Get the gist” of the other 2 you didn’t answer by copying 3 sentences. • Write a 10 word summary about the other 2.