Cultural differences in artifacts and behaviors are easily discernible. These obvious differences are the result of subtle ways of thinking societies impart to their members in various ways. This article describes a language course aimed at discussing the surface differences and examining the underlying conceptual frameworks and socialization mechanisms, while practicing the language of a "target" culture. In this case, the cultures of Japan and the U.S. are compared and contrasted for content and EFL purposes.
Rationale
In the past several decades, explosive growth has taken place in the movements of people and information around the world. With this growth has come a new interest in and a need to develop deeper understanding about how members of societies outside our own live and perceive the world. The buzzwords internationalization and multiculturalism reflect a growing awareness that the world is no longer a collection of disparate countries but an integrated, interdependent mosaic, the glue of which is mutual understanding and respect for the cultures of others. All too often, however, the binding agents in this glue are not effective enough because our knowledge and understanding of another's culture is inadequate. Breakdowns in communication are frequently not because of linguistic miscues but a result of cultural misunderstanding.
Because of the growing recognition that cultural knowledge is a vital component of successful communication between peoples, academic institutions around the world are establishing departments related to Cultural Studies and Multiculturalism. In addition, the relatively recent realization amongst second language professionals that knowledge of a target language's culture is crucial to successful communication in a second language has brought about new methods and courses that address this need.
As Japan increasingly becomes part of the world community, the need to communicate with a variety of people from abroad will grow. To this end, many Japanese universities and colleges are offering courses whose content most often centers on the culture of English speaking countries, particularly America. Rosen (1997, pp. 25-26) describes this type of course in which students learn about certain facets of American and British society as well as the concept of culture in general; this includes the basics on culture shock, ethnocentrism, and the like.
Presently, there are many books on the market that serve as texts for courses of this nature. For the most part however, these texts discuss surface differences of culture, i.e., festivals, fashion, food and family, while ignoring the deeper and more significant aspects of culture that are working beneath the surface to manifest these differences. The purpose of the course proposed in this paper then, is to first examine these surface differences, hamburgers vs. sushi is one example, and then explore the historical processes including the beliefs, values and attitudes that have brought these differences about.
The Course
The intent of the course is to compare Japanese and American culture and through this comparison, illustrate the deeper cultural differences that exist between the two countries. To achieve this aim, students are introduced to a different facet of society at each meeting. Because students are familiar with these facets of society, at least on a surface level, the topics remain accessible to them so they can contribute their own experience and opinions.
The objective of the course is to provide students with a deeper understanding of both their own culture and American culture. Such understanding is useful because it gives insight into interactions between themselves and foreigners. In this course, two major cultural themes recur and are contrasted in most of the classes: group versus individual culture and vertical versus horizontal culture; in each case, Japan is the former while America is the latter. Although there are plenty of other themes that could be explored, such as shame vs. guilt culture, because of its introductory nature, this course is confined to only two themes.
The Method
This course operates on the principle that students learn best when they bring their own knowledge and experience to a given topic (Brinton and Snow, 1988, p. 3). Accordingly, in order to draw out what students already know, each lesson begins with a survey that students can conduct in the class followed by pointed questions that students work on in small groups. The questions are specific and familiar enough that all students will have something to contribute. For example, in a unit discussing the raising of children, students can usually answer when they stopped sleeping in the same room as their parents. By sharing their own knowledge, students are actually experiencing a different style of learning from what they are generally accustomed to in their Japanese classes, where knowledge tends to come via the instructor only. In this sense, students are not only benefitting from a style of learning that draws them into the learning process, they are also experiencing a new learning culture.
After the survey and group discussion of questions, a reading on the topic is passed out that describes differences between Japanese and American culture and the underlying reasons for these differences. To briefly elaborate on the above example on raising children, the reading points out that Japanese children tend to sleep with their parents for several years (Reischauer, 1988, p. 144) while Americans tend to give their children a separate room soon after birth (Levine and Adelman, 1993, p. 172-4). It is then argued that the reason for this difference runs deeper than simple lack of space in Japanese homes. Rather, the closeness between Japanese infants reflects a strong penchant for encouraging dependence and group orientation. On the other hand, Americans prefer to inculcate independence and this is reflected by the new born baby being given its own room.
Finally, after reading the passage, students write down answers to the same questions that they had asked in their groups, only this time for American culture. In this way, students are able to contribute answers for their own culture while reading answers about the target (American) culture.
By the end of the class, students have had an opportunity to speak and read in English while learning about the deeper cultural values that exist in their own culture as well as one of the countries whose language they are studying. In this way, the course provides both language practice in addition to cultural content that reaches to a level beyond that normally discussed.
Assessment
In light of the realities of university education in Japan, that is, one teacher is often responsible for the course design, teaching and marking of at least half a dozen courses per semester, student assessment must be kept very efficient. The one term course outlined below includes assessment in three components.
The first component is attendance. Because students are meant to be active participants in group discussions that take place each week, attendance is an important part of the final grade. Secondly, a report (minimum 500 words) which discusses one or both of the class's themes in regard to a topic of the student's choice is required at the end of the term. Reports are expected to include proper referencing and footnotes, which is also taught in the course. Finally, a take home exam is conducted which asks students to creatively apply what they have learned over the previous 15 weeks.
Course Content
Week 1: Fundamentals of Culture: Many factors affect the way culture develops, for example, the physical environment, the way of getting food, the great people in a culture's history, religion, and political will. These factors have given Japan a vertical structure of society which is group oriented. In America, these same factors have led to a horizontal, individually-oriented culture. As an example of one element, great people, the influence of Confucius is contrasted with thought from ancient Greece.
Week 2: Raising Children: The way that people raise their children reflects the culture of a given society. For example, Japanese raise their children to live in a group culture while Americans raise their children to live in an individual culture. By examining why couples have children as well as how parents treat their children with regard to sleeping arrangements, bathing, baby sitting, and disciplining, a better understanding of both the differences and similarities of the two cultures may result.
Week 3: Family: A cultural study of the family constitutes several elements including: how couples first meet, the reasons people marry and divorce, whether they live with their children, who controls the money, etc. Japan and America can be contrasted in all of these facets and often deeper cultural values are reflected in the differences. For example, the continued practice of arranged marriages in Japan reflects the need of families to have some control over the acceptance of new members before they enter the group. In America, couples are mostly free of this type of practice (Nanda, 1994, p. 235).
Week 4: Communication Styles: Certain elements of language such as compliments, greetings, vocabulary, and expressions of modesty reveal that Japanese language tends to pay more attention to a social hierarchy and the wishes of the group, while English language is more oriented toward the individual with less concern for the status of one's listener (Adler and Rodman, 1994, pp. 328-9). Examples such as the Japanese frequent use of words like senpai, which is translated with difficulty into English, serve to illustrate this point.
Week 5: University Education: Japanese and American university education show many different nuances. Elements such as the age of students, the style of teaching and evaluation, the method of entrance into university point to deeper cultural values. These elements are examined in light of Confucian roots in the case of Japan while American education is considered in light of educational beliefs dating back to the ancient Greeks
Week 6: Food and Health: By describing the diets of Japanese and Americans, it is possible to make some broad conclusions about how these diets developed. While the physical environment has played a large role, methods used by our ancestors to preserve food have also been an important contributor (Omae and Tachibana, 1988, p. 99). The importance that Japanese place on the visual appearance of food may also have deeper cultural roots.
Week 7: Women: Throughout history, in both Japan and America, women have experienced discrimination. This discrimination is still evident today in facets of everyday life including language, the workplace, schools, etc. This discrimination however, has a different nuance in both countries as do the roles that women play in each society.
Week 8: Working Life: Recruitment, holidays, the rate of changing jobs, meetings and decision making are all aspects of working life that show differences between Japan and America. For example, Americans change their jobs more often than Japanese do which points to a stronger feeling of group loyalty in Japan compared to individually-oriented America (Stewart and Bennett, 1991, p. 134). Job discrimination is another facet of working life that exists in both Japan and America, but has a different nuance.
Week 9: Law: The crime rate in Japan is much lower than that of the United States which is a reflection of the social structure, the laws, and the criminal justice systems of the two cultures. These three factors in turn reflect deeper cultural values. For example, living in a group society, Japanese know that if they commit a crime, it not only reflects badly on themselves but on their family members (Van Wolferen, 1989, p. 249). Thus, social pressure plays a bigger role in deterring crime than in America.
Week 10: Economy: Although economy may seem like an odd topic for a course on culture, the way a society manages its money is greatly influenced by its culture. For example, Japan is known for its high prices while most goods and services in the United States are cheaper. One of the reasons for high prices in Japan are its myriad regulations that govern the whole distribution process. These regulations help the government keep tight control of the economy while keeping unemployment low (Tenhover, 1994, p. 40). This tends to reflect a group-oriented, hierarchical culture. In America, most industries are relatively free of regulations, which helps to lower prices but increases unemployment. This reflects a more horizontal society where open competition is encouraged.
Week 11: Television Commercials: Television commercials can reveal much about the culture of a society. In Japan, commercials tend to be image-oriented and supply the viewer with very little information. In America, commercials tend to be full of information with less attention being paid to a product's image. This difference reflects, among many things, a fundamental contrast in the way Japanese and Americans communicate (Stapleton, 1997). As group members, Japanese use high context communication in which the listener must derive meaning from the context as well as the words. American communication style is low context, and meaning is derived mostly from words alone (Hall, 1987, p. 158).
Week 12: Space: The way people view space is different in every culture, for example, the way people arrange their furniture, offices, and gardens reflects the way they understand space. In general, Americans tend to view unfilled space and silence as being empty (Levine and Adelman, 1993, p. 71; Hall, 1983, p. 99). Japanese, however, tend to find more meaning in empty spaces and silences (Matsumoto, 1988, p. 50). These differing views of space are, in part, connected to our relationships with others. Japanese, as group members, tend to regard private space differently from individually-oriented Americans.
Week 13: Health Care: Although both Japanese and Americans enjoy the benefits of modern medical technology, there are many smaller nuances in the way health care is practiced and these differences can be related to deeper cultural values. For example, the national health insurance system covers almost every member of Japanese society, but in America, there is a significant portion of the population which has no coverage. It is said that America's strong sense of individualism has prevented a national health insurance system from being developed (Brislin, 1993, p. 370).
Week 14: Sports: People in both Japan and America are active partipants in sports. However, although they often play similar sports using similar rules, the way they play these sports shows a different nuance which, in turn, reflects their country's culture. For example, Japanese play golf in a very disciplined way wearing special golfing clothes and shoes, using a full set of clubs and following the rules of etiquette just like a professional would. In addition, hours of time are spent perfecting their game at a golf range. On the other hand, Americans are less concerned about their appearance and the perfect swing. Instead, the main concern is their score and winning the round. This difference shows the Japanese penchant for fitting into a group and showing their effort and perseverence. In contrast, through sport Americans reveal their desire to compete and win which is very important in individualistic societies.
Week 15: Exam
References
- Adler, R. B., & Rodman, G. (1994). Understanding human communication.. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace.
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Brinton, D.M., Snow. M.A., & Wesche, M.B. (1989). Content-based second language instruction.. New York: Newbury.
- Brislin, R. W. (1981). Cross-cultural encounters. New York: Pergamon Press.
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Hall, E. T. (1983). The dance of life. New York: Anchor Books.
- Hall, E. T., & Hall, M. R. (1987). Hidden differences. New York: Anchor Books.
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Levine, D. R., & Adelman, M. B. (1993). Beyond language. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Regents.
- Nanda, S. (1994). Cultural anthropology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
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Omae, K., & Tachibana, Y. (1988) The book of sushi. Tokyo: Kodansha
- Reischauer, E.O. (1988). The Japanese today. Tokyo: Tuttle.
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Rosen, S. L. (1997). A syllabus for teaching cross cultural communication. The Language Teacher, 21(1), pp. 25-26, 36.
- Stapleton, P. (in press). Japanese and American television commercials: A cultural study with TEFL applications. JALT Journal, 19(1).
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Stewart, E. C. & Bennett, M. J. (1991). American cultural patterns. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press.
- Tenhover, G. R. (1994). Unlocking the Japanese business mind. Washington, DC: Transemantics.
- Van Wolferen, K. (1989). The enigma of Japanese power. New York: Macmillan
Paul Stapleton teaches at Hokkaido University