I was glad to be your group member and I really enjoyed sharing the ideas.
We finished this class but I hope we would put our knowledge of intercultural communication to another classes or our lives.
Thank you very much and have a great summer!
2010年6月12日土曜日
Activity12
Intercultural communication has been studied since after the World WarⅡ and its study is continue today. The interesting about intercultural communication is there are no right answers. How people communicate is depends on one’s culture, gender, age, religion, race, and other various elements. Also, intercultural communication is entangled with histories and knowing histories helps our intercultural communication. Intercultural communication is obstructed by stereotypes, prejudice and racism. Minority group members tend to build up one’s racial/ ethnical identity than majority group members because minorities have chance to face different cultures and have needs to ride on mainstream culture. Without understanding characteristics of Whiteness, we cannot understand intercultural communication in the U.S. because Whiteness is often less talked than blacks, Latinos, and Asians. A key point here is “privilege” and “White” is not synonymous because not every Whites have power. In addition, some Whites consider themselves as minorities or being White is a handicap to communicate with minorities because sometimes minorities also judge Whites by prejudice and their stereotyped images such as Whites are racists or despise minorities. When we do intercultural communication, language is very important. Especially, in the United States, people are low context style of communication and they prefer the direct way of speaking. We need to aware the different styles of communication such as high context otherwise it might lead misunderstanding each other. When we communicate with others, we also use nonverbal codes with verbal codes. Nonverbal behaviors are different culture by culture and it could change or emphasize the verbal messages. Verbal and nonverbal communication have important role in our intercultural communication. However, even if we can speak same language, intercultural communication never be easy because even if people speak same language, they might have different beliefs and values. When we face to other cultures, finding similarities are difficult especially at the very beginning and it becomes cause of building stereotyped images and prejudice, and it could be cause of conflicts, which could be both individual and cultural. Moreover, economic problems born many conflicts and underline cultural differences and blaming. To manage conflicts, we have to recognize different point of views, step back when we need, and being flexible to new ideas.
I have experiences of met people from various countries and they had different cultures, religions, races, genders, and languages from mine. I met with culture shocks many times, but at the same time, I was enjoying them. Also, I do not think I am a person who evaluates others by stereotyped image or prejudice. However, more or less, I still judge people who have different cultures or backgrounds by my values. I do not say I have a high intercultural communication skill, but at least, I know every people have different beliefs and values. To develop my intercultural communication skill, I can open my mind. For example, talk to various people. No one has the same background and it might be a chance to break wrong or bad images. Also, I can let them know about my culture. Most of the times, intercultural communication starts from less similarities and it might make hard to communicate each other. However, less similarity means you can learn many new ideas.
Through this course, we learned a lot about intercultural communication. Does this course change your ideas for other cultures?
I have experiences of met people from various countries and they had different cultures, religions, races, genders, and languages from mine. I met with culture shocks many times, but at the same time, I was enjoying them. Also, I do not think I am a person who evaluates others by stereotyped image or prejudice. However, more or less, I still judge people who have different cultures or backgrounds by my values. I do not say I have a high intercultural communication skill, but at least, I know every people have different beliefs and values. To develop my intercultural communication skill, I can open my mind. For example, talk to various people. No one has the same background and it might be a chance to break wrong or bad images. Also, I can let them know about my culture. Most of the times, intercultural communication starts from less similarities and it might make hard to communicate each other. However, less similarity means you can learn many new ideas.
Through this course, we learned a lot about intercultural communication. Does this course change your ideas for other cultures?
2010年6月11日金曜日
Activity11
When people meet new cultures, conflicts often happen. In this activity, I watched Disney movie “Pocahontas” (1995). This movie illustrates the conflict between British colonists and American Indians.
~Story~
Pocahontas was an Indian woman and a daughter of a chief of the village. She believed in beautiful spirits of nature and was very curious. One day, her father recommended her to marry a strong warrior Kocum. Pocahontas hesitated what to do, and at that time, British colonists came from over the sea. The colonists came to this “New World” to get gold, prosperity, and freedom. The colonists cut down trees and dug around to mine gold. John Smith, one of the British colonists, went to scout the New World and met Pocahontas. They were interested in each other and spend a time together. John learned Native Americans’ ideas of the world from Pocahontas and found out there were no gold in the New World. John told the other colonists that there were no gold and good things about Indians. However, the other colonists thought Indians were savage and violent and trying to kill the colonists. While one of the Indian scouts was shot by a colonist and Indians thought colonists were barbarous invaders. Both colonists and Indians stared preparing for a war. Pocahontas met John secretly to stop the war, but she was detected by Kocum. When Kocum sew Pocahontas and John were getting together, he was very upset and he pounced at John to protect Pocahontas from John. At that time, one of the colonists who followed John shot and killed Kocum. The colonist was just tried to protect John. Unfortunately, however, John was caught by the Indians and the tension between the colonists and the Indians climaxed. The next morning, the colonists and the Indians readied for the war and John was almost executed. Pocahontas hazarded her life in saving John, and her father, the chief of the village, was impressed his daughter’s courage and declared that the Indians should have not fought with the colonists. The Indians released John and colonists threw guns away. However, a boss of the colonists did not like this result and tried to shoot the chief of the village. John guarded the chief by using his body and the bullet hit John. The boss was caught by the other colonists and fortunately, John escaped death. When the colonists went back to England, Indians brought many foods for the colonists and showed their feelings.
The major conflict between the colonists and the Indians was regarding others as a bad. When John met Pocahontas, he said the Indians were uncivilized and made her angry. For her, the Indians had their own rules and they lived in peace. However, the British colonists called the Indians savage people without knowing anything about the Indian life and ideas. Also, the Indians called colonists white devil without knowing anything about the colonists. Both colonists and Indians were afraid of each other because they did not know who they were. In addition, they both tended to assume the other by their own values. Now in America, similar conflicts exist. Some people assume particular groups of people by their own values and regard these groups of people as the bad without understanding their cultures. To solve this conflict, people have to aware different point of views and values and understand them.
Have you ever faced to a cultural conflict before? What was that and how did you think about that conflict?
~Story~
Pocahontas was an Indian woman and a daughter of a chief of the village. She believed in beautiful spirits of nature and was very curious. One day, her father recommended her to marry a strong warrior Kocum. Pocahontas hesitated what to do, and at that time, British colonists came from over the sea. The colonists came to this “New World” to get gold, prosperity, and freedom. The colonists cut down trees and dug around to mine gold. John Smith, one of the British colonists, went to scout the New World and met Pocahontas. They were interested in each other and spend a time together. John learned Native Americans’ ideas of the world from Pocahontas and found out there were no gold in the New World. John told the other colonists that there were no gold and good things about Indians. However, the other colonists thought Indians were savage and violent and trying to kill the colonists. While one of the Indian scouts was shot by a colonist and Indians thought colonists were barbarous invaders. Both colonists and Indians stared preparing for a war. Pocahontas met John secretly to stop the war, but she was detected by Kocum. When Kocum sew Pocahontas and John were getting together, he was very upset and he pounced at John to protect Pocahontas from John. At that time, one of the colonists who followed John shot and killed Kocum. The colonist was just tried to protect John. Unfortunately, however, John was caught by the Indians and the tension between the colonists and the Indians climaxed. The next morning, the colonists and the Indians readied for the war and John was almost executed. Pocahontas hazarded her life in saving John, and her father, the chief of the village, was impressed his daughter’s courage and declared that the Indians should have not fought with the colonists. The Indians released John and colonists threw guns away. However, a boss of the colonists did not like this result and tried to shoot the chief of the village. John guarded the chief by using his body and the bullet hit John. The boss was caught by the other colonists and fortunately, John escaped death. When the colonists went back to England, Indians brought many foods for the colonists and showed their feelings.
The major conflict between the colonists and the Indians was regarding others as a bad. When John met Pocahontas, he said the Indians were uncivilized and made her angry. For her, the Indians had their own rules and they lived in peace. However, the British colonists called the Indians savage people without knowing anything about the Indian life and ideas. Also, the Indians called colonists white devil without knowing anything about the colonists. Both colonists and Indians were afraid of each other because they did not know who they were. In addition, they both tended to assume the other by their own values. Now in America, similar conflicts exist. Some people assume particular groups of people by their own values and regard these groups of people as the bad without understanding their cultures. To solve this conflict, people have to aware different point of views and values and understand them.
Have you ever faced to a cultural conflict before? What was that and how did you think about that conflict?
2010年6月10日木曜日
Activity10
1. Who do the members of your culture consider to be part of their family?
In my culture, people think grandparents, father, mother, siblings, spouse, children, and pets are family member.
2. What are some roles and responsibilities of specific family members?
In general, the father has to work for family. The Mother has to do house hold works and traditionally, society expects women who get married to quit their job and become house wife. Daughters are often asked to help house hold jobs. Son is asked to study hard and to go to good college more than his sisters. Oldest brother or sister has to take care of younger brothers or sisters. All family members have to be respectful toward other elder family members.
3. Are family members encouraged to stay in the same house/area as their family after adolescence?
Son does not have to live close by after he graduates college. However, parents often encourage their daughter to lives the same house/area until she get married.
4. What are the cultural norms and taboos regarding dating and meeting people with whom to become romantically involved?
In my culture it looks bad if a young woman were to get home late, sleeps over at someone else’s place, or go on a trip with her friends.
5. How are marriage proposals conducted in your culture?
When a Japanese man asks meet your parents/family, it often seen as marriage proposal. Standard steps for proposing would be to ask your partner first, and then request parents the parent’s permission.
6. What is a typical wedding like?
Young couples prefer to marry at a chapel and hold a wedding party at a restaurant or hotel ball room. The most distinctive Japanese weddings would be to get married at a chapel or church even though they are not Christian.
Traditional style weddings are held at a temple or shrine. Brides wear special white kimono (traditional woman’s clothes) and the groom wears a special hakama (traditional man’s clothes). In Japan, women only wear white kimono when she gets married and when she dies. This is because a bride’s parents recognize their daughter no longer belongs to them.
The big difference between weddings from America and Japan is Japanese brides do not have bridesmaids. Thus, most of the time, brides have to organize all of her wedding preparation by herself.
7. How do members of the culture view divorce?
People have negative image. However, in recent years, divorce (especially vintage year’s) is really in vogue. Also, societies are very cooperative about single mother or father’s support. Therefore, still people have negative image for divorce, however, it is dramatically changed from 10 years ago.
8. If divorce occurs, what are the rights of each partner?
Mother often has an advantage of keeping children and the father is asked to pay the expenses of bringing up a child and consolation money.
9. What is the general opinion of the culture toward homosexuality?
People have a very conservative idea of homosexuality. Especially, we do not talk a lot about lesbianism. However, there are many gay bars downtown in the big cities and it is popular. Also, there are many gay TV performers and they have gained a lot of popularity.
10. How are the general perspectives of this culture the same/different from yours regarding gender roles?
Traditionally, people have the idea that men should work outside and woman ought to keep house. However, society changed a lot from 20 years ago, and most young people do not have this idea anymore. Society supports an idea of “man and woman should be treated equal”. For instance, man can be a house husband and wife can be a support a family and I agree with this.
I found that my personal ideas and my culture’s general ideas are partly similar and partly different. For example, why do women have to do house hold works? It does not make sense to me. However, I do have negative image for divorce. If I get married, I do not want to get divorce (My friends say I will do though). Do your culture’s ideas match to your own ideas?
In my culture, people think grandparents, father, mother, siblings, spouse, children, and pets are family member.
2. What are some roles and responsibilities of specific family members?
In general, the father has to work for family. The Mother has to do house hold works and traditionally, society expects women who get married to quit their job and become house wife. Daughters are often asked to help house hold jobs. Son is asked to study hard and to go to good college more than his sisters. Oldest brother or sister has to take care of younger brothers or sisters. All family members have to be respectful toward other elder family members.
3. Are family members encouraged to stay in the same house/area as their family after adolescence?
Son does not have to live close by after he graduates college. However, parents often encourage their daughter to lives the same house/area until she get married.
4. What are the cultural norms and taboos regarding dating and meeting people with whom to become romantically involved?
In my culture it looks bad if a young woman were to get home late, sleeps over at someone else’s place, or go on a trip with her friends.
5. How are marriage proposals conducted in your culture?
When a Japanese man asks meet your parents/family, it often seen as marriage proposal. Standard steps for proposing would be to ask your partner first, and then request parents the parent’s permission.
6. What is a typical wedding like?
Young couples prefer to marry at a chapel and hold a wedding party at a restaurant or hotel ball room. The most distinctive Japanese weddings would be to get married at a chapel or church even though they are not Christian.
Traditional style weddings are held at a temple or shrine. Brides wear special white kimono (traditional woman’s clothes) and the groom wears a special hakama (traditional man’s clothes). In Japan, women only wear white kimono when she gets married and when she dies. This is because a bride’s parents recognize their daughter no longer belongs to them.
The big difference between weddings from America and Japan is Japanese brides do not have bridesmaids. Thus, most of the time, brides have to organize all of her wedding preparation by herself.
7. How do members of the culture view divorce?
People have negative image. However, in recent years, divorce (especially vintage year’s) is really in vogue. Also, societies are very cooperative about single mother or father’s support. Therefore, still people have negative image for divorce, however, it is dramatically changed from 10 years ago.
8. If divorce occurs, what are the rights of each partner?
Mother often has an advantage of keeping children and the father is asked to pay the expenses of bringing up a child and consolation money.
9. What is the general opinion of the culture toward homosexuality?
People have a very conservative idea of homosexuality. Especially, we do not talk a lot about lesbianism. However, there are many gay bars downtown in the big cities and it is popular. Also, there are many gay TV performers and they have gained a lot of popularity.
10. How are the general perspectives of this culture the same/different from yours regarding gender roles?
Traditionally, people have the idea that men should work outside and woman ought to keep house. However, society changed a lot from 20 years ago, and most young people do not have this idea anymore. Society supports an idea of “man and woman should be treated equal”. For instance, man can be a house husband and wife can be a support a family and I agree with this.
I found that my personal ideas and my culture’s general ideas are partly similar and partly different. For example, why do women have to do house hold works? It does not make sense to me. However, I do have negative image for divorce. If I get married, I do not want to get divorce (My friends say I will do though). Do your culture’s ideas match to your own ideas?
2010年6月9日水曜日
Activity9
“Gossip girl” is one of my favorite American dramas. This drama is mainly about a high school students’ who live in Manhattan, New York Upper East side life. Main character’s name is Serena. She lives in a gorgeous hotel with her family and goes to a prestige private high school. Blair is Serena’s best friend and her mother is successful fashion designer. They were born as elites, and many dramas happening around these two rich girls: betray, love, friendship, secret, school life, family, lies, drag, and anything can happen.
Through this drama, I read some American actions. First, when Blair entered her high school’s principle’s office to talk about her future, she sat a chair without the principle’s permission. As a person who came from outside of American culture, her action was considered very American. In my culture, it was considered rude and arrogant. In another scene, Serena held a magnificent birthday party for her friend Jenny at Serena’s place. However, Jenny wanted to have a small home party only with her family and close friends. Therefore, Jenny was upset when she knew that Serena held such a big party. Jenny ruined the party by letting many strangers in Serena’s place. After the party, those unlisted guests messed up everything and Serena’s house became like after a storm. Serena’s mother got angry and asked Serena and Jenny who was in charge. Serena answered “This is not my mess” and left a room. This scene showed American idea of individualism. Americans think that they have responsibilities only when they think things were totally their faults. In my culture, however, we think both Serena and Jenny have responsibilities for the party. Jenny did invited strangers and consequently, ruined the party. However, it was because that Serena ignored Jenny’s will, and also Serena was one of the hosts of the party. Was Serena’s reaction normal in American culture?
The characters and casts are as interesting as the story. Serena is an active blond girl and used to be a party girl. Blair is an honor student and proud of being in upper class, and she has brunet hair. Here you can see American stereotyped image. Blond is a cheerful and likes playing around. On the other hand, brunet is decent and polite. Practically, Leighton Meester, who acts Blair, had blond hair, however, she changed her hair color blond to brunet in order to fit Blair’s character image. Now, I watched season 1 to season 2, and there were only two African-Americans, two Asian-Americans, and one Latin-American were casted in this drama. I can think of more than thirty casts on this drama and all of them are White except those five of them. If someone who does not have no other experience with the U.S. watches this drama, definitely he or she would think American is White. Also, this drama gives images such as America is wealthy, freedom country (and American people like touch football).
In drama world, you can see what people think of American, American culture, and dramas illustrate American stereotypes clearly more than a real world. Also, Just like Jennifer mentioned, this activity is fun and opening eye. This time, I choose “Gossip girl” because this is my favorite. Maybe this show is not a typical American life, however, this drama showed me a lot about America. If you choose a comedy show, you could see exaggerated typical America. Do you have any TV shows that you think “this is America” except the one you watched this time? And why?
Through this drama, I read some American actions. First, when Blair entered her high school’s principle’s office to talk about her future, she sat a chair without the principle’s permission. As a person who came from outside of American culture, her action was considered very American. In my culture, it was considered rude and arrogant. In another scene, Serena held a magnificent birthday party for her friend Jenny at Serena’s place. However, Jenny wanted to have a small home party only with her family and close friends. Therefore, Jenny was upset when she knew that Serena held such a big party. Jenny ruined the party by letting many strangers in Serena’s place. After the party, those unlisted guests messed up everything and Serena’s house became like after a storm. Serena’s mother got angry and asked Serena and Jenny who was in charge. Serena answered “This is not my mess” and left a room. This scene showed American idea of individualism. Americans think that they have responsibilities only when they think things were totally their faults. In my culture, however, we think both Serena and Jenny have responsibilities for the party. Jenny did invited strangers and consequently, ruined the party. However, it was because that Serena ignored Jenny’s will, and also Serena was one of the hosts of the party. Was Serena’s reaction normal in American culture?
The characters and casts are as interesting as the story. Serena is an active blond girl and used to be a party girl. Blair is an honor student and proud of being in upper class, and she has brunet hair. Here you can see American stereotyped image. Blond is a cheerful and likes playing around. On the other hand, brunet is decent and polite. Practically, Leighton Meester, who acts Blair, had blond hair, however, she changed her hair color blond to brunet in order to fit Blair’s character image. Now, I watched season 1 to season 2, and there were only two African-Americans, two Asian-Americans, and one Latin-American were casted in this drama. I can think of more than thirty casts on this drama and all of them are White except those five of them. If someone who does not have no other experience with the U.S. watches this drama, definitely he or she would think American is White. Also, this drama gives images such as America is wealthy, freedom country (and American people like touch football).
In drama world, you can see what people think of American, American culture, and dramas illustrate American stereotypes clearly more than a real world. Also, Just like Jennifer mentioned, this activity is fun and opening eye. This time, I choose “Gossip girl” because this is my favorite. Maybe this show is not a typical American life, however, this drama showed me a lot about America. If you choose a comedy show, you could see exaggerated typical America. Do you have any TV shows that you think “this is America” except the one you watched this time? And why?
2010年6月5日土曜日
Activity8: Transition Experience
One of the big changes in my life was entering college. Japanese high school and college had a very different system and I needed to change my way of thinking. In high school in Japan, students belong to one class and teachers come to give a lecture. Students always took lectures with the same classmates and sat at the same desk. Therefore, my high school life was easy because I could make friends and could always be with them and could share all the information about school life with my classmates because they took all same lectures and knew same teachers. When I forgot do something important, someone let me know. However, in college, everyone took different lectures and it was hard for me to make new friends because most of the lectures were audit-style and discussion-style classes were rare. Also, Japanese students did not like to speak in class. I did not have a chance to get to know my classmates’ ideas or even their name (we used attending cards, in this way teachers never call students’ name in class). To adjust to these new circumstances, I became more active and held myself responsible because no one would have helped me if I did not ask them and no one would be my friend if I did not be friendly with them. Fortunately, I could graduate college with good grades (I am a transfer student) and meet good friends. I did not think adapting to college life was hard because I knew high school and college were different. However, if I did not change myself to be more active or friendly, my college life would have been very different.
When you adjust you to new place, do you try to change yourself deliberately or did you change unconsciously?
When you adjust you to new place, do you try to change yourself deliberately or did you change unconsciously?
Activity7: Nonverval Communication in Everyday Life
I enlisted my roommate in this activity. She is 21 years old and is a student at UWRF. I have known her since January (5 months) and we are close friends. First, I asked her to help me with my assignment and asked about American history. Of course, I did not say anything about this observation and I just asked about history, stating that this information would help my study. When she started speaking, she looked at my eyes and then she smiled and hid her eyes with her hand. While she was speaking, she looked right front and rarely looked at me. She looked at me only when she wanted to stress her words or when I asked her questions. I thought that was not good because of the rule “do not break eye contact”. So, I bent my body little bit forward and stared into her eyes. Then she started speaking with her eyes closed. I felt really sorry for her because she obviously felt uncomfortable.
After a while, I pretended I was in a deadlock of writing a paper in front of a PC and asked her another question. This time, she used hand gestures, and I felt she was looking at me more than the last observation with eye contact. However, she spoke down and sounded less enthusiastic.
The next day, I went to a grocery store with my roommate and did “back me up”. We were walking on a sidewalk and I slowly moved close to her. However, we never collided because she was trying to keep a constant distance between us. When I moved close to her, she slowed down, or stopped and she had me walk first. I think she did not realize that I was deliberately walking close to her because we kept chatting as usual and I did not read any negative nonverbal cues from her facial expression. Finally, when she was walking too close to a wall, she said “Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Walk straight! ”
After we got home, I told her about this observation and what nonverbal cues I read from her nonverbal behaviors. She said she did feel weird when I did the first observation with eye contact. However, she did not realize that she hid her face or spoke with her eyes closed. She felt comfortable with the second observation with no eye contact, but she wondered if I really wanted to listen to her story or not. She also said I looked like I was not that interested in what she said. About the third observation, she thought I was just fooling. According to her, I usually walk very much like I did in the observation. Therefore, she walked carefully, as usual, to not collide with me.
I chose my roommate as an examinee of this observation. However, if I chose a boy friend, the result would be different. I guess if I stared at him, he would have stared at me. If I walked close to him, he would not have kept his distance. Nonverbal behaviors not only change in different cultures, but also change what kind of relationship they are in. For example, when I say “Hi” to my neighbor without eye contact, I think it is little rude. However, when I say “Good morning” to my family without eye contact, it is not rude. Do you agree that nonverbal behavior could change due to a person’s relationship? Why yes or why not?
After a while, I pretended I was in a deadlock of writing a paper in front of a PC and asked her another question. This time, she used hand gestures, and I felt she was looking at me more than the last observation with eye contact. However, she spoke down and sounded less enthusiastic.
The next day, I went to a grocery store with my roommate and did “back me up”. We were walking on a sidewalk and I slowly moved close to her. However, we never collided because she was trying to keep a constant distance between us. When I moved close to her, she slowed down, or stopped and she had me walk first. I think she did not realize that I was deliberately walking close to her because we kept chatting as usual and I did not read any negative nonverbal cues from her facial expression. Finally, when she was walking too close to a wall, she said “Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Walk straight! ”
After we got home, I told her about this observation and what nonverbal cues I read from her nonverbal behaviors. She said she did feel weird when I did the first observation with eye contact. However, she did not realize that she hid her face or spoke with her eyes closed. She felt comfortable with the second observation with no eye contact, but she wondered if I really wanted to listen to her story or not. She also said I looked like I was not that interested in what she said. About the third observation, she thought I was just fooling. According to her, I usually walk very much like I did in the observation. Therefore, she walked carefully, as usual, to not collide with me.
I chose my roommate as an examinee of this observation. However, if I chose a boy friend, the result would be different. I guess if I stared at him, he would have stared at me. If I walked close to him, he would not have kept his distance. Nonverbal behaviors not only change in different cultures, but also change what kind of relationship they are in. For example, when I say “Hi” to my neighbor without eye contact, I think it is little rude. However, when I say “Good morning” to my family without eye contact, it is not rude. Do you agree that nonverbal behavior could change due to a person’s relationship? Why yes or why not?
2010年6月4日金曜日
Activity6: Language in the United States
Where is the Speaker From?
It was fun quizzes! My results were one correct and one wrong in all areas except New England area. However, I just chose the answers by intuition because I am familiar with only Wisconsin English accent. From my experience, I think that English spoken by people from coast (East and West) has a weak accent and is easy to understand. I guess it is because many people had came from outside of seas, and to communicate with each other properly, they started to use a more standard English accent. I think a northern English accent is different from others. I remember when I came here, I took an English skill test. I listened to a tape, and found a speaker had a Wisconsin (or Minnesota) accent. I felt really weird, and it was hard to understand until I got used to it. I cannot explain how northern people speak differently from other areas, but according to the web site, they speak “o” sound differently. People from midland speak English with a strong accent. For me, they seem to speak without opening their mouth. When they speak, they do not open their mouth widely, so the pronunciation is not clear. Southern accent is easy to recognize than accents of other areas. Southern people are likely to speak slowly, and when they speak something, I do not understand what they say, and I can hear “Ura ura ura…”. These are my personal view and may be wrong.
Test Your Vowel Power
Does someone know where the speaker comes from according to her accent? Her sound was interesting. Her vowel sounds were close to “ ” sound. So, my answer of the first question was “black” (correct answer was “block”.) For the question five, I chose a completely wrong answer. The correct answer was “grade,” but my answer was “scribe.” I wondered where the “s” came from. I guess I misunderstood “seventh grade” to “scribe” because I thought it was one word instead of two spate word. If you have a chance, please talk to Japanese, and listen their “th” sound. When a Japanese English speaker says “think”, you might hear it as “sink” because Japanese does not have “th” sound. Thus, many Japanese pronounce “think” to “sink”. Like Japanese, if people who are not familiar with vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u), they cannot pronounce them correctly. The ability to learn a language, especially in terms of accent, is the highest at very young age (I believe age three), and after that, language learning speed is slow down, and in some languages, old people may never distinguish a difference between particular sounds.
Language is one of the crucial elements which represent a culture. Even within a same country, people have various accents. It is a part of their culture and there are no wrong or correct pronunciations. For example, the speaker of the test, Test Your Vowel Power, spoke English with a strong “ ” sound. My English is often mixed up “l” and “r” sounds. As an English native speaker, what do you think about your accent? Do you think accent could be different between male and female, or young people and elder people in the same area?
It was fun quizzes! My results were one correct and one wrong in all areas except New England area. However, I just chose the answers by intuition because I am familiar with only Wisconsin English accent. From my experience, I think that English spoken by people from coast (East and West) has a weak accent and is easy to understand. I guess it is because many people had came from outside of seas, and to communicate with each other properly, they started to use a more standard English accent. I think a northern English accent is different from others. I remember when I came here, I took an English skill test. I listened to a tape, and found a speaker had a Wisconsin (or Minnesota) accent. I felt really weird, and it was hard to understand until I got used to it. I cannot explain how northern people speak differently from other areas, but according to the web site, they speak “o” sound differently. People from midland speak English with a strong accent. For me, they seem to speak without opening their mouth. When they speak, they do not open their mouth widely, so the pronunciation is not clear. Southern accent is easy to recognize than accents of other areas. Southern people are likely to speak slowly, and when they speak something, I do not understand what they say, and I can hear “Ura ura ura…”. These are my personal view and may be wrong.
Test Your Vowel Power
Does someone know where the speaker comes from according to her accent? Her sound was interesting. Her vowel sounds were close to “ ” sound. So, my answer of the first question was “black” (correct answer was “block”.) For the question five, I chose a completely wrong answer. The correct answer was “grade,” but my answer was “scribe.” I wondered where the “s” came from. I guess I misunderstood “seventh grade” to “scribe” because I thought it was one word instead of two spate word. If you have a chance, please talk to Japanese, and listen their “th” sound. When a Japanese English speaker says “think”, you might hear it as “sink” because Japanese does not have “th” sound. Thus, many Japanese pronounce “think” to “sink”. Like Japanese, if people who are not familiar with vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u), they cannot pronounce them correctly. The ability to learn a language, especially in terms of accent, is the highest at very young age (I believe age three), and after that, language learning speed is slow down, and in some languages, old people may never distinguish a difference between particular sounds.
Language is one of the crucial elements which represent a culture. Even within a same country, people have various accents. It is a part of their culture and there are no wrong or correct pronunciations. For example, the speaker of the test, Test Your Vowel Power, spoke English with a strong “ ” sound. My English is often mixed up “l” and “r” sounds. As an English native speaker, what do you think about your accent? Do you think accent could be different between male and female, or young people and elder people in the same area?
2010年6月3日木曜日
Activity5: Avowed and Ascribed Identities
Avowed Identities
Female, Daughter, Sister, Young, Student, positive person, a person who believes in oneself
① Ascribed Identity
② Who was responsible
③ Action to resist
① Hard Worker
② Friends
③ Don’t do my best, choose an easy way
① Optimistic
② Other people
③ Have a life plan
I got this result from what people said to me and/or how they treated me. Avowal identities sometimes agree with ascribed identities and vice versa. This is because you may think that you should be a person who is thought by others, or you may tell others who you are through your attitude, and people would agree with that image. On the other hand, when avowal identities and ascribed identities do not agree with each other, you may not be able to evaluate yourself correctly, or you may act to lead a wrong image of yourself, consciously or unconsciously.
My first ascribed identity is my friends think I am hard worker. This is partly true, because I study hard to get good grade. I had two part-time jobs to get what I want. However, I am lazy after exams and never open text books again. I had two part-time jobs but these were easy and boring, and I got nothing except money from those jobs. If I was a true hard worker, I would choose the job which is related to my dream job, or good paying job. For example, one of my friends worked at a cram school because her dream was to be a middle school English teacher. Another friend worked at night because it was better-paying job than a daytime one. Neither one of my jobs were like theirs. However, I went to private high school and college, and many my friends did not have to study hard or work hard. My high school had a university admission system by recommendation and students sometimes take only ten minutes interview to enter a university. For my friends, I was strange because I already got a ticket to go to a college, but I was still listening to lectures. When I became a college student, some of my friends never had a part-time job. They asked their parents for pocket money when they wanted something. They considered I was hard worker because I did not ask my parents, and earned money by myself. If I went to a public school, this ascribed identity might have been different.
Next, my ascribed identity is, I am an optimistic person. I think that is true. I believe bad things never happen to me, and even if it happened, I could learn something from that and it is good for me. However, I also believe the words “Chance never helps someone who does not ready” by French chemist Louis Pasteur. To take my life’s rosy view, I study to get a degree, and I got qualifications such as a secretary certificate, TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), driver’s license, and etc. I do not say I will get married to a rich guy! I wish I could though. Japan is an academic background-oriented society. When I become over 40 years of age and try to find a job, if I did not have a degree or at lease special skill or knowledge, it would have been very difficult to work as a full-time worker in Japan. I am not a person who says “Tomorrow is another day”. I prepare to be optimist. I got the idea, to prepare to be optimist, from my mother. My mother graduate high school and did not have any qualifications. She told me how hard life is and importance of preparation.
All in all, I think avowed identities and ascribed identities are both who I am. How much you said ascribed identities are only people’s image of you, and not who you are, your behavior and attitude are part of yourself. Thus, avowed identities and ascribed identities can be similar or not. Do people tend to have a same idea of you are, or not? (Avowed identities tend to equal ascribed identities, or not)
Female, Daughter, Sister, Young, Student, positive person, a person who believes in oneself
① Ascribed Identity
② Who was responsible
③ Action to resist
① Hard Worker
② Friends
③ Don’t do my best, choose an easy way
① Optimistic
② Other people
③ Have a life plan
I got this result from what people said to me and/or how they treated me. Avowal identities sometimes agree with ascribed identities and vice versa. This is because you may think that you should be a person who is thought by others, or you may tell others who you are through your attitude, and people would agree with that image. On the other hand, when avowal identities and ascribed identities do not agree with each other, you may not be able to evaluate yourself correctly, or you may act to lead a wrong image of yourself, consciously or unconsciously.
My first ascribed identity is my friends think I am hard worker. This is partly true, because I study hard to get good grade. I had two part-time jobs to get what I want. However, I am lazy after exams and never open text books again. I had two part-time jobs but these were easy and boring, and I got nothing except money from those jobs. If I was a true hard worker, I would choose the job which is related to my dream job, or good paying job. For example, one of my friends worked at a cram school because her dream was to be a middle school English teacher. Another friend worked at night because it was better-paying job than a daytime one. Neither one of my jobs were like theirs. However, I went to private high school and college, and many my friends did not have to study hard or work hard. My high school had a university admission system by recommendation and students sometimes take only ten minutes interview to enter a university. For my friends, I was strange because I already got a ticket to go to a college, but I was still listening to lectures. When I became a college student, some of my friends never had a part-time job. They asked their parents for pocket money when they wanted something. They considered I was hard worker because I did not ask my parents, and earned money by myself. If I went to a public school, this ascribed identity might have been different.
Next, my ascribed identity is, I am an optimistic person. I think that is true. I believe bad things never happen to me, and even if it happened, I could learn something from that and it is good for me. However, I also believe the words “Chance never helps someone who does not ready” by French chemist Louis Pasteur. To take my life’s rosy view, I study to get a degree, and I got qualifications such as a secretary certificate, TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), driver’s license, and etc. I do not say I will get married to a rich guy! I wish I could though. Japan is an academic background-oriented society. When I become over 40 years of age and try to find a job, if I did not have a degree or at lease special skill or knowledge, it would have been very difficult to work as a full-time worker in Japan. I am not a person who says “Tomorrow is another day”. I prepare to be optimist. I got the idea, to prepare to be optimist, from my mother. My mother graduate high school and did not have any qualifications. She told me how hard life is and importance of preparation.
All in all, I think avowed identities and ascribed identities are both who I am. How much you said ascribed identities are only people’s image of you, and not who you are, your behavior and attitude are part of yourself. Thus, avowed identities and ascribed identities can be similar or not. Do people tend to have a same idea of you are, or not? (Avowed identities tend to equal ascribed identities, or not)
2010年5月30日日曜日
Activity4: History
I took a Quiz and I simply thought it was difficult because I have never thought famous people’s ethnicities. I found a White male group is the easiest for me to come up with and a White female group followed it. Next groups were Hispanic groups and Asian groups. Then, Middle East male group came up easily. I found difficulties for Black groups before 1800s. Any Middle East female name came up with my mind. All male groups were easier to be acknowledged than female groups. These results show “Who tell the histories”. I suppose histories of the United States are made by White Americans. First, America is based on European cultures and most of early immigrants were from European countries. Next, from the historical point of view, people had an idea of white supremacy. African immigrants were definitely in America when the United States was established, however, they never showed up a surface of the American history until they fought to get their freedoms. Third, the American culture’s main stream is white American culture. Thus, the minorities such as Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and Asian histories were tended to be ignored. For example, the successive presidents of the United States used Bible at their public speeches. In the Unites States, many people believe Christianity, but there are also people who believe Islam, Buddhist, Jewry, and other religions. It clearly shows the fact that majorities ignore minorities. Then, what does it mean one of the quotes in the Declaration of Independence “All men are created by equal”? It is a contradiction in American history.
Gender affects histories. In American history, less number of women’s name appeared than men’s. It is because woman’s right was just established in the United States. It was hard for ordinal women to stand up and to do something against less women’s right, except for those who had political powers before the women’s liberation movement.
It was difficult to think about historical figures whose ethnicity were Middle East and who were female. I think their cultures deeply connected with this. For example, in some cultures in the Middle East areas, women hide their faces and bodies for religious reasons. Also, people who adapt this culture think women must not show their faces to other people. If you believe in and adapt this culture, it might be difficult to leave your name in the history because you believe that showing up in public is a shame.
We have to remember that histories were always created by authorities. Often, they controlled information and hid the information which was not beneficial for them, and told civilians wrong or changed information or sometimes erased the fact from the history books.
History tells the truth but sometimes does not. Many histories were controlled by its ruler, and it happened all over the world.
I was not educated on American history or ethnic history. If you were, how was that, and what did you learn from them? Also, if you belonged to a minority group, what would you want to tell majority of people?
Gender affects histories. In American history, less number of women’s name appeared than men’s. It is because woman’s right was just established in the United States. It was hard for ordinal women to stand up and to do something against less women’s right, except for those who had political powers before the women’s liberation movement.
It was difficult to think about historical figures whose ethnicity were Middle East and who were female. I think their cultures deeply connected with this. For example, in some cultures in the Middle East areas, women hide their faces and bodies for religious reasons. Also, people who adapt this culture think women must not show their faces to other people. If you believe in and adapt this culture, it might be difficult to leave your name in the history because you believe that showing up in public is a shame.
We have to remember that histories were always created by authorities. Often, they controlled information and hid the information which was not beneficial for them, and told civilians wrong or changed information or sometimes erased the fact from the history books.
History tells the truth but sometimes does not. Many histories were controlled by its ruler, and it happened all over the world.
I was not educated on American history or ethnic history. If you were, how was that, and what did you learn from them? Also, if you belonged to a minority group, what would you want to tell majority of people?
2010年5月29日土曜日
Activity3: My Ethnicity
My ethnicity is Japanese and my culture influences who I am. First of all, I will talk little bit about Japan and then I will discuss how my ethnic background influences me and what ethnical factors let people know my ethnicity by my way of communication.
Japan is an island country and is located in East Asia. More than 98 percent of the people in Japan are Japanese and most of them speak only Japanese. When people speak to an elder person or a person you meet for the first time, people usually use polite Japanese and bow instead of shaking their hands. Also, Japanese tend to pay less attention to religions. For example, people go to a temple or shrine on New Year’s Day, but also celebrate Christmas. Japanese culture is influenced by other Asian countries such as China, and Korea, and many Asian countries, including Japan, have an immense amount of respect for elder people and to show this respect, people use polite Japanese and never address them a without prefix.
Now that I am in America I can see how my ethnic background affects me more clearly. First, I keep a distance to people more than Americans do. In my culture, people do not shake hands except on business occasions and stand a little more far apart than Americans do. So, I sometimes feel uncomfortable when people give me their hand to shake or come close to me. Next, many American students look rude towards their teachers. In a classroom, students sit in their chairs loosely and chew gum and drink. Moreover, sometimes they call a teacher by their first name. If students do these things in Japan, teachers would tell them to leave a class or give them a F. Also, Americans might think I am an unsociable person. However, it looks strange to me to say ‘Hi’ to someone I do not know and use big hand gestures and change their facial expressions a lot. Now that I am used to it, I have found I was judging American people based on my cultural background. I thought I am not a stereotyped person, however, actually I was and my culture influenced me more than I was expected.
Next, people are aware of my ethnicity most when they hear me talk or observe my behaviors. First, Japanese tend to avoid being direct. For example, when you talk to someone and you cannot hear their voice very much, you would say “Your phone may be far.” It means same as “Speak louder”, but Japanese say that your phone’s bad and ask others to understand what they think without the words. When I talk to my American friend, sometimes this difference of speaking really exposes how different our two cultures are. Additionally, I was not familiar with ladies entering the door first because traditionally, men go first in my culture. One day, I was with my friend. He opened a door for me, but I thought he would go first, and of course he thought I would go first. Then we both were standing in front of the door for 30 seconds. Meeting a person who has different ethnical background makes a cultural difference clear.
In my opinion, the influence of ethnic background affects you more than you think, especially, when you are in different culture. If you have had an experience to face culture differences, what was it, and how did it affect you?
Japan is an island country and is located in East Asia. More than 98 percent of the people in Japan are Japanese and most of them speak only Japanese. When people speak to an elder person or a person you meet for the first time, people usually use polite Japanese and bow instead of shaking their hands. Also, Japanese tend to pay less attention to religions. For example, people go to a temple or shrine on New Year’s Day, but also celebrate Christmas. Japanese culture is influenced by other Asian countries such as China, and Korea, and many Asian countries, including Japan, have an immense amount of respect for elder people and to show this respect, people use polite Japanese and never address them a without prefix.
Now that I am in America I can see how my ethnic background affects me more clearly. First, I keep a distance to people more than Americans do. In my culture, people do not shake hands except on business occasions and stand a little more far apart than Americans do. So, I sometimes feel uncomfortable when people give me their hand to shake or come close to me. Next, many American students look rude towards their teachers. In a classroom, students sit in their chairs loosely and chew gum and drink. Moreover, sometimes they call a teacher by their first name. If students do these things in Japan, teachers would tell them to leave a class or give them a F. Also, Americans might think I am an unsociable person. However, it looks strange to me to say ‘Hi’ to someone I do not know and use big hand gestures and change their facial expressions a lot. Now that I am used to it, I have found I was judging American people based on my cultural background. I thought I am not a stereotyped person, however, actually I was and my culture influenced me more than I was expected.
Next, people are aware of my ethnicity most when they hear me talk or observe my behaviors. First, Japanese tend to avoid being direct. For example, when you talk to someone and you cannot hear their voice very much, you would say “Your phone may be far.” It means same as “Speak louder”, but Japanese say that your phone’s bad and ask others to understand what they think without the words. When I talk to my American friend, sometimes this difference of speaking really exposes how different our two cultures are. Additionally, I was not familiar with ladies entering the door first because traditionally, men go first in my culture. One day, I was with my friend. He opened a door for me, but I thought he would go first, and of course he thought I would go first. Then we both were standing in front of the door for 30 seconds. Meeting a person who has different ethnical background makes a cultural difference clear.
In my opinion, the influence of ethnic background affects you more than you think, especially, when you are in different culture. If you have had an experience to face culture differences, what was it, and how did it affect you?
2010年5月28日金曜日
Activity2: observation
When people communicate, verbal communication is necessary to tell other people what you think and what you believe. However, nonverbal communication can tell us what people think more directly than verbal communication sometimes.
I observed a couple at a restaurant. They must have been around 20 years old and they were eating lunch together. The man wore a red cap and a gray sweat shirt, and was shaking his legs the entire time, crossing and uncrossing his legs constantly. Also, he hid his mouth with his hands when he talked. The woman wore a blue parka and jeans, and was playing with her hair with her finger and shaking her left leg. Both of them leaned forward and had a calm voice. Sometimes I could see their smiles and the air around them was peaceful. When they were leaving the table, the man stood up first and went out. However, I never saw them touch each other.
I read some nonverbal communication from their behavior and voices. First, they might have just started seeing each other a few weeks or a month ago, because they were shaking their legs and this showed tenseness or stress. Moreover, the man was hiding his mouth when he talked to her. This meant he wanted to hide something, perhaps his thoughts. Also, he was not relaxed. In addition, the woman was playing with her hair with her finger and it was one of her grooming behaviors. She tried to show him her beauty through this action. The most important part is they were leaning forward. This obviously showed they were interested in the conversation or each other. I put together these elements and guessed they were seeing each other only for a few weeks.
From this observation, I found that nonverbal communication is more obvious than verbal communication, and we can assume peoples’ feeling from nonverbal cues such as eye contact, body movements, voice tone, and distance. For example, the couple was eating lunch together, and sometimes I could see their smiles. However, their body language, such as hiding his mouth with his hands while talking, and their shaking legs showed slight tenseness. The man might have thought if he touched her hand now, she could have been surprised, and perhaps hate him. The woman might have thought does he really think she is pretty or enjoy staying with her. You cannot see these thoughts but you can feel what they think through nonverbal cues. The meanings of nonverbal communication depend on a user’s culture, age, gender, and other various factors. Additionally, nonverbal communication can not only make verbal communication more clear and effective, but also change the meaning of verbal communication. Moreover, surprisingly, most people use nonverbal cues unconsciously, and I think this is one of the interesting parts of communication.
While I observed the couple, I believe they were more than friends. I knew that from their behavior. Then, how would people’s nonverbal communication (eye contact, body movements, voice tone, and space between them) change if they are friends, coworkers, or family? Please share your idea with me.
I observed a couple at a restaurant. They must have been around 20 years old and they were eating lunch together. The man wore a red cap and a gray sweat shirt, and was shaking his legs the entire time, crossing and uncrossing his legs constantly. Also, he hid his mouth with his hands when he talked. The woman wore a blue parka and jeans, and was playing with her hair with her finger and shaking her left leg. Both of them leaned forward and had a calm voice. Sometimes I could see their smiles and the air around them was peaceful. When they were leaving the table, the man stood up first and went out. However, I never saw them touch each other.
I read some nonverbal communication from their behavior and voices. First, they might have just started seeing each other a few weeks or a month ago, because they were shaking their legs and this showed tenseness or stress. Moreover, the man was hiding his mouth when he talked to her. This meant he wanted to hide something, perhaps his thoughts. Also, he was not relaxed. In addition, the woman was playing with her hair with her finger and it was one of her grooming behaviors. She tried to show him her beauty through this action. The most important part is they were leaning forward. This obviously showed they were interested in the conversation or each other. I put together these elements and guessed they were seeing each other only for a few weeks.
From this observation, I found that nonverbal communication is more obvious than verbal communication, and we can assume peoples’ feeling from nonverbal cues such as eye contact, body movements, voice tone, and distance. For example, the couple was eating lunch together, and sometimes I could see their smiles. However, their body language, such as hiding his mouth with his hands while talking, and their shaking legs showed slight tenseness. The man might have thought if he touched her hand now, she could have been surprised, and perhaps hate him. The woman might have thought does he really think she is pretty or enjoy staying with her. You cannot see these thoughts but you can feel what they think through nonverbal cues. The meanings of nonverbal communication depend on a user’s culture, age, gender, and other various factors. Additionally, nonverbal communication can not only make verbal communication more clear and effective, but also change the meaning of verbal communication. Moreover, surprisingly, most people use nonverbal cues unconsciously, and I think this is one of the interesting parts of communication.
While I observed the couple, I believe they were more than friends. I knew that from their behavior. Then, how would people’s nonverbal communication (eye contact, body movements, voice tone, and space between them) change if they are friends, coworkers, or family? Please share your idea with me.
2010年5月26日水曜日
Activity1: Far and Away
“Far and Away” The storyline is about a lower class man (Joseph) who wanted his own his land. He later met an upper class woman (Shannon) who wanted to escape from the old-fashioned society. They went to America. When they arrived, they faced huge differences between Ireland and America. This movie shows both advantages and disadvantages of immigration.
Joseph was born a farmer’s son. His father had always said to him “without land, man is nothing”, and Joseph decided to have his own land someday. After his father had died, he met Shannon and she told him that his dream will come true in America. America was a wonderful place for Joseph because America gave him everything he wants. He could earn good money as a fighter, wear nice suits, and buy new hats. He had it all whereas in Ireland he had nothing. However, one day he lost a fight and he lost his every wealth. Joseph and Shannon tried hard to find job and place to stay, but they could not. In a scene, one man said he does not hire Irish. In this movie, why the man did not hire Irish was not mentioned. However, in reality, not only Irish but also many immigrants from other countries faced this problem. It happened because of cultural, racial, ethnical, and language differences. In my opinion, it is natural thing because people feel more comfortable when they are in similar or same environment which he or she familiar with than another environment. It is also the employers. They tend to hire a person who has same or similar background as them. Therefore, it is hard for immigrants to find a good job. This movie first showed about 20 years ago and the American society and people’s idea were changed. However, still many immigrants suffer from this disadvantage.
For Shannon, she lost every fortune soon after she got to America and she had to live in a dirty place, and work hard at a processed chicken factory. These were completely different from her home, and the real image of America broke down her good image of America and depressed her. Also, when she was working at the factory, her boss said to her ‘work hard,’ and Shannon took a defiant attitude. Finally, she stopped rebelling against her boss to keep working at the factory. However, it was natural reaction for her because when she was in Ireland, she was a person who gave an order, and was not ordered. In addition, she was born in rich landlord family and was in an upper class. Nobody spoke to her in a rude way. This showed that when you are in new place, your principle does not work anymore and you have to follow the new society principle to live and fit in a new place. This is clearly true because now, many Americans cannot speak the language which was spoken by their ancestors. For example, a person who has roots in Italy cannot speak Italian. Their ancestors who immigrated to America spoke English to fit in the American culture.
In the ending, Joseph got his own land and love of Shannon.
Immigration is significant issue for America. This movie was good to know the history of immigration, however, I believe this is only a part of American immigration history and immigrants had more difficulties to live in America.
Joseph was born a farmer’s son. His father had always said to him “without land, man is nothing”, and Joseph decided to have his own land someday. After his father had died, he met Shannon and she told him that his dream will come true in America. America was a wonderful place for Joseph because America gave him everything he wants. He could earn good money as a fighter, wear nice suits, and buy new hats. He had it all whereas in Ireland he had nothing. However, one day he lost a fight and he lost his every wealth. Joseph and Shannon tried hard to find job and place to stay, but they could not. In a scene, one man said he does not hire Irish. In this movie, why the man did not hire Irish was not mentioned. However, in reality, not only Irish but also many immigrants from other countries faced this problem. It happened because of cultural, racial, ethnical, and language differences. In my opinion, it is natural thing because people feel more comfortable when they are in similar or same environment which he or she familiar with than another environment. It is also the employers. They tend to hire a person who has same or similar background as them. Therefore, it is hard for immigrants to find a good job. This movie first showed about 20 years ago and the American society and people’s idea were changed. However, still many immigrants suffer from this disadvantage.
For Shannon, she lost every fortune soon after she got to America and she had to live in a dirty place, and work hard at a processed chicken factory. These were completely different from her home, and the real image of America broke down her good image of America and depressed her. Also, when she was working at the factory, her boss said to her ‘work hard,’ and Shannon took a defiant attitude. Finally, she stopped rebelling against her boss to keep working at the factory. However, it was natural reaction for her because when she was in Ireland, she was a person who gave an order, and was not ordered. In addition, she was born in rich landlord family and was in an upper class. Nobody spoke to her in a rude way. This showed that when you are in new place, your principle does not work anymore and you have to follow the new society principle to live and fit in a new place. This is clearly true because now, many Americans cannot speak the language which was spoken by their ancestors. For example, a person who has roots in Italy cannot speak Italian. Their ancestors who immigrated to America spoke English to fit in the American culture.
In the ending, Joseph got his own land and love of Shannon.
Immigration is significant issue for America. This movie was good to know the history of immigration, however, I believe this is only a part of American immigration history and immigrants had more difficulties to live in America.
2010年5月25日火曜日
Two Truths and a Lie
Guess!
1, I can speak Chinese fluently.
2, I love American food and gain 7lb since I came here.
3, My family have dogs and they always wear clothes.
There are hints......
I am an international student from Japan and last semester was my first semester in the States.
1, I can speak Chinese fluently.
2, I love American food and gain 7lb since I came here.
3, My family have dogs and they always wear clothes.
There are hints......
I am an international student from Japan and last semester was my first semester in the States.
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