Vol 07 No 3 TESL Reporter

              REP
M EL teaching english as
vol 7 no 3
a

eit

i

e

0

second language
laie hawaii
spring 1974

iORT rcuRturN lHUMANmunication nte COUl SE a com A SH
IN
by kenneth eugene mann
foreign students in the united states encounter a number of difficulties because of the cultural differences that they find these difficulties range from cultural shock to total communication failure since the student body at the church college of hawaii consists of about t50 foreign stubou 50 dents intercultural communication is of

CCH SEMINAR

AWARENESS

e enced by the foreign students at the church college of hawaii the participants of the seminar took part in exciting discussions in which intellectually stimulating ideas were
shared resulting in an increased awareness for peoples of other cultures dr peter strevens well known writer and professor of applied linguistics served as the guest speaker for the seminar dr larry smith of the cultural learning institute at the east west center in honolulu introduced professor strevens other speakers panelists participants and observers were administrators faculty and students at the church college of hawaii the purpose of the seminar was to help meet the needs of those who might benefit from the acculmulated experience and skills of people who have specialized in the area of intercultural communication the barriers to intercultural communieven cation are widespread and varied though they are somewhat easy to identify the barriers are difficult to bridge solutions are frequently a long time in coming because human behavior is somewhat whimsical in addition a particular solution will not solve all intercultural communication problems of v a similar type there is also the problem involving cultural traditions since culture is the man made part of the environment and is learned ethnocentrism plays an extremely prominent role and may even become a barrier to communication people do things in

prime concern on campus on march 28 1974 the first intercultural communication seminar was held exploring some of the a problems anxieties and frustrations expen

CONTENTS
CCH seminar in intercultural communication A short course in

human awareness by kenneth eugene mann
wh sentences by yao shen

page

1

the tense carrier in two kinds of
page 3

teaching grammar through games page 4 by duane hurst us

the functions of DO in english the functions of CAN and
WILL in english

by alice C pack

page 14

TESL reporter that is the correct way to do them proit is essential for anyone involved in communicating on an intercultural basis to refessor strevens pointed out that because member that communication and culture society X does something one way and soare intertwined at almost every point 7 ciety Y does things another way that of it is impossible to separate them when an course does not mean that X is better or individual converses with someone of anworse than Y 1 I in fact he warned that other society he must find the common one of the most difficult things to stop frames of reference or face the reality of doing is making value judgments about failure in his communicative attempts the other peoples cultures people need to situation is eased somewhat if both indirecognize that cultures differ in standards viduals are aware of the additional barriers n of beauty values and attitudes the that are present when each comes from a successful intercultural communicator realhowever that is an different culture izes that all cultures have traditional values extremely idealistic situation that rarely is that have been insitiutionalized and most communicative attempts of reality knows something about those values 3 he the former type are doomed to failure must also keep in mind that all cultures almost from the beginning are valuable no culture is inherit antly the more an individual knows and understands about a culture the more likely he mann who received his ph D dr will be able to talk to someone of that in speech communication from indiculture without offending him however ana university has taught at purdue it is essential to remember that cultural and indiana universities and has pubbeliefs are not immutable they may and lished several articles concerning intervery often do change and iin differing rates 8 nd cultural communication the learning of the language broadens our cultural experience in fact dr strevens superior to any other they are all differ4 ent 1 I As a result each culture has someexplained multi lingualism means to some thing that it can contribute something aextent at least multi culturalism 9 but bout which other societies can learn and by learning the language is not always possible which others can be enriched or even practical As communication technology continues the process of communication is not to be developed the peoples of the world simple that process is influenced made are coming more in contact with each other more difficult or easy by any num berrof umbe of mb thus the problems of intercultural comfactors when people from the same culture munication are real and are becoming intalk to each other they do it on the basis 5 creasingly important as the world shrinks 3 of shared cultural beliefs 10 anytime indithe conditions in this world with the ever viduals communicate orally or in writing present threat of war in various parts ot me ln they convey information about themselves globe makes the need critical for renewed their purposes for communicating the degree and constructive dialogue reasoned discourse of formality and informality and the social among and between cultures nations and relationships that exist each time another the accumulated experience and skills of element is present in the communication peoples 6 process the communicative attempt becomes more difficult the intercultural situation is 1 speech of peter strevens intercultural merely one additional factor that complicommunication seminar church college cates the communicative process it is of hawaii laie hawaii march 28 11974 8 97 necessary to keep in mind that when an 2 strevens individual operates according to one set of c ultural values and his foreign friend operates 3 larry samovar and richard porter under a quite different set of cultural tradiintercultural communication A reader problems will almost tions and values wadsworth publishing co belmont 7micchael H prosser intercommunication f m i h aei m 35 1972 inc among nations and peoples new york 4 strevens harper and row publishers 1973 x 5 strevens 8 strevens 6 9 LS harms intercultural communication strevens 10 new york harper and row publiish erq s shed P continued on page 12 strevens 1973 2

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