Cross-cultural communication Report 1 By all of you!

Name and Identity

  • I change my names, that don’t affect my identity.

REALLY? BUT LOOK AT THIS….

  • I hadn’t thought about my name until I knew that my name was wrong…if you are told that your name is wrong and you have to change your name, you will go into a panic.

Examples of Name and Identity Relationships

  • Russia from Soviet after Cold War, this change means turn of politics.
  • Stewardess become to call flight attendant in Japan
  • You hear the name Yoko Ono you could guess “she is Japanese”, and if Japanese name+western name are given like Takigawa Crystal. It is understood that she is a double person.

Name and Identity in Japan

  • Japan’s culture, changing name stand for changing family, so it is a very important problem.
  • In Japan, a long time ago, people change their first name so often.

English Weekend

  • The basis of communication is not just a language they use, but a heart one wants to know about other. If more students would be able to feel this through English Weekend, I am more than glad.
  • I will be leader next year, and *I want to plan better on next time than this time

Who was there….

  • Seventy people from seven different countries participated in this activity. Since from now it’s the biggest one. We should be proud of it.
  • I had a time to talk with not only exchange students but also different grade students so I touched different culture between me and them.
  • I hardly know Thailand. Thailand is Asia. Japan is also Asia. These countries are near, but I didn’t know less Thailand than America and so on.

Sports and Activities

  • We played sports together and enjoyed it. Anyone can participate willingly I think that relation deepens.
  • I played badminton and volleyball. I could relieve lack of exercise and felt sports are universal thing.
  • After the closing ceremony, we went to beer factory. I was surprised that I had a lot of what I did not know about Kumamoto and beer.

What we learned

  • Exchange between exchange students and us becomes very active.
  • Through this program I learned many things and I decided 4 things aim from now on. “Have to talk to more actively!” “Don’t be shy” “don’t afraid of failing. Make a chance myself”
  • I have learned a lot, for example I got to know teamwork is important when we cook meal together.

Alpha-Beta Game

  • I could experience cross-culture in this game. I learned cross-culture is not only between country and country.
  • It was hard to suppress a laugh because I came from very cheerful room.
  • Until now even if I understand it with my head, I did not understand about different culture. So I think this game is really nice.

Importance of Learning about a culture beforehand

  • If I was the first exchange student, I could not make sense of the rules in the other country. However I was not the first one, I could get information about the other country beforehand.
  • We have a lot of knowledge about other countries thanks for taking pains of other people, so we do not have prejudice and we are hardly confused by the differences.

Culture– my culture

  • I think that Japanese culture fits Japanese people

REALLY?

  • Almost of foreign country are not decided (uniforms) at their school

REALLY?

Culture is changing

  • There is no TV game in the past. But there are many TV game now.
  • Young Japanese put various clothes on, but they are influenced by anyone. Especially, they take in foreign countries fashion.
  • Japanese HIPHOP is Japanese culture. Of course HIPHOP is made from US, but we absorb it and make original culture.

Culture is not only by country

  • There are various kinds of cultures—in each country, my home and own culture.
  • I can’t easily get ingredients outside of Okinawa.
  • I am from Saga, I have lived in Kumamoto for year and a half. …Even in Japan, there are many differences each area. How interesting it is! All of cultures are unique and great.
  • What is my culture? I think that culture is identity. My favorite things are showing me.

Culture is NOT cultural heritage

  • Onkochishin” is good old Japanese word. It means is that you know about old culture or tradition and then make new things or culture. Japan is both exist old culture and new culture. Japanese has a lot of old culture because Japan has long history.
  • I met some people from other countries who wanted to know about our culture. But some of them misunderstand—someone said “Where is samurai?” I was very shocked.
  • I thought traditional performing arts like no play or kyogen play; summer festival or fire flowers were Japanese culture for me. … But now, I know everything around us is also Japanese culture. We live in Japanese culture though we don’t recognize it.

Prejudice and Discrimination

  • It’s not a bad thing that a person is different from other people. People have personality. But we mustn’t criticize and discriminate against people only because they are different from us and because of stereotypes.
  • 57% of Japanese cannot live with other culture’s people (become tired, have trouble, cannot speak to them)
  • Many people do not notice that we are discriminating different people. Why we cannot notice our self-discrimination, because there are no chances.

Connection between discrimination and culture

  • If everyone has a bias for the same thing, it leads up to discrimination.
  • I think the object of discrimination relates to the culture of the country.
  • I feel that my prejudice make from Japanese cultures, so almost all of the people in Japanese, we have a little the same prejudice.

Illusory Correlations

  • If a robber came into a house and there were a black person and a white person, people would suspect the former, because there is a stereotype that black people are violent and sinful. (=illusory correlations)

Personal Prejudices

  • I could have opportunity to know a particular hostess job when I was watching TV… The woman always ready three types newspapers that are usual newspaper or sports newspaper or economic newspaper as her routine, because she needs many subjects and knowledge about many fields to arouse talking with different types of customers
  • I feel recent schoolgirls skirt is very short …I knew its prejudice, but I can’t change this image now.

Stereotypes

  • Before, I went to American I thought all American hate Arabian by influence like Iraq war or Islamic terrorism.
  • First, the main character, Billy, wants to be ballet dancer and he takes lessons in ballet but his father and brother tell him to quit his lessons because ballet was dancing by girls only. They also tell him that boys should box, playing soccer or wrestle and play as child. Then, a friend of his who is homosexual has the mistaken idea that Billy is homosexual too.

Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes

  • Actually, we don’t understand cruelty of bullying without the experience. We should feel underdog’s mind. So I think “The Blue Eyes and The Brown Eyes” class is very good idea.
  • I feel that Salad bowl is not unity

Riskiness of the Experiment

  • How do you do if failing in this experiment? I think that there were a lot of risks in this experiment
  • I think it could the school in America. If I do such the class in Japan, student parents complain to me. I think it is the difference between American education and Japanese education.
  • This discrimination experiment …would become a major issue if the teacher prompted bullying in Japan now.

What is a 国際人

  • I stayed with a host mother and a Spanish girl. The Spanish girl couldn’t understand the different cultures. For example, the Islamic woman’s clothes, fasting and so on. Her opinion is that its stupid to veil their bodies and faces. My host mother and I told that it because their religion, but she couldn’t understand. We had a hard time to explain the cultures to her. We recommended that she should study different cultures.

Differences in the images

  • I think that cosmopolitan has two means basically. One is outside of person. they can speak English or foreign languages, has ever been to foreign countries and work internationality. The other one is mental part of person, for example, they are interested in different culture, try to have connect with foreign people and think of peace of the world
  • Many foreign people seem to have a different knowledge of a cosmopolitan from Japanese. They think that a cosmopolitan is someone who has wide horizons, mixes with foreign people, is unprejudiced person, think about their opinions on cosmopolitan is very important because we can find a distinction between the culture of Japan and foreign country, that is to say we cant understand foreigner’s mind.
  • I think both Japanese mind and other countries people’s one are right.
  • To be an international person may start from having interesting in other countries or language need as tools, but it’s not having obscure interest. Most important thing is to turn the skill to advantage for oneself.

IMPORTANCE OF THE HEART

  • I think that the mind of foreign countries is better than the knowledge of foreign countries now.
  • I think it is important that people want to be an international person or want to have international sense.
  • We can become international persons if we have some of these qualities. I interest in foreign countries and I have skill of English a little. So I can become international person. I mean I am an international person.

Importance of Confidence

  • When I was in America, my host mother said I was an international person. They said because I am from Japan, and I went to abroad myself to study. I was happy to hear it but I didn’t think so.
  • Most foreign people said, “I can speak Japanese” if they know a few Japanese words. But most Japanese say they couldn’t speak English if they know a lot of English words. I think that Japanese people have to get more confidence in their English skill.
  • A host family said to me, “Japanese are genius.” I thought he said it with a touch of irony, because I couldn’t improve in English skill. I was filled with anger. I thought it is a gross insult to me. … She looked over her room as she continued to say to me. “This TV is made in Japan. “Most electronic instrument is made in Japan. For example, TV microwave oven, oven, toaster, cars are made in Japan”. She also said to me, “ you should be proud of your country”

Role of Experience

  • Going abroad is an important thing. By leading a life in a foreign country, we can see many things that we can’t see usually…. we can’t understand foreign culture well in Japan.

KNOWLEDGE OF JAPAN?

  • Following Japanese culture and honor, we have to learn about Japanese more
  • The person having pride, understanding and respect for the home country is a true international person.
  • She asked me “What do you know about Spain?” I couldn’t answer it. I did know nothing about Spain. I regretted that I should have known about Spain. I think to be cosmopolitan we must know about own country and know about foreign culture.

Actions speak louder than words…

  • (My British host mother) has seen a lot of different cultures. For example, English people usually take a shower in morning but Japanese do in night. She didn’t force me do the way she usually do.
  • (Japanese tourists) act without thought. For that reason their behaviors are frowned at from the local people. In this case, because it is possible that they have no consciousness what they are cosmopolitan people

国際人　and Communication

  • When we talked, host father often asked me “what do you think?” or “why do you think so?” he seemed to want to know my thinking. … I should have own thinking and it is important for me, I thought then.
  • There is another thing that is necessary for an “international person” it is listening to the other people who are in different positions from us.
  • Japanese often make brief responses unconsciously while listening. Even if “aizuchi” of Japanese mean just “I am listening to you” English speakers will interpret “aizuchi” of Japanese as “I understand”

国際人 and English

  • In progressing of IT technology and globalization by internet, we can get information from all around the world immediately... Therefore to be able to speak English or know the way of thinking of foreign countries is no longer a special ability. It becomes common sense.
  • English is certainly great, but English is just a tool to communicate with other countries’ people.
  • In the middle of the conversation, I noticed that anyhow talking a lot was important and grammar was not important.
  • I realized the most important thing was eagerness to speak with foreign people.
  • I want to try to find as much opportunity as possible to speak in English. Actually it is so difficult for me to find it. This is Japan.