Culture
Activities
The cross-culturalactivities described below were created for ESL classes but can easily be adapted for use in other types of learning situations when the objective is to foster cross-cultural awareness and interaction.
Tribes
The class is divided into two groups or “tribes” which interview each other and then draw conclusions about the culture and characteristics of the people of other tribes. Each tribe receives a brief description of its culture and is asked to formulate 10 questions that each member will ask the members of the other tribe. The questions should be objective and allow the “ethnographers” to learn as much as possible about the other tribe. Informants must respond in specific ways at indicated cues, as shown below. After the interviews, each student fills out a short questionnaire about the other tribe. Answers are shared and everyone is debriefed.
Sample cues and responses:
· A question asked by someone of the opposite sex is always answered negatively.
· If question contains a wh- word, respondent refuses to answer.
· If question contains any form of do, respondent becomes angry.
· To answer “yes”, to a question, hold up and shake your fist.
· The word “you” is a very bad word in your language, and if it is used, act insulted or embarrassed.
Sample questionnaire items:
· Are tribe members honest?
· Are tribe members friendly and easy to get along with?
· Are tribe members individualistic?
· Are tribe members reasonable and logical?
· Are tribe members intelligent?
Objective: to examine cultural differences in how people express themselves and become aware of misunderstandings arising from them.
Anthropologist
The class is divided into small groups and each group is assigned a specific institution such as religion, family, politics or commerce. The students are asked to pretend to be anthropologists from another planet and to describe common scenes through the lens of their assigned institution. The teacher exhibits a series of pictures and each group must show how each picture demonstrates that institution.The groups should develop full scenarios around each picture.
Example: Shown the picture below, the respective groups might develop stories around the following hypotheses:
Religion: As part of a religious ritual, the man is digging a hole into which he will put valuable gifts for the earth deity he worships.
Family: The man is engaged is wooing a mate by demonstrating his ability to dig a hole faster and more expertly than his rivals.
Politics: The man is doing work for constituents in an attempt to get their votes in an upcoming election.
Commerce: Holes are very valuable in this society and the man is paid for digging holes for customers.
Objective: to break down old ways of interpreting events and allow students to see things from different viewpoints.
Proverbs
A list of proverbs is compiled from each of 6 regions: Asia, South America, North America, Middle East, Africa, Europe. The class is divided into 2 or 3 teams each of which is assigned one proverb list. The students are not told where the proverbs come from and care should be taken that none of the students in a team are from the region of the proverbs. Each team pretends to be the culture that originated the proverbs on its list. Team members discuss and attempt to interpret the proverbs on its list and explain the cultural background and social conditions that gave rise to them. Then each student explicates one proverb to the whole class providing as much information and detail as possible. After all presentations are made, the real origins and explanations of the proverbs are revealed and a discussion of the misunderstandings and misconceptions is conducted.
Sample Proverbs:
- Soft water can break the hardest stone. Brazil
- The camel does not see her own hump. Greece
- Don’t spread ashes on cooked rice. Korea
- When the road is long, even slippers feel tight. Peru
- The most beautiful fig may contain a worm. Zulu
- Each bird likes his nest. Italy
- A thief thinks everybody steals.– India
- The elephant never gets tired of carrying its tusks. Liberia
- A drowning man is not troubled by rain. Iran
- Catch a fish with two hands. Thailand
Objective: To increase awareness of similarities and differences among diverse cultures
Stereotypes
As each item in a prepared list of stereotypes is read, students write down the ethnic group or country that they think it applies to. Students should not write their own country. Students compare their answers and explore the origins and accuracy of stereotypes.
Sample stereotypes:
the hardest working people
the most musical people
the kindest, warmest people
the smartest people
the most religious people
the best athletes
the best business people
Objective: to encourage students to question conventional stereotypes.
Landmarks
As the teacher reads each of a list of landmarks, students write down appropriate information related to their own country or culture. Students share their information after each item.
Sample landmarks:
· most important person in the history of my country
· most serious war or conflict
· most important product
· most important author/artist/composer
· most serious problem facing my country today
Objective: to allow students to share information about their countries.