Acculturation And Intercultural Communication - Research Paper Example

Acculturation And Intercultural Communication Cross-cultural psychology and the process of acculturation have gained importance in recent years because 20% of all children in the US are immigrants (Bhatia, 2002). Acculturation has become complex due to increasing globalization, the rapid creation of multinational citizens, and the formation of diasporic communities and massive flows of transmigration. When interacting with individuals across cultures, while there are fewer commonalities, the variables keep increasing (Fantini, 1995). There are differences in language, culture and world views that mediate human interaction. Communication becomes a major issue when they do not share a common cultural experience. It is hence important that the different cultures become assimilated and the people that work and live together understand, share and live together in harmony. This necessitates an understanding of the culture of the American Indians (AI), their methods of communication, cultural laws, and cultural identity. Intercultural communication barriers arise from group differences in cognition, affect and patterns of behavior (Spencer-Rodgers & McGovern, 2002). These include values, norms, beliefs, language, customs and communication styles and effective intercultural communication requires adaptation to all these differences. One has to meet the challenges of language barriers, unfamiliar customs and practices and cultural variations in verbal and non0verbal communication styles. Even though groups may attempt to understand and over come the communication barriers, most tribes and groups prefer to maintain their cultural identity. Bhatia (2002) contends that immigrants from the third world countries construct their identities as citizens of the first world countries but they also retain strong affiliations, identifications and loyalties to their home country. Cultural identity is an a priori condition that affects human existence. Freud has described cultural identity as an unconscious emotional experience while others describe it as a person’s basic identity formed during the earliest periods of socialization (Kim, Lujan & Dixon, 1998). Individuals who are unable to develop a healthy group identity think of themselves as misperceived by others and they are more likely to fall into substance abuse or other self-destructive behaviors. The social identity theory states that self-identity cannot be achieved without a positive sense of group identity. The American Indian society believes in being affiliated to some group to preserve their cultural identity. The American Indian society is pluralistic. They usually have some membership or are affiliated to some tribe or tribes. The most salient identifier for some is a membership in a society within a tribe. They nurture a fear that identification with a non-Indian culture is equivalent to the loss of one’s Indian culture (Fleming, 1995). However identification with different cultures is orthogonal which implies that identification with one culture does not decrease identification with another. Kim, Lujan and Dixon (1998) further contend that the traditions and cultural identity of Native Americans of Oklahoma has undergone dramatic change through active contacts and interactive marriages with the Whites. There is a sense of self-efficiency and they are assertive in setting agendas for themselves. The AIs are represented by a large number of different tribes and cultures with different degrees of adaptation to Western culture norms. They form a sense of community through social interaction activities but are invisible, geographically dispersed and multi-racial (SMHSA, 2009). Each person in this community has experienced cultural connection in a unique way. Many families are multicultural and they adapt to their surrounding culture. They identify themselves with their homeland or the family tribe when asked, “Where are you from?” Difference in the courtesies and conventions of conversation across cultures affects the teacher-student relationship and the teachers may have to be trained to understand the American Indian students. Tharp and Yamauchi (1994) point out that cultures vary in the amount of ‘wait time’ that can be allowed or expected. Wait time is the amount of time that teachers have to give to the students to respond and also the amount of time that teachers wait after student response before beginning to speak again. If their expectations of the wait time are different the students’ participation in the class may reduce and teachers’ frustration may increase. American Indian students in America and Canada feel insecure about the value of their own cultural identity as they interact with the dominant group. They feel disempowered and this affects their academic performance but if their native identity is string they do better at school (Demmert, 2001). The sense of the self is related to motivation, academic achievement, and retention in school. There are cultural impacts on goal setting and achievement. The AIs are at a disadvantage when it comes to the method of instruction in school. The Whites have been taught since early childhood to express ides in the form of speech. Hence they listen to instructions and are able to follow them instantly. As a result the learning experience in a typical White classroom is restricted to oral instruction where the AIs are disadvantaged as they are taught not to speak up. The AIs are reflective by nature and would examine all sides of the issue before responding. Thus they spend more time watching and listening less time talking compared to the Whites (Pewewardy, 2002). Sometimes they may be reluctant to solve the problem for fear of facing embarrassment should their solution be incorrect. They then remain silent and this silence is often misunderstood as lack of interest. The AIs have been taught to be respectful towards their task and this is expressed by doing that task well. This also indicates that they have fulfilled the purpose of the activity and hence when they fear that they make a mistake they prefer to keep silent. Hence it becomes important for the teachers/instructors in schools to understand the nuances of culture of the American Indians. American Indians are proud of their diversity. AIs are not alike, they do not speak the same language nor have the same tribal system. Even though they have diversity, they also have common core cultural values such as the importance of family and extended family, respect for elders, the matriarchal structures, spirituality, importance of traditions, and issues of death and mourning (Weaver, 1999). Unless one understands the difference in responses due to cultural differences, actions and words can go unnoticed or misunderstood. Without understanding of their people, culture, traditions and rituals it is very difficult to help them and teach them. To interact and engage the AIs collectively and individually requires skill and ability. It also requires containment skills like patience and the ability to tolerate silence. Any one, be it a social worker or a teacher from another culture needs to understand that to engage the AI one has to be less verbally active. One must also be humorous and accept being the target of humor. The AI community has undergone generations of oppression and changing this takes time. This requires that other culture understand that patience is required to deal with them. Hence one must learn to respect their silence, sit quietly and listen. The Native Americans speak more than 200 different languages and many are as dissimilar as Chinese and English but the Indians experience linguistic oppression (Fleming, 1995). Adopting English meant losing the linguistic symbols of culture and gaining new biases. The linguistic oppression led to a cultural change resulting in gender-role differences in the socialization of the children, the evaluation of language use and the mediation between the Indians and the Whites. There are differences in cultural groups and these are closely related to regional differences and these can be distinguished by their language and spiritual beliefs. There are hundreds of beliefs systems held by American Indians and Alaska Natives. Most tribes have a common beliefs such as that there is a Supreme Creator and there are lesser beings also (Fleming, 1995). They believe in harmony between the mind, body and spirit and in the continuity of the spirit even after it leaves this body. They believe in regular worship and they follow scared traditions. If social workers have to deal with the AI they have to be first grounded in their own cultures and spirituality (Weaver, 1999). This is based on the belief that without balance in their own lives they will not be able to provide competent services. If people from different cultures are dipped in academic arrogance it would be difficult to deal with AI because they believe in humility at all levels. The AI doe not appreciate if others are judgmental about others. This community appreciates differences and does not believe in defining or judging people and cultures. Indians value group collective. There are many Indian value systems and these include the importance of sharing and generosity, respect for elders and harmony with nature. Indian children learn by watching and listening and societal norms have been passed down through the generations by way of story telling (Fleming, 1995). These legends and stories carry highly specific meaning and involve intricate relationships. They use symbolism, animism and metaphors to teach complex concepts. The children can memorize visual patterns and use graphic metaphors. Their communication styles are unique. Words are to be honored and not wasted. Words have power and there is no idle conversation in Indian homes. There is an emphasis on observant, reflective and integrative skills leading to communication patterns that give virtue to silence, listening and non-verbal cues, and learning by example. Asking direct questions is considered indecent and hence the Indians are often seen as passive, uninvolved and uninterested. The AI has learnt to ‘walk in two worlds’. They will observe the cultural practices of their own traditions when in those settings and will observe other cultural practices when in dominant cultural settings (SMHSA, 2009). The American Indians belong to the high-context culture as per Hofstede’s dimensions of culture. This group has collectivist culture and believes more in non-verbal communication. Hence intercultural communication is accompanies by nonverbal behavior which provides an anlogic background for digital words (Bennett, 1998). Voice, gestures, eye contact, spacing, and touching are all expressions of emotions that supplant the verbal message. This group communicates a great deal through non-verbal gestures. Hence people from other cultural background need to be careful in observation to avoid misinterpretation of non-verbal behavior. The people from this group look down out of respect when talking to elders but they may also do this when expressing disagreement or displeasure while talking to someone (SMHSA, 2009). A gentle handshake is a sign of respect, not weakness. They convey truth or difficult messages through humor. One has to understand the humor and find the meaning because asking for direct clarification about sensitive topics is seen as invasion. They often use humor and teasing to show affection or corrective advice. Humor is a useful teaching strategy when working with learners of all ages in the AI community (Pewewardy, 2002). Humor helps to bring the Indian students together and reaffirms the bonds of kinship. Laughter relieves stress and strain and enhances connectedness that comes from being a part of the group. People may be at different positions of the continuum and hence interpret and misunderstand nuances and nonverbal behavior. For instance the European Americans may interpret the reserve of the Native Americans as ‘lacking ambition and self-esteem’ whereas the Native Americans may interpret the European American gesturing as ‘intrusive and aggressive’ (Bennett, 1998). The AIs do not believe in criticizing another person directly as it is considered disloyal or disrespectful (SMHSA, 2009). They also convey important messages through story telling. Elders are allowed to speak first and given sufficient time to express their opinions and thoughts. In group settings they often take the permission of the elders to speak and before that they offer the opportunity to the elders to express their opinion. When food is served the elders are the first to be offered food and the men are served food by the women. The AIs resist the way they are portrayed in the media. Professional sports teams, universities and high schools in the US use Indian mascots and names which was registered protest by the Native Americans. The Universities feel that dropping these names may jeopardize their chances of receiving donations in the future while the AI considers this as a blatant form of racism. Sports and other forms of competition are not about winning for the Native Americans. Sports should lead to the improvement of one’s spiritual and moral integrity. It should be used to test the agility, strength, skill, talent, courage, vigor and intelligence against those around (Wolburg, 2006). For them sports should be about learning how to gain other people’s respect and to test and judge their mental and physical abilities and skills. Clinical research has been conducted among the AI but without any benefit to the community or tribe. The researchers have entered the Indian communities and collected data without the consent and knowledge of the participants of the tribe, and through their behavior the researchers have even disrespected the local culture and traditions (Schanche Hodge, Weinmann & Roubideaux, 2000). The researchers just fly in, collect data and fly out without much interaction with the community. A researcher must be aware of the cultural differences within the tribe although it is not necessary to know and understand all the cultural distinctions. They must be sensitive to the nuances of the tribe, for example unwelcome or offensive questions may jeopardize the research process. Hence understanding the nuances is an important part of the communication with the Native Americans. Extended families are considered part of the family membership and the AI refers to such relations as grandma or uncle/auntie. Recruiting AI patients for clinical trails has also been found to be difficult unless one understands the communication styles. This tribe is generally reserved, reluctant to seek clarifications, and hesitant to question the treatment process which makes the patient-physician communication one of considerable challenge. The AI is less direct and more generalized in their talking styles. For instance of they visit the physician with a health problem, while any non-Indian would explain the current health problem, an AI would explain all the issues in the past ten years (Schanche Hodge, Weinmann & Roubideaux, 2000). This may be because they believe that health has direct connections with weather, eating habits and taboos. Hence it may appear to be irrelevant to the non-Indian health service provider but it is very relevant to the AI. At this juncture the non-Indian health service provider has to show patience in listening to the client. The organization of speech also varies across culture. For the AI the conclusion may be in the body of the speech and not necessarily at the end. If the service provider interrupts very often, the AI is likely to feel that his thoughts are not important and may take offence (Schanche Hodge, Weinmann & Roubideaux, 2000). The patient needs a chance to communicate his concerns. Intensive questioning is also not appreciated. Body language is an important part of communication. They take time to absorb the questions and may even process the question in their own language, formulate the answer, translate it back to English and then communicate. This process takes time and in the meanwhile the patient may expect cooperation by way of patience. Family plays a central life among the AI and is the focal point of most activities and practices. An individual’s health is not important just for him but for the entire family and the community. Many AIs will confirm with their family members before agreeing to participate or undergo treatment. Hence the family has to be educated and included in the decision making process. Hence the study reveals that understanding the roots of the culture and the way they think, react and communicate is essential to live in harmony with people of different cultures. People across cultures think and react differently; they respond and behave differently. Their style of communication differs and this is usually based on their preserving their cultural identity and the family values. The AI tribe is collectivist and has high-context culture. They give lot of importance to the family; they believe in respect for elders and would not speak up in presence of the elders or at least seek permission. They usually ponder over any issue or question before replying. All these make it important for people from the non-Indian communities to understand what to expect when approaching this community. For instance, the teachers in schools have to be trained to exercise patience with AI children; the physicians have top understand their nuances and so also the counselors. Intercultural communication has received importance in recent years because with the process of globalization today people need to understand and each other to be able to live in harmony. In nutshell, people of a community or tribe still want to maintain their own cultural identity; they values and beliefs set their goals and they need to be recognized. Reference: Bennett, M. J. (1998). Intercultural Communication: A Current Perspective. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from http://www.intercultural.org/mair/reading25.pdf Bhatia, S. (2002). Acculturation, Dialogical Voices and the Construction of the Diasporic. Theory Psychology, 12, 55 Demmert, W. G. (2001). Improving Academic Performance among Native American Students. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from http://www.crosscultured.com/articles/demmert.pdf Fantini, A. E. (1995). Language: its cultural and intercultural dimensions. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from http://www.experiment.org/documents/AppendixJ.pdf Fleming, C. M. (1995). American Indians and Alaska Natives: ChangingSocieties Past and Present. Chapter 6, Cultural Competence for Evaluators, DHHS Publications. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from http://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Ax2AwihPNz4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA147&dq=American+Indian+cultural+identity&ots=moIwhYxkJF&sig=_LgL8ZljdAXj1JnIOAsqG6b01SI#PPA161,M1 Kim, Y. Y., Lujan, P., & Dixon, L. D. (1998). "I Can Walk Both Ways" Identity Integration of American Indians in Oklahoma. Human Communication Research, 25 (2), 252-274 Pewewardy, C. (2002). LEARNING STYLES OF AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE STUDENTS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE. Journal of American Indian Education. 41 (3). Schanche Hodge, F. Weinmann, S. & Roubideaux, Y. (2000). Recruitment of American Indians and Alaska Natives Into Clinical Trials. Annals of Epidemiology. 10 (8), S41-S48 SMHSA. (2009). A Guide to Build Cultural Awareness. Cultural Card. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/ken/pdf/SMA08-4354/C ultureCard_AI-AN.pdf Spencer-Rodgers. J. & McGovern, T. (2002). Attitudes toward the culturally different: the role of intercultural communication barriers, affective responses, consensual stereotypes, and perceived threat. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 26, 609-631 Tharp, R. G., & Yamauchi, L. A. (1994). Effective Instructional Conversation in Native American Classrooms. Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1106&context=crede Weaver, H. N. (1999). Indigenous People and the Social Work Profession: Defining Culturally Competent Services. National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from https://www.naswdc.org/diversity/ethnic/weaver.pdf Wolburg, J. M. (2006). The demise of Native American mascots. Journal of Consumer Marketing. 23 (1), 4-5 Read More