SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS

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 Culture Perception Stereotypes or Generalizations Attitudes Motivation for the target language? Second Culture Acquisition Acceleration of the target language acquisition?

What is Culture?
Dynamic System of rules Groups and units Survival Attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors by a group

by Matsumoto

Harbored differently by each specific unit Communicated across generations, relatively stable Potential to change across time

Perception Stereotype
Always subjective The filtering of information Culture-modes of perception prejudge & misjudge to judge a single member of a culture Potential to devalue people from the culture

Attitudes
Gardner & Lambert 72 The effect of attitudes on the target language learning John Oller 77 Positive attitudes toward self, the native language group, the target language group proficiency

Second Culture acquisition=acculturation

Four Stages of Cultural Acquisition
Stage Stage Stage Stage 1: 2: 3: 4: A period of excitement and euphoria Culture shock Gradual recovery Culture Stress Full recovery

Second Culture Acquisition

Anomie Wallace Lambert (67) Feelings of social uncertainty or dissatisfaction The first symptom on the third stage of acculturation A feeling of Homeless Mastery of a second language

SOCIAL DISTANCE & TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

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SOCIAL DISTANCE
Social distance:
The cognitive and affective proximity of two cultures
that come into contact within an individual.

SOCIAL DISTANCE
John Schumman Dominance Integration
social distance is consisted of following parameters:
politically, culturally, economically

Cohesiveness cohesiveness, size Congruence value, belief system, attitude Permanence intended length of residence in the
target language area

assimilation, acculturation, preservation / degree of enclosure

SOCIAL DISTANCE
Language learning situation
Bad
The TL group views the L2 group as dominant and the L2 group views itself in the same way. Both groups desire preservation and high enclosure for the L2 group, the L2 group is both cohesive and large, the two cultures are not congruent, the two groups hold negative attitudes toward each other, and the L2 group intends to remain in the TL area only for a short time.

Good
The L2 groups is nondominant in relation to the TL group, both groups desire assimilation for the L2 group, low enclosure is the goal of both groups, the two cultures are congruent, the L2 group is small and noncohesive, both groups have positive attitudes toward each other, and the L2 group intends to remain in the target language area for a long time

The greater the social distance between two cultures, the greater the difficulty the learner will have in learning the second language

SOCIAL DISTANCE
Q. How can we measure the social distance?

William Acton
Human beings perceive the cultural environment through the filters and screens of their own worldview: Perceived social distance

PDAQ
(the Professed Difference in Attitude Questionnaire)

SOCIAL DISTANCE
Optimal perceived social distance ratio

The mastery or skillful fluency in a second language occurs somewhere at the beginning of the third-recovery-stage of acculturation

Optimal distance model

culturally based critical-period hypothesis

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

Hofstedes framework for assessing culture Individualism vs. Collectivism
loosely integrated vs. tightly integrated

Power distance
inequality in power and consider it as normal.

Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity vs. Femininity

strong uncertainty avoidance vs. weak uncertainty avoidance
material success vs. interpersonal relationships

Thank you!