(Picture from: http://www.acmilan.com/lm_team_roster.aspx)
In my CG1102 and CG1413 team, we have two Singaporean boys, one Indian girl and a Chinese boy. When we discuss in class, it is interesting to see that different cultural backgrounds can have a great effect on the communication between us.
The most obvious distinction is the different accents that we have. Jun Hao and Byron speak Singaporean English and sometimes a little bit Chinese with me (Sorry Lakshmi). Lakshmi speaks English with some Indian accent. I speak English in a very Chinese way and cannot speak very fast. We are from different language backgrounds, but as a bridge for communication, English is our common language. Nevertheless, due to our mother tongues, we cannot use English as well as a native English speaker. That’s where misunderstandings during communication process occur. Sometimes due to my vocabulary limit and other people’s accents, I cannot understand totally what they mean. Sometimes because of my unclear sentences, my teammates could not get what I mean. So we need to repeat or rephrase again and again. Misunderstandings really affect the efficiency of our discussion.
However, the cultural differences are far more than just different accents. The cultural background defines a person’s ethical group. Why I am a Chinese? Why Lakshmi is an Indian? It is not just because we look different and speak different languages. The key factor is that we have different values in mind. And even though Byron and Jun Hao are Chinese as well, we still have great differences. The environment where a person grows up defines how the person thinks, behaves and values. So how can we solve this problem? From a foreigner’s perspective, I think as we are here in Singapore, we need to get ourselves involved in this large Singaporean cultural environment. Although it is not easy as we have a fixed way of thinking rooted deep in our minds, we need to change ourselves to be accepted in this society.
The most obvious distinction is the different accents that we have. Jun Hao and Byron speak Singaporean English and sometimes a little bit Chinese with me (Sorry Lakshmi). Lakshmi speaks English with some Indian accent. I speak English in a very Chinese way and cannot speak very fast. We are from different language backgrounds, but as a bridge for communication, English is our common language. Nevertheless, due to our mother tongues, we cannot use English as well as a native English speaker. That’s where misunderstandings during communication process occur. Sometimes due to my vocabulary limit and other people’s accents, I cannot understand totally what they mean. Sometimes because of my unclear sentences, my teammates could not get what I mean. So we need to repeat or rephrase again and again. Misunderstandings really affect the efficiency of our discussion.
However, the cultural differences are far more than just different accents. The cultural background defines a person’s ethical group. Why I am a Chinese? Why Lakshmi is an Indian? It is not just because we look different and speak different languages. The key factor is that we have different values in mind. And even though Byron and Jun Hao are Chinese as well, we still have great differences. The environment where a person grows up defines how the person thinks, behaves and values. So how can we solve this problem? From a foreigner’s perspective, I think as we are here in Singapore, we need to get ourselves involved in this large Singaporean cultural environment. Although it is not easy as we have a fixed way of thinking rooted deep in our minds, we need to change ourselves to be accepted in this society.
Hi Xiang Yu,
ReplyDeleteOne of the strongest points about your post is that you have penned down an example that many others can relate to. That is truly a huge plus, as your intended audience are able to identify themselves with your experiences and consider your argument on a more personal level! :D This sets your post up for more effective communication of your ideas. :)
However, I observe that your sentences can be a little too wordy when trying to highlight certain points. Whilst I understand that you are trying to emphasize certain ideas by writing lengthy sentences; this can sometimes be counterproductive and either cause the reader to lose interest in your post or to get him/her lost in a swarm of words. However, please don't get me wrong. There are times when you need to be a little more wordy and emphasize certain points. :) Just... Not all the time. :)
To summarize my points, I wish to convey that I like the personal touch to your post. :) However, I feel that your post would be able to communicate it's message more efficiently had you been more concise about it. :)
Yours faithfully,
Juncheng Chen
Hi Xiang Yu,
ReplyDeleteI believe all of us could really relate to your experiences. Since all of us are going through the same process.
One interesting point is distinction between different culture and different races. Even though you and I are Chinese by race, I believe our cultural thinking is different. The environment that we lived in shaped us into what we are today, thus we have to always be sensitive to our teammates just in case we are being misunderstood.
The picture reminds me that we can actually relate the topic of intercultural communication to football (soccer). A football team may consist of people from different nationality. (Manager included) Playing together on the field and winning the game requires great cooperation between the players. You could make your post more interesting by elaborating on your picture instead of just placing it there.
Regards,
Kevin Lin
P.S: I got too excited when the topic of soccer comes in. :)
Hi Xiangyu,
ReplyDeleteThe use of your personal experience as an example has indeed provided a very personal touch, especially since I'm one of the above mentioned =p
As Juncheng has mentioned, some of your examples are too wordy and I noticed some sentences that are constructed wrongly and sounds awkward. (e.g. "Why I am a Chinese?" should be "Why am I a Chinese?") Overall, I can see the effort you are making to improve your language and expression.
Contrary to your point of "changing ourselves to be accepted into society", I believe it is more important to be true to yourself and your beliefs. Intercultural ties means accepting each other for who they are. Rather than changing ourselves, I believe this change should be more appropriately applied to the way we communicate and interact.
Overall, I see great potential in your post! Keep up the good work!
Yours faithfully,
Junhao Quek, C04e
Hey Xiangyu,
ReplyDeleteI believe you have pointed out the most important part of our teams - The different cultural backgrounds that we all have.
But I feel that even if we all may come from totally different backgrounds, we have many things in common - and they are the very basics of our very existence. I refer to the basic human values that we all have. I am an Indian, but before that I am a human being. We all have the basic values of kindness, values of compassion, and I believe even the same meaning for smile and love.
You might be having some difficulty in understanding the accents of the various people in your team, but I think you should not take it as a setback. You should actually utilise this opportunity to aware yourself about the different cultures and particularly the accents. You will soon (i mean in 3.5 years) be entering a bigger world with even more cultural differences. (At least we all are Asians :P ).
Anyway, a real nice point out there.
Regards
Angad
Hi Xiang Yu,
ReplyDeleteOne thing I really liked about your blog is that it has a personal touch:).You have also mentioned about the difference in how people from different cultures think which is really true.
By the way,I think you should try to improve upon your sentences though I can see that you are trying to:).As for your final remark"we need to change ourselves to be accepted in this society",I don't quite agree with it because isn't intercultural communication also about acknowledging each other's differences?.
Overall,it made a nice reading!!
Looking forward to your future blogs.
Cheers,
Meenu
Hi Xiangyu,
ReplyDeleteI believe that the CG1413/1102 group allocation is not random/coincidence. I find out that each group has members from different countries, different backgrounds, and also have different strength and weakness, so that we can practice in inter-cultural and interpersonal communication.
Your entry is well-organised and easy to understand, but I feel that you use 3/4 the entry to elaborate the culture difference problem. And the answer to that is simply 1 word: involve. I think you may talk more about how you involve in this society:D
In short, I feel that I have the same problem and I'll try to change myself.
Thanks
Tuan Vu
Hi Xiang Yu,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote about how miscommunications can occur between you and your group mates, and how you could improve on the current situation. This is a good idea to present your idea in this way for a thorough coverage of points. However, I think that you could be more concise in explaining your points. Also, I do not get your point about getting more involved in the Singapore cultural environment. Does it means to interact with more people?
On the whole, your blog post is engaging and the example used is appropriate. Keep up the good work!
Jing Mei
Hi Jing Mei,
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for your comment!
My personal understanding of getting more involved in Singaporean cultulal environment generally means to interact with more people. Singapore has its unique cultural environment. In order to get ourselves involved, surely we need to interact with more people.
Yours sincerely,
Xiangyu
Hi Jun Cheng,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind remind. I think my language skills still needs improvement. That's why I have many wordy sentences. I'll try to avoid too many long sentences in future posts. Thanks!
Regards,
Xiangyu
Hi Kevin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting my post!
I agree with you that environment affects the cultural background a lot. For example, even people in China are under the same big cultural background, they still have very different cultures in different parts. That's because of the environment factor.
Regards,
Xiangyu
Hi Jun Hao,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for reading so carefully and pointing out particular sentences with grammar mistakes!
I think as a foreigner here in Singapore, what I could do is to make myself involved in this cultural environment. Although the important thing is to accepting each other the way we are, I think change in myself in unavoidable because I need to adapt myself in a different environment.
Thanks!
Regards,
Xiangyu
Hi Angad,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments!
Yes, each and every one of us are sharing parts of our values because we are all human beings. I don't think different cultural background would be a great gap between all of us. As long as we communicate with each other with effort, no matter what accent we speak, no matter what values we hold, we can work together very well. Maybe three years later, we would meet more people from other places rather than Asia. That's when we need to improve again our communication skills.
Regards,
Xiangyu
Hi Meenu,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments!
What I mean for my last sentence was that in order to accept and be accepted, we need to make changes to ourselves. Maybe we have stereotypes on other people, but we should avoid thinking them as what we have in our minds. For example, when we work with a Russian man, we cannot just simply regard him as a drunk man although we may have the negative stereotype in our minds.
Hope that explains your doubts:)
Regards,
Xiangyu
Hi Tuan Vu,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment!
As you mentioned, I think my elaboration of how to involve in this society is too simple. I think before we are accepted, we must first accept the society. The world won't change for a single person. So we've got to communicate with the world and see what we can do to get involved in the society.
Cheers :)
Xiangyu
To sum up, although intercultural communication seems to be as simple as accepting and being accepted, it could also be as complicated as the whole world. No matter what race you are, no matter what language you speak, the key is that you need to communicate with people. Only when you share your thoughts with people from other countries or other racial groups, you can really know what theirs thoughts are. Otherwise, you will always see a gap between yourself and other people.
ReplyDelete