CULTURE AND IDENTITY Maryam Bolouri

Some Questions:

What makes you the person you are? How has your Iranian culture

influenced your ID? Do you think of yourself as an

individual or more of a member of the Iranian community?

ID shaped by:

1) Family life and upbringing2) Gender3) Social, cultural and ethnic groups

which we are a part

Teacher’s duty: Include activities about culture and ID Help students gain insights into their ID

by reflecting on their lives and family environment BeliefsCaution: some students may feel

uncomfortable talking about these issues they may feel threatened living in a new culture

How to explore culture and ID: 6 tips for teachers1) Explore personal ID2) Explore gender ID and roles3) Build awareness of social ID and roles4) Recognize differences among cultural

IDs5) Identify cultures as individualistic or

collectivistic6) Show how ethnic ID influence social ID

Different IDs

We have different roles in society We belong to different groups So we have different IDs such as Personal ID Gender ID Social ID Cultural ID Ethnic ID

Ting-Toomey Categorization (1999) Sense of self Self image 2 types of personal ID:1. primary: with an ongoing impact on

our livesIt includes personal, gender, cultural,

ethnic IDs. They are interconnected with the culture and becomes evident when you live abroad.

2. secondary: changeable, situation oriented,

1) Personal ID

It exists in each human being and influence the life of us and others.

It is central to “who we are”. It influences the way we interact with

others. It defines us and makes us unique

from others in our in-groups

Ting-Toomey definition (1999) The sentiments and information in

individuals regarding their self images which are linked to their personalities, drives, goals, and values.

It has direct effect on our self concept (the mental image we have of ourselves)

Personal ID includes many factors It is shaped by personal traits experiences Background Age: different status in collectivistic and

individualistic cultures Social class: determined similarly by income,

occupation, education, family, possessions, manner of speaking, attitudes and beliefs but different structure across cultures

religion: it gives us a sense of place in the universe and ideas about how the universe is organized.

Social role models

Personal ID and lg learningIt may lead to threats to personal ID. foe example:Mispronunciation or different writing

styles from the target culture may cause learners to be embarrassed or failure in academic achievements.

Teacher’s duty: Help learners explore their personal ID Must be sure that they have a good sense

and feel for their ID and willing to explore it It is best to avoid activities that require

learners to share intimate knowledge or may feel awkward sharing some aspects of their IDs

How: questionnaire, discussions, journaling, writing assessment, discussion of essays…

2) Gender ID The specific roles that societies expect

men and women to fulfill It comprises: person’s own gender identification

or psychological traits society’s conceptualization of gender

roles or social responsibilities that are appropriate for males or females

e.g. giving your opinions forcefully is appropriate for men but aggressive for women in U.S

Hofstede (1980): gender roles in highly masculine culture (clear distinction)men women Strong Aggressive Focused on

success Direct in speech

Reserved Gentle Concerned with

quality of life Less direct in

speech

Gender ID and lg learning

It should not be assumed that the commonly accepted roles of our culture will be identical in another culture and sometimes the change is not desirable.

Teachers must help learners explore the gender ID by discussing their views

Use the media to mirror the commonly accepted cultural attitudes

3) Social ID

It includes the things we have in common with others in our cultural group

How others see us Shared self concept, concerns with

other members in our in-groups It is linked to the social roles we play in

societies, organizations or any in groups that we share commonalities

Socialization

As we grow older we view ourselves as members of our families and then develop our interests we expand our group membership.

With each cultural group we add to our social ID by learning about the traditions, lg, religion…

We identify with different groups, form our self concept and mold our social ID

Social aspect of cultures It is an inherent component of a culture It includes1. formal rules and behavior2. Social rules: cultural expectations

of how people in a social position are to behave

e.g. appropriate roles of a teacher, parent, Dr, judge… are defined by their own characteristics and behaviors .

Degree of formality, hierarchy , forms of address in western and eastern cultures differ.

Social ID and lg learning

Teachers must call attention to the multiple groups

students belong Examine learners’ social roles Have students act out different role

plays based on different social IDs

4) Cultural ID It is shaped by our cultural background It is tied to our social, gender, personal IDs If the perception of cultural ID is positive,

when you are abroad, you are eager to reveal it as it is a prominent place but when it is negative you tend to avoid it in your international integrations

It has 2 dimensions that influence our contact with others:

1. The strength of our identification2. The content of our identities (things

connected with cultural ID)

A key element: individualistic or collectivistic cultureIndividualistic culture (US)

Collectivistic culture (Japan)

Strong identification with culture means to value

1. Freedom2. Pleasure3. Social recognition4. independence

Strong identification with culture means to value

1. Self-sacrifice2. Harmony3. traditions

It is hard to define it We can not associate specific cultural practices

and interactions with particular groups. We live in open societies and there are no fixed

boundaries for social groups. People exhibit multiple IDs and there is no

one-to-one relationship btw lg and cultural ID

Although this the case when cultural ID is threatened people attach importance to maintaining their lg and it is the most sensitive indicator of the relationship btw people and a given social group

A related construct: social distanceH.D.Brown 1999“cognitive and affective proximity of 2

cultures which come into contact within an individual”

Distance means the degree of differenceSimilar: Canadians and western EuropeansDissimilar: Chinese and CanadiansThe greater the distance the more difficulty

for learning the lg1. Actual social distance: difficult to

measure2. Perceived social distance: learner’s

perception of the relation btw 1st and 2nd cultures

Cultural ID and lg learning Teachers must help learners

1. Build an awareness of social distances2. Differentiate btw various cultural IDs to

rescue themselves from pitfalls3. Offer a variety of reflection activities

about how to avoid cultural mishaps4. Read about historical development of a

culture5. Examine the correct cultural practices as

portrayed in films, books…

nature of the culture (Hofstede, 2002):

Individualism values:

1. Individuals2. Immediate families3. Autonomy4. Low power distance

index (PDI) which minimizes the social and class inequalities

e.g. US, Australia, Britain, Canada, Hungary, New Zealand, Italy

Collectivism values:

1. The well being, needs and benefit of the groups

2. High PDI which value hierarchy, different levels of equality

e.g. Pakistan, Colombia, Malaysia, Russia, west African countries

Cultural ID and lg learning

It influences the way students learn (learning style) or habitual patterns of mental functioning and dealing with new info

Learners from Collectivistic cultures prefer group work and cooperation over individual work and competition in contrast to learners from individualistic cultures

Teachers can bring reading about how to identify different natures of cultures

Teachers can ask learners think of expressions, proverbs… that illustrate this issue

5) Ethnic ID It is our racial, national, tribal, religious,

linguistic or cultural background. It influences all facets of our lives from lg

to customs to rituals, to values, and beyond.

We automatically compartmentalize people.

We consciously or unconsciously place ethnic labels on people and categorize them based on cultural, social, physical, or other characteristic

Once we classify ourselves as members of an ethnic group, categorize the others as non-members

Assimilationist or Pluralistic point of view to ethnicityAssimilationist

suggestsGive up yr former

cultureTake on new IDBefore world war IIA vast melting pot

Pluralistic suggestsIt may or may not be

displayed.Sometimes it is a

disadvantage or an asset

A salad bowl

2 dimensions of ethnic ID

1. The strength of ethnic ID: strong among African-Americans and

Asian-Americans yet weak among European and Americans

2. The content of ethnic ID: national heritage, collectivistic or individualistic

Ethnic ID and lg learning

Teachers must analyze films which are excellent tool to look at situ objectively

This activity is less threatening than examining their own lives

Conclusion

Identity is a key element to define: Who we are How we see ourselves as individual

and the way we interact with others in 1st and 2nd cultures

Our sense of ID is rooted on the nature of our 1st culture: individualistic or collectivistic