Research proposal of Tesol 2018

Research proposal assignment Bài viết dành cho sinh viên chuyên ngành tiếng anh, đang theo học cử nhân hoặc thạc sĩ. Bài tập cuối khóa của môn kỹ năng viết luận văn. Đề tài nói về yếu tố văn hóa trong giao tiếp. Tầm quan trọng của việc hiểu biết văn hóa đối với việc học ngoại ngữ như là một ngôn ngữ thứ 2

Providing American cultural knowledge for student

of Business English major based on opposite values of

Geert Hofdtede

INTRODUCTION

1 Background and the statement of problem

Communication in general and intercultural communication are rooted in culture and society and seem to withstand the change of time Consequently, cultural understanding and learning increasingly plays an important role in the global village where we live Understanding the most intimate relationship between culture and communication is intercultural communication that helps us succeed in a multicultural and multi-dimensional world

English is used in almost aspect of life Therefore, teaching English in the age

of globalization does not merely teach language skills such as vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar or listening, speaking, reading and writing skills but also training the ability to communicate effectively, especially the ability to communicate

in different cultures In other words, integrating the culture of the target language into the teaching and learning of foreign languages becomes extremely important The understanding of these cultural elements helps communicators as well as learners The meaning of a word, the content of the dialogue of any language can change the context Language perception does not just stop at knowing the meaning, knowing the content contained in the words but more importantly grasping the deep meaning of the content of the information A person who has mastered grammar and has a rich vocabulary but where lack of understanding of native culture, when communicating they just stop at the level of knowing how to express their ideas clumsily in their language and by imposing Vietnamese culture into English only In other words, only linguistic competence is not enough for a foreign language learner to master that language

Geert Hofstede is a Dutch researcher who is seen as a significant informant and researcher in intercultural studies His book Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind is considered an important cornerstone in the research field Based on dimensions of culture, the Dutch social psychologist named Gert Hoftede described and explained similarities and differences among various cultures, including American culture and Vietnamese culture Studying his research can help English-major students explain various value of American culture; moreover, students may avoid culture shock so as to better communicate when contacting American culture

Using the seminal work of Geert Hofstede on cultural differences, we will show that the five culture dimensions he found provides an analytical tool for understanding the local differences in educational policy and teaching methods in school systems From the analysis results, We can suggest to students the steps to succeed in communicating with the people from the America culture

2 Aims of the research

The objectives of this paper are to; present cultural knowledge that provides the foundation for effective acquisition and reconciliation of cultural communication skills

in modern language classes; balance the theory with practical examples of the value of culture in communication The framework presented here combines theories of learning from intercultural education, multicultural communication research, and educational psychology

1 Why do students have to learn about culture? How does culture affect English learning?

2 What is the current situation of recognizing the importance of culture of Vietnamese students?

3 What is the difficulty that students encounter in communication when they are not knowledgeable about culture?

4 What is the difference between Vietnamese culture and culture in terms of the five pairs of Hostede values?

3 Significance

This study presents the value of culture in communication Based on Hofstede's model of heterogeneous cultural values, the article outlines the general characteristics

of American culture; a great power with a complex culture The article also analyzes the characteristics of American culture based on seven aspects of American culture: marriage, family, education, politics, religion, and etiquette The article compared Vietnamese culture and American culture based on Hofstede's comparative analysis of the five pairs of cultural values From comparison, can see; American culture and Vietnamese culture are only interwoven in risk tolerance; There are 4 pairs of opposites, American culture and Vietnamese culture are different Therefore, if there is

no insight, a thorough knowledge of the culture of your country, a Vietnamese can hardly integrate into American culture and vice versa After analyzing the differences between the two cultures, the article also gives some suggestions for Vietnamese people to be more confident when exposed to American culture

LITERATURE REVIEW

1 The role of culture in learning and teaching English

Language and culture are two indispensable elements Language is a means for people to communicate, to exchange ideas and to understand each other Each language is tied to the specific characteristics of that national culture Language can be seen as a cultural expression It is used to maintain and communicate culture Language allows people to express their thoughts in different groups of words derived from life, accumulated through generations We will not be able to use a language well

if we do not grasp the characteristics of a culture and vice versa we can not understand the subtle nuances and profound meaning of a culture without understanding clear language

In this regard, researcher Jiang (2000) states: "Language and culture are inseparable." Moreover, over time, more and more teachers realize that when the lesson is integrated with cultural factors, the student will acquire and improve communication skills Kramsch (1993: 1) emphasized in his study that: "Culture in language learning is not an expendable fifth skill, so to speak, to speak Is always always always background background background background background right right right right right, from ready ready ready ready lear lear lear lear lear lear lear lear

"" " This means: "Culture is not a fifth skill in language teaching, associated with listening, speaking, reading and writing This is the basis for pointing out the limits of communication capacity, challenging learners' abilities and pointing out the meaning

of the world "

The communication process consists of two elements: information transmission and information analysis To communicate information, people use a variety of verbal

or nonverbal terminology However, for information analysis, we need to decipher the symbols to achieve The ultimate goal is to understand the information in the sense that

it is transmitted Both these processes are culturally related When the listener does not understand the culture of the speaker, the listener will decode the information according to his own culture If the content of information in two different cultural backgrounds is understood differently, the communication process seems to fail

The problem may be more serious if the lack of cultural understanding can cause

"cultural conflict" or "cultural shock" Most of the students often impose their mother tongue in learning their foreign languages For example, in the teaching process, students often ask questions such as "Are you married?", "How old do you have?",

"How many do you have?" "How much do you earn? " Questions that show interest

in Vietnamese culture are curiosities not to be used in British culture

In non-verbal communication, the way of handshake also show different cultural features In the United States, people often squeeze and shake the opponent's hand to show confidence The British shake hands three to five times; In Germany or France, squeezing and shaking one or two hands is enough Asians shake hands and slowly Latin Americans often shake hands and hold on for a long time because withdrawing too soon may be considered a contemptuous gesture Handshaking is not common in some countries, such as Japan and Korea Nations, instead of shaking hands, they will bow to their heads bowed Indians greet each other by putting their hands together as prayers Arabs and some Muslim countries use the palm of their right hand on their heart and put it out

The examples above are just a testimony to the difference between cultural and cross-cultural factors Often the instructor mentions cultural issues only when they appear in the lesson Without deepening the cultural aspects in a systematic way In order to help learners succeed in communication and avoid shocking cultural

differences, the teacher needs to redefine the relationship between language and culture and be aware of the need for put the culture of the target language into the teaching process - learn foreign languages in general and English in particular

2 Location of American culture in pairs of cultural values

When it comes to the United States, people often think of a large country with a strong economy; social life has grown tremendously; is a paradise to settle down In fact, it is not in every case the United States a living paradise Many people come from different cultures disillusioned when coming to America because it is difficult to adapt

to American culture They feel suffocated, "shocked" when exposed to a culture with many cultural standards completely opposed to culture in their country It can be said that if the language barrier is difficult one, cultural barriers are difficult to reach when coming to America

In order to adapt to American culture, individuals from other cultures need to have an objective perspective and understand more or less the culture of America Thanks to the study of culture, communication as well as psychology, the barriers to American culture are gradually limited as people in other cultures are more open and more understanding of American culture The study of Hofstede's five cultural counterparts has a practical significance in clarifying the characteristics of American culture Hofstede in his study has positioned American culture based on five pairs of values opposite the score as follows: individually-collective, equal-decentralized (power distance), stubbornness - softness, risk avoidance - risk tolerance (tolerance), long-term inclination- short-term (time)

Individually-collective: Americans place justice and freedom in every aspect of life and even in the system of government; In organizations, the American hierarchy places the premise of fairness and freedom in every aspect of life and even within the system

of government in organizations; America's hierarchy of convenience, usually the manager will rely on the specialized specialization of the staff; Information in the organization is shared regularly with every individual; communication, communication between managers and employees is not too strict, not formal, direct, not reserved words; Relationships in American society are rather loose; individuals take care of themselves, do not depend on others, nor depend on other members of the family;

Americans are familiar with the business and interact with people they do not know so they do not hesitate to approach their potential partners to get or seek information In the business world, employees must be self-reliant and show their competence to be promoted, recognized by the society as well as the community

Equal-decentralized:

3. Comparative Vietnam and the United States based on five pairs of cultural values opposition

Each culture has its own characteristics Objectively speaking, no culture is better than any culture It is important for us to behave in such a way as to adapt to a new culture It is not necessary to be shocked to encounter alien cultures, to study and to grasp the basic characteristics of the culture we are exposed to Through the study of opposing cultural values, Hofstede was instrumental in outlining the fundamental values of different cultures

Firstly, in terms of individual- collective, Vietnamese culture is more collectivist

in nature, while American culture is more personal

Second, in terms of equality-decentralization, Vietnamese culture is more hierarchical, while American culture promotes equality

Third, in terms of stubbornness - softness, Vietnamese culture is more soft-spoken and American culture is more rigid

Fourth, in terms of risk avoidance - risk tolerance, both Vietnamese culture and American culture are inclined toward risk-taking; But in American culture the risk is higher

Fifth, in terms of long-term inclination- short-term, Vietnamese culture emphasizes long-term and American culture focuses on short-term

Thus, it can be seen that American culture and Vietnamese culture based on 5 pairs of cultural contrasts only interfere in pair risk avoidance - risk acceptance; For the remaining 4 pairs of values, American culture and Vietnamese culture are the opposite Depending on the pair of contrasts, the level of difference is less or more

Vietnamese person will be shocked when exposed to American culture, and back to an American will also feel stuffy, difficult to understand when exposed to Vietnamese culture

4.Suggestions for students specialized in English in American culture

To be successful in dealing with people from American culture, Vietnamese students should pay attention to the following point:

First, individualism plays an important role in American culture Therefore, not to infringe on the individual is one of the successful contact with Americans If in Vietnamese culture, social topics in communication often ask about work, salary, marital status, politics, when dealing with Americans, these topics should be avoided Americans do not like answering private questions In return, usually before the goodbye, the Vietnamese often invite you to go home if you have free time If Vietnamese people are happy to welcome you when you visit the house, the opposite Americans also politely invite you to go home if you have free time, but usually it's just a social offer, not a real one A real invitation always comes with time and time

To be sure, a phone call confirming an invitation before arrival is needed

Second, Americans take time seriously They perceive that time is money, and time does not wait for anyone, should not be wasting time You will easily lose faith with Americans if you are familiar with "rubber hours"

Third, kindness, assertiveness and frankness are the characteristics of the American people Therefore, just be honest and kind, your fault will be forgiven Americans always respect personal opinions, so do not be afraid to express your personal opinion in front of the group; Your opinion can be good or bad, it does not matter, as long as you have the right opinion and know your opinion candidly

Fourth, competitiveness is another characteristic of Americans Americans do not like to show off, they like to express themselves, they like to talk about their achievements So Americans are often considered "unassuming" Therefore, when you are Vietnamese with American culture, do not be too humble, receive compliments from them cheerfully, and express yourself more when possible It's good to have more sympathy from the Americans

Fifth, Americans are not so formal in their daily lives They like to feel comfortable in life So do not be surprised when they come to the party at your house

Likewise, in order to get along with the American people, you do not have to be dressed solemnly that it is not a formal situation

Finally, to succeed in communicating with Americans, learning the culture of non-verbal language in American culture is essential It can be said that non-non-verbal language is one of the barriers to the effectiveness of communication between Vietnamese and Americans

5.Methodology

Survey methods, analytical methods, comparative methods, interview methods,

questionnaire methods

Research questions

1 What American culture is and how it influences in learning English effectiveness

2 Why do students have to learn about culture? How does culture affect English learning?

3 What is the current situation of recognizing the importance of culture of Vietnamese students?

4 What is the difficulty that students encounter in communication when they are not knowledgeable about culture?

5 What is the difference between Vietnamese culture and culture in terms of the five pairs of Hostede values?

6.Time Frame

1 Submitting proposal and seeking intructor

approval

August 2018

2 Designing questionaire and question for

research

August 2018- September 2018

3 Collecting data for the first phrase

(evaluating current cources in BCTECH)

September 2018- December 2018

4 Analyzing data of the first phrase January 2019- February 2019

5 Collecting data for the second phrase

(needs analysis)

February 2019- March 2019

6 Analyzing data of the second phrase March 2019- May 2019

7 Analyzing data and write up the thesis December 2018- May 2019

CONCLUSION

Based on Hofstede's "Opposite Cultural Values Model," the article outlines the common features of American culture, a vast country with a complex culture The article also analyzes the characteristics of American culture The article also compared Vietnamese culture and American culture based on Hofstede's comparison of five alternative cultural values Show that if a lack of insight, a thorough knowledge of the culture of your country is a problem, it is hard for a Vietnamese to integrate into American culture, and vice versa

REFERENCES

[1] Donna Humphrey Intercultural communication: a teaching and learning framework

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t.I phần II, XI Frankfurt am Main, 1969, tr.534 - 536

[3] Hofstede, G (2001) Culture’s consequences 2nd edition New York: Sage

[4] Nguyễn Vũ Hảo (2009) Giao tiếp liên văn hóa trong bối cảnh toàn cầu hóa: Một

số vấn đề về triết học, http://www.vanhoahoc.vn/nghien-cuu/van-hoa-hoc- ungdung/van-hoa-giao-tiep/1207-nguyen-vu-hao-giao-tiep-lien-van-hoa-trong-boi-canh-toan-cau

[5] Randee, F (1993) Spotlight on the USA Oxford: Oxford University Press

[6] Gudykunst, William B & Mody, Bella, eds (2002) Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication, second edition Thousand Oaks/London/New Delhi: Sage Publications

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Mỹ, http://vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/giao-duc/cach-day-va-hoc-an-tuong-cua-nguoi-my- 3208953.html

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[8] Trần Ngọc Thêm (1999) Cơ sở văn hóa Việt Nam Hà Nội: NXB Giáo dục