Unit 4 Dealing with Cultural Differences

Unit 4 Dealing with Cultural Differences

[00:07.25]Part B

[00:09.73]Listening Tasks

[00:12.40]A Conversation

[00:14.99]Embarrassing Experiences

[00:19.55]Exercise 1

[00:21.29]Listen to the interview and choose the right answers to questions you hear.

[00:28.65]Interviewer: Rob, you went to Brazil, didn't you?

[00:33.03]Rob: Yes, I did.

[00:34.52]Interviewer: So, what happened?

[00:37.03]Rob: Well, I went into this meeting and there were about, er ...

[00:40.95]seven or eight people in there

[00:43.39]and I just said \"Hello\" to everybody and sat down.

the

[00:47.10]Apparently, what I should have done is to go round the room shaking hands

[00:51.35]with everyone individually.

[00:54.06]Well, you know,

[00:55.14]it's silly of me because I found out later it upset everyone.

[00:59.43]I think they felt I was taking them for granted.

[01:02.62]Kate: Well, I know that because when I was in France the first time,

[01:06.77]I finished a meeting with \"Goodbye, everyone!\" to all the people in the room.

[01:11.81]Well, I later found out that the polite thing to do is shake hands

[01:16.00]with everyone in the group before leaving.

[01:19.21]Interviewer: Well, people shake hands in different ways, don't they?

[01:23.09]Rob: Oh, yes, they do.

[01:24.99]See, normally I shake hands quite gently when I meet someone.

[01:29.27]So when I went to the US for the first time,

[01:31.80]I think people there thought my weak handshake was a sign of weakness.

[01:36.81]Apparently, people there tend to shake hands quite firmly.

[01:40.65]Kate: Oh, gosh, that reminds me of my first trip to Germany many years ago.

[01:45.41]I was in troduced to the boss in the company when he passed us in the corridor.

[01:49.97]Well, I wasn't prepared, and I had my left hand in my pocket.

[01:54.26]And when we shook hands I realized my left hand was still in my pocket.

[01:59.27]Well, that was, you know, very bad manners and I was quite embarrassed.

[02:05.13]Interviewer: And how about using first names?

[02:08.11]Have you made any mistakes there?

[02:10.19]Rob: Oh, yes, I have!

[02:12.67]When I first went to Italy I thought it was OK to use everyone's first name

[02:17.86]so as to seem friendly.

[02:19.63]And I later discovered that in business you shouldn't use someone's first name

[02:24.23]unless you are invited to.

[02:26.31]Oh, and you should always use their titles as well.

[02:29.69]Kate: Hm, yeah, well, when I met people in Russia, you know,

[02:33.52]they seemed to be puzzled when I shook hands with them

[02:36.55]and said \"How do you do?\"

[02:38.53]Well, what they do when they greet a stranger is say their own names,

[02:43.32]so I had that all wrong!

[02:45.58]Rob: Oh, yes, I agree with that. Remembering names is very important.

[02:50.90]Interviewer: Shall we take a break?

[02:52.67]When we come back we'll move on to our next topic.

[02:56.48]Kate & Rob: OK.

[02:59.60]Questions

[03:02.08]1. What is the conversation mainly about?

[03:07.32]2. Who might be the people Rob and Kate met in various countries?

[03:14.50]3. What can we infer about Kate and Rob from the conversation?

[03:21.90]4. Which countries has Kate visited, according to the conversation?

[03:29.27]5. Which countries has Rob visited, according to the conversation?

[03:36.49]6. What is the main message that the speakers want to tell us?

[03:44.39]Exercise 2

[03:46.18]Listen to the interview again and fill in the table below.

[03:51.93]Interviewer: Rob, you went to Brazil, didn't you?

[03:55.50]Rob: Yes, I did.

[03:57.90]Interviewer: So, what happened?

[04:00.34]Rob: Well, I went into this meeting and there were about, er ...

[04:04.72]seven or eight people in there

[04:07.10]and I just said \"Hello\" to everybody and sat down.

[04:10.81]Apparently, what I should have done is to go round the room shaking hands

[04:15.28]with everyone individually.

[04:17.77]Well, you know,

[04:18.84]it's silly of me because I found out later it upset everyone.

[04:23.37]I think they felt I was taking them for granted.

[04:26.13]Kate: Well, I know that because when I was in France the first time,

[04:30.55]I finished a meeting with \"Goodbye, everyone!\" to all the people in the room.

[04:35.57]Well, I later found out that the polite thing to do is shake hands

[04:40.00]with everyone in the group before leaving.

[04:43.03]Interviewer: Well, people shake hands in different ways, don't they?

[04:47.31]Rob: Oh, yes, they do.

[04:49.03]See, normally I shake hands quite gently when I meet someone.

[04:53.11]So when I went to the US for the first time,

[04:55.82]I think people there thought my weak handshake was a sign of weakness.

[05:00.53]Apparently, people there tend to shake hands quite firmly.

[05:04.37]Kate: Oh, gosh, that reminds me of my first trip to Germany many years ago.

[05:09.17]I was in troduced to the boss in the company when he passed us in the corridor.

[05:13.93]Well, I wasn't prepared, and I had my left hand in my pocket.

[05:18.09]And when we shook hands I realized my left hand was still in my

pocket.

[05:23.06]Well, that was, you know, very bad manners and I was quite embarrassed.

[05:28.90]Interviewer: And how about using first names?

[05:31.82]Have you made any mistakes there?

[05:34.62]Rob: Oh, yes, I have!

[05:36.53]When I first went to Italy I thought it was OK to use everyone's first name

[05:40.83]so as to seem friendly.

[05:43.59]And I later discovered that in business you shouldn't use someone's first name

[05:47.98]unless you are invited to.

[05:50.15]Oh, and you should always use their titles as well.

[05:53.54]Kate: Hm, yeah, well, when I met people in Russia, you know,

[05:57.39]they seemed to be puzzled when I shook hands with them

[06:00.42]and said \"How do you do?\"

[06:02.41]Well, what they do when they greet a stranger is say their own names,

[06:07.07]so I had that all wrong!

[06:09.33]Rob: Oh, yes, I agree with that.

[06:11.73]Remembering names is very important.

[06:14.67]Interviewer: Shall we take a break?

[06:16.46]When we come back we'll move on to our next topic.

[06:20.23]Kate & Rob: OK.

[06:23.66]Speaking Tasks

[06:26.24]Pair Work

[06:28.]A. Reflections on the text

[06:32.80]You've just heard Rob and Kate talking about the experiences

[06:36.11]they had in some foreign countries.

[06:38.73]They made a number of mistakes in behavior

[06:41.54]because they were unaware of cultural differences.

[06:45.07]Do you think it is important to be aware of cultural differences?

[06:49.01]Why? How can we avoid misunderstanding in international communication?

[06:54.80]Exchange views with your partner.

[06:57.29]You may mention the following points in your discussion.

[07:01.18]○ awareness of cultural differences — to avoid misunderstanding

[07:06.07]○ importance of learning about other cultures

[07:09.]○ importance of knowing how to deal with cultural differences —

[07:13.]key to successful international business and cultural exchange

[07:19.69]B. Picture talk — Describing Chinese and Western ways of eating

[07:27.34]A Sample

[07:29.24]Look at the pictures below.

[07:31.55]They are about Chinese and Western ways of eating.

[07:35.35]Do you see any differences between them?

[07:38.13]Describe the pictures first and then discuss their differences.

[07:45.01]Possible Description (for reference)

[07:49.30]Picture (1)

[07:51.29]Several Westerners are having dinner.

[07:53.92]In front of each of them are three plates, the under plate,

[07:59.30]the dinner plate and the soup plate as well as some wineglasses.

[08:04.81]Some knives and forks are placed on the two sides of the plates.

[08:09.69]There are several bottles of wine in the middle of the rectangular table.

[08:14.85]At the side of the table is a breadbasket.

[08:18.61]Everyone has a napkin on the lap.

[08:22.01]In picture (a), we can see a large soup tureen on the table

[08:26.]and a woman is ladling some soup into her soup plate.

[08:31.41]In picture (b), the soup tureen is replaced by a bowl of salad,

[08:36.30]and a man is passing the salad bowl to his neighbor.

[08:39.96]In picture (c), we can see a large plate with a meat dish,

[08:44.22]and a man is cutting the meat with his knife and fork.

[08:47.84]Another man is passing the pepper pot to the woman sitting near him.

[08:53.00]Picture (2)

[08:54.94]A Chinese family of three are having dinner.

[08:57.97]In front of each member, there is a small bowl of rice,

[09:02.21]a small saucer on which rests a soup spoon, and a pair of chopsticks.

[09:07.91]In the middle of the round table can be seen a large bowl of chicken soup

[09:12.57]and four dishes including two vegetables, a fish and pork chops.

[09:18.68]The mother is getting some fish for her son

[09:21.53]while the father is helping himself to some soup.

[09:26.46]Picture (3)

[09:28.95]A group of Chinese are having dinner in a restaurant.

[09:32.]In front of every diner, there is a small bowl and a soup spoon,

[09:37.96]an under plate and a dinner plate

[09:41.17]and a pair of chopsticks which are placed on a pretty chopstick rest.

[09:45.88]The table is quite large,

[09:47.87]and on top of it is a smaller revolving table known as a Lazy Susan,

[09:52.90]on which are placed a lot of dishes, a pot of jasmine tea,

[09:58.15]and several cans of beer and juice.

[10:01.27]Several pairs of extra chopsticks

[10:03.16]and two extra spoons are available for all to use.

[10:08.12]A man, who seems to be the host,

[10:10.79]is turning the revolving table with one hand

[10:13.50]and gesturing with his other to invite the woman sitting next to him

[10:17.58]to try a particular dish.

[10:20.20]Another man is picking some vegetables with one of the extra pairs of chopsticks.

[10:25.36]Still another man is getting some meat from the plate in front of him.

[10:31.33]Comparing

[10:33.40]A: Don't you think there are great differences

[10:35.34]between Chinese and Western ways of eating?

[10:39.19]B: Yes, they are very different indeed.

[10:42.18]We Chinese use chopsticks to help ourselves to almost everything except soup,

[10:47.43]but Westerners use a knife and fork.

[10:50.24]A: I think our chopsticks are much easier to handle.

[10:53.58]Knives and forks are so complicated to use.

[10:56.97]B: I'm afraid many Westerners wouldn't agree with you on that.

[11:00.]It may take them quite some time to learn the skill of handling chopsticks.

[11:04.99]A: You may be right. What do you think of the food Western people eat at dinner?

[11:10.19]Seems to me a Western dinner is rather simple.

[11:13.00]There are so few courses.

[11:15.04]B: That's true. A Chinese dinner is usually much more plentiful.

[11:19.88]Even at a simple family dinner we have at least four dishes and a soup.

[11:24.81]I'm afraid I would be starving at a Western dinner.

[11:28.21]A: But the Western style of eating seems to be more hygienic.

[11:31.65]Nobody uses his own fork to get food for himself or for others.

[11:36.22]But at a Chinese dinner, some people,

[11:39.08]especially the hospitable host and hostess,

[11:41.]often try to get food for others with their own chopsticks.

[11:45.69]They don't realize how unhygienic this is.

[11:48.75]B: It really is.

[11:50.31]Westerners usually ask others to pass some food to them if they can't reach it.

[11:55.20]If you stretch out your arm or stand up to get food,

[11:58.]people would think you have very bad table manners.

[12:02.04]A: But the dinner table in a Chinese restaurant is so convenient.

[12:06.00]Just turn the revolving table, and you are within easy reach of the dishes.

[12:10.80]B: Mm, that's true.

[12:12.79]So the Chinese way and the Western way of eating are just different.

[12:16.86]Neither is better or worse.

[12:18.95]A: You said it.

[12:20.08]But the important thing is to be aware of the differences

[12:22.58]so as to avoid misunderstanding.

[12:25.29]***** ***** ***** *****

[12:27.08]Now use the above sample as your model and carry on similar activities

[12:31.93]with your partner according to the pictures given below.

]Part C

[00:02.96]Test Your Listening

[00:05.58]Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.

[00:11.54]In many countries,

[00:12.99]it is not customary to call someone very early in the morning.

[00:17.14]If you call early in the day,

[00:19.08]while he is shaving or having breakfast,

[00:21.59]the time of the call shows that the matter is very important

[00:24.88]and requires immediate attention.

[00:28.22]The same meaning is attached to telephone calls after 11:00 p.m.

[00:32.96]If someone receives a call during sleeping hours,

[00:36.12]he assumes it is a matter of life and death.

[00:39.50]The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.

[00:43.12]In social life, time plays a very important part.

[00:47.74]In the U.S. guests tend to feel they are highly regarded

[00:51.90]if the invitation to a dinner party is extended three

[00:55.33]or four days before the party date.

[00:58.26]But it is not true in other countries.

[01:00.88]In some countries it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance

[01:06.53]because plans that are made for a date more than a week away tend to be forgotten.

[01:12.28]The meaning of time differs in different parts of the world.

[01:15.71]Thus, misunderstanding arises between people from different countries

[01:20.26]that treat time differently.

[01:22.70]Imagine you have arranged a meeting at 4 o'clock.

[01:25.90]What time should you expect

[01:27.57]your foreign business colleagues to arrive?

[01:30.11]If they're German, they'll be bang on time.

[01:33.13]If they're American they'll probably be 15 minutes early.

[01:37.19]If they're British,

[01:38.21]they'll be 15 minutes late,

[01:40.36]and you should allow up to an hour for the Italians.

[01:45.93]Questions

[01:48.24]1. What have you learned about the time for telephone calls in many countries?

[01:55.50]2. Why is it considered foolish to make an appointment too far

[01:59.92]in advance in some countries?

[02:04.35]3. Which nationalities are most punctual and which are least punctual?