From Stereotypes and Culture Bumps to Cultural Awareness

1. From Stereotypes and Culture Bumps to Cultural Awareness Marija Andraka FacultyofTeacherEducation Zagreb, Croatia marija.andraka@zg.t-com.hr

2. What are the first threethingswhichcomeintoyourmindwhenyouhearthewords 'England' or 'theEnglish’? fishandchips bowler hat Royal Family cricket theweather Shakespeare beer London

3. STEREOTYPE • a popular belief about specific types of individuals • a simplifiedandfixed image of all membersof a culture or group • based on race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, national origins

4. a generalizedassumptionaboutpeoplebased on limited, sometimesinaccurate, but ofteneasilyavailableinformation • based on second-handinformationratherthan first-handexperience

5. A stereotypedoesnotrecognizethecomplex, multi-dimensional nature ofindividual human beings Finns are not talkative Britons cannot cook firemen are courageous Scots are stingy blondes are less intelligent Italians are noisy

7. Psychology • an individual's experience with groups, patterns of communication about those groups, and intergroup conflict Sociology • the relations among different groups in a social structure • Who benefitsfromthestereotypingofcertain groups?

8. SocialPsychology • Thebasis for stereotypingliesinthenature of human cognition. • anorderingprocess - anessentialpartofmakingsenseofthe world andsociety • stereotypes are often contextually based • there are real differencesbetween groups and societies • A stereotype represents only a starting point that is to be evaluated and changed when new information merits it.

9. Are stereotypesaccurate? Thestereotype Researchresults stereotypes are often accurate people do not rely on stereotypes when relevant personal information is available • stereotypes are inaccurate, resistant to change, overgeneralized, exaggerated, and destructive

10. nottrue or false, but reflect a particular set ofideologicalvalues • there is a common shared perception about a group difference – it may be either accurate or false • suggestthateveryonewithin a group is the same

12. Are stereotypesalways negative? All groups have both positive and negative stereotypes attached to them. African-Americans are gangsters. Asians are baddrivers. TheFrenchhateAmericans. Australians are self-absorbed. • African-Americans are great athletes. • Asians are good at playing musical instruments. • TheFrench are goodlovers. • Australianssurfandspend all the time on the beach.

14. Positive Negative

15. in-group andout-group stereotypes • Ethnocentrism • Thevalues and standards ofmycultureare universally applicable. • Myculture issuperior to other cultures.

16. auto-stereotype simple: In our opinion we are … projected: We think that they consider us to be … • hetero-stereotype simple: We think that they are … projected : We feel that they think that they are …

17. Do stereotypes always result in prejudice? The use ofstereotypesleads to falseassumptionsaboutpeopleandcanleadtomisunderstandings, hostileandabusivebehaviours, conflicts, discrimination, andprejudice. lackofawarenessunintendedprejudice awarenessrejectionofstereotype

18. CULTURE BUMP • cultural difference • ‘confusedencounters’ (Thorp, 1991) • when an individual has expectations of a particular behavior within a particular situation and encounters a different behavior when interacting with an individual from another culture

19. CultureBump Theory • how cultural differences affect interpersonal, intercultural interactions • how culture-specific knowledge is acquired and its effect on relationships • culture bumps are never eliminated since one's own culture is never eliminated • without self-reflection, culture bumps maintain the potential for misunderstanding

20. Differentculturesseethingsindifferentways 1. WaysofKnowing 2. Ways of Solving Problems 3. Ways of Communicating Non-verbally 4. WaysofLearning 5. Ways of Dealing with Conflict 6. Ways of Using Symbols

21. Culture bumps may involve: • linguistic utterances • “human understanding is by no means guaranteedbecause conversants share the same dictionary” (Barnlund, 1999) • translatingallusionsandmetaphors • body-language • handshake • burpingafter a meal • personal spaceinconversation • patting a child on the head …

22. stressandintonation • dresscodes

23. attitudes to status, age, gender • attitudes to humour • attitudes to appropriate levels of formality and informality • perceptions about appropriate meal-times • perceptions about punctuality • etc.

24. CULTURE • complex • multi-layered • multifaceted • theiceberg metaphor • theonionmetaphor(Hofstede, 1991) 

26. “Culture is a fuzzy set ofattitudes, beliefs, behaviouralnorms, andbasicassumptionsandvaluesthat are sharedby a groupofpeople, andthat influence eachmember's behaviourand his/her interpretationsofthe"meaning" ofotherpeople's behaviour.” (Spencer-Oatey, 2008: 3)

27. How do materials address the issue of culture ? CulturalcontentinCroatian ELT textbooks • 1950-2010 • 6 generationsoftextbooks • primaryschooltextbooks

28. Sourceculture/target culture/othercultures

29. UK/USA/Australia

30. Realisticrepresentation/stereotype

31. 1950s

32. 1950s

33. 1960s

34. 1960s

35. 1960s

36. 1960s TwoImportantDatesinSpring (8 March, Tito’s birthday) MarshalTito speaks to children • “It is a cold daytoday, isn't it?” – “Yes, it is very cold andcloudy.”

37. 1970s

38. 1970s • TheBattle on theRiver Neretva • “Here's your tea. Jack is drinking tea.” • A poem: Let's have a cupof tea

39. 1980s Tea is ready Tea time • “At five o'clockthey all have a cupof tea.” • “Thechildrencanhavefishandchips for lunch.” • the target culturepresentedmainlythroughtouristattractions

40. 1990s • Sourceculture - Croatiantouristattractions • Target culture - realistic

41. Textbooksin use today

44. Textbooksin use today • toast, tea withmilk, bacon andeggs – typicalEnglishbreakfast • “Whilesinginganddancing, Irish people love to drinkGuinness, thefamousblackbeer. The Irish also love storiesandlegends.“

46. Teachingculture Fourfrequentapproaches to teachingculture: • The Frankenstein Approach– bitsandpieces • The 4-F Approach (Folkdances, festivals, fairs, andfood) • The Tour GuideApproach– monuments, rivers, cities, etc. • The 'By-The-Way' Approach – sporadic lectures or bits of behavior selectedindiscriminately

47. Whatcanwe do/change? • Start withourselves • teachers should be carriers of empathy, flexibility and curiosity • teachers should apply critical thinking skills in their lesson delivery • It’s notaboutavoidingstereotypesandculturebumps; it’s aboutraisingawareness.

48. Culturalawareness

49. Culturalawareness • using cultural differences to develop skills that are necessary for developing authentic and deep relationships between individuals from differing cultural backgrounds