1- ANTHROPOLOGY (THE STUDY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY) AND CULTURE SHOCK

 

2- EXCITEMENT STAGE

 

3- REJECTION STAGE

 

4- ACCEPTANCE STAGE

 

5- ACCULTURATION STAGE

 

1. What is the reason for culture shock?

1. an illness
2. a bad experience
3. a move into a different culture

2. Which one is NOT true about people who have culture shock?

1. Many things are new to them              
2. They are unhappy every day
3. They are living in a host culture    

3. The Excitement Stage usually begins ___________.

1. after a person sees the new place
2. after moving into the new culture
3. before leaving the home culture

4. How long does the Excitement Stage last?

1. one day
2. six months to a year
3. from a few days to six months

5. In the Rejection Stage, a person wants to ___________.

1. go home quickly
2. be part of the new culture
3. buy a new house in the new culture

6. According to the text, a person’s life is ___________ in the Rejection Stage.

1. excited and happy
2. interesting and happy
3. difficult and unhappy

7. According to text in the “Acceptance Stage”, a person thinks the host culture is ___________.

1. better than the home culture           
2. worse than the home culture
3. different from the home culture         

8. Which is NOT a reason why people feel happier in the Acceptance Stage?

1. They eat better food
2. They have better language skills
3. They have a better understanding of behaviours and customs.

9. The Acculturation Stage happens ___________.

1. after leaving the host culture        
2. after living in the host culture for six months
3. after living in the host culture for several years

10. In the Acculturation Stage, a person ___________.

1. loses his or her culture
2. enjoys many of the customs and the beliefs of the host culture
3. None of the above

11. In which stage did the lecturer “understand the teacher’s way of thinking and stop caring when other students were late”?

1. Rejection Stage
2. Acceptance Stage
3. Acculturation Stage

Today we are going to discuss what it’s like to live in a new culture, a new society. Now, as you may know, the study of culture and society is called anthropology. Well, I became interested in anthropology when I was nineteen and travelled to the country of Albania. It was my first time living away from home. And it really changed my view of the world and of myself. So what happened to me when I was in this new culture? Can you guess? I experienced culture shock. Now, have you heard of culture shock? No? OK, well, some of you may have it right now! Ok, don’t worry; it’s not an illness. It is the shock, or the surprising feelings you have when you enter another culture. Culture shock often happens to people when they leave their home culture and go to live in a different culture, which we call the ‘host culture’. Culture shock is a process. That is, research shows that culture shock has four stages. So let’s look at these four stages of adjustment-or getting used to a new culture. The first stage is called the Excitement Stage. Now this stage usually starts before you even leave your home culture - also called your ‘native culture’. Now before I left home, I was certain that my life was going to be completely wonderful when I finally reached Albania. Have any of you had similar experiences? So you can understand why this first stage is called the Excitement Stage. And this excitement continues until after you enter the host culture. Now all the new sights and sounds and smells and tastes are very interesting when you first arrive. And, in fact, this stage may last anywhere from a few days to six months. Well, after some weeks, your feelings change-oh yes, you begin to have very different feelings. You move from the excitement stage to the second stage of culture shock, called the Rejection Stage. Why is it called that? Well, because you reject, or push away the host culture. The main symptom is that you don’t feel like participating in this new culture. In my case, I realised I was very different from the people around me. And, I felt unhappy that I couldn’t fit in. I wanted to go home immediately. Right away. Now, this feeling’s normal. When you are living in another culture, the language is difficult. And people’s behaviours-you know, how they act- they can seem strange. For example, I came to the class on time every day. But some students came in fifteen, even thirty minutes late. And the teacher never seemed to mind. I couldn’t understand this. There are other symptoms of the rejection stage. You might feel tired or anxious. Things that felt simple to do back home, now, in this new environment, feel like a lot of work: like answering the phone or shopping. And then, there’s loneliness. Me, I really missed my family-and especially my mom’s peach pie. Anyway, so that’s the rejection stage. And how long it lasts varies from one to six months. Well, fortunately, most people move on from the Rejection Stage, and they enter the third stage: the Acceptance Stage. What do you think happens in this stage? Right, of course: you begin to accept some of the behaviours and the beliefs of the host culture. Life becomes easier: your language skills get better. And you understand the behaviours and the customs around you. For example, I learned to understand my teacher’s way of thinking, and stopped caring when other students were late for class. This is normal in the acceptance stage: you learned that the host culture isn’t better or worse than your home culture-just different. And that brings us to the fourth and final stage of cultural adjustment: Acculturation. That’s a-c-c-u-l-t-u-r-a-t-i-o-n. Now, to become acculturated means to become adjusted to the culture. This happens after living in a place for several years. In this stage, you enjoy many of the customs and the beliefs of the host culture, but you still keep your home culture. Ok, time’s almost up so let’s review. Today we talked about the four stages of culture shock: Excitement, Rejection, Acceptance and Acculturation. And we covered some of the characteristics of each. Now for next time, be ready to discuss any experiences you may have had with these stages of cultural adjustment.

1. C
2. B
3. C
4. C
5. A
6. C
7. C
8. A
9. C
10. B
11. B